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Quotes:
Christ is a
substitute for everything, but nothing is a substitute for
Christ.
No one who really wants to count for God can afford to play
at Christianity.
If lips and life do not agree, the testimony will not amount
to much.
Time is given us to use in view of eternity.
No one ever lost out by excessive devotion to Christ.
Christianity is Christ!
Error is like leaven,
of which we read, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole
lump." Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error,
except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more
dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any
truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and
repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and
His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for whom Chris
died.
Biography
Ironside was one of the greatest Bible teachers the world
has ever known. For some 50 years he went up and down
America teaching and preaching the Word of God. He was the
ultimate in his field. Coupled with this was his successful
ministry as pastor of Moody Church from 1930 to 1948 which
made him the most known Christian leader of his era, outside
of
Billy Sunday whose funeral he preached. He was
affectionately known as "the archbishop of
Fundamentalism."
John and Sophia (Stafford) Ironside were a godly couple with
his occupation being that of a bank teller. They were both
tremendous soul-winners. The father spent evenings at street
meetings, in halls and in theaters, and on Sundays held
services in the park. His mother likewise testified
everywhere. They were identified with the Plymouth Brethren.
The father was known as "The Eternity Man," because
every time he met someone he asked them, "Where will you
spend eternity?" In the providence of God this amazing
soul-winner died at age 27 from typhoid when Henry was two
years old.
Henry's birth was almost a casualty. The child was thought
to be dead, so attention was given to the dangerously ill
mother. Forty minutes later a nurse detected a pulse beat
and at the doctor's order put the baby in a hot bath which
soon produced a demonstration of his vocal chords.
Following the death of the father, the 26-year old widow,
who also had a new baby along with two-year old Henry, began
to sew trying to hold the family together.
Harry had religion but not Christ. He was memorizing
Scripture from three years of age and up, starting with Luke
19:10. Ironside read the Bible through 14 times by his 14th
year. Two frequent visitors were Scotch evangelists, Donald
Munro and John Smith. They would always ask Harry "are
you born again?" He always replied that he passed out
tracts, memorized Scripture, went to Sunday School. He was
quite relieved when he heard his mother make plans to go to
Los Angeles in 1886 when he was ten years old. At least they
would not be bugging him anymore, he mused.
A
train ride from Toronto to Los Angeles was an adventure for
an adult, let alone a child of ten. They arrived on December
12, 1886. Harry was surprised to find out there was no
Sunday School in his neighborhood, so at age 11 he started
one. He called together boys and girls and talked to them
about his purpose. He sent out the boys to collect sacks and
burlap bags and he organized the girls into a sewing club.
They sewed the burlap together and soon a burlap tent was
made that could accommodate 100 people. There was no
teacher, so Harry taught, and the average attendance was 60
including a few adults. Harry would always revert to Isaiah
53 when he couldn't think of anything else to say. People
would say, "God bless this little preacher" and Harry
assumed himself saved. In 1888
Moody came to Los Angeles for a campaign. Meetings were
held in Hazzard's Pavilion which seated 8,000. Finding no
seat he climbed up on a trough-like girder that extended
from the second gallery up to the apex of the roof. Moody
excited Harry and he prayed, "Lord, help me some day to
preach to crowds like these, and to lead souls to Christ."
Forty-two years later he became pastor of the church Moody
founded. In 1889 his mother said happily one day after
school, "Guess who's here?" Harry thought it to be
some lost relative, but it was evangelist Donald Munro. As
he arrived it was, "Well, well, Harry lad, how you have
grown! And are you born again yet, my boy?" His Uncle
Allan, who was in the room said, "Oh, Harry preaches
himself, now." Undaunted Munro said, "You are
preaching, and yet you don't know that you're born again! Go
and get your Bible, lad." Young Ironside was really
challenged. Within a few weeks Harry gave up his Sunday
School, for he felt he had no right to open his mouth for
God if he were unsaved. For six months he battled this
problem. Then in February, 1890, he went to a party, and
Proverbs 1:24-32 came to his mind. As soon as he could, he
hurried home. After midnight, he fell on his knees and said,
"Lord, save me." He wondered about a lack of some new
emotion, but soon claimed the promise, rose from his knees -
saved at age 13. He later said, "I rested on the Word of
God and confessed Christ as my Saviour."
Two
nights later he attended a Salvation Army street meeting and
could not wait for a chance to say something. He asked if he
could testify and fire away he did. He preached from Isaiah
53:6 for one-half hour forcing the Captain to pull his
coattail, because they were late for the meeting at the
hall. The next day he won his first convert to the Lord -- a
70-year old Negro. He was taunted at school but held firm.
In June he graduated from grammar school. The year 1890 also
saw his mother, Sophia, marry William D. Watson, and young
Ironside found a part-time job with a shoe-cobbler. Young
Ironside decided he needed no more education, and never
attended school again. His only eighth grade education was
later regretted, but the Lord never held it against him. He
took full time employment with the Lamson Photo Studio, and
every night would attend one of the Salvation Army meetings.
He spoke so often he was called, "The Boy Preacher."
He began to educate himself with books. When not attending
Army meetings, he would be giving out tracts or holding his
own street meetings. Soon Ironside was identified with the
Salvation Army. His zeal matched theirs, and soon he was put
in charge of children's work. At age 16 he was urged to
become a cadet, and he decided to accept. He left the
photography business for the preaching business -- full
time.
He
entered the Oakland (California) Training Garrison
preparatory to becoming an officer in the Salvation Army. He
finally was commissioned and made a Lieutenant in the Army.
He went forth to San Bernardino, California, somewhat a
believer of sinless perfection in 1892. Ironside was
switched around to several southern California cities to
assist in the various Army outreaches. Soon he was preaching
over 500 sermons a year, dealing with countless individuals.
So thoroughly did he enjoy his work and so busy did he keep
himself that it was not until he was [about]19 that he had
any real chance to analyze "the second blessing"
doctrine. He soon began to see this "holiness"
teaching was leaving many a spiritual person derelict. He
himself had to convince himself of his "holiness"
before he went to a "holiness" meeting, and to tell
himself upon leaving that now, at last, he was ready to
receive "the blessing." He soon began to see it was
not the study of the Scriptures, but the lack of knowledge
of them that was causing many casualties. Now a captain at
about 18 he submitted his resignation to the Salvation Army.
He was sent to the Beulah Rest Home near Oakland, utterly
worn out from five years of work. There were 14 others,
broken in health, trying to regain strength while
contemplating their futures. Counseling with others he soon
discovered the problem. He was looking within to the wrong
person and wrong place for holiness, instead of without.
Ironside had met a Charles Montgomery, a Brethren believer
who gave him living quarters and access to his own large
library, in San Francisco. Soon he was asked to address a
meeting of the Brethren, and again he used Isaiah 53 which
continued to evidently be his favorite preaching spot. In
1896 (now 20 years old) he began "to break bread"
with the Brethren.
Henry Varley, British evangelist, came to San Francisco in
1897 and Ironside helped in many ways during the campaign.
He held street meetings, ushered, ran the book table, and
was a great help to the campaign. The pianist for most of
the services was another ex-Salvation Army member, Helen
Schofield, daughter of a Presbyterian pastor in Oakland.
Love blossomed and on January 5, 1898, Ironside and the
young lady married. He was 21 and had been living by faith
for some years now. The cupboards were often bare in their
small apartment in San Francisco. His mother's death in 1898
also added to his trials.
Joy
came into their home on February 10, 1899, when the first
child - a son, Edmund Henry was born. The Ironsides moved to
a home in Oakland in 1900 and Harry continued with his
ministry as doors were opened, speaking in some place nearly
every night, and often two or three times a day. He was
beginning to be in greater demand among believers who were
helped by his expository preaching. When he had no meetings,
he would go to the street corners and preach to the
passersby. Oakland became their headquarters until 1929. He
preached in tents, Missions, Bible conferences and churches
whenever he was invited. More than once the small family was
without funds and had to depend wholly upon God to do
something for them.
It
was in 1903 that he received his first invitation from the
East, from believers in St. Cloud, Minnesota. On their way
home they only had funds to take them as far as Salt Lake
City, Utah. So they disembarked, obtained accommodations in
a very inexpensive hotel. For 10 days Harry spent every day
and night visiting, distributing tracts from door to door
and street preaching. Ironside had little response
spiritually and none financially, so he sold a set of his
books to a Baptist preacher to pay his hotel bill. The 40
cents a day allotted for food ran out. Harry grabbed his
wife's hand and prayed, "O Lord, we claim this promise.
We two agreed to ask for this forty cents. If we do not
receive it, I shall never believe this verse again." He
went into the streets, preached for forty minutes to a good
crowd of 300. After the service, discouraged, he was on his
way to the hotel, when two men ran after him, asked him how
he lived, was told he just trusted the Lord. They put coins
in his palm and left. He was going to return the coins when
he found out they were Mormon elders, but they hurried off.
He counted the coins - 40 cents. The next morning he got a
letter with $15 from some who felt impressed that they
needed money. They could now go home to Oakland.
In
1904 an unusual conversion happened as the family was
traveling through northwestern Canada on a train. A
Franciscan priest joined Ironside and the conversation
began. It was a marvelous conversion before it was all over
that Ironside often related.
A
second son, John Schofield, was born on August 18, 1905, and
thereafter the mother, and firstborn who had traveled with
him almost all the time, was confined to their home to rear
the children.
He
already was beginning to write: his first expository notes
appeared in 1900, Notes on Esther. Notes on
Jeremiah in 1902, Notes on the Minor Prophets in
1904 and Notes on the Book of Proverbs appeared in
1906. His writings would make him one of the most prolific
authors in the Christian field in the 20th century.
Soon he was teaching at the Mount Hermon Bible Conference
each summer. Then in 1911 he began his annual summer
ministry to the American Indians - at the Southeast
Missionary Bible Conference near Flagstaff, Arizona.
He
continued to write; in 1910 came his Notes on Ezra,
Nehemiah, and Esther, in 1911 Lectures on Daniel the
Prophet came out and in 1912 his famous book -
Holiness, the False and the True.
On
June 1, 1914, he rented a store and started the Western Book
and Tract Company. His books were not being in much demand,
and he needed some sort of headquarters for them. This went
well until the depression [in] the late 1920s.
From 1916 to 1929, Ironside was constantly on the move,
preaching nearly 7,000 times to some 1¼ million people. No
vacations, always busy, even in sickness and weariness. In
1918 he preached at the Old Tent Evangel in New York City
for George McPherson, which opened up further doors of
contact. In 1924 he began to accept meetings under the
direction of the Moody Bible Institute.
This relationship deepened through the years. In his
"free" months he was engaged by the Brethren assemblies
or by other local congregations. In 1926 Dallas Theological
Seminary asked him to come for seven months a year as a
full-time faculty member, but it had to be turned down,
although he was visiting lecturer from 1925 to 1943. A
daughter, Lillian, was born to Edmund [Ironside's son] in
1920, but because of the illness of the mother who died of
tuberculosis not long afterwards, was adopted by the
grandparents - the Harry Ironsides. The father later
remarried, served the Lord as Superintendent of the Southern
Bible Institute, a school for colored people in Dallas. In
December of 1929 Ironside held his third series of services
at Moody Memorial Church, and after 11 months absence
arrived home in Oakland on December 22nd to see his family.
In two weeks he was gone again. He now began his ministry at
the Moody Founder's Week Conference in February, 1930. On
February 17th his diary states, "Then downtown for a
conference with Thomas S. Smith and another elder of the
Moody Church, relative to possibly being called to be the
minister there." He had preached there in 1925 and 1926 plus
the above mentioned time. He had already been approached in
1929 since the resignation of Dr. P. Philpott. He finally
agreed that if he got an unanimous call he would come for a
one-year trial period. On March 5, the call was unanimous.
On March 8th he accepted. On March 16th he preached his
first sermon there - his diary speaks:
My first Lord's Day as
pastor of Moody Church
At 9:15 a.m. a few of us broke bread in the feast of
remembrance in church study.
At 10:45 I preached on I Cor. 2:2. 3500 present and
there was a serious impression.
Dinner with the Herrings
At 5:50 I spoke briefly to the C.C. Club in Torrey Hall,
on "Life at Best."
At 7:30 I preached on "God's Salvation and the Scorner's
Doom." 2 Kings 7, to about 3700 people.
Five confessed Christ.
He
would wind up his affairs in Oakland in late August, and on
December 31, 1930 Mrs. Ironside and Lillian were finally
able to join him. They took up their residence in the Plaza
Hotel, right across from the Church.
There was hardly a Sunday that went by from that time on
that did not have decisions or a capacity audience to hear
Ironside. A pattern set that continued until he left the
Church. Ironside would leave Chicago by train late Sunday
night to minister in some other city, returning usually on
Saturday morning for the Sunday services at Moody Church.
This would be 40 weeks a year, traveling 30,000 miles
annually. Frequently Saturdays and whatever few other days
in Chicago were taken up with callers, committee meetings
and correspondence.
In
1932 he took his first trip outside the USA as he ministered
on a boat cruise from Bermuda to Nova Scotia. In 1933 there
was a Century of Progress Campaign held in the summer. In
November, 1935, Ironside preached the funeral of
Billy Sunday at Moody Church. His sermon was, "Billy
Sunday's Spiritual History - Without Christ; In Christ; For
Christ; With Christ." In February, 1936, he took his
first overseas trip - to Palestine. Thirty days were spent
preaching in the British Isles, and the Ironsides arrived
back at New York on April 30th. Three more trips to the
British Isles followed, in 1937, 1938 and 1939. Britain was
participating in the Moody Centennial in 1937, and Will
Houghton, MBI President asked Ironside and Mel Trotter to go
to Europe. Leaving January 29, they had great meetings. On
the night of their arrival of February 5th, Ironside
preached on Romans 1:16 to 10,000 at Royal Albert Hall. He
was to speak 62 times in his 32 days there. He arrived home
on march 14th.
Beginning with the first week of 1938, Ironside became the
writer of the International Sunday School Lessons, published
in the Sunday School Times. In the fall of 1938, he
left again, this time from Montreal on August 19th,
accompanied by Stratton Shufelt, music director of Moody
Church. This was a tour of Ireland, Scotland, and England.
Ironside spoke 142 times. They were in Glasgow for nearly a
month, with crowds averaging 3,000 per night, with many
saved. A ten-day series in London in Kingsway Hall finalized
the stay. Crowds of 2,000 attended each night. He left for
home on November 12th. In 1939 the purpose of the trip to
England was 1½ months of well needed rest, and then to be
one of the speakers at English Keswick. They left New York
May 24th and returned August 1st. From 1939 to 1944 he
continued his travels in every direction averaging some 500
sermons per year. His son Edmund died July 25, 1941, with
the father preaching the funeral service. In 1942 he became
president of the Africa Inland Mission.
When Ironside took the pastorate of the 4,000 member Moody
Church in 1930, the indebtedness was $319,500. At the Watch
Night Service, December 31, 1943, the last note of
indebtedness was burned, during which time the home outreach
and foreign missions programs increased - amazing for the
fact that he was only home two days a week. When he was gone
on Sundays, the crowd would be down. His daughter that he
raised, Lillian, married Gilbert Koppin on June 10, 1944. A
crowning evangelistic campaign was held February 10-27,
1944, back "home" in Oakland, California. Services
were held in the Oakland Civic Auditorium Theatre. Crowds
started at 1,300 and ended with 2,500 with many saved.
Ironside was now beginning to tire as he approached 70, not
that the age was so great, but simply keep in mind that he
had been preaching continually since age 14 with hardly any
break.
Pastor and Mrs. Ironside were able to celebrate their Golden
Wedding Anniversary together, January 5, 1948, to be soon
followed by the death of Mrs. Ironside on May 1, 1948. Dr.
Ironside resigned as pastor on May 30,1948, and his farewell
services were held at the church, October 27th and October
31st. During his first 14 years there, only two Sundays went
by without seeing somebody saved. He had been a member of
the faculty of Moody Bible Institute in later years as well.
He
then retired to Winona Lake, Indiana. He married Mrs. Ann
Hightower on October 9,1949, who became his constant
companion and helper during his few remaining months of
failing eyesight. An operation restored his vision and he
set out for New Zealand on November 2, 1950. He visited with
his sister, Mrs. Robert A. Laidlaw and planned a preaching
tour, but death claimed him and at his own request was
buried there. His other son John died January 19, 1957.
His
books poured forth through the years, too numerous to
mention here. Over 80 volumes have come from his pen. A D.L.
degree had come from Wheaton in June 1930, and on June 3,
1942 Bob Jones University granted him an honorary D.D.
degree. Many pulpits would not consider a boy with an 8th
grade education, but little is much - when God is in it.
His
writings included addresses or commentaries on the entire
New Testament, all of the prophetic books of the Old
Testament, and a great many volumes on specific Bible themes
and subjects. Some of his later titles include Things
Seen and Heard in Bible Lands, Lamp of Prophecy, Changed by
Beholding, The Way of Peace, and The Great
Parenthesis.
Almost lost in the seemingly more important phases of his
ministry is the fact that he is the author of the well known
hymn, Overshadowed.
*The above is one of
46 booklets by Ed Reese in the Christian Hall of Fame
series. These short biographies provide good material for
Sunday School lessons, family devotions, and reading for
young people and adults. Order/information from: Reese
Publications, P.O. Box 5625, Lansing, IL 60438; Fax:
708-895-0298; E-mail:
Kgreese at aol.com |
