CHAMPIONS. 🏆

IAN WHEELER FOR THE LEAD TO START THE 4TH QUARTER!!! 📺: ABC

In Memoriam: Dr. Albert N. Martin With a mixture of sorrow and rejoicing, we mark the passing from the church militant to the church triumphant of Dr. Albert N. Martin, a beloved friend, faithful pastor, and valiant soldier in the army of King Jesus, who died yesterday on the cusp of turning 92. For decades, he stood as a pillar in the Reformed world—known for his solid, detailed, enlightening, powerful, and faithful preaching of God’s Word and his steadfast, discerning, and unwavering commitment to all of its truths. His departure leaves a nostalgic void, not only among those who knew him personally and those who were members of his beloved Trinity Baptist Church of Montville, New Jersey, but across a much broader fellowship of churches and believers who were nourished by his ministry throughout the English-speaking world. To many of us, Al Martin was more than a preacher of righteousness; he was a trusted friend, a wise counselor, and a brother deeply knit to our hearts in the bonds of the gospel. His friendship was marked by sincerity, love, and spiritual warmth. He possessed that rare combination of theological precision and pastoral tenderness, speaking the truth with clarity while carrying the burdens of Christ’s flock with compassion. His counsel was never shallow, never rushed, but always seasoned with Scripture and rooted in a profound communion with his Lord. In an age often marked by theological compromise and superficiality, Al Martin stood firm. He was not swayed by trends nor intimidated by opposition. Like a watchman on the walls of Zion, he sounded forth the whole counsel of God with courage and conviction. His preaching bore the marks of careful exegesis, experiential depth, and earnest application, pressing divine truth upon the conscience with solemn urgency. We grieve because such men are not easily replaced. The ranks of those who have labored long in the trenches, who have weathered storms, and who have remained faithful unto old age, seem to grow thinner with each passing year. And yet, we do not grieve as those without hope. For while the church militant feels the loss, the church triumphant rejoices in gain. Personally, I owe a lot to Al Martin beginning about a half century ago when I listened to all his cassette tape lectures to his theological students with great profit. My own personal friendship with him didn’t flourish until about a few decades ago when he was still in New Jersey after I persuaded him that he should start a writing ministry. He insisted that he had no gifts to write and I insisted that his sermons reveal that he has excellent gifts for writing. He replied that he didn’t even have a computer and I insisted that he should get one and have someone teach him how to use it. He followed my advice and sent me a manuscript on the Holy Spirit’s role in preaching less than a year later. I then asked him to edit all the much-circulated cassette tape lectures to his theological students and publish them in a multi-volume set. He did even more! He traveled back to New Jersey from Michigan to record them all in an improved version, published the whole set in three volumes, and asked me to preface the first volume because, in his words to me, “You are the brother who taught me that I had a gift I didn’t know that I had and who also persuaded me to revisit these old theological lectures to prepare them for press.” While in Michigan, we frequently had three-hour lunches together; I also invited him to speak for our seminary conference and for some chapel messages—all of which were memorable events. Brother Al Martin has now entered into the presence of the King whom he so faithfully served. The voice that once proclaimed Christ to others now joins the song of the redeemed around the throne. The labors of decades have given way to eternal rest. The battles are over; the victory is secure. He is now ever with the Lord—seeing by sight what he long embraced by faith. What a comfort it is to know that the gospel he preached is the gospel that has brought him safely home. The Christ he exalted has now welcomed him with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” May the Lord raise up others in his stead—men of like conviction and devotion. And may we who remain be stirred by his example to greater faithfulness, until our own course is finished and we too are gathered to be forever with the Lord.