Henry Allan Ironside (1876-1951)

Michael D. Stallard

    Producing some of the warmest and most cherished devotional commentaries in the history of dispensationalism, the evangelist, teacher, and pastor, H. A. Ironside (1876­1951) encouraged thousands of people across the English-speaking world to understand dispensational truth. Raised in a Christian home and converted to faith in Christ as a young man, Ironside joined the ranks of the Salvation Army. However, after a few years, he abandoned the group due to the frustra­tion of attempting to maintain the "victory" status of the group's view of sanctification. He found peace and security in the more bib­lical view of God's matchless grace. His testimony to his conversion and his later views on holiness teaching are found in Ho­liness: The True and the False (1912).

    Ironside did not receive much of a formal education but was a self-taught student. He received an honorary doctorate (Litt.D.) from Wheaton College in 1930. Ironside became a nationally known Bible teacher with an itin­erant teaching ministry, much like other leading dispensationalists of the first half of the twentieth century such as Arno C. Gaebelein. Ironside's traveling ministry in­cluded Bible conferences and seriatim teaching at institutions across the United States such as Moody Bible Institute and the Evangelical College (now Dallas Theologi­cal Seminary). Ironside pastored the well-known Moody Memorial Church in Chicago from 1930 to 1948, from which he spoke on radio for several years. He resigned the pulpit of that well-known church to en­gage in a full-time writing and conference ministry. That ministry continued until his death in 1951.

    The greatest legacy of H. A. Ironside is the voluminous collection of writings that he left. He wrote over sixty books, along with numerous pamphlets and articles. His style is characterized by (1) devotional exposition, (2) the simple outline of complicated issues, (3) a creative ability to provide fresh wording and illustrations aimed at warming the heart and changing the life, and (4) a continuation of the heritage of simple Bible readings that were emphasized in the Niagara Bible Conferences of the late nineteenth century.

    Ironside's writings dealt with a wide range of topics. His biblical commentaries covered the entire range of New Testament books, as well as every prophetic book in the Old Tes­tament. In addition, he addressed topical issues such as water baptism, the Second Coming, the rapture of the church, the Holy Spirit, issues of sanctification, and prayer. He showed the skills of a historian in A Histori­cal Sketch of the Brethren Movement (1942), which highlighted the development of the movement largely responsible for spreading the dispensationalism of John Nelson Darby which Ironside himself believed. Ironside also provided anecdotal insights into his own life and ministry in Random Reminiscences from Fifty Years of Ministry (1939). The heart of a pastor can be seen in Full Assurance, the goal of which was to increase the confi­dence of believers. Ironside also possessed the zeal of an evangelist, as seen in his pub­lication The Only Two Religions and Other Gospel Papers. Many of the publications and commentaries were derived from messages he gave, often in series of expository ser­mons. His ministry lasted around sixty years in fruitful service. In the end he was known as a beloved teacher dedicated to the literal interpretation of prophecy and the resultant belief and hope in the pretribulational premillennial coming of Jesus Christ.