Major Ian Thomas (1914 - 2007)

Read freely text sermons and articles by the speaker Major Ian Thomas in text and pdf format. Evangelical writer, theological teacher and founder of the Torchbearers bible schools. These schools are now world-wide in many countries and provide a teaching base on the person of Christ in the believer and basic Biblical exposition of Bible books.

Among the many books that he wrote, the most influential have been: "The Saving Life Of Christ" , "The mystery of godliness" and "If I perish, I Perish." His burden in ministry was to express and show the indwelling life of Christ in believers and the rest and power that life will have in us as we trust and have faith.

SermonIndex Recommends these books by Major Ian Thomas:
The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me by Major Ian Thomas
If I Perish, I Perish by Major Ian Thomas
The Mystery of Godliness: Experiencing Christ in Us by Major Ian Thomas

showing from 1 to 30 of 30 articles

A HUMAN VEHICLE OF THE DIVINE LIFE
      "Faithful is he that calls you, who also will do it." (I Thessalonians 5:24). The One who calls you to a life of righteousness is the One who by our consent lives that life of righteousness through you! The One who calls you to go into all the world an ... read more

A Man Approved By God
       The 1966 Southam Cheswick Convention, Dallas Texas, January 20th, Major Thomas. Message: A Man approved of God. Thank you so much for that very wonderful message to our hearts. It is lovely to share the ministry in this way with our b ... read more

ADAM’S CONVERSION
       We read from the 8th chapter of the epistle to the Romans, Romans chapter 8, commencing with the first verse. As I mentioned last night, where I deviate from the King James’ Version it will be to the Amplified New Testament. Romans Ch. 8 v. 1 “The ... read more

Ark of the Covenant (Transcription)
      Grab your Bible’s and keep your fingers well lit. “The Form of scripture is the Word of God; the Character of the Word of God is the Gospel, and the content of the Gospel is Jesus Christ.” – Major Ian Thomas So no matter where we turn in the ... read more

AT HIS DISPOSAL
      The moment you are redeemed through the atoning death of Christ upon the cross, you receive the Holy Spirit within your human spirit. You have "passed from death to life" - raised from the dead - and the Life which has been imparted to you by the Holy Spi ... read more

BEING AND DOING
      This is divine vocation into which you have been redeemed, as "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that you should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10) can only be fulfilled in the energy and power of the One ... read more

CHRIST HIMSELF THE CONTENT OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
      There is something, which makes Christianity more than a religion, more than an ethic, and more than the idle dream of the sentimental idealist. It is this something, which makes it relevant to each one of us right now as a contemporary experience. It is ... read more

COMMITMENT?
      The Lord Jesus Christ is the Truth, and as in all other things that pertain, unto life and godliness" (11 Peter 1:3), He is the Truth about true commitment. He was committed to the Father for all that to which the Father was committed in the Son, and He w ... read more

DEPENDENCE
      To live "to and for yourself" is to "walk after the flesh"! To live "to and for Christ" is to "walk after the Spirit"! These are the two principles of human behavior. It is not just a matter of degree, it is a matter of kind; to be dominated by the ... read more

ETERNAL LIFE IS CHRIST
      What is eternal life? Is it a place that you are going to when you are dead? Is it a peculiar feeling inside? If you were to ask a normal congregation, or any sort of Bible class or Sunday school in an evangelical church to define eternal life, you would ... read more

EXCHANGED LIFE
      Christian living is not a method or technique; it is an entirely different, revolutionary principle of life. It is the principle of an exchanged life" not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). This is all part of our Gospel - it is not the Gosp ... read more

For Christ To Be in You
      Christian Growth is a Person His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promise ... read more

FREEDOM OF CHOICE
      Never allow anyone to deceive you into believing that God has placed an arbitrary limitation upon the efficacy of the blood of Christ, or that there are those who cannot repent, even if they would, simply because God has deliberately placed them outside t ... read more

Fruit Bearing vs. Fruit Producing
      By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:8 Fruit bearing is the overflow of the life of Christ dwelling in us. Fruit producing is attempting to live the Christian in our own power. Fruit beari ... read more

FULLNESS IN EVERYTHING
      "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). In other words, you can do no more without Him than He could do without the Father. But how much c ... read more

Grace: Freedom Not to Sin
      Power to Say, No, to Ungodliness and, Yes, to Righteousness For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the ... read more

HOW MUCH ARE YOU WORTH?
      You cannot accomplish your own redemption, and you cannot accomplish your own sanctification! It is "according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glor ... read more

I AM THOU ART
      It may be that your need is still that of a sinner seeking forgiveness; you need to be redeemed, and you are still trying to find your way back to God and godliness. Christ is saying to you now, as He said to His disciples of old in the Upper Room, after ... read more

INEXHAUSTIBLE SUPPLY OF DEITY
      Jesus Christ Himself is the final exegesis of all truth. He is all that we need to know about God, and He is all that we need to know about man. The Lord Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His hands that as a Man, all the illimitable ... read more

Major Ian Thomas Quotes
      Christ did not die simply that you might be saved from a bad conscience, or even to remove the stain of past failure, but to "clear the decks" for divine action. There is something, which makes Christianity more than a religion, more than an ethic, and ... read more

Major Ian Thomas' Testimony
      "Thus by the age of nineteen, I had been reduced to a state of complete exhaustion spiritually. "Then, one night just at midnight, in my room at home, I got down on my knees before God, and I just wept in sheer despair. I said, 'Oh, God, I know that ... read more

RELIGIOUS OR CHRISTIAN?
      There are few things quite so boring as being religious, but there is nothing quite so exciting as being a Christian! Most folks have never discovered the difference between the one and the other, so that there are those who sincerely try to live a lif ... read more

Saving Life of Christ
      . . . . "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." As the "good, acceptable, and perfect will of God" was implemented by the Son through dependence on the Father, so th ... read more

Stop Trying to Live the Christian Life by Your Own Strength
      For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. Col. 1:29 We come to Christ by faith. We believe that the finished work of Christ on the Cross was for us. Christs death saves us from the penalty of our sin, his b ... read more

The Christian Life Is Impossible
      Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Col. 2:6-7 A dear friend used to say, We all are the failures we were mea ... read more

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE: A SHEER IMPOSSIB ILITY!
      "It is not difficult for man to live the Christian life," somebody once said, it is a sheer impossibility!" A sheer impossibility, that is, without CHRIST but for all that He says, you have all that He is, and that is all that it takes! The Christi ... read more

THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS
      Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). Godliness is a mystery! Fail to grasp this fact and you will never understand the nature of godliness. God did not create you to have just an ape ... read more

The Normal Christian Life
      For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory (Col 1:27 NLT). The normal Christian life is a victorious, holy, faith ... read more

THE ORIGIN OF YOUR ACTIVITY
      It is not the nature of what you are doing that determines its spirituality, but the origin of what you are doing. Not its nature, but its origin! There was never a moment in the life of the Lord Jesus that was without divine significance, because ther ... read more

YOU MUST HAVE WHAT HE IS (LIFE) TO BE WHAT HE WAS (PERFECT)
      For godliness is not the consequence of your capacity to imitate God, but the consequence of His capacity to reproduce Himself in you; not self-righteousness, but Christ-righteousness; the righteousness which is by faith a faith which by renewed dependen ... read more

All sermons are offered freely and all contents of the site
where applicable is committed to the public domain for the
free spread of the gospel.