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Rolfe Barnard
Rolfe P. Barnard (1904 - 1969). American Southern Baptist evangelist and Calvinist preacher born in Guntersville, Alabama. Raised in a Christian home, he rebelled, embracing atheism at 15 while at the University of Texas, leading an atheists’ club mocking the Bible. Converted in 1928 after teaching in Borger, Texas, where a church pressured him to preach, he surrendered to ministry. From the 1930s to 1960s, he traveled across the U.S. and Canada, preaching sovereign grace and repentance, often sparking revivals or controversy. Barnard delivered thousands of sermons, many at Thirteenth Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky, emphasizing God’s holiness and human depravity. He authored no major books but recorded hundreds of messages, preserved by Chapel Library. Married with at least one daughter, he lived modestly, focusing on itinerant evangelism. His bold style, rejecting “easy-believism,” influenced figures like Bruce Gerencser and shaped 20th-century Reformed Baptist thought.
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Rolfe Barnard emphasizes the divine authority and power given to Jesus by God, highlighting the ultimate responsibility Jesus has in saving or condemning individuals. He stresses the importance of not altering or adding to the message of salvation through Christ. Barnard warns against rebellion and urges listeners to walk in the light and truth provided by God, as their response to God's truth will determine the path ahead.
Unbelief Not Ignorance!
The religious folks of that day got permission from the Roman government to hang Jesus Christ on a tree; and God raised Him and put Him on a throne. God turned you over to Him (John 17:2 God gave Him power over all flesh...) , and He’s got you on His hands, and He’s got to save you, or He’s got to damn you. He’s got to deal with you. (No "slipping through the cracks" here.) We are never to change that message, and we are never to try to improve on it. We must never take anything from it. God isn’t filling hell with innocent victims. Hell is being filled with rebels refusing to walk in the light they have and could have from Almighty God. We are to walk in the truth and the light God is pleased to give us. If a person walks in the light God gives him, I believe God will give him more light. If not the way before him will be more darkness and confusion. God has not brought light & truth into your life to argue about, split hairs about, get more intellectual information about, It has come to you to love and obey. Every time you are confronted with God’s truth you will make some kind of response. The path ahead will correspond to your response!
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Rolfe P. Barnard (1904 - 1969). American Southern Baptist evangelist and Calvinist preacher born in Guntersville, Alabama. Raised in a Christian home, he rebelled, embracing atheism at 15 while at the University of Texas, leading an atheists’ club mocking the Bible. Converted in 1928 after teaching in Borger, Texas, where a church pressured him to preach, he surrendered to ministry. From the 1930s to 1960s, he traveled across the U.S. and Canada, preaching sovereign grace and repentance, often sparking revivals or controversy. Barnard delivered thousands of sermons, many at Thirteenth Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky, emphasizing God’s holiness and human depravity. He authored no major books but recorded hundreds of messages, preserved by Chapel Library. Married with at least one daughter, he lived modestly, focusing on itinerant evangelism. His bold style, rejecting “easy-believism,” influenced figures like Bruce Gerencser and shaped 20th-century Reformed Baptist thought.