- Home
- Speakers
- Robert William Dale
- Salvation Is Closer
Robert William Dale
Robert William Dale (1829–1895) was a prominent English preacher and Congregationalist leader whose ministry profoundly influenced 19th-century Nonconformist Christianity, particularly in Birmingham. Born on December 1, 1829, in London to a Nonconformist family, Dale pursued theological education at Spring Hill College, Birmingham, and graduated with an M.A. from the University of London in 1853, excelling in philosophy with a gold medal. That year, he joined Carr’s Lane Chapel in Birmingham as co-pastor with John Angell James, becoming sole pastor in 1859 after James’s death, a role he held until his own passing. Known for his intellectual rigor and eloquent sermons—delivered from manuscripts due to his belief that extemporaneous preaching would exhaust him—Dale shaped Birmingham’s religious and civic life, earning honorary degrees like an LL.D. from Glasgow University (1883), though he eschewed the D.D. from Yale. Dale’s preaching career extended beyond the pulpit, as he championed social reform, education, and the “Civic Gospel,” advocating for municipal improvement alongside figures like Joseph Chamberlain. He served as Chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales in 1868 and President of the International Congregational Council in 1891, reflecting his broader ecclesiastical influence. A prolific writer, his works, such as The Atonement (1875), defended evangelical truths while engaging contemporary issues, and he played a key role in relocating Spring Hill College to Oxford as Mansfield College in 1886. Dale died on March 13, 1895, in Birmingham, leaving a legacy as a preacher of moral passion and theological depth, buried at Key Hill Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Dowling, whom he married in 1855, and their children, including Alfred William Winterslow Dale, a notable academic.
Download
Topic
Sermon Summary
Robert William Dale emphasizes the importance of awakening from spiritual slumber, reminding believers that our salvation is drawing closer as time progresses. Despite admiring the dedication and courage of early Christians, it is evident that many fell short of living a saintly life, just as many struggle with human weaknesses and sin today. The glory of God within the Church has always been marred by human imperfections, but the hope lies in the future when salvation will be fully realized.
Salvation Is Closer
"It is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Rom. 13:11). The golden age of the Church lies, not in the past, but in the future. We may be humiliated by the passionate devotion to Christ which glowed in the hearts of the apostles and of many of their immediate converts; we may wonder at the courage and fortitude which during the early Christian generations confronted fearlessly all that was mightiest and most venerable in the ancient civilisation, and endured imprisonment, torture, and death in the power of an exulting hope and a triumphant faith; but it is apparent, both from the apostolic epistles and from later Christian writings, that even in those heroic times there were vast numbers of Christian men and women who fell far short of the saintly life. The glory of God which dwells in the Church of every age was clouded then, as it is clouded now, by human infirmity and sin. Nor do we look back with regret upon the brief years during which our Lord Himself was visibly present in the world: it was expedient for us that He should go away. The great hour is yet to come: we move forwards to it day by day, year by year. 'Now is salvation nearer to us than when we first believed.'
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
Robert William Dale (1829–1895) was a prominent English preacher and Congregationalist leader whose ministry profoundly influenced 19th-century Nonconformist Christianity, particularly in Birmingham. Born on December 1, 1829, in London to a Nonconformist family, Dale pursued theological education at Spring Hill College, Birmingham, and graduated with an M.A. from the University of London in 1853, excelling in philosophy with a gold medal. That year, he joined Carr’s Lane Chapel in Birmingham as co-pastor with John Angell James, becoming sole pastor in 1859 after James’s death, a role he held until his own passing. Known for his intellectual rigor and eloquent sermons—delivered from manuscripts due to his belief that extemporaneous preaching would exhaust him—Dale shaped Birmingham’s religious and civic life, earning honorary degrees like an LL.D. from Glasgow University (1883), though he eschewed the D.D. from Yale. Dale’s preaching career extended beyond the pulpit, as he championed social reform, education, and the “Civic Gospel,” advocating for municipal improvement alongside figures like Joseph Chamberlain. He served as Chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales in 1868 and President of the International Congregational Council in 1891, reflecting his broader ecclesiastical influence. A prolific writer, his works, such as The Atonement (1875), defended evangelical truths while engaging contemporary issues, and he played a key role in relocating Spring Hill College to Oxford as Mansfield College in 1886. Dale died on March 13, 1895, in Birmingham, leaving a legacy as a preacher of moral passion and theological depth, buried at Key Hill Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Dowling, whom he married in 1855, and their children, including Alfred William Winterslow Dale, a notable academic.