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A.T. Robertson
Archibald Thomas Robertson (November 6, 1863 – September 24, 1934) was an American preacher, scholar, and New Testament specialist whose ministry blended rigorous biblical exposition with a profound influence on Southern Baptist theology in the early 20th century. Born near Chatham, Virginia, to Dr. John and Ella Robertson, he moved with his family to Statesville, North Carolina, in 1876 after financial ruin from the Civil War. Converted at 13 under his mother’s guidance and baptized by Rev. J.B. Boone, he graduated from Wake Forest College in 1885 with an M.A., then studied at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, earning a Th.D. in 1888. Ordained in 1888, he briefly preached in rural churches before joining the seminary faculty. Robertson’s preaching career centered on his 46-year tenure (1888–1934) as Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Southern Seminary, where his lectures doubled as sermons, training thousands of ministers. Known as “the prince of Greek scholars,” he authored 45 books, including the monumental A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (1914), still a standard reference. His expository preaching, often at Walnut Street Baptist Church where he taught Sunday school, emphasized Christ’s deity and scripture’s authority, notably in works like Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–1933). Married to Ella Broadus in 1894, daughter of seminary founder John Broadus, with whom he had five children (two died young), he collapsed mid-lecture and died in 1934, buried in Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery.
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A.T. Robertson preaches on the misconceptions of Christian Perfectionism, emphasizing the importance of understanding the enormity of God's holiness as the foundation for belief in any form of perfectionism. He highlights the necessity of being filled with the Holy Spirit to walk in victory over sin, acknowledging the continuous battle against the flesh and the need to resist sin. Robertson challenges the idea of absolute perfection, pointing out the flawed nature of humanity and the ongoing need for repentance and submission to God's standards. He stresses the importance of self-examination and humility, cautioning against claiming entire sanctification without genuine transformation and surrender to God's will.
Immaculate Christians? Some Practical Notes
Knowing the enormity of the requirements of God's holiness should be the starting point for believing in any type of Christian Perfectionism. Like a wrongly placed survey marker, wrong concepts of God's perfection and holiness cause error to beget error. Holiness is an attribute of God's deity- it is something we can never be apart from Him. This is the purpose of the Holy Spirit. If we are FULL of the Holy Spirit then we can walk in victory over sin and feel a sense of liberty from it-- at least until we are exposed to it and then must bu the power of the Holy spirit- resist it. FLEE fornication, as Paul told Timothy is a nonsensical statement if Christian Perfectionism is as was preached by the Entire Sanctification movement (especially Adam Clark). To say that a man could be so wholely sanctified as to not need to "flee" certain sins is to discount the very warnings of scripture. In 1800 the scenerio was much different than today. Sin is on every hand and the flesh is being sown to INVOLUNTARILY in many cases. Who could claim such perfection in this day and age? If it worked then it MUST work now to be consistent; just as a prosperity message must be good in Africa if it is good in America. These men would find that they DO have a sin nature (NIV flesh KLV) that MUST NOT be sown to if they were to have victory over sin. If the second blessing were such a blessing as they state; we could well live sinless in Sodom and Gomorrah with no need to flee or resist. This is nonsense, both practically and biblically. Would it be biblical to preach something that you- yourself never could testify to have received? Could I preach Pentecostalism and not have been filled with the Holy Spirit? What about the thoughts and the intents of the heart? Are the intentions perfect? The Pharisees had a sort of perfectionism also; but the Lord could readily point out their sin. Paul gloried in his infirmities and not his perfection. Had he attained or apprehended-- nay-- he pressed toward the mark. Did he need to bring his body into subjection? Why? Because it was free from sin? No, because he knew he was wretched and could fall to become Adokimos. "Go sell what you have and give it all to the poor"-- then the rich young man realized rebellion was present- though he was blameless in other areas. Sin is not relative. God does not change. We do not make up a few rules keep them and then call it ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION. That is upserd. God is searching the hearts and looking to see if all manor of His requirements and motives fit the test. How could a person judge themself free from sin and entirely sanctified when Paul himself said to judge nothing before the time; becuse he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness. What matters is if we THINK we are sinning or act with intent to sin. To us that is sin- though it may not have been biblically. a conscience can also be seared as to leave a person who is hardened in an area thinking they are sanctified. Write down all your sins that you can as Finney asks in Lecture III of his revival series and then ask if you are Entirely Sanctified? We need revival church!
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Archibald Thomas Robertson (November 6, 1863 – September 24, 1934) was an American preacher, scholar, and New Testament specialist whose ministry blended rigorous biblical exposition with a profound influence on Southern Baptist theology in the early 20th century. Born near Chatham, Virginia, to Dr. John and Ella Robertson, he moved with his family to Statesville, North Carolina, in 1876 after financial ruin from the Civil War. Converted at 13 under his mother’s guidance and baptized by Rev. J.B. Boone, he graduated from Wake Forest College in 1885 with an M.A., then studied at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, earning a Th.D. in 1888. Ordained in 1888, he briefly preached in rural churches before joining the seminary faculty. Robertson’s preaching career centered on his 46-year tenure (1888–1934) as Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Southern Seminary, where his lectures doubled as sermons, training thousands of ministers. Known as “the prince of Greek scholars,” he authored 45 books, including the monumental A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (1914), still a standard reference. His expository preaching, often at Walnut Street Baptist Church where he taught Sunday school, emphasized Christ’s deity and scripture’s authority, notably in works like Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–1933). Married to Ella Broadus in 1894, daughter of seminary founder John Broadus, with whom he had five children (two died young), he collapsed mid-lecture and died in 1934, buried in Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery.