- Home
- Speakers
- Robert Haldane
- The Measure Of Faith
Robert Haldane
Robert Haldane (1764–1842) was a Scottish preacher, theologian, and philanthropist whose ministry significantly shaped evangelical Christianity in Scotland and beyond during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born on February 28, 1764, in London, England, he was the eldest son of James Haldane of Airthrey and Katherine Duncan, part of a prominent Scottish family. Orphaned by age ten, he was raised by his grandmother, Lady Lundie, and uncles, attending Dundee Grammar School, the Royal High School in Edinburgh, and briefly the University of Edinburgh. At 16, he joined the Royal Navy, serving under his uncle Adam Duncan on HMS Monarch and later HMS Foudroyant during the American Revolutionary War, distinguishing himself in combat before retiring in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris. Converted in 1795 amid the French Revolution’s tumult, influenced by David Bogue of Gosport, Haldane dedicated his life and fortune to spreading the gospel. In 1785, he married Katherine Cochrane Oswald, with whom he had one daughter, Margaret. Haldane’s preaching career emerged from his wealth and evangelical zeal, though he was never formally ordained. After selling his Airthrey estate in 1798, he funded the construction of preaching tabernacles, like the Circus Church in Edinburgh, and established seminaries to train itinerant preachers, countering the Moderate dominance in the Church of Scotland. With his brother James, he planted 85 independent churches across Scotland and Ireland, practicing baptism by immersion and congregational governance, influenced by thinkers like John Glas and Robert Sandeman. His most impactful ministry came in 1816–1819, when he traveled to Geneva and Montauban, sparking a revival among theological students—including César Malan and Frédéric Monod—through his expositions of Romans, later published as Commentaire sur l'Épître aux Romains (1819). A prolific writer, his works like The Evidence and Authority of Divine Revelation (1816) and Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans bolstered evangelical theology. Haldane died on December 12, 1842, in Edinburgh, buried in Glasgow Cathedral’s Oswald family plot, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose resources and conviction fueled a widespread gospel movement, despite resistance from established churches.
Download
Topic
Sermon Summary
Robert Haldane preaches on the importance of humility and self-awareness, as outlined in Romans 12:3, emphasizing the need for believers to accurately assess themselves based on the measure of faith given to them by God. He explains that faith is the key to our relationship with Christ and the reception of God's blessings, highlighting that the level of faith each believer possesses reflects their standing before God and among fellow believers. Haldane stresses that faith, in all its degrees, is a gift from God, and believers should not boast in themselves but recognize that their faith is a divine endowment.
The Measure of Faith
"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3). God hath given us here, by the Apostle, a standard by which we may measure ourselves. Of the term 'faith' in this place, various explanations are given; but that it simply means faith in its usual acceptation throughout the Scriptures, as this is the most obvious, so it appears to be its true import. By faith we are united to the Saviour, and by faith is received out of His fulness all that is imparted to us by God. The measure, then, of faith, with which each believer is blessed, whether strong faith or weak, great faith or little, indicates with certainty both his real character before God, and his relative standing among other believers. According, therefore, to his faith, as evidenced by his works, every Christian ought to estimate himself. The man who has the greatest faith is the highest in the school of Christ. We here also learn that not only faith, but every degree of it, is the gift of God; for men believe according as God hath dealt to each of them the measure of faith; and 'unto every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ.' By the consideration of the manner in which the Apostle thus enforces his admonition, the believer will both be moderated in his own esteem, and also in his desire for the esteem of others. He will consequently be much less exposed to encounter what may inflame his pride, or tend to his discouragement.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
Robert Haldane (1764–1842) was a Scottish preacher, theologian, and philanthropist whose ministry significantly shaped evangelical Christianity in Scotland and beyond during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born on February 28, 1764, in London, England, he was the eldest son of James Haldane of Airthrey and Katherine Duncan, part of a prominent Scottish family. Orphaned by age ten, he was raised by his grandmother, Lady Lundie, and uncles, attending Dundee Grammar School, the Royal High School in Edinburgh, and briefly the University of Edinburgh. At 16, he joined the Royal Navy, serving under his uncle Adam Duncan on HMS Monarch and later HMS Foudroyant during the American Revolutionary War, distinguishing himself in combat before retiring in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris. Converted in 1795 amid the French Revolution’s tumult, influenced by David Bogue of Gosport, Haldane dedicated his life and fortune to spreading the gospel. In 1785, he married Katherine Cochrane Oswald, with whom he had one daughter, Margaret. Haldane’s preaching career emerged from his wealth and evangelical zeal, though he was never formally ordained. After selling his Airthrey estate in 1798, he funded the construction of preaching tabernacles, like the Circus Church in Edinburgh, and established seminaries to train itinerant preachers, countering the Moderate dominance in the Church of Scotland. With his brother James, he planted 85 independent churches across Scotland and Ireland, practicing baptism by immersion and congregational governance, influenced by thinkers like John Glas and Robert Sandeman. His most impactful ministry came in 1816–1819, when he traveled to Geneva and Montauban, sparking a revival among theological students—including César Malan and Frédéric Monod—through his expositions of Romans, later published as Commentaire sur l'Épître aux Romains (1819). A prolific writer, his works like The Evidence and Authority of Divine Revelation (1816) and Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans bolstered evangelical theology. Haldane died on December 12, 1842, in Edinburgh, buried in Glasgow Cathedral’s Oswald family plot, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose resources and conviction fueled a widespread gospel movement, despite resistance from established churches.