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James Stalker
James Stalker (February 21, 1848 – February 5, 1927) was a Scottish preacher, scholar, and author whose calling from God within the United Free Church of Scotland ignited a passion for biblical exposition and evangelistic preaching across five decades. Born in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, to a joiner father and a mother whose details are unrecorded, he grew up in a modest Presbyterian family. Converted during the 1873 Moody and Sankey revival at age 25—an event that left an evangelical glow on his ministry—he excelled at the University of Edinburgh, winning prizes in every class, and studied divinity at New College, Edinburgh, later spending summers at Berlin and Halle under theologians like Tholuck and Dorner. Stalker’s calling from God was affirmed with his ordination in 1874, leading him to serve as minister of St. Brycedale Free Church in Kirkcaldy (1874–1887) and St. Matthew’s Free Church in Glasgow (1887–1902), where his sermons called vast audiences to faith with commanding eloquence and devotional depth. Appointed Professor of Church History at United Free Church College in Aberdeen (1902–1926), he preached to students and delivered the 1891 Yale Lectures on Preaching, published as The Preacher and His Models, emphasizing the preacher’s divine commission. Author of over 20 works, including The Life of Jesus Christ (1879) and The Life of St. Paul (1884), he became Scotland’s most renowned preacher in America. Never married, he passed away at age 78 in Aberdeen, Scotland.
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James Stalker preaches about the possibility of rising after falling into sin, emphasizing that through Christ, one can overcome besetting sins and be washed, justified, and sanctified by the Spirit of God. He encourages those who feel fallen to believe that they can rise, citing examples of individuals who were once deeply fallen but found redemption. Stalker acknowledges the doctrine's potential for abuse but stresses its relevance for those seeking deliverance, drawing inspiration from St. Augustine's concept of using past sins as stepping stones towards perfection. He highlights David's repentance in Psalm 51 as a model for turning transgressors back to God.
We Can Rise Again
"My sin is ever before me" (Ps. 51:3). But then, if we have fallen, our enemy plies us with the other argument: It is of no use to attempt to rise; you cannot overcome your besetting sin. But this is falser still. To those who feel themselves fallen I come, in Christ's name, to say, Yes, you may rise. If we could ascend to heaven today and scan the ranks of the blessed, should we not find multitudes among them who were once sunk low as man can fall? But they are washed, they are justified, they are sanctified, in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. And so may you be. It is, I know, a doctrine which may be abused; but I will not scruple to preach it to those who are fallen and sighing for deliverance. St. Augustine says that we may, out of our dead sins, make stepping stones to rise to the heights of perfection. What did he mean by that? He meant that the memory of our falls may breed in us such a humility, such a distrust of self, such a constant clinging to Christ as we could never have had without the experience of our own weakness. Does not the Scripture itself go even further? David fell deep as man can fall; but what does he say in that great fifty-first Psalm, in which he confesses his sin? Anticipating forgiveness, he sings, Then will I teach Thy ways unto Those that transgressors be, And those that sinners are shall then Be turned unto Thee.
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James Stalker (February 21, 1848 – February 5, 1927) was a Scottish preacher, scholar, and author whose calling from God within the United Free Church of Scotland ignited a passion for biblical exposition and evangelistic preaching across five decades. Born in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, to a joiner father and a mother whose details are unrecorded, he grew up in a modest Presbyterian family. Converted during the 1873 Moody and Sankey revival at age 25—an event that left an evangelical glow on his ministry—he excelled at the University of Edinburgh, winning prizes in every class, and studied divinity at New College, Edinburgh, later spending summers at Berlin and Halle under theologians like Tholuck and Dorner. Stalker’s calling from God was affirmed with his ordination in 1874, leading him to serve as minister of St. Brycedale Free Church in Kirkcaldy (1874–1887) and St. Matthew’s Free Church in Glasgow (1887–1902), where his sermons called vast audiences to faith with commanding eloquence and devotional depth. Appointed Professor of Church History at United Free Church College in Aberdeen (1902–1926), he preached to students and delivered the 1891 Yale Lectures on Preaching, published as The Preacher and His Models, emphasizing the preacher’s divine commission. Author of over 20 works, including The Life of Jesus Christ (1879) and The Life of St. Paul (1884), he became Scotland’s most renowned preacher in America. Never married, he passed away at age 78 in Aberdeen, Scotland.