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J. Stuart Holden
John Stuart Holden (1874–1934) was an English preacher and Anglican minister whose vibrant sermons and leadership in evangelical circles made him a prominent figure in the early 20th century. Born in Liverpool, England, he was educated at Liverpool College and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, earning a BA in 1899 and an MA in 1902. Ordained in 1899 as curate of Walcot, he served as a mission preacher with the Parochial Missionary Society from 1901 to 1905 before becoming vicar of St. Paul’s, Portman Square, London, in 1905, a position he held for nearly 30 years until his death. Married to Georgina “Ina” Searle, Holden was a key figure at the Keswick Convention, chairing it from 1925 to 1929, and traveled to China in 1904 with the China Inland Mission, reflecting his missionary zeal. Holden’s preaching ministry was renowned for its imaginative power and spiritual depth, drawing comparisons to contemporaries like F.B. Meyer and G. Campbell Morgan, though he often surpassed them in popularity. His sermons, such as “But If Not…” preached in 1914 on Daniel 3:18, were prophetic and widely circulated, especially during World War I, and his creative sermon titles captivated North American audiences during frequent visits. Author of works like Redeeming Vision (1908) and The Preeminent Lord (1932), he narrowly escaped disaster when he and Ina canceled their booking on the Titanic’s 1912 maiden voyage due to her illness. Holden died on August 10, 1934, at Malvern, Worcestershire, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose Keswick-inspired messages and missionary advocacy inspired generations, commemorated by his surviving Titanic ticket, now a museum artifact.
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J. Stuart Holden emphasizes the profound claim that believers have the mind of Christ, highlighting how this is justified when one responds to Jesus Christ, unites with Him in faith, and is born again. Having the mind of Christ means accepting His standards of conduct as revealed in His word and Gospels, serving as a guide for one's actions and decisions. Additionally, believers receive the Spirit of Christ as an empowering force that enlightens, restrains, guides, and creates energy within them, leading to active participation in God's work. Yielding to Christ does not diminish one's personality but rather enhances it, enabling individuals to reach their full potential and contribute to God's glory in the world.
Accept the Mind of Christ
"But we have the mind of Christ" (2 Cor. 2:16). I do not know that the apostle ever makes a greater claim for himself and his fellow-believers than this. And yet how entirely justified it is. For when a man responds at first to the overtures of our Lord Jesus Christ, unites with Him by faith and appropriates His proffered pardon, cleansing and adjustment with God, when he is thus born again, this is his endowment. For "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ," the expression of Christ Himself dwelling within him, is, in fact, the authentic mark that the great transaction has been effected. A Christian is one who has the mind of Christ in a two fold fashion. He has accepted and enthroned the mind of Christ as the standard of conduct--the mind of Christ declared in His word and in His life as these are recorded in the Gospels. The mind of Christ is the straight-edge by which he tests the horizontal of his life and the plumb-line by which he judges its perpendicular. Then further, he has received the mind, that is, the Spirit of Christ, as an enlightening, restraining, constraining, rebuking, guiding, empowering, creating energy And the loyal application to life of the standard unfailingly assures the putting forth of the energy in life. This is not to proclaim any Gospel that leaves men and women mere passive automata. It is of the essence of the truth as it is in Christ that they are made intelligent and active co-workers with Him. Your personality will not be destroyed, nor even impaired, by your yielding to the control of Him Who holds its secret key. It will be developed to its maximum possibility, until your life in its every part makes its full contribution to God's glory in the world.
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John Stuart Holden (1874–1934) was an English preacher and Anglican minister whose vibrant sermons and leadership in evangelical circles made him a prominent figure in the early 20th century. Born in Liverpool, England, he was educated at Liverpool College and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, earning a BA in 1899 and an MA in 1902. Ordained in 1899 as curate of Walcot, he served as a mission preacher with the Parochial Missionary Society from 1901 to 1905 before becoming vicar of St. Paul’s, Portman Square, London, in 1905, a position he held for nearly 30 years until his death. Married to Georgina “Ina” Searle, Holden was a key figure at the Keswick Convention, chairing it from 1925 to 1929, and traveled to China in 1904 with the China Inland Mission, reflecting his missionary zeal. Holden’s preaching ministry was renowned for its imaginative power and spiritual depth, drawing comparisons to contemporaries like F.B. Meyer and G. Campbell Morgan, though he often surpassed them in popularity. His sermons, such as “But If Not…” preached in 1914 on Daniel 3:18, were prophetic and widely circulated, especially during World War I, and his creative sermon titles captivated North American audiences during frequent visits. Author of works like Redeeming Vision (1908) and The Preeminent Lord (1932), he narrowly escaped disaster when he and Ina canceled their booking on the Titanic’s 1912 maiden voyage due to her illness. Holden died on August 10, 1934, at Malvern, Worcestershire, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose Keswick-inspired messages and missionary advocacy inspired generations, commemorated by his surviving Titanic ticket, now a museum artifact.