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Theodore Epp
Theodore H. Epp (January 27, 1907–October 13, 1985) was an American Christian preacher, radio evangelist, and author, best known as the founding director of Back to the Bible, a globally influential radio ministry. Born in Oraibi, Arizona, to Russian Mennonite immigrant missionaries working with the Hopi Indians, Epp grew up in a faith-filled environment. Converted at age 20 in 1927 under Norman B. Harrison’s teaching in Flagstaff, Arizona, he pursued theological education at Oklahoma Bible Academy, Hesston College in Kansas, and the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University), earning a Th.M. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1932. Epp’s preaching career began as a pastor in Goltry, Oklahoma, at Zoar Mennonite Church (1932–1936), where he married Matilda Schmidt in 1930, raising six children—Gerald (who died young), Eleanor, Herbert, Bernice, Marilyn, and Virginia. In 1936, he joined T. Myron Webb’s radio ministry, and on May 1, 1939, launched Back to the Bible in Lincoln, Nebraska, with just $65, trusting God for provision. The program grew from a 15-minute local broadcast to a daily 30-minute show on over 800 stations worldwide in eight languages by his 1985 retirement, featuring his expository preaching and music from the Back to the Bible choir and quartet. He authored nearly 70 books, including David: A Man After the Heart of God and Practical Studies in Revelation, emphasizing practical faith and biblical literacy.
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Sermon Summary
Theodore Epp emphasizes that Christ desires to live His life through us, urging believers to allow Him to use every part of their being—eyes, ears, lips, heart, mind, hands, and feet—to fulfill His mission in the world. He highlights the importance of surrendering not just our physical bodies but also our intellect, emotions, and will to Christ, enabling Him to express compassion and love through us. Epp encourages believers to bring their thoughts under Christ's control and to make decisions that honor Him, reflecting the transformative power of being baptized into Christ.
Scriptures
Not Imitation but Incarnation
Romans 12:1-5 Christ wants to live His life through us. He wants to use our eyes to behold the world situation as it is today. He wants to use our ears to hear the cry of the unsaved and the cry of those who are in need. He wants to use our lips to tell others the Gospel. He wants to use our hearts to express compassion and love to everyone. He wants to use our minds to think through situations and to have something to say to the people involved. He wants to use our hands to do His work and our feet to get to the places He wants to go to help others through us. The body also includes the soul, which is the seat of the intellect, the emotions and the will. God not only wants the physical aspect of our bodies, but He also wants our intellect, emotions and will. Christ wants to think His thoughts through us, and He wants to bring our minds under His control. Second Corinthians 10:4,5 says, "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Jesus Christ also wants our emotions so He might express Himself through us to a lost and dying world. The Lord Jesus Christ also wants our wills through which to make decisions that will honor Him. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27).
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Theodore H. Epp (January 27, 1907–October 13, 1985) was an American Christian preacher, radio evangelist, and author, best known as the founding director of Back to the Bible, a globally influential radio ministry. Born in Oraibi, Arizona, to Russian Mennonite immigrant missionaries working with the Hopi Indians, Epp grew up in a faith-filled environment. Converted at age 20 in 1927 under Norman B. Harrison’s teaching in Flagstaff, Arizona, he pursued theological education at Oklahoma Bible Academy, Hesston College in Kansas, and the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University), earning a Th.M. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1932. Epp’s preaching career began as a pastor in Goltry, Oklahoma, at Zoar Mennonite Church (1932–1936), where he married Matilda Schmidt in 1930, raising six children—Gerald (who died young), Eleanor, Herbert, Bernice, Marilyn, and Virginia. In 1936, he joined T. Myron Webb’s radio ministry, and on May 1, 1939, launched Back to the Bible in Lincoln, Nebraska, with just $65, trusting God for provision. The program grew from a 15-minute local broadcast to a daily 30-minute show on over 800 stations worldwide in eight languages by his 1985 retirement, featuring his expository preaching and music from the Back to the Bible choir and quartet. He authored nearly 70 books, including David: A Man After the Heart of God and Practical Studies in Revelation, emphasizing practical faith and biblical literacy.