Journal: Journal of the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies
Volume: JIRBS 08:1 (NA 2023)
Article: Robert Haldane’s Life, Influence, And Contribution To The Issue Of The Sabbath
Author: Jon English Lee

JIRBS 8 (2023) p. 97

Robert Haldane’s Life, Influence, And Contribution To The Issue Of The Sabbath

Jon English Lee*

*Jon English Lee, Ph.D., Systematic Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Pastor of Discipleship, Morningview Baptist Church, Montgomery, AL.

By the lord’s kindness, 2022 saw an updated reprint of Robert Haldane’s The Sanctification of the Sabbath. I was blessed to edit and introduce this new volume, which Reformation Heritage Books published, and I commend it to you as a wonderful example of a faithful Baptist theologian’s attempt to defend the doctrine of the Sabbath. This current article is an expansion of the brief biographical introduction that I wrote for that volume.

Haldane’s Life And Influence

One biographer wrote astutely of Robert Haldane that he “was what the years had made him; the years, his heritage, and the grace of God.”1 Robert Haldane was born in Scotland in 1764 to James and Katherine.2 James, a naval captain of noble birth,

JIRBS 8 (2023) p. 98

was a God-fearing man; but he would not live long enough to see God’s mighty work done through his son’s ministry. James died before Robert’s sixth birthday, and Katherine would be gone before his tenth. Thankfully, Robert was also blessed to have a brother that survived the dangerous childhood years; he was named James after his father.3

Robert was educated under the supervision of relatives in Scotland, until 1779 when he joined the Royal Navy and sailed aboard the “Monarch.” He lived an exciting life of service until, soon after attaining his majority, he married eighteen-year-old Katherine Cochrane Oswald. His life would soon settle down, he presumed, as he stepped into the role of elder son and heir to his father’s noble lineage (and wealth).

God, however, had other plans. It was during this time that the French Revolution was in motion, and Haldane was intrigued.4 Most noble landowners were frightened at the prospect of a similar revolution taking place in their land. But Robert was excited at the possibility of a new system, a new philosophy, that would provide equality for men. It was also during this time that Robert’s brother, James, experienced a powerful conversion; a conversion that would prove deeply impactful upon his elder brother. In fact, it was the combination of James’ conversion and the influence of David Bogue, a pastor in Gosport, that resulted

JIRBS 8 (2023) p. 99

You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
Click here to subscribe