Reprinting by permission from the magazine of the Soverign Grace Advent Testimony – ‘Watching & Waiting’ (October – December, 2026)
David Baron was taken to be with Christ on 28th October, 1926, so that this month is the centenary of his home-call. He was a man who was mighty in the Scriptures, and the Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony has continually recommended his writings throughout its 108 years. We wish that in these days, more Christians would study his works as we know they would greatly profit from doing so.
In its early days, the SGAT was always pleased to have David Baron speak at its meetings and in this issue of Watching and Waiting, there is a summary of a sermon that he preached shortly before his passing into glory. The message was preached at a three day conference at Highgate Road Chapel, London and others taking part at that conference included William Baker, Thomas Houghton, George T Hunt, S Hutchinson, John Hunt Lynn, James Stephens, and William Wileman; so there was plenty of good and faithful preaching.
David Baron was born in Russia/Poland in 1855, and he lived to be 71. His was a life spent for Christ and Israel. His writings were Scriptural and helpful and although some of his books may now be out of print, second-hand copies are frequently available and are worth obtaining.
Dr A T Pierson wrote of him in 1891, ‘He is well named David, for he is a true prince of the Davidic house,’ referring, of course, to his spiritual understanding of the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. His name, David, meaning ‘the Beloved,’ was appropriate too, seeing that he was loved by numerous believers, both Jewish and Gentile, in England, America, on the Continent and in the Colonies, wherever he or his books travelled.
As a Jewish lad be spent his early days in Suvalki in Russian Poland. His upbringing and training were under strict Rabbinical influence. The youngest of seven children, at four years of age, he went to the Jewish School (Cheder), and could, in six months, read Hebrew well. This meant that when reading the Old Testament, he would use the Hebrew Text rather than the English translation.
He had, in his early life, many trials and some of these are recorded in the book, ‘David Baron and the Hebrew Christian Testimony to Israel.’ Mr Baron’s personal spiritual experiences have been told in his own words in the booklet, ‘Led of God from Darkness into Light.’
Following his conversion, he, like the apostle Paul, had a great concern for his fellow kinsmen and a strong desire to preach the Gospel to the Jewish people. So, in 1893 he, with Mr C A Schonberger, under God, commenced the Mission known as ‘The Hebrew Christian Testimony to Israel.’ As director in this work, he edited their quarterly magazine entitled, ‘The Scattered Nation’ but sadly, it is now extremely difficult to obtain volumes of the bound copies. The Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony is thankful that it possesses a set of these volumes as we do not know of any other person or movement that is thus blessed.
He had familiarised himself with every aspect of the Jewish question, and with the opposing arguments of Jews and Modernists to Evangelical Truth. He was well read in the works of most Hebrew scholars of Evangelical belief; but His power as a Bible scholar and expositor lay in his intimate knowledge of Hebrew, from which he translated direct for himself, and not least, in his unwavering loyalty to the Bible, as being indeed the very Word of God in all its books, and every word and turn of a phrase.
He found a life-long friend in Pastor James Stephens (who conducted the memorial service for him), and their hearts were knit in loving fellowship in the Truth, and scriptural principles of its testimony, in doctrine, in prophecy, and in practice. Pastor F H White and Dr C Y Biss (who baptised him) were numbered among his dearest friends; and perhaps no one better than he understood the heart and mind of that great teacher in Israel, Dr Adolph Saphir, whose lectures on ‘Christ and Israel’ he collected and edited. Like each of these, he held in high esteem the scriptural writings of Mr B W Newton and Dr S P Tregelles.
The funeral was held at Norwood on 2nd November and the service was conducted by Pastor James Stephens. Mr Stephens said:
‘We turn to the Book which alone can tell us with certainty what lies beyond this present scene, which alone can tell us with certainty of that which is future. I will read from Holy Scripture a passage in 1 Peter, an Epistle written to the Christian Jews of the Dispersion. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 1:3-7).
‘I will read further a passage in the Epistle of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace’ (Ephesians 1:3-7).
‘This apostle Paul, when he was himself facing the possible speedy ending of his life, said that he was ‘in a strait betwixt two’ – in a strait as to choosing betwixt two great blessings; whether to continue in this world in the service of Christ and of His people, or to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better (Philippians 1:23). This same apostle Paul had been a strict Jew, till the Lord Jesus was revealed to him; and looking back from the time of his walking in union with Christ, spoke of himself as having been blameless, touching the righteousness which is in the law; but, he went on to say, ‘what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.’ All his attainment in what he called the Jews’ religion that at the time seemed gain to him had come to be esteemed loss in view of his having Christ. ‘Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith’ (Philippians 3:8-9).
‘While his great hope, his desire, was simply to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, yet, when his death was quite imminent, and he could say, ‘I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith,’ he could go on to say, ‘Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing’ (2 Timothy 4:6-8). In the day of manifestation of servantship to Christ he shall be crowned.
‘We who are gathered here today think similarly of the dear and honoured friend who has been taken from us. We think of him as one who counted all things but loss that he might win Christ and be found in Him, having the righteousness that is by faith. At the same time, he was one of those faithful servants who so served and loved the Lord Who saved him, that we cannot but think of him in these very terms as one for whom there is laid up a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, righteous even in bestowing the rewards of Grace, will give to him, as to a wise and faithful servant.
‘We are deeply affected by the departure of our beloved friend. We think of him as one of the truest and noblest of witnesses to the Lord Jesus Christ among the people of Israel. We look back on his long career as a missionary, and call to mind how he testified with a most remarkable devotion. He loved the members of his race, and he loved the Lord Jesus Christ with a deep and reverential love. He testified as one who had been raised up of God for such work, and gifted and equipped and anointed of God for it. And he was full of holy zeal. Before his health became so very frail, he abounded in direct missionary labours, and in journeyings. He was marked wherever he went by clear, full, convincing testimony concerning Christ, rousing people to give consideration to Jesus as the true Messiah. He was marked by a striking lowliness of mind, and at the same time by a fervency of courage. He was bold in the Lord Jesus to speak concerning Him under all circumstances; and, with zeal and devotedness, combined wisdom in the work.
‘His departure means a great loss in the area of mission work on behalf of Israel. We know of no one who surpasses him. He had great gifts; and great grace was upon him, and holiness and reverence found expression in him; and blessing rested on his labours. When on missionary journeys, Jews crowded to him on occasion, when to others they would not come. His testimony was more than merely oral. He testified mightily to the Jews with his pen. The literature produced by him was esteemed by fellow-missionaries in other Missions as of special value for work among Jews.
‘His departure means great loss as respects of work on behalf of the Church of Christ in general. His writings, expository of the Scriptures, particularly of the Old Testament, are a precious heritage. As volume after volume appeared there was a glad recognition of the powerful ministry he exercised by his pen. With what scholarship, with what penetration, with what spiritual perception, with what true sympathy with such as were like himself believers in the Lord Jesus, he wrote. As by his lips he fed many, so by his pen many were blessed.
‘As the Director of Mission work, he manifested great consideration for his colleagues and fellow-workers. Sometimes, in the past, we can remember how he exercised wonderful forbearance, even when this one or that one might be at fault, so that if there was any good in such an one towards Israel he might not quench it. He was, at the same time, wise and gracious as well as in earnest, that all those who were associated with him should proceed on those spiritual lines along which he himself had been led. He sought to glorify God and His Word in all the methods which he followed in carrying out his Mission service.
‘Then there was in him an engaging personality. Some of us who have known him for long (I should think it is forty-five years since I found my heart knit to him in a true regard and love), cannot but retain a lasting impression of the wonderful modesty that, with all his capabilities, marked him; of the kindly winsomeness, of the affectionateness that attracted people to him, and held them and bound them to him in friendliness. How unfailingly he drew many of God’s dear saints into fellowship with him. I am sure it was because of what he was in himself as such a man of God, and such a servant of God, and such a good soldier of Jesus Christ, that year after year there were drawn to him saintly people belonging to different denominations. There was a fulness of esteem for him, a fulness of regard as for one who loved his Lord with a genuine, devoted, reverential love.
‘So we think of our loss, and feel our loss. We feel also, deeply feel, the great loss the Mission has sustained. Our comfort is this, that ‘known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.’ As we cannot doubt that God raised up this dear servant of His, and sustained him, and kept him faithful to the end, so we humbly believe that God will go on to make provision for that which lies ahead as respects the Hebrew Christian Testimony to Israel.
‘We meet in a certain sense as mourners; and yet, as our Scripture reading suggests, it is not merely as mourners. For we rejoice. We rejoice in what the Lord makes sure for those who are His faithful people. We rejoice that today our friend is with Christ, and has already entered upon that which is the ‘far better.’ We rejoice that he has been indeed delivered from all the troubles, weakness and pain that especially in these later days, affected him, and that he is as now in the sunshine of the Lord’s own Presence. We praise the Saviour Who brought him to Himself, that Saviour Who made him what he was, that Saviour Who, having redeemed him, sealed him as His Own, and maintained him in his blessed witness for Christ. Glory be to that Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in Whom is all the hope and confidence of as many of us here as are of the family of God.’