Page 50 - Heros of the Faith - Textbook w videos short

Burmese. His biographers believe that his translation was "undoubtedly his greatest contribution to the people
among whom he chose...to spend and be spent for Christ's sake."

Spiritually — he was superlative. Despite the fact his father was a Congregational preacher, and in spite of his
mother's "tears and pleadings," Judson was not saved until he was 20 years of age. He had become a confirmed
deist — due largely to the influence of a brilliant unbeliever in college who set out to win Judson to his deistic
faith, and succeeded.

But, incredibly, Judson's conversion to Christ was due in large measure to that same deist. After graduation
Judson left home to become a wanderlust. One night in a country inn his room was adjacent to the room of a
dying man. The moaning and groaning of that man through the long night permitted Judson no sleep. His
thoughts troubled him. All night questions assailed his soul: "Was the dying man prepared to die?" "Where
would he spend eternity?" "Was he a Christian, calm and strong in the hope of life in Heaven?" "Or, was he a
sinner shuddering in the dark brink of the lower region?" Judson constantly chided himself for even entertaining
such thoughts contrary to his philosophy of life beyond the grave, and thought how his brilliant college friend
would rebuke him if he learned of these childish worries.

But the next morning, when Judson inquired of the proprietor as to the identity of the dead man, he was
shocked by the most staggering statement he had ever heard: "He was a brilliant young person from Providence
College. E______ was his name."

E______ was the unbeliever who had destroyed Judson's faith. "Now he was dead -- and was lost! Was lost! Was
lost! Lost! Lost!" Those words raced through his brain, rang in his ears, roared in his soul — "Was lost! Lost! Lost!
There and then Judson realized he was lost, too! He ended his traveling, returned home, entered Andover
Theological Seminary and soon "sought God for the pardon of his soul," was saved and dedicated his life to the
Master's service!

His conversion not only saved his soul, it smashed his dreams of fame and honor for himself. His one pressing
purpose became to "plan his life to please his Lord." In 1809, the same year he joined the Congregational
church, he became burdened to become a missionary. He found some friends from Williams College with the
same burden and often met with them at a haystack on the college grounds to earnestly pray for the salvation
of the heathen and petition God to open doors of ministry as missionaries to them. That spot has been marked
as the birthplace of missions in America.

Three years later, February 19, 1812, young Adoniram Judson, and his bride of seven days, Ann Haseltine
Judson, set sail for India, supported by the first American Board for Foreign Missions. But on that voyage,
Judson, while doing translation work, saw the teaching of immersion as the mode of baptism in the Bible.
Conscientiously and courageously, he cut off his support under the Congregational board until a Baptist board
could be founded to support him!

The Judsons were rejected entrance into India to preach the Gospel to the Hindus by the East India Company
and after many trying times, frustrations, fears, and failures, they finally found an open door in Rangoon, Burma.

There was not one known Christian in that land of millions. And there were no friends in that robber-infested,
idolatry-infected, iniquity-filled land. A baby was born to alleviate the loneliness of the young couple, but it was
to be only for a temporary time. Eight months later, Roger William Judson was buried under a great mango tree.
The melancholy "tum-tum" of the death drum for the thousands claimed by cholera, and the firing cannons and

49