Dr. Robert Sumner passed away in December 2016. The Biblical Evangelist newspaper is no longer being published and the ministry of Biblical Evangelism has ceased operation.

The remaining inventory of his books and gospel tracts was transferred to The Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles and may be ordered here.

Letters We Love
Dr. Robert L. Sumner

Long time friends in Illinois wrote: “Thank you for The Biblical Evangelist. I love that paper because there are not but a very few that stand up for what the Bible says these days. You stand in the gap day by day and God is blessing you for it.

“We have a pastor now and he is so much like you on standing for what is right and wrong and stands firm on what is sin.”

They asked that he be added to our subscription list and sent a gift to help with it. And they closed by saying, “I received your paper yesterday and there on the front was ‘Can Others See Jesus in You?’ I have this little poem that came in my hometown newspaper and it goes along with your sermon.”

From a West Virginia pastor came a nice e-mail: “I enjoyed ‘Off the Cuff’ more than normal. Thank you for the wonderful tribute to Miss Viola, Lee Roberson, and Dr. Jerry Falwell. The only one I ever heard preach in services was Dr. Roberson. I have always loved Miss Viola Walden's columns. Dr. Falwell, I loved as my roots as a conservative voter were made by Dr. Falwell and my pastor.

“I so appreciated your Off the Cuff tribute to Dr. Falwell. I enjoyed your good spirit and how you did back hand him. I hope to get the DVD as I watched part of it. Thank you for the other tributes to Miss Viola and Dr. Roberson. I always like Off the Cuff and book reviews better than the sermons. Thank you; and while I am thanking you, I always enjoy Mrs. Sumner’s column. God bless you both.”

A brother in Indiana, responding to our renewal letter, wrote:

“I look forward to receiving it and really enjoy the messages that come from God’s people. Although, I can’t support you financially, I would like to see if there were some other way that I can help you with this important document. I can type somewhat and would be willing to help that way, if needed. I am not sure exactly what all is involved in creating The Biblical Evangelist and keeping it going.

“I would like to see all the publishing placed on a CD or DVD as through the years our papers fade or get torn or destroyed one way or another. Would it be possible to send to your readers an electronic version of The Biblical Evangelist that would eliminate postage and printing costs?

“So, please continue to send The Biblical Evangelist to my wife and I.”

Several folks over the years have made similar suggestions about the paper. In response, realize that doing so would prevent many of our best subscribers – who are not computer savvy – from receiving the paper. As it is, anyone can go to our web and read it.

Many readers will remember past words in this column from a prisoner in Mexico. He has been released and wrote again recently:

“Thank you for the opportunity to renew my subscription to the one publication besides the Bible that satisfied my requirement of the statement that man shall not live by bread alone. Prayers from friends and family, plus this publication and my faith in Jesus’ words sustained me through  5 years and 2 weeks of imprisonment in Mexico where I was sent by the local sheriff to be killed after his godson failed in an armed murder attempt of myself and 16-year adopted son. God, however, had a different plan …

“I am the same one who sent you two 500 peso bills, an equivalent of 100 U.S. dollars. Those bills were my sum total of one year’s worth of saved income as a prisoner.

He went on to tell how the “hired assassin” turned states’ evidence against the one who kidnapped his wife and 11-year-old daughter in 2000. And he closed, “God bless you for doing your part, so others like myself can do ours.”

We thought you would appreciate that good word.

From southern Virginia a pastor sent a kind and a note: “Just want to let you know I thoroughly enjoy The Biblical Evangelist. May the Lord continue to richly bless you and your staff.”

A dear Oklahoma friend wrote: “I continue to receive blessings from The Biblical Evangelist. I thought I should say so with a gift. I especially enjoyed the Gipsy Smith story.” His gift was for $500, which came at a very opportune time for our ministry.

A ministerial friend in Illinois wrote some time back:

"I was catching up on an old BE (Nov-Dec 2006) over the weekend and thought of a couple things to pass on to you . . .

“RE: Bible Study on Clapping. This is a subject I address in my worship seminars so I did some study on it myself several years ago. A few thoughts to add to yours –

"1) I see a distinction between applause (e.g., following special music) and clapping along with a song (such as Psalm 47:1 would suggest and as is probably found even among the most conservative pre-school Sunday School departments in our circles!).

"2) It's worth noting that even in the one example that would appear to justify clapping (not applause) – Psalm 47:1 – some scholars have pointed out that verse 2 would indicate that it's not so much a clapping along with the music in worship as it is a paying tribute to the King in the same way they did Joash in II Kings 11:12.

"3) When applause began creeping in at Grace Presbyterian (Peoria, IL) 25 years ago, Dr. Dunn would put a note in the bulletin saying ‘a hearty amen is preferable to applause.’ While I appreciate the sentiment behind it, I've come to the conclusion over the years that most ‘hearty Amens’ I hear (typically in churches that would roundly condemn the entertainment mentality) are nothing more than verbal applause (for an enjoyable performance).

"For what it's worth."

Frankly, we thought it worth repeating. What say thou?

From the Land of the Rising Sun came a nice letter. The missionary shared an interesting anecdote about Spurgeon that blessed my heart, then made some comments about our paper:

“Dr. James Norton from St. Petersburg sends your mail as well as The Biblical Evangelist to my home address regularly. I am an avid reader of The Biblical Evangelist. … I personally want to thank you for your outstanding leadership as publisher of The Biblical Evangelist. Your friendship and partnership in the gospel is greatly appreciated.

“The timely and challenging and uplifting sermons via The Biblical Evangelist have been warming my heart since your paper was introduced to me by Brother James Norton, when he visited Japan a few years ago.

“We often think of you and pray for you and your work for our Lord.”

Wasn’t that a blessed, heart-warming letter?

A nice letter came from friends in Iowa, referring to the July-August issue, and we’ll quote it as our final for this issue: “What a great edition of The Biblical Evangelist. [My wife] and I read almost every article when we receive our copy. She thought that you and Mrs. Sumner had a delightful trip. She said that ‘we are not as old as he is, how can he take that?’ Thanks for the information on the Bible Institute in Des Moines.” I hope I didn’t get any other husbands in trouble.

Again, it is always right to write! We love hearing from you.