How the Mighty Have Fallen! A Tribute to Dr. Robert Martin

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Robert Paul Martin, 67, left this world and joined his Savior in glory, on Wednesday evening, February 3, 2016. "Dr. Bob," as he was affectionately known to many, battled advanced prostrate cancer valiantly, and died at his home in Renton, with his wife and children beside him. 

Born in Kingsport, Tennessee on December 7, 1948, Robert was the second son of Paul Martin and Nellie (Parham) Martin. He earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and worked as an engineer for ITT. Subsequently, Robert experienced God's gracious salvation in Christ and hungered for increased understanding of biblical truth. He attended Southwestern Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX, earning a Master of Divinity and a PhD in New Testament studies. In 1983, Robert became Dean and Professor at Trinity Ministerial Academy in Montville, New Jersey. He became a pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in 1985. There, he met and married his beloved wife, Colleen in 1992. The family relocated to Seattle in 1995, so Robert could pastor Emmanuel Baptist Church in SeaTac, where he faithfully labored for nineteen years.

Robert retained a strong interest in ministerial education and continued to teach modular seminary classes at Reformed Baptist Seminary in Greenville, SC, as well as internationally in the Philippines, South Africa, Australia, and the Far East. A gifted writer, he authored: Accuracy of Translation; A Guide to the Puritans; The Death Penalty; and The Christian Sabbath: Its Redemptive-Historical Foundation, Present Obligation, and Practical Observance. Shortly before his death, Robert completed a long-awaited commentary on Hebrews. Carefully expounding God's Word was his life-long passion and remains his enduring legacy.

[Note: the tribute above is taken from "His Story," which was composed for Dr. Martin's memorial service.]


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Bob Gonzales

Bob Gonzales has served as a pastor of four Reformed Baptist congregations and has been the Academic Dean and a professor since 2005. He is the author of Where Sin Abounds: the Spread of Sin and the Curse in Genesis with Special Focus on the Patriarchal Narratives and has contributed to the Reformed Baptist Theological Review, The Founders Journal, and Westminster Theological Journal. Dr Gonzales is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. He and his wife, Becky, reside in Boca Raton, Florida.