DAVID LIVINGSTONE: I NEVER MADE A SACRIFICE: The Nineteenth Century (pt.6)

In the nineteenth century, God used David Livingstone to show the power of long obedience in the same direction. 

MEMORY VERSE. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). 

MEMORY QUOTE. “Say rather it is a privilege…I never made a sacrifice” (David Livingstone). 

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David Livingstone: I Never Made a Sacrifice - The Nineteenth Century (pt.6)

In an age when Africa was largely unknown to the Western world and the slave trade still ravaged its peoples, Christ raised up David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary whose life of long obedience opened the interior of Africa to the gospel. Through Livingstone’s tireless exploration, his exposure of slavery, and his unyielding commitment to Christ, the church advanced into new territories and the cause of abolition gained momentum.

David Livingstone (1813-1873)

David Livingstone was born on March 19, 1813, at Blantyre, Lanarkshire, Scotland, the son of Neil and Agnes Livingstone, into a humble but deeply godly home where family worship, Scripture reading, and fervent prayer shaped daily life (Blaikie 1880, 1–3). Livingstone was born into a humble but deeply godly Scottish home. As a boy he began work in the cotton mill at age ten, toiling long hours by day while self-teaching Latin, Greek, theology, and medicine at night; he experienced a clear conversion around age twenty and resolved to give his life to Christ as a missionary, eventually qualifying as a doctor and offering himself to the London Missionary Society (Blaikie 1880, 12–18). Livingstone toiled in the mill by day and studied the gospel by night.

  In 1838 he was accepted by the London Missionary Society, initially hoping for China, but the Opium War and a meeting with Robert Moffat redirected him to Africa’s interior; despite warnings of deadly fevers and savage tribes, Livingstone famously resolved, “I will go anywhere, provided it be forward,” trusting God to sustain him (Livingstone 1857, 12). Livingstone answered the call to Africa’s dark interior with bold faith. He arrived in Cape Town on March 14, 1841, and began work among the Bechuanas at Kuruman; in January 1845 he married Mary Moffat, eldest daughter of veteran missionary Robert Moffat, and together they pressed northward to establish mission stations amid scorching heat, tropical fever, and constant danger from wild beasts (Livingstone 1857, 45–56). Livingstone began his African mission and found a devoted wife in Mary.

  In 1843 at Mabotsa a lion crushed his arm in its jaws, shaking him like a terrier shakes a rat, yet God preserved his life; despite the injury, opposition from Boers and Portuguese slavers, and repeated bouts of fever, Livingstone persisted for years, moving missions deeper into the interior and winning a few converts while exploring new paths (Livingstone 1857, 78–89). Livingstone endured the lion’s attack and continued undaunted. In 1852 he sent Mary and their children to Britain for safety and launched his epic transcontinental journey, crossing from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean; in November 1855 he discovered the mighty Victoria Falls, which he named for Queen Victoria, all to open Africa to the gospel, legitimate commerce, and the death-blow to the slave trade (Livingstone 1857, 145–156). Livingstone crossed Africa and revealed its wonders for Christ.

  Returning to Britain in 1856 to publish his travels and rally support, he then led the Zambezi Expedition in 1858; in April 1862 his beloved Mary died of fever on the riverbank, leaving Livingstone to bury her beside the Shire and press forward alone, writing in his journal of love deepened by every year together (Livingstone 1865, 234). Livingstone endured the great bereavement of Mary’s death. Known as the great missionary-explorer and scourge of the slave trade, Livingstone spent over thirty years in Africa’s interior and years in Britain, Australia, and elsewhere raising funds, recruits, and awareness; he and Mary had six children (several of whom faced the hardships of missionary life), though they buried some in infancy amid the trials (Livingstone 1857, 189). Livingstone became the voice for African missions and abolition worldwide.

  He faced repeated perils—spear attacks, plots by slave traders, shipwrecks on the Zambezi, and debilitating tropical illnesses—yet maintained unwavering trust that the Lord would use every trial for His glory and the good of Africa’s people; Livingstone lived to see the slave trade exposed and the gospel carried where it had never been heard (Livingstone 1865, 312). Livingstone preached and prayed through deadly adversity to the end. After Mary’s death in 1862, the aging Livingstone launched his final expedition in 1866 to seek the Nile’s source and strike at slavery; lost to the outside world for years, he was found by Henry Morton Stanley in 1871, yet refused to leave Africa and continued until May 1, 1873, when he died kneeling in prayer at Chitambo’s village in present-day Zambia—his heart buried beneath a tree by faithful African companions (Livingstone 1874, 456). Livingstone finished his course kneeling in prayer for Africa.

  Livingstone’s legacy endures as one of the most remarkable missionaries and explorers of the nineteenth century, demonstrating the power of the gospel to confront slavery, open continents, and transform the darkest regions of Africa; his story of courage, loss, perseverance, and triumph continues to challenge believers to radical obedience, with his writings and example fueling mission zeal long after his death (Blaikie 1880, 512). Livingstone’s legacy is gospel advance and abolition in Africa.

Theological Lessons from David Livingstone

David Livingstone’s life teaches three profound lessons for Christ’s church.

  First, Livingstone taught us the value of long obedience in the same direction. The apostle Paul wrote, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Livingstone travelled over 30,000 miles in Africa, mostly on foot because the tsetse flies would attack the horses, giving them diseases that led to their death. He mapped much of Africa and made it possible for future missionaries to travel and take the gospel to the Africans. Reformed theologian Jonathan Edwards taught, “The Christian life is a long obedience in the same direction, sustained by grace until the end” (The Religious Affections, 1746 [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1961], 156).

  Second, Livingstone taught men to be manly and unafraid of even lions. Like Joshua said to his men, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous” (Joshua 10:25). When a lion attacked him at Mabotsa in 1844, crushing his arm, Livingstone faced it with courage and continued his work undaunted. Puritan writer John Bunyan, whose Pilgrim’s Progress deeply influenced Livingstone, wrote, “The man who fears God will fear nothing else” (The Pilgrim’s Progress, 1678 [London: Penguin Classics, 2008], 45). Livingstone’s bravery in the face of wild beasts and hostile tribes exemplifies godly manhood.

  Third, Livingstone taught us that the gospel will be successful. Though he recorded only one confirmed convert during his lifetime, the gospel he planted has borne abundant fruit. Today the entire country of Zambia is a Christian nation, with Christianity enshrined in its constitution. Reformed missionary historian Kenneth Scott Latourette concluded, “Livingstone’s labors, though few in immediate conversions, opened the way for the gospel to transform central Africa” (A History of the Expansion of Christianity, vol. 5 [New York: Harper & Brothers, 1944], 312).

Conclusion: Christ’s Victory in the Nineteenth Century

In the nineteenth century, God used David Livingstone to show the power of long obedience in the same direction. From the cotton mills of Scotland to the heart of Africa, Livingstone’s life was one of faithful endurance, exploration, and gospel proclamation. He never viewed his sacrifices as sacrifices but as privileges, declaring, “Say rather it is a privilege…I never made a sacrifice” (Livingstone 1857, 456). His legacy of mapping the continent, exposing slavery, and planting the gospel continues to bear fruit.

  Let us learn from Livingstone: press on toward the goal with long obedience, face danger with godly courage, and trust that the gospel will be successful. May we, like him, spend our lives for the nations, knowing that Christ continues to conquer the nations, building His church for His glory. Let us live boldly, knowing His kingdom advances, unstoppable, until it fills the earth. Amen.