[7] Dr. Martin held four earned degrees[8] including a Master of Arts in Philosophy from New York University, where he was a student alongside television evangelist D. James Kennedy.
Martin has indicated in various book dedications and in audio recorded lectures how he was mentored by Frank Gaebelein (Headmaster, The Stony Brook School),[11] Wilbur M. Smith (1894–1976) – author of the apologetic text Therefore Stand – and the Presbyterian Bible teacher Donald Grey Barnhouse (1895–1960).
Barnhouse's support for Martin's research and teaching abilities resulted in the reassessment of Seventh-day Adventist theology, raising the profile of his early ministry in the Evangelical movement.
From its earliest days until the 1950s, the Seventh-day Adventist Church was regarded by Evangelical Christians and mainstream Protestants as either an extreme sect or heretical cult.
[28] Martin's book carried an explanatory foreword by Barnhouse and a statement from H. W. Lowe who was the chairman of the Biblical Study and Research Group of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
[29] While Lowe did not agree with Martin's criticism of the church's distinctive doctrines he nonetheless commended the book for providing a "fair and accurate statement of Adventist teachings.
Some, like E. Schuyler English,[32] supported Martin, some such as John Gerstner urged a sober and fair hearing,[33] while others, such as Louis Talbot,[34] J. K. van Baalen,[35] Harold Lindsell[36][37] and Anthony Hoekema,[38] opposed his view.
Martin emphasized research and quoted directly from the teachings of the opposing denominations; which he labelled cults, trying to challenge their claims with Christianity by pointing what he saw as "Biblical errors" in their theology.
His role as a columnist in Eternity magazine allowed him the freedom to address other topics such as basic Christian doctrines, the theology of Karl Barth, the problem of alcoholism, and reviewing books.
In its earliest years Martin's colleagues who were associated with Christian Research Institute included Walter Bjorck, James Bjornstad, Floyd Hamilton,[44] and Shildes Johnson, many of whom went on to publish countercult books.
[45] Through this parachurch organization Martin built up a reference library of primary source material, and sought to train Christians in the art of apologetics and evangelism.
In the mid-1960s Martin regularly appeared as a guest panelist on The Long John Nebel Show, and then founded his own program known as "The Bible Answer Man".
Between the mid-1960s until his death in 1989 Martin debated in public various non-Christians such as atheist author-activist Madalyn Murray O'Hair and Hugh Schonfield, theologians of Liberal Christianity like Thomas J. J. Altizer and Bishop John Shelby Spong, and new religious commentators like Roy Masters.
In the earliest years of his ministry Martin traveled frequently with Billy Graham and World Vision Founder Bob Pierce, addressing thousands in open air church meetings about the theological problems posed by the cults.
[50] The popularity of Martin's ministry coincided with the Jesus People movement of the early 1970s and the rise of the countercultural interest in East Asian religions and esoteric pathways.
As occult interests surfaced in the counterculture, and also as other religious movements and groups like the Hare Krishna, Unification Church, and Children of God emerged, Martin's value as a Christian speaker increased.
[51] Martin utilized the new technology of cassette tapes, and disseminated many of his public lectures about apologetics questions and new religious movements groups to thousands worldwide.
[55] While Martin was critical of these teachers' claims concerning their views of Christ, healing, faith, and prosperity, he believed in the perpetuity of charismatic spiritual gifts in the Church.
[60] It obtained this status after a study by the US General Accounting Office (GAO), which sought to provide national accreditation to schools that offered high-quality education, which concluded that CCU was never a diploma mill and never committed wrongdoing.