George Whitefield (1714 - 1770) was probably the greatest preacher in the history of Christianity outside of the apostolical age. In fact, virtually every efficacious movement within Christianity in England and America in the past two hundred years can be traced directly back to Whitefield and his ministry. American Christianity in particular, while not initially planted by Whitefield, nevertheless blossomed directly under his preaching, and its continuing power and purity in the years following were borne along by the immediate fruit of his efforts, which were nothing less than the result of his apostolic obedience to Jesus Christ. In short, it is not too much to declare that George Whitefield's preaching was to England and America what Peter's and Paul's preaching was to Asia Minor.Some one hundred years after Whitefield's death, the mighty Charles Spurgeon would say of him - "There is no end to the interest which attaches to such a man as George Whitefield. Often as I have read his life, I am conscious of distinct quickening whenever I turn to it. He LIVED. Other men seem to be only half-alive; but Whitefield was all life, fire, wing, force. My own model, if I may have such a thing in due subordination to my Lord, is George Whitefield; but with unequal footsteps must I follow in his glorious track."Banned from preaching by the majority of the clergy of the Church of England, both in Britain and in America, in which they denied him the use of their churches and pulpits, principally because of his fierce stand on the doctrine of ELECTION and his INSISTENCE on the EXPERIENCE of the NEW BIRTH, Whitefield began to preach in the open air. It is thus recorded that in the 1730's and 1740's Whitefield drew crowds as large as eighty thousand people on occasion, and habitually he drew crowds of thirty thousand or more. And not just on Sunday's, but throughout the week. His devotionals at 6 o'clock in the morning pulled in more than twenty thousand people every single day. It is said that his voice carried effortlessly through hills and dales, and that when necessary, the wind blew smoothly yet silently and conducted his words to the farthest reaches of the crowd. During one of Whitefield's American tours, Benjamin Franklin calculated Whitefield's auditory range and concluded that his preaching was easily heard by more than thirty thousand at a setting.It is likely that the Wesley's would barely be a footnote in history - if that - but for George Whitefield, for it is Whitefield's congregations that both John and Charles Wesley took charge of when Whitefield was off to America and other parts of the world, as neither John nor Charles had been capable of establishing their own congregations prior to that point. In fact, John and Charles Wesley had failed miserably in that regard, especially John, and both had to be prodded by Whitefield into open air preaching, for neither was willing to attempt it at first. Of course, the crowds diminished substantially when either John or Charles preached in place of Whitefield, and much confusion reigned in Whitefield's absence due to John's confusion on foundational biblical doctrines.With regard to Whitefield's overall scope and influence, one writer, an anonymous Scottish author, summed it up this way -"To write a work which would be truly worthy of the title of a Life of Whitefield would require the study and research of years. England should furnish one Life of him, in which a long detail would be given of his apostolic range through all her diversified classes, from the glittering ornaments of the court of George II, to the mob of Moorfields and the colliers of Kingswood. The principality of Wales would have another, in which she would tell of his welcome visits among her mountains, and the awakenings his sermons occasioned upon her benighted, but susceptible population. Scotland could furnish the entire of a third Life, telling of effects he had wrought upon her strong hard intellect and iron nerves. And America - the land of his last labours and his tomb - how much he toiled for her and how much these toils were blessed! So many lands to be consulted; so many narratives to be woven into one whole; so many effects to be traced in the subsequent history of the Church of every country to which his energies were devoted - in all this there is work for the whole lifetime of some future biographer; and oh, that he may address himself to the task in the spirit in which Whitefield preached!"In essence, the effect that George Whitefield has had on British and American Christianity - and by extension, on Christianity throughout the world - in the past two hundred years, only the Lord Jesus can sort out, which he will do at his glorious judgment seat, where George Whitefield, no doubt, will receive a wreath of crowns that will shine brighter than the firmament of heaven throughout all eternity.The biography, George Whitefield, by Arnold Dallimore (a stupendous work, a work in which Dallimore brings Whitefield back to life in broad strokes and noble detail), is available in two volumes from Banner Of Truth Trust, as is George Whitefield's Letters, as well as George Whitefield's Journals, all of which will keep you turning pages well into the wee hours of the morning. |
"The doctrine of our regeneration, or new birth in Christ Jesus, though one of the most fundamental doctrines of our holy religion; though so plainly and often pressed on us in sacred writ, that he who runs may read; nay though it is the very hinge on which the salvation of each of us turns, and a point too in which all sincere Christians, of every denomination, agree; yet it is so seldom considered, and so little experimentally understood by the generality of professors, that were we to judge of the truth of it, by the experience of most who call themselves Christians, we should be apt to imagine they had not so much as heard whether there be any such thing as regeneration or not." On Regeneration |
"Comparatively but few of those that are born of water, are born of the Spirit; likewise; to use another spiritual way of speaking, many are baptized with water, which were never baptized with the Holy Ghost." On Regeneration |
"If we are not inwardly wrought upon, and changed by the powerful operations of the Holy Spirit, and our moral actions proceed from a principle of a new nature, however we may call ourselves Christians, we shall be found naked at the great day." On Regeneration |
"Wouldst thou know, O vain man! Whoever thou art, what the Lord thy God requires of thee? Thou must be informed, that nothing short of a thorough sound conversion will fit thee for the kingdom of heaven... In short, thou must not only be an almost, but altogether a new creature, or in vain thou boasteth that thou art a Christian!" On Regeneration |
"Let each of us therefore seriously put this question to our hearts: Have we received the Holy Ghost since we believed? Are we new creatures in Christ, or no?" On Regeneration |
"Unless the Spirit, which raised Jesus from the dead, dwell in you here, neither will your mortal bodies be quickened by the same Spirit to dwell with him hereafter." On Regeneration |
"This blessed Spirit, who once moved on the face of the great deep; who over-shadowed the blessed Virgin before that holy child was born of her; who descended in a bodily shape, like a dove, on our blessed Lord, when he came up out of the water at his baptism; and afterwards came down in fiery tongues on the heads of all his Apostles at the day of Pentecost: this is the Holy Ghost, who must move on the faces of our souls; this power of the Most High, must come upon us, and we must be baptized with his baptism and refining fire, before we can be stilled true members of Christ’s mystical body." Marks Of Having Received The Holy Ghost |
"It is undeniably certain, we must receive the Holy Ghost ere we can be stilled true members of Christ’s mystical body." Marks Of Having Received The Holy Ghost |
"Some, through the influence of a good education, or other providential restraints, have not run into the same excess of riot with other men, and they think they have no need to receive the Holy Ghost, but flatter themselves that they are really born again." Marks Of Having Received The Holy Ghost |
"We as well as the first Christians must receive the Holy Ghost before we can be truly called the children of God." The Indwelling Of The Spirit |
"Had I a mind to hinder the progress of the gospel, and to establish the kingdom of darkness, I would go about telling people that they might have the Spirit of God, and yet not feel it." The Indwelling Of The Spirit |
"Jesus Christ calls none to him but those who thirst after his righteousness and feel themselves weary and heavy laden with the burden of their sins." The Indwelling Of The Spirit |
"The indwelling of the Spirit of God here is the earnest of glory hereafter." The Good Shepherd |
"I know some say they do not know when they were converted; those are, I believe, very few; generally - nay - I may say almost ALWAYS, God deals otherwise." The Method Of Grace |
"This heavenly potter, this blessed agent, is the Almighty Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, the third person in the most adorable Trinity, coessential with the Father and the Son. This is that Spirit, which at the beginning of time moved on the face of the waters, when nature lay in one universal chaos. This was the Spirit that overshadowed the Holy Virgin, before that holy thing was born of her: and this same Spirit must come, and move upon the chaos of our souls, before we can properly be called the sons of God. This is what John the Baptist calls “being baptized with the Holy Ghost,” without which, his and all other baptisms, whether infant or adult, avail nothing. This is that fire, which our Lord came to send into our earthly hearts, and which I pray the Lord of all lords to kindle in every unrenewed one this day." The Potter And The Clay |
"I have told you often, and now tell you again, that you are by nature a motley mixture of the beast and devil, and we cannot recover ourselves from the state wherein we have fallen, therefore must be renewed by the Holy Ghost. By the Holy Ghost, I mean, the third Person of the ever blessed Trinity, co-equal, co-essential, co-eternal, and consubstantial with the Father and the Son; and therefore, when we are baptized, it is into the nature of the Father, into the nature of the Son, and into the nature of the Holy Ghost: and we are not true Christians, till we are sanctified by the Spirit of God." The Folly And Danger Of Being Not Righteous Enough |
"I tell you again, the faith which we preach is not a dead, but a lively active faith wrought in the soul, working a thorough change, by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the whole man; and unless Christ be thus in you, notwithstanding you may be orthodox as to the foregoing principles, notwithstanding you may have good desires, and attend constantly on the means of grace; yet, in St. Paul’s opinion, you are out of a state of salvation." What Think Ye Of Christ |
"It is equally too true, that real Christians, comparatively speaking, are very rare." Christ The Believer's Husband |
"For Christ came not only to save us from the guilt, but from the power of our sins; till he has done this, however he may be a Savior to others, we can have no assurance of well-grounded hope, that he has saved us; for it is by receiving his blessed Spirit into our hearts, and feeling him witnessing with our spirits, that we are the sons of God, that we can be certified of our being sealed to the day of redemption." What Think Ye Of Christ |
"Once more, O believers, let me exhort you in patience to possess your souls. God, if he has freely justified you by faith in his son, and given you his Spirit, has sealed you to be his; and has secured you, as surely as he secured Noah, when he locked him in the ark." The Wise And Foolish Virgins |
"There are many likewise, who go on in a round of duties, a model of performances, that think they shall go to heaven; but if you examine them, though they have a Christ in their heads, they have no Christ in their hearts." Marks Of A True Conversion |
"Hence it is, that the Apostle, speaking of the sons of God, says, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are (and to be sure he means they only are) the sons of God." Marks Of A True Conversion |
"Judge ye then, whether it is not high time for the true ministers of Jesus, who have been made partakers of this heavenly gift, to lift up their voices like a trumpet; and if they would not have those souls perish, for which the Lord Jesus has shed his precious blood, to declare, with all boldness, that the Holy Spirit is the common privilege and portion of all believers in all ages; and that we as well as the first Christians, must receive the Holy Ghost, before we can be truly called the children of God." The Indwelling Of The Spirit |
"Indeed, I will not say that all our letter-learned preachers deny this doctrine in express words; but however, they do in effect; for they talk professedly against inward feelings, and say, we may have God’s Spirit without feeling it, which is in reality to deny the thing itself." The Indwelling Of The Spirit |
"Christ’s sheep are too apt to wander from the fold; having their eye off the great Shepherd, they go into this field and that field, over this hedge and that, and often return home with the loss of their wool." The Method Of Grace |
"Indeed we may flatter ouselves, that we may go to heaven without undergoing the pangs of the new birth; but we shall certainly find ourselves desperately mistaken in the end." Letters, XV |
"It's true, indeed, we must not expect much comfort here [in this world], except what results from a good conviction that we are in a safe state, by being born again of the Holy Ghost." Letters, XVII |
"I have nothing to depend on, but the merits of a crucified Redeemer to have my poor petitions answered." Letters, XVIII |
"It is God alone who can subdue and govern the unruly wills of sinful men." Letters, XXV |
"Now, what can be understood by all these different terms of being born again, or putting off the Old Man, and putting on the New, of being renewed in the spirit of our minds, and becoming new creatures; but that Christianity requires a thorough, real inward change of heart? Do we think these and such-like forms of speaking, are mere metaphors, words of a bare sound, without any real solid signification? Indeed, it is to be feared, some men would have them interpreted so; but alas! unhappy men! They are not to be envied in their metaphorical interpretation: it will be well, if they do not interpret themselves out of their salvation." On Regeneration |
"Man is described (and every regenerate person will find it true by his own experience) as a creature altogether conceived and born in sin." On Regeneration |
"It is true, we may flatter ourselves, that, supposing we continue in our natural corrupt estate, and carry all our lusts along with us, we should, notwithstanding, relish heaven, was God to admit us therein. And so we might, was it a Mahometan paradise, wherein we were to take our full swing in sensual delights. But since its joys are only spiritual, and no unclean thing can possibly enter those blessed mansions, there is an absolute necessity of our being changed, and undergoing a total renovation of our depraved natures, before we can have any taste or relish of those heavenly pleasures. It is, doubtless, for this reason, that the apostle declares it to be the irrevocable decree of the Almighty, that without holiness, (without being made pure by regeneration, and having the image of God thereby reinstamped upon the soul) no man shall see the Lord." On Regeneration |
"For Christians would do well to consider, that there is not only a legal hindrance to our happiness, as we are breakers of God’s law, but also a moral impurity in our natures, which renders us incapable of enjoying heaven (as hath been already proved) till some mighty change have been wrought in us. It is necessary therefore, in order to make Christ’s redemption complete, that we should have a grant of God’s Holy Spirit to change our natures, and so prepare us for the enjoyment of that happiness our Savior has purchased by his precious blood." On Regeneration |
"I would humbly hope that you are sincerely persuaded, that he who hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his; and that, unless the Spirit, which raised Jesus from the dead, dwell in you here, neither will your mortal bodies be quickened by the same Spirit to dwell with him hereafter." On Regeneration |
"If we remember, that they who are regenerate and born again, have a real title to all the glorious promises of the gospel, and are infallibly certain of being as happy, both here and hereafter, as an all-wise, all-gracious, all-powerful God can make them; methinks, every one that has but the least concern for the salvation of his precious and immortal soul, having such promises, such an hope, such an eternity of happiness set before him, should never cease watching, praying, and striving, till he find a real, inward, saving change wrought in his heart, and thereby doth know of a truth, that he dwells in Christ, and Christ in him; that he is a new creature, therefore a child of God; that he is already an inheritor, and will ere long be an actual possessor of the kingdom of heaven." On Regeneration |
"You must be born again, and become new creatures, and have the spirit of Christ within you: And until you have that spirit of Christ, however you may think to the contrary, and please yourselves in your own imagination, I say, you are no better than reprobates. You may content yourselves with leading civil, outward decent lives, but what will that avail you, unless you have the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ in your hearts: His kingdom must be set up in your souls; there must be the life of God in the soul of man, else you belong not to the Lord Jesus Christ; and until you belong to him, you are reprobates." Christ The Only Preservative |
"We must be renewed by the spirit of God; he must dwell in us before we can be new creatures, and be freed from a reprobate spirit: the spirit of Christ must bring us home unto that fold where all his sheep are, and implant his grace in our hearts, and take from us that spirit of sin which reigns in us: And till this is rooted out of our hearts, however we may flatter ourselves with being good Christians, because we are good moralists, and lead civil, moral, decent lives, yet if we live and die, my brethren, in this way, we are only flattering ourselves into hell." Christ The Only Preservative |
"You had ten thousand times better be ignorant of all the polite diversions of the age, than to be ignorant of the spirit of Christ’s being within you." Christ The Only Preservative |
"This is a great mystery; but I speak of Christ and the new-birth. Marvel not at my asking you, what you think about Christ being formed within you? For either God must change his nature, or we ours. For as in Adam we all have spiritually died, so all that are effectually saved by Christ, must in Christ be spiritually made alive. His only end in and rising again, and interceding for us now in heaven, is to redeem us from the misery of our fallen nature, and, by the operation of his blessed Spirit, to make us meet to be partakers of the heavenly inheritance with the saints in light. None but those that thus are changed by his grace here, shall appear with him in glory hereafter." What Think Ye Of Christ? |
"The fountain of God’s revealing himself to man-kind, was our fall in Adam, and the necessity of our new birth in Christ Jesus. And if we search the scriptures as we ought, we shall find the sum and substance, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of them, is to lead us to a knowledge of these two great truths." The Duty Of Searching The Scriptures |
"O that all unbelievers, all letter-learned masters of Israel, who now look upon the doctrine of the power of Christ’s resurrection, or our new birth, as an idle tale, and condemn the preachers of it as enthusiasts and madmen, did but thus feel the power of it in their souls, they would no longer ask, how this thing could be? But they would be convinced of it, as much as Thomas was, when he saw the Lord’s Christ; and like him, when Jesus bid him reach out his hands and thrust them into his side, in a holy confession they would cry out, My Lord and my God!" The Power Of Christ's Resurrection |
"Could the brute beasts speak, they might call God father as well as some of you; for hi is their Creator to whom they owe their being; but this will not entitle you to call God father, in a spiritual sense; no, you must be born again of God; however you may flatter yourselves, you must have an inward principle wrought in your hearts by faith. This you must experience, this, this you must feel before you are Christians indeed." The Folly And Danger Of Parting With Christ |
"There is a spiritual, as well as a corporeal feeling; and though this is not communicated to us in a sensible manner, as outward objects affect our senses, yet it is as real as any sensible or visible sensation, and may be as truly felt and discerned by the soul, as any impression from without can be felt by the body. All who are born again of God, know that I lie not." What Think Ye Of Christ? |
"The devil, not God, is your father, unless your hearts are purified by faith, and you are born again from above. It is not merely being baptized by water, but being born again of the Holy Ghost that must qualify you for salvation; and it will do you no service at the great day, to say unto Christ, Lord, my name is in the register of such and such a parish." The Wise And Foolish Virgins |
"My dear brethren, do not deceive your own souls. You have heard how far the foolish virgins went, and yet were answered with, Verily I know you not. The reason is, because none but such who have a living faith in Jesus Christ, and are truly born again, can possibly enter into the kingdom of heaven." The Wise And Foolish Virgins |
"Jesus Christ will say, at the last day, to all that are not born again of God, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." The Indwelling Of The Spirit |
"It is to be hoped, that no one here present need be informed, that before we can be assured we are Christians indeed, we must receive the Holy Ghost, must be born again from above, and have the Spirit of God witnessing with our spirits, that we are the sons of God. This, this alone is true Christianity." The Heinous Sin Of Drunkeness |
"The devils themselves cannot but believe the doctrine of the resurrection, and tremble; but yet they continue devils, because the benefits of this resurrection have not been applied to them, nor have they received a renovating power from it, to change and put off their diabolical nature. And so, unless we not only profess to know, but also feel that Christ is risen indeed, by being born again from above, we shall be as far from the kingdom of God as they: our faith will be as ineffectual as the faith of devils." The Power Of Christ's Resurrection |
"It was the want of the assistance of this Spirit, that made Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, and a ruler of the Jews, so utterly ignorant in the doctrine of regeneration: for being only a natural man, he could not tell how that thing could be; it was the want of this Spirit that made our Savior’s disciples, though he so frequently conversed with them, daily mistake the nature of the doctrines he delivered; and it is because the natural veil is not taken off from their hearts, that so many who now pretend to search the scriptures, yet see no farther than into the bare letter of them, and continue entire strangers to the spiritual meaning couched under every parable, and contained in almost all the precepts of the book of God." The Duty Of Searching The Scriptures |
"What a holy familiarity is there between Jesus Christ and regenerate souls! Ananias had been used to such love-visits, and therefore knew the voice of his beloved. The Lord says, Ananias; Ananias says, Behold, I am here, Lord. Thus it is that Christ now, as well as formerly, often talks with his children at sundry times and after divers manners, as a man talketh with his friend." Saul's Conversion |
"I am verily persuaded original sin is the greatest burden of a true convert; this ever grieves the regenerate soul, the sanctified soul. The indwelling of sin in the heart is the burden of a converted person; it is the burden of a true Christian... And, therefore, if you never felt this inward corruption, if you never saw that God might justly curse you for it, indeed, my dear friends, you may speak peace to your hearts, but I fear, nay, I know, there is no true peace." An Exhortation To The People Of God |
"The many fatal conswquences I have daily seen, proceeding from conversing with lukewarm christians, makes me jealous of my dear friends, lest they should be infected by them." Letters, XXXIV |
"For my delight is in the saints who are in the earth, and those that excel in virtue. I have talked with some of them, and, blessed be God, can find the marks of the new birth in them." Letters, XXXV |
"No, nothing but God can satisfy the heart of man; nothing but an assurance that we are born again, the we are members of Christ, that we are united to him by one and the same Spirit with which he himself was actuated." Letters, XXXVI |
"I hope the wished-for time will come, when I shall see you full of faith and the Holy Ghost... Oh dear Mr. H---, I beseech you, break off from the world. Shake off every fetter that keeps your soul from God." Letters, XLV |
"Numbers are accounted Christians, who have only a name to live." Letters, LXXIV |
"He is a true Christian who is one inwardly; and then only can we be stilled true believers, when we not only profess to believe, but have felt the power of our blessed Lord's rising from the dead, by being quickened and raised by his Spirit, when dead in trespasses and sins, to a thorough newness both of heart and life." The Power Of Christ's Resurrection |
"We might think ourselves happy, if we had seen the Holy Jesus after He was risen from the dead, and our hands had handled that Lord of life. But more happy are they who have not seen him, and yet having felt the power of his resurrection, therefore believe in him." The Power Of Christ's Resurrection |
"Did the Spirit of God ever bring all your sins thus to remembrance, and make you cry out to God, Thou writest bitter things against me? Did your actual sins ever appear before you, as though drawn in a map? If not, you have great reason to suspect that you are not convicted, much more not converted." Sermon, The Holy Spirit Convincing The World Of Sin, Righteousness, And Judgment |
"When the Comforter comes into a sinner's heart, though it generally convinces the sinner of his actual sin first, yet it leads him to see and bewail his original sin, the fountain from which all these polluted streams do flow." Sermon, The Holy Spirit Convincing The World Of Sin, Righteousness, And Judgment |
"When the Comforter, the Spirit of God, arrests a sinner, and convinces him of sin, all carnal reasoning against original corruption, every proud and high imagination, which exalteth itself against that doctrine, is immediately thrown down." Sermon, The Holy Spirit Convincing The World Of Sin, Righteousness, And Judgment |
"Were you ever made to lie at the feet of sovereign Grace, and to say, Lord, if thou wilt, thou mayest save me; if not, thou mayest justly damn me; I have nothing to plead, I can in no wise justify myself in they sight... If you never were thus minded, the Comforter never yet effectually came into your souls, you are out of Christ; and if God should require your souls in that condition, he would be no better to you than a consuming fire." Sermon, The Holy Spirit Convincing The World Of Sin, Righteousness, And Judgment |
"How long have you believed? Would not most of you say, as long as we can remember; we never did disbelieve? Then this is a certain sign that you have no true faith at all, no, not so much as a grain of mustard seed... you must know that there was a time in which you did not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, if ever you received him, convinced you of your unbelief." Sermon, The Holy Spirit Convincing The World Of Sin, Righteousness, And Judgment |
"None of us believe by nature: but after the Holy Ghost has convinced us of the sin of our natures, and the sin of our lives and duties, in order to convince us of our utter inability to save ourselves, and that we must be beholden to God, as for everything else, so for faith (without which it is impossible to please, or be saved by Christ) he convinces us also, that we have no faith." Sermon, The Holy Spirit Convincing The World Of Sin, Righteousness, And Judgment |
"Let the scriptures, not the world, be your rule of action. By those you are to form your practice here, to be judged hereafter." Letters, VI |
"So far as our hearts are empty of God, so far must they be unhappy." The Almost Christian |
"An almost Christian is one of the most hurtful creatures in the world; he is a wolf in sheep's clothing: he is one of those false prophets, our blessed Lord bids us beware of in his sermon on the mount, who would persuade men, that the way to heaven is broader than it really is; and thereby, as it was observed before, "enter not into the kingdom of God themselves, and those that are entering in they hinder." These, these are the men that turn the world into a luke-warm Laodicean spirit; that hang out false lights, and so shipwreck unthinking benighted souls in their voyage to the haven of eternity. These are they who are greater enemies to the cross of Christ, than infidels themselves: for of an unbeliever every one will be aware; but an almost Christian, through his subtle hypocrisy, draws away many after him; and therefore must expect to receive the greater damnation." The Almost Christian |
"I need not fear the sight of sin, when I have a perfect everlasting righteousness wrought out for me by that God-man Christ Jesus." Letters, LXXXV |
"As the Lord has been pleased to reveal his dear Son in us, Oh let us stir up that gift of God, and with all boldness preach him to others. Freely we have received, freely let us give; what Christ tells us by his Spirit in our closets, that let us proclaim upon the house tops." Letters, LXXXVI |
"Thousands indeed place christianity in good desires, and the have good desires; but this and much more a person may have, and yet miscarry at last. Pure and undefiled religion consists in a lively faith in Jesus Christ, as the only mediator between God and man. A faith that changes and renews the whole soul, takes it entirely off the world, and fixes it wholly upon God." Letters, XCI |
"I hope we shall catch fire from each other, and that there will be an holy emulation amongst us, who shall most debase man and exalt the Lord Jesus. Nothing but the doctrines of the Reformation can do this. All others leave freewill in man, and make him, in part, a Saviour to himself." Letters, XCIV |
"Man is nothing: he hath a free will to go to hell, but none to go to heaven, till God worketh in him to will and to do after his good pleasure." Letters, XCIV |
"God chose us from eternity, he called us in time, and I am persuaded will keep us from falling finally, till time shall be no more. Consider the Gospel in this view, and it appears a consistent scheme, though directly contrary to the natural man; and nothing convinces me more of the the truth of these doctrines, than the enmity that is in the heart of carnal minds against them." Letters, XCV |
"It is sweet to know and preach, that Christ justifies the ungodly, and that all truly good works are not so much as partly the cause, but the EFFECT of our justification before God. Till convinced of these truths, you must own free-will in man, which is directly contrary to the holy scriptures, and the articles of our church." Letters, C |
"Why should we desire to plead for a righteousness of our own, and cry up freewill, when we have an infinitely better righteousness than our own to appear in, and a God that will crown us with eternal glory for working in us both to will and to do after his good pleasure?" Letters, CII |
"If we go forth in the spirit of the first apostles, we shall meet with apostolical success." Letters, CIV |
"The doctrines I have already preached come with double evidence upon my mind day by day. I am more and more convinced that they are the truths of God; they agree with the written word, and the experience of all the saints in all ages. Nothing more confirms me in the belief of them, than the opposition that is made against them by natural men. Election, free grace, free justification without any regard to works forseen, are such paradoxes to carnal minds, that they cannot away with them. This is the wisdom of God, which is foolishness with man, and which, the Lord being my helper, I intend to exalt and contend for more and more; not with carnal weapons, that be far from me, but with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God - no word like that!" Letters, CXIII |
"My doctrines I had from Jesus Christ and His Apostles: I was taught them of God. I embrace the Calvinistic scheme, not because Calvin, but Jesus Christ has taught it to me." Works, Vol I |
"It is in the spiritual as in the natural life - some feel more, others less, but ALL experience some pangs and travails of soul ere the Man Christ Jesus is formed within them, and brought forth and arrived unto the measure of His fullness Who filleth all in all." Journals, A Short Account |
"He is unworthy the name of a Christian, who is not as willing to hide himself when God commands, as to act in a public capacity." Journals, First Journal, Sunday, January 8 |
"Nothing has done more harm to the Christian Church than thinking the examples recorded in the Holy Scriptures were only to be read and not imitated by us." Journals, First Journal, Tuesday, January 24 |
"Sanctified afflictions are signs of special love." Journals, First Journal, Sunday, February 12 |
"There needs no other argument against Popery, than to see the pageantry, superstition, and idolatry of their worship." Journals, First Journal, Sunday, March 5 |
"How good is God thus to prepare me by sufferings, that so His blessings may not be my ruin." Journals, Second Journal, Saturday, October 21 |
"This I know - what I have spoken from God will come to pass, and then shall these scoffers and despisers know that a minister of Christ has been amongst them. O that I may never be brought forth as a swift witness against any; but we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." Journals, Second Journal, Saturday, October 26 |
"If people will account me their enemy, because, out of love, I tell them the truth, I cannot help that." Journals, Second Journal, Saturday, October 28 |
"Lord, I desire not to be exempted from sufferings, but to be supported under them." Journals, Second Journal, Monday, November 6 |
"I find all uneasiness arises from having a will of my own. And therefore I simply desire to will what God willeth. Oh! when will this once be?" Journals, Second Journal, Thursday, November 9 |
"Whilst I continue on this side of Eternity, I never expect to be free from trials, only to change them. For it is necessary to heal the pride of my heart, that such should come." Journals, Second Journal, Tuesday, November 14 |
"Lord, if I can but be made instrumental to save one soul, I care not if I am tossed on the ocean through my whole life. Glory be to God on high." Journals, Second Journal, Tuesday, November 14 |
"Oh, that I may always look upon myself as a stranger and a sojouner upon earth." Journals, Second Journal, Monday, December 4 |
"I can trace my conversion through its several steps, but cannot find one step I first took towards God." Letters, CXXXIII |
"There is no being a Christian without enduring contempt; no being happy hereafter, without suffering reproach here. The world can only love its own. As they hate God, so they must hate those that are desirous to be like him." Letters, CXXXIV |
"My one sole question is - Are you a Christian? Are you sealed by Christ's Spirit to the day of redemption? Are you hungering and thirsting after the perfect, everlasting righteousness of Jesus Christ?" Letters, CXXXV |
"I bless God, his Spirit has convinced me of our eternal election by the Father through the Son, of our free justification through faith in his blood, of our sanctification as the consequence of that, and of our final perseverance and glorification as the result of all." Letters, CXXXVIII |
"Follow after, but do not run before the blessed Spirit... I wish all his servants were prophets; but let every one be rightly persuaded of his call to public teaching. It is dangerous to touch the ark, though it be falling, without a commission from above." Letters, CXXXIX |
"It is a difficult thing to be a Christian indeed. Numbers are Pharisees, and do not know it." Letters, CXL |
"As we both profess ourselves ministers of the gospel... the care of souls I find to be a matter of the greatest importance. You have a great number committed to your charge. What a dreadful thing will it be for any of them to perish through your neglect? And yet I fear, Sir, you do not walk worthy of the holy vocation wherewith you are called... how can you preach Christ to others, when you are a stranger to his power yourself?" Letters, CXLI |
"A Christian hath no home but heaven. He is a stranger and pilgrim while here on earth... take heed, dear Mr. H, to make your calling and election sure. Rest not in outward things. Do not flatter yourself that you are a Christian because you go to church, and do no one any harm. Nothing but a living faith in Christ Jesus our Lord can qualify you for eternal life. Without this, God will be to us a consuming fire; and unless we are born again, and made new creatures in Christ, we never shall enter into the kingdom of God. If you know not what I mean by these terms, you may depend upon it, you are a stranger to this new birth, and consequently in a state of death." Letters, CXLIII |
"I fear amongst you, as well in as in other places, there are many who are well versed in the doctrines of grace, having learned them at the university, but notwithstanding are heart hypocrites, and enemies to the power of godliness." Letters, CXLIV |
"Be not afraid of conviction. Be not afraid of inward feelings. Now pray to the Lord Jesus, to lay the axe of mortification to the root of your heart." Letters, CXLVII |
"Experience of God's work upon our own souls is the best qualification to preach it effectually to others." Letters, CLXI |
"Be always trimming your lamp, as though you were in expectation every moment to meet the heavenly Bridegroom. Search more and more into the corruption of your heart, and never rest until God's Spirit witnesseth with your spirit, that you are a child of God." Letters, CLXIV |
"All that people do say of me affects me but little; because I know worse of myself than they can say concerning me. My heart is desperately wicked. Was God to leave me, I should be a remarkable sinner." Letters, CLXXVII |
"Two ministers have been convinced of their formal state, notwithstanding they held and preached the doctrines of grace. One plainly told the congregation he had been deceiving himself and them, and could not preach any more, but desired the people to pray with him... God's Spirit fell on the people, and formal opposers went affrighted away." Letters, CLXXVIII |
"I had rather live by faith, and depend on God for the support of my great, and yet increasing family [Orphan House], than to have the largest visible fund in the universe." Letters, CLXXX |
"Never leave off watching, reading, praying, striving, till you experimentally find Christ Jesus formed within you... Be frequent in self-examination morning and evening. Pray earnestly from your heart. Wrestle with God, beg him to hasten the new birth." Letters, XI |
"Let us wrestle with God, that we may be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. For it is perseverance crowns our labours." Letters, XXXII |
"When we give the servants money, why may we not with that give them a little book, and some good advice? I know by experience it is very beneficial. God grant this may be always my practice." Journals, February 8, 1739 |
"There is no being a Christian without giving up all for Christ. We must all have the spirit of martyrdom, though we may not all die martyrs." Letters, CLXXXVIII |
"The more we are humbled, the more will the glorious Emmanuel exalt us; but we must wait his time." Letters, CLXXXIX |
"God himself, I find, teaches my friends the doctrine of election." Letters, CXCII |
"I am supported under the prospect of present and impending trials, with an assurance of God's loving me to the end; yea, even to all eternity." Letters, CXCII |
"If you will be a follower of the Lamb of God, you must prepare your soul for manifold temptations; you must become the song of the drunkard, and have all manner of evil spoken against you falsely for Christ's sake." Letters, CXCIII |
"I am persuaded when the power of religion revives, the gospel must be propagated in the same manner as it was first established -- itinerant preaching." Letters, CCII |
"The world says, because we preach faith we deny good works; this is the usual objection against the doctrine of imputed righteousness, but it is a slander, an impudent slander. It was a maxim in the first reformers’ time, that though the ARMINIANS preached up good works, you must go to the CALVINISTS FOR THEM." The Good Shepherd |
"We are his eternal election -- the sheep which thou hast given me -- says Christ. They were given by God the Father to Christ Jesus, in the covenant made between the Father and the Son from all eternity." The Good Shepherd |
"Where do you want to lead us? Why, to mount Calvary, there to see at what an expense of blood Christ purchased those whom he calls his own; he redeemed them with his own blood, so that they are not only his by eternal election, but also by actual redemption in time; and they were given to him by the Father, upon condition that he should redeem them by his heart’s blood. It was a hard bargain, but Christ was willing to strike the bargain, that you and I might not be damned for ever." The Good Shepherd |
"There is no going to Mount Zion but by the way of mount Sinai." The Good Shepherd |
"I know some say, they do not know when they were converted; those are, I believe, very few: generally, nay, I may say almost always, God deals otherwise." The Good Shepherd |
"Some are, indeed, called sooner by the Lord than others, but before they are made to see the glory of God, they must hear the voice of the law; so you must hear the voice of the law before ever you will be savingly called unto God." The Good Shepherd |
"This is the character of a true servant of Christ, that he endeavors to follow Christ in thought, word, and work." The Good Shepherd |
"Man, woman, sinner, put thy hand to thy heart, and answer me. Didst thou ever hear Christ’s voice so as to follow him, to give up thyself without reserve to him?" The Good Shepherd |
"O blessed be God for his rich grace, his distinguishing, sovereign, electing love, by which he as distinguished you and me." The Good Shepherd |
"Christ knows his sheep; he not only knows their number, but the words speak the peculiar knowledge and notice he takes of them; he takes as much care of each of them, as if there were but that one single sheep in the world... He bottles up all their tears, he knows their domestic trials, he knows their inward corruptions, he knows all their wanderings, and he takes care to fetch them back again." The Good Shepherd |
"So when Christ’s sheep wander, he lets the devil go after them, and suffers him to bark at them, who, instead of driving them farther off, is made a means to bring them back again to Christ’s fold." The Good Shepherd |
"Perhaps the doctrines of election and of final perseverance hath been abused, (and what doctrine has not), but notwithstanding, it is children's bread, and ought not in my opinion to be withheld from them, supposing it is always mentioned with proper cautions against the abuse." Letters, CCXIV |