Posted by
ValiantForTruth on Sunday, July 04, 2010 3:32:27 AM
No better subject for the Day of American Independence than the Great Awakening and George Whitefield. Unfortunately the references to Enlightenment and William Garrison and showmanship mar the article as they are contrary to the gospel that motivated the great English evangelist come to American.
Yes, Whitefield was a gifted and powerful orator. Early in the Awakening when some churches refused him access to their pulpits, he would take to open air preaching. Soon the churches could not contain the crowds come to hear the preacher. And what did they come to hear?
Like John the Baptist, Whitefield was a bight and shining light. His message was the simple gospel of man’s ruin in sin and God’s power in grace. Where sin does abound, grace does much more abound. God is able to save even the most wretched through the shed blood of Christ.
His doctrine was the apostolic doctrine of man’s helplessness in his depravity and God’s sovereignty in the washing of regeneration. He preached an open invitation for all men of all nations to repent and come to Christ in faith. He preached with confidence in knowing that the work of redemption was complete in Christ and that all the redeemed would come to their Redeemer. Christ will have His purchased possession because His grace is effectual.
Whitefield relied not on the autonomous wisdom of men, but in the hidden wisdom of God revealed in Christ. He spent his life’s energy in proclaiming to the lost world the perfection of Christ’s great salvation freely given to His people. The lost message of Whitefield is the lost message of the Gospel.
Christianity is foremost of the heart because in the heart of man is the corruption of sin. The power of Christ’s kingdom is manifest when sin is put to death in the heart. The renewed heart delights in the Law of God and is freed from the outward conformity to the commandments of men. This is the message of liberty that Whitefield came to proclaim in the name of his Master.
That Christ has all authority and has purchased with His own blood dominion over sin and death and that there is nothing outside His dominion and that He is full of mercy for all who will turn to Him: This was the message of Whitefield and Edwards and the other men of the Awakening.
Then and now Christ is accomplishing His purposes in bringing many sons to glory through the gospel and preparing His enemies for destruction. This knowledge not only gives men a love for liberty, but puts iron in their blood. These are the men that were motivated to risk all for the cause of freedom in coming to America and in fighting for her independence. We thank them and honor their memory on the Lord’s Day, July 4th 2010. May this be a day of remembering our heritage.
Q. What do you mean that the references to Enlightenment and William Garrison and showmanship mar the article? Are you opposed to advancements in knowledge and the abolition of slavery?