 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
||||
George Whitefield's Passion for Christ
|
||||
|
By Ralph I. Tilley
|
||||
|
Introduction "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”[1] To fulfill our calling even when it isn't wanted forces us to be sure of what we're doing. It drives us to our knees in prayer, in attentive listening, in humility. Then we're released from the scramble for human approval and can do our work solely to please God.[2] Just as the Rocky Mountains stand majestically taller than all other mountain ranges in the continental United States, so there are choice men and women of God who stand taller than all other Christians because of their passionate love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of these God-made saints differed greatly in their intellectual capacities, academic accomplishments, cultural backgrounds, and the breadth of their respective fruitfulness. For some of these saintly luminaries, the only reason we have any knowledge of their depth of holiness and passion for God is because a biographer has written about their uncommon piety. For others, they preserved for future generations through their journals, and/or writings— accounts in which they expressed their repeated intense desire for intimacy with God. One thing held in common by all these saints who belong to the Fellowship of Burning Hearts? Their uncommon confessions, gratitude, intercessions, fastings, periods of solitude, and abundant labors in Jesus' name to the glory of God the Father through the power of the indwelling Spirit. In short, it was incomparable passionate love for Christ that caused them to stand head and shoulders above others—other believers. In every generation, God has had faithful, thirsty-hearted followers whose lives are singularly marked with a passion for Christ. These men and women were not content to know God in theory, neither did they settle for a mere creedal form of religion. Though they knew God to be transcendent, they also knew him to be immanent. They strove to know God for themselves . . . to walk in intimacy with Christ . . . to hunger and thirst after true righteousness. The constant refrain that characterized each of these towers of godliness and good works, who loved God with their all, could be summed up in the prayer of one of their own, "the sweet psalmist of Israel":[3] "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for the living God.”[4] Each of these God-chasers were God-shaped men and women who passionately loved, followed, and served their Lord. This was true of David and Daniel, Isaiah and Ezekiel, Hannah and Deborah, Joseph and Joshua, Caleb and Gideon. It was also true of Simeon and Anna, Elizabeth and Mary, Peter and Paul, Andrew and Timothy—and a host of many other Old and New Testament worthies. It is no less true of a myriad of others over the last two thousand years of Church history. To reword Hebrews 11:32f: "And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Ignatius of Antioch, John Chrysostom, Augustine of Hippo, Bernard of Clairvoix, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, John Hus, Martin Luther, William Tyndale, John Calvin, John Knox, Teresa of Avila, Blaise Pascal, John Bunyan, Jonathan Edwards, George Mueller, John and Charles Wesley, Francis Asbury, William Carey, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, C. S. Lewis— who demonstrated an indefatigable passion for Christ by defending the faith once delivered to the saints, cared for widows and orphans, and traveled the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ. These Christ-formed sanctified instruments of grace and godliness, expressed and practiced their passion for Christ before kings and apostate leaders. Some edified Christ's church by writing extensively. Others rejoiced in the face of unbelievable trials and humanly insurmountable difficulties. For some, their testimonies were sealed with their own blood. Many others remain anonymous; only God knows who they are. In this brief series, I want to examine the life of one of church history's most outstanding evangelists and leaders, George Whitefield (1714-1770). In doing so, I want us to explore how this man of God cultivated and expressed such a radiant, passionate love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Biographical Sketch So weak, so frail an instrument, If Thou excuse, then work Thy will One of those deserving a place in Church History's Roll of Honor is George Whitefield (pronounced "Witfield.")[6] Whitefield was born at Gloucester, England, the youngest of seven children—six sons and a daughter. He had a grandfather who was a minister in the Church of England, with a father who operated a tavern and inn. While yet a child, his father died and his mother was left to struggle in raising her children. At the age of four, Whitefield contracted measles, which so affected his one eye that he was left with a squint. While quite young, George Whitefield entered into a generally godless lifestyle. In his own words, "I was so brutish as to hate instruction, and used purposely to shun all opportunities of receiving it. I can date some early acts of uncleanness. . . . Lying, filthy talking, and foolish jesting I was much addicted to, even when very young.”[7] He confessed to stealing from his mother and using those funds to "satisfy my sensual appetite," while breaking the Sabbath repeatedly. He said it "would be endless to recount the sins and offenses of my younger days. They are more in number than the hairs of my head.”[8] Through his mid-teens, Whitefield was periodically moved upon and convicted by the Holy Spirit for living such a careless and profane life. However, these occasions were essentially transitory and no real change occurred in him. There were times when he was even given to mocking God's ministers. For example, a few times he entered a local church, interrupting a service, shouting the name of the minister: "Old Cole! old Cole! old Cole!" A member of the church once asked him if he intended ever to be a minister. He replied, "A minister, . . . but I would take care never to tell stories in the pulpit like old Cole.”[9] It was not until in the providence of God when Whitefield became a student at Oxford University, that he entered a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He had not been at the university long when he became a member of a group whom their detractors termed "The Holy Club." Eventually these devout men were called "methodists" by mockers, because of the methodical spiritual disciplines their adherents employed. John and Charles Wesley were the group's leading figures. Although Whitefield became quite disciplined in prayer, Bible reading, fasting, and almsgiving— at the time, he had no assurance of his salvation. Whitefield dates his conversion following both an extended illness and an intensive spiritual battle. The year was March, 1735, when he was twenty years of age. The following is the account in his own words:
Whitefield's Use of a Diary/Journal and William Law's Influence It was some time following his conversion to Christ, while a student at Oxford University and a committed member of The Holy Club, that Whitefield composed a list of questions which he used each evening to review his actions of the day. According to one of his biographer's, Arnold Dallimore, this list came from his Diary, not his Journals.[11] Dallimore says of Whitefield's use of this list: Each day's entry in the Diary is in two parts, a page to a part. On one page he lists the specific activities of each hour of the day and makes a self-examination, on the basis of the criteria, of the merits or demerits of each hour. On the second page he records any unusual activity throughout the day, but above all, gives expression to his inner self. The longings of his soul, a searching of his motives, severe self-reproach for the slightest wrong and bursts of praise to God, are all recorded without inhibition.[12] Here are Whitefield's self-examination questions: Have I . . . 1. Been fervent in private prayer? There is clearly a broad range of spiritual/ethical concerns covered in Whitefield's list—including prayer, conversations, organizing a day's activities, frequently reflecting ("recollecting") upon mundane activities and duties, evaluating his attitudes, thoughts, motives and actions. The use of such spiritual rules were common among members of the Holy Club and may be attributed in part to the influence of William Law, whom Whitefield references in the above list. John Wesley noted in his Journal that he had begun reading Law's A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life in 1730.[14] Soon after first reading Law, Wesley recorded, "The light flowed in so mightily upon my soul, that everything appeared in a new view.[15] One of the spiritual disciplines Law advocated was that of drawing up a list of spiritual guides and carefully ordering one's life after them. Law referred to these guides as "rules" and chided those who thought he was to strict in recommending such devotion: "Some people will perhaps object that all these rules of holy living are too great a restraint upon human life, that by depriving ourselves of so many seemingly innocent pleasures we shall render our lives dull, uneasy, and melancholy.”[16] While John Wesley later came to believe that Law was too extreme—and even unbiblical in some particulars—Law continued to have a profound effect upon the Methodists, including Whitefield. Concerning the early influence that A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life had upon him, Whitefield recalled that before he enrolled at Oxford he had seen Law's book but didn't have the funds to purchase it. However, soon after his arrival at Oxford he purchased the volume from a friend. Of that purchase and subsequent reading, he reported, "God worked powerfully upon my soul." He noted the book's immediate impact upon his spiritual exercises: "I now began to pray and sing psalms thrice every day, besides morning and evening, and to fast every Friday, and to receive the Sacrament at a parish church [Anglican] near our college.”[17] - Soli Deo Gloria - (To be continued.) 1Hebrews 13:7-8. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good New Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. |
||||
|
|
|