Church History Spotlight: George Whitefield, Part 1
Sep 30th, 2007 by Nathan White
Over the past few months I have endeavored to study and learn more about Church History. I have found that reading about the saints of old, seeing their trials, their victories, and their battles with sin can be one of the very best means of sanctification in a Christian’s life.
But my recent study of George Whitefield, and how it has changed my perspective on so many things, has led me to conclude that it has been one of the most rewarding studies I have ever conducted. Let me just be frank: I was challenged, convicted, and was repeatedly led to take a step back and examine my own heart and life.
If you’re not familiar with George Whitefield, I would strongly recommend that you begin looking into him. For starters, I would recommend JC Ryle’s “Christian Leaders of the Last Century“, as he devotes one lengthy chapter to Whitefield and there gives a great overview of his life. But the ultimate work would certainly be Arnold Dallimore’s two volume biography, which has been extremely popular down through the years. Dallimore’s work is two thick volumes, 1200 pages in total, and it took me (a pretty fast reader) about a month to complete. So it’s quite a read, but almost every chapter was rewarding and worth going through meticulously. So be prepared for a challenge –a very rewarding challenge– when you pick up this fine work.
This post is not a book review or even an overview of his life. I would love to provide such a series of articles, but I simply don’t have the available free time for such a daunting task. Instead, as I read Dallimore’s work, I jotted down particular things that I found interesting, noteworthy, or personally edifying. So I’d simply like to share a few of those things here, in hopes that it will sort of ‘wet your appetite’ and inspire you to look into his life as well.
Thus, here are a few random but somewhat organized notes on George Whitefield:
- As I have mentioned before, Whitefield, upon describing his life before salvation, confesses that he was “a Sabbath-breaker, a theater-goer, a card-player, and a romance-reader.” I find this amazing considering how most Christians today view sin.
- When urged by friends to respond to some false accusations/attacks on his character and his message, Whitefield replied: “I am content to wait till the Judgment Day for the clearing up of my character. When I am dead I desire no epitaph but this: ‘Here lies G.W. What kind of man he was the great Day will discover.‘”
- John Wesley, who plays a prominent role in the life of Whitefield (and who rarely says anything worth remembering), comments that the stage in 18th century England was the ‘sink of all corruption‘. Yikes! I wonder what he would say of T.V. and movies now days!
- Continually throughout his life, Whitefield repeated and certainly lived by the precept that ‘not a moment be lost‘. We desperately need this kind of thinking in the church today, given all the entertainment, pleasure, past-times, and comfort of Western civilization.
- In his 30 years of ministry, Whitefield preached 18,000 formal sermons, and if his informal sermons were added in as well, the number tops ‘thirty of forty thousand’! That’s well over a thousand sermons a year for 30 years! It is no wonder that it is also documented that Whitfield preached 40-60 hours a week!
- Whitefield spent hours and hours reading scripture on his knees, with a Mathew Henry commentary and his Greek New Testament by his side, as he prayed over every single word in the text. Hour and hours of doing this in his younger years proved to prepare him for his amazing life of open-air preaching.
- Whitefield’s habit, like many saints, was to set aside devoted prayer-time in the morning, noon, and evening. And he also set apart the 16th day of every month as a day of secret fasting for his sins and prayer. Oh that the church today would follow such an example!
- When speaking of his ordination, Whitefield wrote: “I have prayed a thousand times, till the sweat has dropped from my face like rain, that God…would not let me enter the church before He called me and thrust me into His work.“
- Others said that it was Whitefield’s ‘burning sincerity’ that made his preaching so powerful. It is also said that his sermons were chiefly made up of ‘Biblical content, doctrinal emphasis, and simplification’.
- A common practice of the day was to have an ‘inquiry room‘, which was used just like the altar call today in that people were urged to ‘respond’ to the gospel after a sermon was preached, and were directed into these rooms immediately following the sermon. Whitefield, however, refused to employ these practices. He made no appeal to public profession of faith. He did interview people privately who wanted spiritual counsel or direction, but in these interviews he ‘taught that the illumination of the mind and the implanting of faith in the heart are entirely the work of the Holy Spirit.’ He gave no seeker (in these interviews) reason to believe that the interview was ‘essential to, or necessarily productive of, salvation.’ His attitude was repeatedly stressed by his saying that “Only the judgment morning will reveal who the converts really are.“
- Sailing to Savannah, GA from England on his first visit to America (first of 16 total), and expecting severe trials because of what the Wesley brothers experience on their visit, Whitefield prayed: “God, give me a deep humility, a well-guided zeal, a burning love and a single eye, and then let men or devils do their worst!”
I hope you have benefited from some of these random facts, and that they inspire you to look into Whitefield yourself. I titled this post as ‘Part 1′, as I intend to share many more of these ‘random facts’ about Whitefield in the near future.
Fantastic! Thank you Nathan, for that excellent summary. If I remember correctly, the Dallimore spent decades writing those two volumes on Whitefield, and they are a real treasure. I own them, but have not completed them yet.
Dear Sir,
thank-you for highlighting the great Whitefield. I personally am I Whitefieldien methodist, although there are not many of us left. I believe one of the greatest tragedies and injustices in Christian history has been the neglect of Whitefield. I have begun to wonder if many of the problems in the modern church have come over a long period of time because Wesley, not Whitefield has had more influence, due to the rewriting of history. It is my prayer that God would send us another Whitefield. Thanks again for the great work.
Wow! Too bad there are those who would pick up and read [or read about] Whitfield these days will simply look at his disdain for common sins and shrug them off as merely “the attitude of his time, but we know better now.”
What kind of Christianity do we truly have these days? Where is the abhorrence of sin? Where is the humble repentance? Oh wait, that’s right, we’ve redefined sin and repentance to mean “mistakes” and “having a better attitude.”
God save us from lukewarm Christianity [and i don't mean that we just "get fired up for Jesus"].
Well Nahan,
Reading those two volumes must have been a real shot in the arm. Just reading the above info. has made my day. Perhaps we all need to brush up on our christian history lest we be overcome by the present culture.
Nathan,
I had to come back to say that this is an excellent example why Christians need to be reading. It floors me when I hear a Christian say he doesn’t read anything but his bible.
Thank you for this brief glimpse of such a passionate and driven man of God! I will say that your statement:
“John Wesley, who plays a prominent role in the life of Whitefield (and who rarely says anything worth remembering),…”
Seems a bit harsh and disparaging toward John Wesley; I believe that besides having admiration of George Whitefield for his unswerving commitment and preaching we should also look to him and John Wesley on how to handle disagreements within the Body of Christ. They passionately disagreed over “Free Grace” yet they always spoke highly of each other. Wesley preached Whitefield funeral. I cannot find the quote I once read, so I will paraphrase. When Wesley was asked if he thought that he would see George Whitefield in heaven, he said he doubted that he would be able to see him as George Whitefield’s place in heaven would be so much closer to the Thrown of God than his. Since without a source the above paraphrase/story amounts to urban legend here is a quote from Mr. Whitefield pertaining to Mr. Wesley:
“The good Mr. John Wesley has done in America is inexpressible. His name is very precious among the people; and he has laid a foundation that I hope neither men nor devils will ever be able to shake.”
Dear George,
I’m afriad that Wesley is not quite the great Christian leader he is portrayed as today. No doubt he was a mighty man of God, and we will all sit at his feet in glory, metaphorically speaking, but he had many considerable faults, none less than the way he treated Whitefield, and certianly the way he abused Augustus Toplady. The quote you attribute to Wesley was in fact spoken by Whitefield about Wesley. If you know anything of the history, unfortunately Wesley’s treatment of Whitefield ocassionally bordered on the scandalous. I’m not going to argue the point; except to say that history has been re-written by many Wesleyans to Whitefields discredit. Who was the first to be converted? Who was the first to begin open air preaching? Who was the instrument used of God to begin the great revival? Who coined the term methodist and was the known in their lifetime as its leader? Who was superior as a preacher and theologian? Who was the one who showed great conduct when mistreated by the other? Whitefield everytime.
The only reason I think this is important is because we need to a return in the church today to the faith and practice of Whitefield, instead of Wesley. Whitefield has suffered a great deal to his reputation because Wesley is often credited with the things Whitefield in fact accomplished.
A few weeks ago, I saw a painting of George Whitfield preaching at a hanging. I bet he wasn’t saying “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”
[...] up where I left off in Part 1 of this look at George Whitefield, I’d like to point out how Whitefield kept a strict account [...]
Dear M Jolley:
Careful there. You appear to be much enamored with Whitefield over Wesley. They are mere men after all. Don’t forget that it was Whitefield who instigated the fued between the two men when he published a confidential conversation between the two men. Some have called it “arrogant” and he humiliated Wesley publicly. Yes, he did his best to reach out to Wesley and make amends to him, but this just goes to show that we must be careful of our words and actions, as they can do irrevocable harm to others. Both men were called of God and served God with all of their heart — they just didn’t agree on doctrinal issues. I’m sure we all have some straightening out to be done in our beliefs when we get to heaven. But they also found the common ground of faith in Christ to fellowship on — and they always showed respect for one another’s person and ministry, despite any personal differences. It is encouraging to see that people that are so fully dedicated to God and passionate about His gospel, are also still working out their human faults before a merciful God. It helps us see that when we see two ministers today in conflict or competition, that nothing much has changed — we’re all human after all. And we are all subject to the same temptations of the flesh and elevating ourselves that man has been from the beginning. Help us Lord! It is Jesus who is perfect and who strengthens us to be the best we can be in Him. What a legacy these two men have left the church — not only in their generation, but for many to come, passing the torch of faith. I thank God for them.
Well, after all that, who did answer the famous question “will you see … in Heaven?” It seems that the answer is very humble which both camps hurry to claim but maybe it was not asked at all. Give me proof please.
As for the above comment that Wesley said nothing worth remembering only belitles himself and the Whitefieldiens something I think they would want to distance themselfes from.
Maybe this is this nothing more than a “My Dad’s better that your Dad” argument? I like to think that even in their disagreements they loved each other in Christ. God certainly did.
Sir: I have the pleasure of knowing descendants of converts of Mr. Whitefield. A man and his mother were converted under Mr. Whitefield (I think it was in 1746). The next year a brother of the man came from Scotland (he was under the influence of French Infidelity), and they encouraged him to hear Mr. Whitefield and he was also converted. The first brother had a descenant who is a Southern Baptist Preacher (now in ill health), a personal friend. The other brother had descendants who are Presbyterians. My wife worked for one of them. The half has never been told about Mr. Whitefield.
I LIKED THIS CITE B/C I THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT RESEARCH PLACE FOR MY ESSAY! IT HELPED ME SEE ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ ON GEORGE WHITEFIELD!
While not taking sides, I noticed the dispute about the seeing in heaven quote, and found a source for it which I will present for the consideration of all…
http://www.singlespoon.org.au/history/whitefield.shtml
[Whitefield] went to great lengths to heal the breach in relationship between him and the Wesleys. It was out of this great heart, this desire for peace with the Wesleys that the significant quote in Pratney comes. Pratney writes:
One censorious Professor of religion, knowing the sharp theological differences between them, asked if Whitefield thought he would see John Wesley in heaven. “I fear not,” he said, “he will be so near the throne and we at such a distance that we shall hardly get a sight of him.” (Pratney p96)
“Revival: Principles to change the world” by Winkie Pratney (Whitaker House1983)
~
I think it is incumbent upon us to not be so concerned about which Christian fights with which other Christian (current or past) but to love each other in Christ, as He loved us.
John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
CS
Sirs: It is good to read the comments about Whitefield. I know something about his impact on the Baptists and a few other denominations. It is said in history that he provided what was needed to unite the colonies, to make them one, which he did by his emphasis on the new birth. A multitude of people up and down the east coast had a born again experience; it would provide the glue of similarity which would bind the colonials together when the time of the Revolution came. That there were remarkable things done can be found in the record and accounts of the Awakenings.
One historian whose work I review recently reported that a free African American went to mock Whitefield (In Charleston) and Whitefield pointed at him as he quoted his text (Israel, prepare to meet thy God), the man was propelled backwards and passed out. Whitefield appointed the pastor of the FBC of Charleston (Oliver Hart. When the man awoke, he was brought to saving faith in Christ. Remarkable!