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Charles Grandison Finney
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Voices From the
Church of Philadelphia



Tips for Using WhatSaithTheScripture.com ---New Window


As a voice from the past, God's mighty man raises His Standard high,
that God's Truth should not be lost in these
Last Days of deception.

"He being dead yet speaketh"
(Hebrews 11:4 ).
 Wisdom is justified.

Charles G. Finney


Charles G. Finney
(1792-1875)

"Prophets, Christ, and his apostles,
have left on the pages of inspiration
no dubious testimony against
every form of sin.

The spirit of the whole Bible
breathes from every page
blasting and annihilation
upon every unholy abomination,

while it smiles upon everything
of good report
that promises blessings to man
and glory to God."

-from "LECTURES ON
SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
" ---New Window
by Charles G. Finney

signature


TO THE CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA:
"8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an Open Door, and NO man can shut it:
for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My WORD, and hast not denied My Name.

10
Because thou hast kept the WORD of My patience, I also will keep thee
from The Hour Of Temptation
, which shall come upon all the world,
to try them that dwell upon the earth.

11
Behold, I come quickly: HOLD THAT FAST which thou hast,
that NO man take thy crown.

13
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches"
(Revelation 3:8,10-11,13).





SECTION
SUB-INDEX



His Name is The WORD.


Writings by C.G. Finney



C. G. Finney


The Oberlin Evangelist

1839-1862
Lectures Index
---New Window


Sermons and Lectures by Charles G. Finney,
president of Oberlin College


"While Mr. Finney was masterful at presenting the intricacies of a "Systematic Theology" for the comprehensive study of the seminary student, the sermons and lectures from "The Oberlin Evangelist" were written for the lay person, as stated in Mr. Finney's own words,

"I will try to write as if I had you all before me in one great congregation, as if I beheld your countenances and were addressing you 'face to face.'"


-from "Professor Finney's Letter of January 1, 1839".
 Wisdom is justified.



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Systematic Theology

---
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1851 English edition

The only source for these lectures came from the printed 1851 English edition of SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY by Charles Finney. This is 100% Finney with no deletions or additions. This version had been out of print for over 100 years. This version is the pure standard. All other versions of SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY are taken from this version.

This was typed in by John, Terri, and Aaron Clark, and the many friends of this Systematic. Thank you!

"More than 20 years ago, shortly after Katie and I were married, we Providentially stumbled across
the writings of Charles G. Finney.
First, the Revival Lectures, then his Autobiography.

But, the crowning jewel to Mr. Finney's writings is the Systematic Theology.

With great zeal and trepidation we tackled the puzzles of Mr. Finney's tight reasoning.
At times, it left us completely embarrassed and unable to come to grips with his statements;
but, we were finally rewarded with greater understanding than we thought possible.

Only those willing to pay the price for a greater understanding
of the mind of God and His ways, will attempt to read this.

Be warned.
The price of understanding is willingness to put into practice whatever God teaches you.

"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself"
(John 7:17).

Of human writings, I cannot think of a book that has had more profound of an effect upon Katie and I
than Finney's Systematic Theology."


-Tom Stewart

WhatSaithTheScripture.com


 Wisdom is justified.



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Charles G. Finney: Unity of Moral Action ---New Window



FROM THE 1878 EDITION OF LECTURES ON SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
LECTURE 9:
"UNITY OF MORAL ACTION"

"Obedience cannot be partial in the sense that the subject ever does, or can, partly obey and partly disobey at the same time. That is, consecration, to be real, must be, for the time being, entire and universal.
.. Can the will at the same time choose opposite and conflicting ultimate ends? While one ultimate end is chosen, can the will choose anything inconsistent with this end?... Sin is the supreme preference of self-gratification. Holiness is the supreme preference of the good of being. Can then two supreme preferences coexist in the same mind? It is plainly impossible to make opposite choices at the same time, that is, to choose opposite and conflicting ultimate ends." -CHARLES G. FINNEY.


 Wisdom is justified.



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Charles G. Finney: The Relations of Christ to the Believer ---New Window
with
Scripture Additions by Tom Stewart



FROM THE 1851 EDITION OF LECTURES ON SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY.
SPECIAL ANNOTATED VERSION OF LECTURES 62-67:

"SANCTIFICATION" & "THE RELATIONS OF CHRIST TO THE BELIEVER"
including
"Understanding Charles G. Finney's Entire Sanctification"
Or, "An Introduction to Finney's 'The Relations of Christ to the Believer'"
by Tom Stewart

"No one can too fully understand, or too deeply feel, the necessity of taking home the Bible with all it contains, as a message sent from Heaven to him; nor can too earnestly desire or seek the promised Spirit to teach him the true spiritual import of all its contents. He must have the Bible made a personal revelation of God to his own soul. It must become his own book. He must know Christ for himself. He must know him in his different relations. He must know him in his blessed and infinite fulness, or he cannot abide in him, and unless he abide in Christ, he can bring forth none of the fruits of holiness. 'Except a man abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered.'
[John 15:6]. ['Sanctify them through Thy Truth: Thy Word is Truth' (John 17:17)]... The foregoing are some of the relations which Christ sustains to us as to our salvation. I could have enlarged greatly, as you perceive, upon each of these, and easily have swelled this part of our course of study to a large volume. I have only touched upon these sixty-one relations, as specimens of the manner in which he is presented for our acceptance in the Bible, and by the Holy Spirit. ['And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen' (John 21:25).]" -CHARLES G. FINNEY.


 Wisdom is justified.



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Sermons On Important Subjects

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Sample Quote:
"I endeavored to show that a change of heart is not that in which a sinner is passive, but that in which he is active. That the change is not physical, but moral. That it is the sinner's own act. That it consists in changing his mind, or disposition, in regard to the supreme object of pursuit. A change in the end at which he aims, and not merely in the means of obtaining his end. A change in the governing choice or preference of the mind. That it consists in preferring the glory of God, and the interests of his kingdom, to one's own happiness, and to every thing else. That it is a change from a state of selfishness in which a person prefers his own interest above every thing else, to that disinterested benevolence that prefers God's happiness and glory, and the interests of his kingdom, to his own private happiness."
-from "How to Change Your Heart", by CHARLES G. FINNEY.

CONTENTS

SERMON I.
SINNERS BOUND TO CHANGE THEIR OWN HEARTS
---New Window

SERMON II.
HOW TO CHANGE YOUR HEART
---New Window

SERMON III.
TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS
---New Window

SERMON IV.
TOTAL DEPRAVITY
---New Window

SERMON V.
TOTAL DEPRAVITY
---New Window

SERMON VI.
WHY SINNERS HATE GOD
---New Window

SERMON VII.
GOD CANNOT PLEASE SINNERS
---New Window

SERMON VIII.
CHRISTIAN AFFINITY
---New Window

SERMON IX.
STEWARDSHIP
---New Window

SERMON X.
DOCTRINE OF ELECTION
---New Window

SERMON XI.
REPROBATION
---New Window

SERMON XII.
LOVE OF THE WORLD
---New Window




 Wisdom is justified.



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Charles G. Finney: Lectures to Professing Christians ---New Window



"Two things are indispensable to evangelical or saving faith.
The first is intellectual conviction of the truth of a thing. And here I do not mean merely the abstract truth of it, but in its bearing on you. The truth, in its relation to you, or its bearing on your conduct, must be received intellectually.

And then true faith includes a corresponding state of heart. This always enters into the essence of true faith. When a man's understanding is convinced, and he admits the truth in its relation to himself, then there must be a hearty approbation of it in its bearing or relation to himself.

Both these states of mind are indispensable to true faith. Intellectual conviction of the truth is not saving faith. But intellectual conviction, when accompanied with a corresponding state of the affections, is saving faith. Hence it follows that where there is true saving faith, there is always corresponding conduct. The conduct always follows the real faith. Just as certain as the will controls the conduct, men will act as they believe."



also


Charles G. Finney: Justification By Faith ---New Window

LECTURE V.
EXTRACTED FROM

LECTURES TO PROFESSING CHRISTIANS

"Gospel Justification is not the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Under the gospel, sinners are not justified by having the obedience of Jesus Christ set down to their account, as if He had obeyed the law for them, or in their stead. It is not an uncommon mistake to suppose that when sinners are justified under the gospel they are accounted righteous in the eye of the law, by having the obedience or righteousness of Christ imputed to them. I have not time to go into an examination of this subject now. I can only say that this idea is absurd and impossible, for this reason, that Jesus Christ was bound to obey the law for himself, and could no more perform works of supererogation, or obey on our account, than anybody else. Was it not His duty to love the Lord his God, with all His heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love His neighbor as himself? Certainly; and if He had not done so, it would have been sin. The only work of supererogation He could perform was to submit to sufferings that were not deserved. This is called His obedience unto death, and this is set down to our account. But if His obedience of the law is set down to our account, why are we called on to repent and obey the law ourselves? Does God exact double service, yes, triple service, first to have the law obeyed by the surety for us, then that He must suffer the penalty for us, and then that we must repent and obey ourselves? No such thing is demanded. It is not required that the obedience of another should be imputed to us. All we owe is perpetual obedience to the law of benevolence. And for this there can be no substitute. If we fail of this we must endure the penalty, or receive a free pardon."


 Wisdom is justified.



Ampersand



Charles G. Finney: Revival Lectures ---New Window



"It is altogether improbable that religion will ever make progress among heathen nations except through the influence of revivals. The attempt is now in making to do it by education, and other cautious and gradual improvements. But so long as the laws of mind remain what they are, it cannot be done in this way.

There must be excitement sufficient to wake up the dormant moral powers, and roll back the tide of degradation and sin. And precisely so far as our land approximates to heathenism, it is impossible for God or man to promote religion in such a state of things but by powerful excitements.

This is evident from the fact that this has always been the way in which God has done it. God does not create these excitements, and choose this method to promote religion, for nothing, or without reason. Men being so reluctant to obey God, will not act until they are excited.

For instance, how many there are who know that they ought to be religious, but they are afraid that if they become pious they will be laughed at by their companions. Many are wedded to idols; others are procrastinating repentance until they are settled in life, or until they have secured some favorite worldly interest. Such persons never will give up their false shame, or relinquish their ambitious schemes, till they are so excited by a sense of quiet and danger they cannot hold back any longer."



also


Rushing Wind ---New Window
an excerpt from
No Compromise:
The Life Story of Keith Green

by Melody Green
Sharing "What it is to Break Up the Fallow Ground"
from Chapter 3 of Revival Lectures.

 Wisdom is justified.



Ampersand



Charles G. Finney: Sermons from the Penny Pulpit --New Window



These sermons were preached by Mr. Finney during his great revivals in London.
Thousands came to the LORD Jesus Christ. Forty-two Sermons in All!


Sample:

REGENERATION

THE KINGDOM OF GOD UPON EARTH.

PLEASING GOD.

 

CHRIST MAGNIFYING THE LAW.

HEART SEARCHING.

 

HOLINESS ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION.

THE PROMISES OF GOD.

 

THE CHRISTIAN'S RULE OF LIFE.

CHRIST THE MEDIATOR.

 

SEEKING HONOUR FROM MEN.

PROVING GOD.

 

THE CONVERSION OF CHILDREN.

HARDENING THE HEART.

 

THE INFINITE WORTH OF THE SOUL.

REFUGES OF LIES.

 

PURITY OF HEART AND LIFE.

QUENCHING THE SPIRIT.

 

THE SINNER'S SELF-CONDEMNATION.

LITTLE SINS.

 

THE SPIRIT CEASING TO STRIVE.

THE RATIONALITY OF FAITH.

 

A PUBLIC PROFESSION OF CHRIST.

ACCEPTABLE PRAYER.

 

THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD.

THE SINNER'S SELF-DESTRUCTION.

 

THE AWFUL INGRATITUDE OF THE SINNER.

NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

 

THE CERTAIN DOOM OF THE IMPENITENT.



Excerpt:

Let not men deceive themselves, and suppose that because they are moral, they have done all that is required of them! Suppose a man is exempted from punishment, is he fitted for heaven? Has he come into sympathy with God? Is he prepared to enjoy God? could he dwell happily with the righteous in heaven? What sort of place could heaven be if you could enjoy it? You have not come into sympathy with Christ; you reject Christ; you reject the Sabbath; you reject the Holy Ghost; and can you think that a supposed morality will answer your turn? Let me warn you to flee away from such a refuge of lies as that!

Let me say before I sit down to those who profess to be religious, who profess to be born of God. Is your religion a thing which can be known? Do your neighbours know it? Does your family know it? or are you hiding somewhere? behind some refuge of lies? Have you got behind that deacon? for you may make a refuge of lies of him! Have you got behind your minister? for you may make a refuge of lies of him! Don't hide yourselves anywhere! Be satisfied with nothing but Christ. Don't get behind that woman! Put no false standard before you. Set no standard but Christ before you! Be satisfied with no opinions that don't mould your life. Be satisfied with no religion that is not the life of your souls. Flee away from every source of error, every refuge of lies, and trust only in that which will mold your character, sanctify your life, and make you blessed forever. I beg of you to think upon these things.



 Wisdom is justified.


Ampersand



Charles G. Finney: Sermons on Gospel Themes ---New Window



"These sermons were preached by Pres. Finney at Oberlin during the years 1845-1861... Few preachers in any age have surpassed Pres. Finney in clear and well-defined views of conscience, and of man's moral convictions; few have been more fully at home in the domain of law and government; few have learned more of the spiritual life from experience and from observation; not many have discriminated the true from the false more closely, or have been more skillful in putting their points clearly and pungently. Hence, these sermons under God were full of spiritual power. They are given to the public in this form, in the hope that at least a measure of the same wholesome saving power may never fail to bless the reader." -HENRY COWLES.

Excellent! Highly Recommended!


 Wisdom is justified.



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Charles G. Finney: The Way of Salvation ---New Window



Sermon Collection
by Charles G. Finney

"The following 25 sermons represent ten percent of the sermons that C. G. Finney published in the periodical, 'The Oberlin Evangelist' ---New Window, 1839-1862. They were selected by Professor Cowles, who wrote down many of Finney's sermons, because he felt that they best exemplified the Gospel message in a concise presentation. The modern reader will find that Finney appeals to the heart by requiring his readers to think. 'Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool' (Isaiah 1:18). Finney depended upon the Holy Spirit to press home the logic of his case so that his readers would have to yield. 'Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required' (Luke 12:48)." --Tom Stewart, WStS


 Wisdom is justified.



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Charles G. Finney: Power From On High ---New Window



"We need the endowment of power from on high. Christ had previously informed the disciples that without Him they could do nothing. When He gave them the commission to convert the world, He added,
'But tarry ye in Jerusalem till ye be endued with power from on high. Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Lo, I send upon you the promise of My Father.' This baptism of the Holy Ghost, this thing promised by the Father, this endowment of power from on high, Christ has expressly informed us is the indispensable condition of performing the work which he has set before us."


 Wisdom is justified.


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Charles G. Finney: An Autobiography ---New Window



To the Students of the Words, Works and Ways of God
1908 Edition

I had taken no thought with regard to a text upon which to preach; but waited to see the congregation. As soon as I had done praying, I arose from my knees and said: "Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city." I told them I did not recollect where that text was; but I told them very nearly where they would find it, and then went on to explain it. I told them that there was such a man as Abraham, and who he was; and that there was such a man as Lot, and who he was; their relations to each other; their separating from each other on account of differences between their herdmen; and that Abraham took the hill country, and Lot settled in the vale of Sodom. I then told them how exceedingly wicked Sodom became, and what abominable practices they fell into. I told them that the Lord decided to destroy Sodom, and visited Abraham, and informed him what He was about to do; that Abraham prayed to the Lord to spare Sodom, if He found so many righteous there; and the Lord promised to do so for their sakes; that then Abraham besought Him to save it for a certain less number, and the Lord said He would spare it for their sakes; that he kept on reducing the number, until he reduced the number of righteous persons to ten; and God promised him that, if He found ten righteous persons in the city, He would spare it. Abraham made no farther request, and Jehovah left him. But it was found that there was but one righteous person there, and that was Lot, Abraham's nephew. And the men said to Lot, "hast thou here any besides? Son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place; for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it."

While I was relating these facts I observed the people looking as if they were angry. Many of the men were in their shirt sleeves; and they looked at each other and at me, as if they were ready to fall upon me and chastise me on the spot. I saw their strange and unaccountable looks, and could not understand what I was saying, that had offended them. However it seemed to me that their anger rose higher and higher, as I continued the narrative. As soon as I had finished the narrative, I turned upon them and said, that I understood that they had never had a religious meeting in that place; and that therefore I had a right to take it for granted, and was compelled to take it for granted, that they were an ungodly people. I pressed that home upon them with more and more energy, with my heart full almost to bursting.

I had not spoken to them in this strain of direct application, I should think, more than a quarter of an hour, when all at once an awful solemnity seemed to settle down upon them; the congregation began to fall from their seats in every direction, and cried for mercy. If I had had a sword in each hand, I could not have cut them off their seats as fast as they fell. Indeed nearly the whole congregation were either on their knees or prostrate, I should think, in less than two minutes from this first shock that fell upon them. Every one prayed for himself, who was able to speak at all.

Of course I was obliged to stop preaching; for they no longer paid any attention. I saw the old man who had invited me there to preach, sitting about in the middle of the house, and looking around with utter amazement. I raised my voice almost to a scream, to make him hear, and pointing to him said, "Can't you pray?" He instantly fell upon his knees, and with a stentorian voice poured himself out to God; but he did not at all get the attention of the people. I then spoke as loud as I could, and tried to make them attend to me. I said to them, "You are not in hell yet; and now let me direct you to Christ." For a few moments I tried to hold forth the Gospel to them; but scarcely any of them paid any attention. My heart was so overflowing with joy at such a scene that I could hardly contain myself. It was with much difficulty that I refrained from shouting, and giving glory to God.

As soon as I could sufficiently control my feelings I turned to a young man who was close to me, and was engaged in praying for himself, laid my hand on his shoulder, thus getting his attention, and preached in his ear Jesus. As soon as I got his attention to the cross of Christ, he believed, was calm and quiet for a minute or two, and then broke out in praying for the others. I then turned to another, and took the same course with him, with the same result; and then another, and another.

In this way I kept on, until I found the time had arrived when I must leave them, and go and fulfill an appointment in the village. I told them this, and asked the old man who had invited me there, to remain and take charge of the meeting, while I went to my appointment. He did so. But there was too much interest, and there were too many wounded souls, to dismiss the meeting; and so it was held all night. In the morning there were still those there that could not get away; and they were carried to a private house in the neighborhood, to make room for the school. In the afternoon they sent for me to come down there, as they could not yet break up the meeting.

When I went down the second time, I got an explanation of the anger manifested by the congregation during the introduction of my sermon the day before. I learned that the place was called Sodom, but I knew it not; and that there was but one pious man in the place, and him they called Lot. This was the old man that invited me there. The people supposed that I had chosen my subject, and preached to them in that manner, because they were so wicked as to be called Sodom. This was a striking coincidence; but so far as I was concerned, it was altogether accidental.
" --an excerpt from Chapter 8



 Wisdom is justified.



Ampersand



Charles G. Finney: An Approving Heart-Confidence In Prayer ---New Window



from "The Way of Salvation"
Chapter XXII

Let us turn this subject over till we get it fully before our minds. For what is it that our conscience rightly condemns us? Plainly for not obeying God according to the best light we have. Suppose now we turn about and fully obey the dictates of conscience. Then its voice approves and ceases to condemn. Now all just views of the Deity require us to consider the voice of conscience in both cases as only the echo of his own. The God who condemns all disobedience must of necessity approve of obedience; and to conceive of him as disapproving our present state would be, in the conviction of our own minds, to condemn him.

It is therefore by no means presumption in us to assume that God accepts those who are conscious of really seeking supremely to please and obey him.

Again, let it be noted that in this state with an approving conscience, we should have no self-righteousness. A man in this state would at this very moment ascribe all his obedience to the grace of God. From his inmost soul he would say, "By the grace of God, I am what I am"; and nothing could be farther from his heart than, to take praise or glory to himself for anything good. Yet I have sometimes been exceedingly astonished to hear men, and even ministers of the gospel, speak with surprise and incredulity of such a state as our text presupposes -- a state in which a man's conscience universally approves of his moral state. But why be incredulous about such a state? Or why deem it a self-righteous and sinful state? A man in this state is as far as can be from ascribing glory to himself. No state can be farther from self-righteousness. So far is this from being a self-righteous state, that the fact is, every other state but this is self-righteous, and this alone is exempt from that sin. Mark how the man in this state ascribes all to the grace of God. The apostle Paul when in this state of conscious uprightness most heartily ascribes all to grace. "I laboured," says he, "more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God that is in me."

But, observe that, while the apostle was in that state, it was impossible that he should conceive of God as displeased with his state. Paul might greatly and justly condemn himself for his past life, and might feel assured that God disapproved and had condemned Saul, the proud persecutor, though he had since pardoned Saul, the praying penitent. But the moral state of Paul the believer, of Paul, the untiring labourer for Christ, of Paul, whose whole heart and life divine grace has now moulded into his own image, this moral state Paul's conscience approves, and his views of God compel him to believe that God approves.

So of the apostle John. Hear what he says "Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight." But here rises up a man to rebuke the apostle. What! he says, did you not know that your heart is corrupt, that you never can know all its latent wickedness, that you ought never to be so presumptuous as to suppose that you "do those things that please God?" Did you not know that no mere man does ever, even by any grace received in this life, really "keep the commandments of God so as to do those things that are pleasing in his sight?" No, says John, I did not know that. "What," rejoins his reprover, "not know that sin is mixed with all you do and that the least sin is displeasing to God?" Indeed, replies John, I knew I was sincerely trying to please God, and verily supposed I did please him and did keep his commandments, and that it was entirely proper to say so, all to the praise of upholding, sanctifying grace.

Again, when a man prays disinterestedly, and with a heart in full and deep sympathy with God, he may and should have confidence that God hears him. When he can say in all honesty before the Lord, Now, Lord, thou knowest that through the grace of thy Spirit my soul is set on doing good to men for thy glory; I am grieved for the dishonour done to thee, so that "rivers of water run down my eyes, because men keep not thy law," then he cannot but know that his prayers are acceptable to God.

Indeed no one, having right views of God's character, can come to him in prayer in a disinterested state of mind, and feel otherwise than that God accepts such a state of mind. Now since our heart cannot condemn us when we are in a disinterested state of mind, but must condemn any other state, it follows that if our heart does not condemn us, we shall have, and cannot but have, confidence that God hears our prayers and accepts our state as pleasing in his sight.


--an excerpt from "An Approving Heart-Confidence in Prayer"


 Wisdom is justified.



Ampersand


from our "
A. T. Pierson" ---New Window sub-section:


The Communicable Secrets of Mr. Finney's Power ---New Window
by A. T. Pierson
Speeches and sketches at the gathering of Mr. Finney's friends and pupils,
in Oberlin, July 28th, 1876.

"He preached the whole Gospel. The Law, with its stern demand and perfect standard, he used as a plough to sweep away refuges of lies and tear up false hopes by the roots; then he followed it with the love of God, as the sower gently drops into the furrow the seed steeped in his tears. The sword of the Spirit is two-edged. Warning, or invitation, alone, like a scimetar, may strike effective blows in one direction; but when the two keen edges meet in the point, they prepare us for the thrust that pierces to the joints and marrow. Thus Mr. Finney begat deep conviction of sin. As Socrates sought to lead men "from ignorance unconscious to ignorance conscious," he aimed to produce that consciousness of guilt and peril without which there can be no deep sense of need or of obligation.
How spiritual, too, was the tone of his preaching! With what ardor and fervor he besought men to be justified and sanctified by faith. With what burning, glowing zeal, did he assail the sectarianism which cares for sect more than for Christ; the conventionalism whose "awful respectability" hampers ministers and churches by a false fastidiousness, and dares not break through the bonds of custom, and adopt a new measure, even to save a soul! With what scathing rebuke he exposes the idle neglect that leaves generations to die without the Gospel, though for each disciple to win one soul each year to Christ, would be to convert the world within the lifetime of a single generation!
His preaching was spiritual in power as well as tone. He depended on the Spirit, whose blessed unction alone fits us to plead with men, or even to understand the Gospel. With the agony of Jacob at Jabbok, he sought the power to witness.
"Honor the Holy Spirit and He will honor you," was his maxim; and he taught that without the habitual recognition of dependence on the Spirit, revivals neither begin nor continue. If any one secret of Mr. Finney's power be emphatic, it is this: he gave his whole soul to God." --A. T. Pierson



For more related to C. G. Finney on WStS
(from our "Fellowship" section):

1. The Significance of Charles G. Finney's Disinterested Benevolence ---New Window
Or, God Loves All, But Only the Lovingly Obedient Go to Heaven
by Tom Stewart

"Love is the fulfilling of the Law" (Romans 13:10).
"The great opportunity of properly understanding the love of God, which Charles Grandison Finney faithfully expounded to the Church with the terms 'disinterested benevolence' and the 'love of complacency', is that individual Christians may enter into the covenant blessings of the New Testament by knowledgeably embracing the Spirit of God, Who will work
'in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure' (Philippians 2:13). 'That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the Promise of the Spirit through faith' (Galatians 3:14). Instead of waiting for the Hereafter to see the Promises of God fulfilled, we can and ought to embrace them now. 'As for Me, this is My Covenant with them, saith the LORD; My Spirit that is upon thee, and My Words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever' (Isaiah 59:21). We ought to resist the impulse of misdirected teachings that make the giving of the Holy Spirit only a past event to an Institutional Church, but that the very purpose of the gift of the Holy Spirit, is that the God of love will 'abide with [us] for ever' (John 14:16). More important than the happiness that we immediately receive from the Spirit's presence, or even the anticipation of future Rapture and Heavenly joyfulness, we will have the present fulfillment of the Entire Sanctification or Complete Obedience promised through Jeremiah. 'But this shall be the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put My Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people' (Jeremiah 31:33). And, we, the Church of Jesus Christ, will presently justify the God Who created us 'in His own image' (Genesis 1:27) as moral agents, and the Saviour Who redeemed us 'by His own blood' (Hebrews 9:12), that we should actually and presently 'live unto righteousness' (1Peter 2:24). 'That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world' (Philippians 2:15)."


2. The Promise of the Spirit ---New Window
by Tom Stewart

"Love is the fulfilling of the Law" (Romans 13:10).
"The grand design of the Spirit's indwelling is to secure the perfect love, complete obedience, or entire sanctification that has ALWAYS been demanded by the Moral Law.
'36 Master, which is the great Commandment in the Law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great Commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the prophets' (Matthew 22:36-40). This Law of Love is understood in the New Testament as the Law of Christ. 'Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the Law of Christ' (Galatians 6:2). Always, it has been man's imperative to understand how to submit to this Law; and, now it is plain that a Covenant as old as Abraham has been fulfilled through the New Covenant's giving of the Holy Spirit-- which, BY FAITH secures for us perfect obedience to God. 'That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the Promise of the Spirit through faith' (Galatians 3:14)."


3. Charles G. Finney on Christian Perfection ---New Window
by Tom Stewart
Quote from Finney: "A denial of this doctrine [entire sanctification or Christian perfection] prepares the minds of ministers to temporize, and wink at great iniquity in their churches. Feeling as they certainly must, if they disbelieve this doctrine, that a great amount of sin in all believers is to be expected as a thing of course their whole preaching, and spirit, and demeanor, will be such as to beget a great degree of apathy among Christians, in regard to their abominable sins... Total abstinence from sin must be every man's motto, or sin will certainly sweep him away as with a flood."


4. Is Faith the Only Condition for Eternal Salvation? ---New Window
Or, The Biblical Doctrine of Justification by Faith
by Tom Stewart

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath Everlasting Life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from Death unto Life" (John 5:24).
Faith is anything but passive, for "by faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the Promises offered up his only begotten son" (Hebrews 11:17). Faith is so bound up in the Other Conditions for our Justification, that to knowingly omit those other conditions, would declare our faith to be dead. "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). All the Other Conditions of our Justification are part of Evangelical Faith and are conditions for Eternal Salvation. These conditions may properly be called the Works of Faith, such as, perseverance (which is a description of those who follow Jesus to Heaven). "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed" (John 8:31).


5. What About The Hypocrites? ---New Window
Excerpts taken from sermons by C. G. Finney (1792-1875) and C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) ---New Window which are all found at WStS.
One of our readers reminded us of a common complaint the world has about the Church. After a recent encounter with another person asking the question, "What about all of the hypocritical Christians?", our reader gathered some information from our site and composited it into this comprehensive answer. He then submitted it to us, hoping it would help someone else. We thank him.



6. The Majesty of the Atonement of Jesus Christ ---New Window
Or, Christ's Humanity Provided an Atoning Sacrifice for the Sins of Mankind
by Tom Stewart

"And not only so, but we also joy in God through our LORD Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the Atonement" (Romans 5:11).
"At this moment, only a short time before the 'glorious appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ' (Titus 2:13), it is a retrospective of awe and wonder that we would consider again the central, fundamental, and timeless theme of the atoning self-sacrifice of the Creator for the well-being of rebellious and sinful man... he most majestic act of God towards us was the Atonement of Jesus Christ on the Cross for all mankind. So marvelous was this act of atonement, that the angels were quite eager to see how the LORD would handle it. 'Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven; which things the angels desire to look into' (1Peter 1:12). Eternity cannot exhaust our study of the love of God that was manifested in His atonement for us."


7. Must We Then Sin? ---New Window
Or, A Response to the Doctrine of Sin Nature or the Doctrine of Original Sin
Or, A Clarification of What is Sin, Why We Sin, and How Not to Sin
by Tom Stewart

"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His Seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1John 3:9).
The present, woeful ignorance of the Laodicean Church concerning the LORD Jesus Christ, has begotten a necessity to sin and to entertain all the worst sins of the world, while professing themselves to be
"rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing" (Revelation 3:17).

This Doctrine of Sin Nature or Original Sin has become an indispensable article of faith to the modern Church, but it has been, and still is, a refuge and excuse for sin and sinning, an unbearable "yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1), and an impediment to any attempt to live apart from sin. "For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered unto them" (2Peter 2:21).

"The dogma of constitutional moral depravity, is a part and parcel of the doctrine of a necessitated will. It is a branch of a grossly false and heathenish philosophy. How infinitely absurd, dangerous, and unjust, then, to embody it in a standard of Christian doctrine, to give it the place of an indispensable article of faith, and denounce all who will not swallow its absurdities, as heretics. O, shame!" (from Charles G. Finney's "Lectures on Systematic Theology", Lecture XLI (41) on "Moral Depravity" ---New Window). May the Merciful God allow you to "adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things" (Titus 2:10).


8. The Love of GOD for Sinners All ---New Window
by Charles G. Finney

(edited by Katie Stewart)

If you've ever sinned, and all have, you need to hear this.


9. Jesus Christ, the Hope in You ---New Window
by Charles G. Finney

(edited by Katie Stewart)

Our only HOPE in a hopeless world.
 Wisdom is justified.





Acknowledgment:
The Public Domain texts of Rev. Charles G. Finney on this site,
reformatted by WStS,
were based on files originally found at
Fires of Revival ---New Window.





The following men each have their own sub-index:

Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875) (this page)

Charles Haddon Spurgeon ---New Window (1834-1892)

Jonathan Edwards ---New Window (1703-1758)

James Aitken Wylie ---New Window (1808-1890)

Andrew Murray ---New Window (1828-1917)

E. M. Bounds ---New Window (1835-1913)

A. T. Pierson ---New Window (1837-1911)

D. L. Moody ---New Window (1837-1899)


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