"The crowning excellence of Whitefield's teaching was that he just
spoke of men, things, and doctrines, in the way that the Bible speaks of
them. God, Christ, and the Spirit, sin, justification, conversion, and
sanctification, impenitent sinners the most miserable of people,
believing saints the most privileged of people, the world a vain and
empty thing, heaven the only rest for an immortal soul, the devil a
tremendous and ever-watchful foe, holiness the only true happiness, hell
a real and certain portion for the unconverted; these were the kind of
things which filled Whitefield's mind, and formed the staple of his
ministry."
"First and foremost you must remember, Whitefield
preached a singularly pure gospel. Few men ever gave their hearers so
much wheat and so little chaff. He did not get into his pulpit to talk
about his party, his cause, his interest, or his office. He was
perpetually telling you about your sins, your heart, and Jesus Christ,
in the way that the Bible speaks of them. 'Oh, the righteousness of
Jesus Christ!' he would frequently say."
"Here is a man who
starts in life under many disadvantages. He has neither family, nor
place, nor money, nor high connections on his side. His views are flatly
opposed to the customs and prejudices ofhis time. He stands in direct
opposition to the stream of public taste, and the religion of the vast
bulk of ministers around him. He is as much isolated and alone, to all
appearance, as Martin Luther opposing the Pope, as Athanasius resisting
the Arians, as Paul on Mars' Hill. And yet this man stands his ground.
He arrests public attention. He gathers crowds around him who receive
his teaching. He is made a blessing to tens of thousands. He turns the
world upside down. How striking these facts are!" J. C. Ryle
Author: George Whitefield Publisher: Pietan Publications Year: 2008 Number of Pages: 1379 (4 volume set) Format: paperback
