Deutero Q

Two of church history’s most effective evangelists were George Whitefield and John Wesley. Whitefield was a Calvinist and Wesley was an Arminian; both proclaimed Christ with passion and power in the eighteenth century.* It is said about Whitefield that Benjamin Franklin often went to hear him preach because he could watch Whitefield burn before his very eyes. Whitefield was ablaze for God, preaching to thousands of people at a time. God used him mightily to lead many people to faith in Jesus Christ.

Wesley was also on fire for God. He wrote more than two hundred books and preached more than 40,000 sermons (sometimes seven or more in a day!), often riding on horseback forty or more miles daily. Like Whitefield, Wesley led many thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ.

We may not have the same ministry as Whitefield and Wesley, but we can have their fervor and fire for the Lord. In 2 Tim. 1:6-7, the apostle Paul exhorted young pastor Timothy to fan into the flame the gift of God that was in him, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” Is the fire on the altar of our Christian hearts burning low? Might we need to fan into flame the gift of God that is in us? What was true of Whitefield and Wesley can also be true of us—we can be ablaze for God and accomplish much for Him.

Let us then pray that God would raise up modern-day Whitefields and Wesleys—twenty-first century Christians who have a burden for lost souls and an accompanying unction of the Spirit’s power to lead many people to Christ. After all, ten words shared in the power of the Spirit will be much more effective than ten thousand words spoken in the flesh.

*Whitefield and Wesley are prime examples of how Christians can disagree on doctrine and yet still love each other. For example, consider these words from a letter that Whitefield wrote to Wesley: “I love and honour you for his [Christ’s] sake; and when I come to judgment, will thank you before men and angels, for what you have, under God, done for my soul. There, I am persuaded, I shall see dear Mr. Wesley convinced of election and everlasting love. And it often fills me with pleasure to think how I shall behold you casting your crown down at the feet of the Lamb, and as it were filled with a holy blushing for opposing the divine sovereignty in the manner you have done. But I hope the Lord will shew you this before you go hence. O how I do long for that day! If the Lord should be pleased to make use of this letter for that purpose, it would abundantly rejoice the heart of, dear and honoured Sir, Yours affectionate, though unworthy brother and servant in Christ, George Whitefield.” George Whitefield’s Journals (Edinburgh.: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1989), 588.