According to Mary Fairchild: “George Whitefield was one of the most dynamic and famous Christian ministers of the 18th century, yet today remains relatively unknown. A British clergyman of the Anglican Church, Whitefield’s eloquent oratory skills and charismatic personality helped spark the spiritual revival known as ‘The Great Awakening’ throughout Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the North American colonies.”1
Whitefield (1714 – 1770) graduated from Oxford in 1732 and his sermons were designed to engage both the heart and the intellect. He delivered his first sermon at age 21, and when his career was over, he gave over 18,000 sermons reaching over ten million people. Dubbed by the press, “the marvel of the age,” Whitefield’s amazingly loud voice was perfectly suited for his outdoor spellbinding, revival-style preaching meetings. Whitefield was the first internationally famous itinerant preacher and was considered the Billy Graham of his day.
Fairchild adds: “With his flair for dramatic expression, Whitefield’s sermons were exceptional, bringing the characters of the Bible to life like never before. Not only were his audiences unprecedented in size, but his listeners found themselves spellbound.”2 Whitefield was a man on a mission and that mission was to point people to Jesus Christ as their Savior. He was a humble man of God who never sought public fame but only to share the good news of the Gospel.
By all accounts he was a man of high integrity. His only blind spot was his acceptance of the institution of slavery. While advocating for the humane treatment of slaves in America, nonetheless, Whitefield did not believe in the necessity of ending the practice of slavery altogether. It is sad to say he even owned a 4,000-acre plantation with fifty slaves. His justification was that by exposing African Americans to Christianity they could receive eternal life in Christ. This moral failing shows us that God can still use imperfect humans to do great things for the Lord. According to Fairchild: “Historians have called Whitefield’s dissonant view on slavery ‘the one dark blot upon an otherwise unspotted career.’”3
Whitefield’s passion for the lost and his love of the Lord can be seen not only by his lifestyle but by some of his more famous quotes below.4
“Study to know Him more and more, for the more you know, the more you will love Him.”
“It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher.”
“Other men may preach the gospel better than I, but no man can preach a better gospel.”
“I got more true knowledge from reading the Book of God in one month, than I could ever have acquired from all the writings of men.”
“Take care of your life and the Lord will take care of your death.”
“What! Get to heaven on your own strength? Why, you might as well try to climb to the moon on a rope of sand!”
“True repentance will entirely change you; the bias of your souls will be changed, then you will delight in God, in Christ, in His Law, and in His people.”
“Pray that I may be very little in my own eyes, and not rob my dear Master of any part of his glory.”
“If one evil thought, if one evil word, if one evil action, deserves eternal damnation, how many hells, my friends, do every one of us deserve, whose whole lives have been one continued rebellion against God!”
“If you know Christ and him crucified, you know enough to make you happy, supposing you know nothing else. And without this, all your other knowledge cannot keep you from being everlastingly miserable.”
“For it pleased God, after he had made all things by the word of his power, to create man after his own image.”
1 Biography of George Whitefield, Great Awakening Preacher (learnreligions.com)
2 Biography of George Whitefield, Great Awakening Preacher (learnreligions.com)
3 Biography of George Whitefield, Great Awakening Preacher (learnreligions.com)
4 All of these quotations below are from the following website:
TOP 25 QUOTES BY GEORGE WHITEFIELD (of 136) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)