At the age of 21 this ambitious young man ran for a seat in the British Parliament and won. Little could he have realized back then that this position would enable him to play a key role, 50 years later, in abolishing slavery entirely in England.
Wilberforce was the son of wealthy parents, grew up with an exposure to Christianity, was educated at Cambridge, and in 1780 joined Parliament. He represented the large district of Yorkshire and immediately earned a reputation as a gifted speaker and a charming young politician. At this time in his life, he had little interest in the gospel and instead enjoyed a good debate and socializing with his upper crust friends. However, his entire life was about to radically change only five years into his political career.
In 1784 during a European tour Wilberforce invited Isaac Milner to join him. Milner was not only an Anglican clergyman but a brilliant Cambridge scientist. According to one biography of Wilberforce we read: “Unaware of Milner’s evangelical convictions, Wilberforce was surprised to find that someone whom he could respect intellectually could also embrace a Christian worldview. Together they read and reviewed the Greek New Testament and Philip Doddridge’s The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. By the end of two European trips, the politician was convicted of his sin. He acknowledged ‘a sense of my great sinfulness in having so long neglected the unspeakable mercies of my God and Savior.’”1
For a few months after this transformational event in his life he intellectually knew Christ was his Savior but struggled with giving Christ his whole heart. Wilberforce knew that to follow Christ meant giving up all of his worldly ways. As the conviction of the Holy Spirit grew stronger Wilberforce finally decided to let Christ have the keys to his heart, and from that time on he never looked back. Again, we read: “After a long period of self-questioning and prayer, Wilberforce reached his famous conclusion that ‘God had set before me two objects: the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners’ [i.e., morality]. While due in part to the influence of Newton, a former slave trader, Wilberforce’s embracing of the anti-slavery cause was from the direct effect of embracing the Christian worldview.”2
After twenty years of Wilberforce’s tireless efforts, along with the help of a small group of wealthy British Christians known as the “Clapham Sect,” England’s Parliament finally voted, in 1807, to abolish the slave trade. But it would take still another 26 years to emancipate the existing slaves and abolish slavery entirely. During this long struggle Wilberforce faced intense opposition from politicians and businessmen, assassination attempts, and long bouts of frail health. Yet his steadfast resolve to end this societal evil eventually won out and in July 1833, just three days before his death, the House of Commons passed a law emancipating all slaves in the British Empire.
Not only did Wilberforce champion the cause to end slavery but he was involved in over 60 organizations, mostly evangelical and philanthropic. He devoted a large amount of time and his personal wealth to spread the gospel message and effect the moral climate in a variety of areas. Concerns that he tackled included prison reform, opposition to pornography, the funding of Christian schools for the poor, hospital and education reform, and missionary work in India.
Wilberforce’s faith in Christ changed him from a careless, wealthy young politician to a pillar of strength in the Christian community and an amazing agent of social change in England. While he was instrumental in freeing the negro slaves from physical bondage, Christ was instrumental in freeing Wilberforce from the spiritual bondage of sin.
Perhaps J. I. Packer summed up the legacy of Wilberforce best when he said:
“William Wilberforce…was a great man who impacted the Western world as few others have done. Blessed with brains, charm, influence and initiative, much wealth … he put evangelicalism on Britain’s map as a power for social change, first by overthrowing the slave trade almost single-handed and then by generating a stream of societies for doing good and reducing evil in public life… To forget such men is foolish.”3
1 William Wilberforce Biography (wilberforceschool.org)