For the Oberlin Evangelist.

January 1, 1839

PROFESSOR FINNEY'S LETTERS, NO. 1.

TO THE YOUNG CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE BEEN CONVERTED IN THE GREAT REVIVALS OF THE FEW PAST YEARS, SCATTERED UP AND DOWN IN THE LAND, WHEREVER THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD MAY HAVE CAST YOUR LOT:

[#1]

Dear beloved in the Lord. My body is so worn out, and especially my voice and throat are so exhausted, that I cannot visit, and verbally preach to you the word of life. Therefore, I address you through the press, as the most direct and effective medium for me to communicate my thoughts to you.

I propose, the Lord willing, to address to you, through the columns of the “Oberlin Evangelist”, from time to time, a series of short sermons.

First, I will preach on those practical subjects that I sincerely feel are the most important to you, and to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. When I have finally said what I desire on those more important and highly practical topics, if the Lord allows, I plan to secondly, give you a series of sermons on some doctrinal topics, especially the Moral Government of God, including the Atonement, and the influences of the Holy Ghost in the administration of that Government.

A great many of you I know personally, and many more of you know me, even though I have not had the honor of knowing you personally. You do me the honor of calling me your spiritual father, and I have the unspeakable happiness of believing that God has made me instrumental in doing you good.

Those of you, who know me personally, know that it is my manner to deal with complete openness and honesty. My messages and addresses are plain, to the point, and directed to the souls and consciences of everyone who is within the sound of my voice. You remember that this was my manner when I was with you. I have the greatest confidence that this is still the only way to do you good.

Now, what I desire to do, is, as far as it is within my power to do, is to lay open before you the very secrets of your hearts. I also intend to lead you to an entire renunciation of every thing that grieves the Spirit of God, to relinquish your selfishness under every form and in every degree, and to hold out before you those “exceeding great and precious promises”, whereby you may be made “partakers of God’s Divine nature”. The editors and publishers of this paper want me to make this publication the medium for me to spread my thoughts before you, as the Providence and Spirit of God enables me. I will give you a sermon as often as my health and other duties will allow; and whenever you receive this paper, containing one of my lectures, I want you to consider yourself as personally addressed by me. I want you to read for yourself, and feel that I mean you, as much as though it were a private communication made just from me to you, from my own pen, or as if I had a personal interview with you, and addressed you “face to face”. If I probe you to the quick, I beg you, please don’t be offended, and throw the paper aside, and refuse to listen to me. “I beg you by the mercies of God”; no, I solemnly entreat you, by our Lord Jesus Christ, to patiently and honestly listen to me. In fact, dearly beloved, I expect openness and honesty from you; and I am confident that many of you will not only listen to me with openness and candor, but with joy. I will try to write as if I had you all right before me, in one great congregation; as if I could look directly into your faces, and were addressing you face to face. In fact, I will consider you, and I desire you to consider yourselves, in a certain sense, members of my congregation, who attend and attentively listen to my preaching. I will take it for granted, that you read every lecture, and, as a result, I will address you, from time to time, as if you had candidly read, and attentively considered, what I had already said.

Unless I can persuade you to grant me one request, I have little hope of doing you good. In other words, as soon as you receive this letter, will you please make me and the subject of my proposed lectures, subjects of earnest and constant prayer. Whenever you receive a paper containing one of my proposed lectures, will you please get down on your knees before you read it, and open up your heart in solemn prayer before God, and to the influences of truth, and appeal for the aid of the Holy Spirit, to make the word quick and powerful to you. We will all soon meet at the Judgment Seat of God. I earnestly desire to do you all the good I can possibly do, as long as I am in the flesh; and since I do not intend to write for your amusement, but solely for your spiritual edification, will you pledge yourselves, on your knees before God, to examine the truth candidly and honestly. Will you make a personal, faithful, and full application to your own hearts and lives of what I will share with you, and to benefit from it since you will answer to God, in the solemn judgment? If these are your resolutions and purposes, I am confident the Lord will bless you. I will not cease to pray for you, and intend to make each of you as I can remember, special and particular subjects of prayer, and I beg you to do the same for me.

C.G. FINNEY.

A servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.