The Oberlin Evangelist

April, 10, 1839

Professor Finney's Letters--No. 4.

TO THE CHRISTIAN READERS OF THE OBERLIN EVANGELIST.

Beloved, the purpose of this letter, is to state a little more definitely, than I have stated up until now, some of the reasons why young converts have not grown more in grace; and why I have feared, as I said in an earlier letter, that revivals would become more and more superficial, until they would finally cease.

I have, from the time I was converted, been led to notice, more and more particularly, the fact that there are four kinds of professing Christians in the Church.

The first group of professing Christians seem to have had very little conviction of sin; and as a result, there is not enough light in their experience: in other words, they don’t have enough experience to understand the Bible so they can be able, under God, to convict others of sin. They live their lives, and nearly all the time they spend seems to be worse than useless, as far as the interests of religion are concerned.

A second group of professing Christians seems to have had frequent and deep conviction of sin; but they never appear to have been truly regenerated. They understand the Bible on the subject of depravity enough that they are able, under God, to bring others under conviction and distress; and here they stop. They rarely, if ever, are instrumental, in the regeneration of a sinner. Because they have no experience on the subject of conversion themselves, they are completely in the dark. And when the question is presented by an anxious sinner, “what shall I do to be saved”? Although they may give him directions, using scriptural language, yet, in fact, they cannot properly answer his questions, shape his direction, and remove his difficulties, so that they could be instrumental in bringing that person into the kingdom of God. These professing Christians are very numerous. And, I have been astonished to find, how rarely professing Christians know what to say to anxious sinners. From close observation over a long period, I have concluded that the problem lies in their total lack of experience, on the subject of regeneration.

The third group of professing Christians has truly been converted, and they understand the way through the gate of regeneration, well enough to direct others through that same gate. Knowing themselves what it is like to be converted, they can also take sinners just as far. They know how to use God’s law to produce conviction, and enough about the atonement, and about Christ as a justifying Savior, to be instruments in bringing sinners fairly into the kingdom, because they have personal experience in this.

But they have gone no farther than this. These two important truths occupy their time, thoughts, and lives: the law and just enough of the gospel to produce conversion. However, they’ve advanced no further than “the first principles of the oracles of God”. They continue to lay over and over again, “the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God-, the doctrine of baptism and the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment”. They go around, and around, in the circle of these first principles of the doctrine of Christ, and never “go on to perfection”, either in doctrine or in practice.

As a result, because they never gave their attention to those higher, and more spiritual truths of the gospel, which constitutes the more appropriate food of the Christian soul, and indispensable to their growth in grace, they make little, or no progress in holiness; and often, in a few years, they become mechanical in their efforts to convert sinners. Because a deep, constant, and increasing relationship with Christ does not sweeten their spirit, their spirit becomes bitter and critical. They know very little about what to say to an anxious Christian who is struggling against remaining sin. Let a Christian come to them for counseling, who has made any considerable attainments in piety, and who has a pretty good understanding of the plague of his own heart. Let a Christian come to him who is panting after the total annihilation of sin in all its forms in his life; and desires to be raised up “to the measure of the stature, of the fullness of Christ”; and they are in the dark. They will generally insist that the Christian should go to work to convert sinners. They will reproach him for with not working for God hard enough, and for thinking so much about himself, and his own sins. The fact is, they are in the dark, concerning the real state, and the true needs of such a person. That Christian’s state of mind is completely beyond their experience. They seem to be missing what Paul refers to in 2 Cor. 1:3-6. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings, which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.”

Here the Apostle Paul discovered that God gave him a deep Christian experience, and comfort, so he might be able to understand other people’s distresses, and administer comfort to those who are in similar circumstances.

Now, generally, I do not believe it is possible for a Christian to go much beyond his own experience, in administering the consolations of the gospel, or in removing the problems that block the paths of others. In this respect, even Christ Himself was made perfect through suffering, “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted”. (Hebrews 2:18) The New Testament, and especially the epistle to the Hebrews, clearly appears to recognize this truth, that Christ having been in the flesh, “and tempted in all points as we are” (Hebrews 4:15), is thereby qualified to sympathize with us; because He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. It seems quite plain, from the very way that God created us, that, in order to lead others, we ourselves must be acquainted with the way; and it is alarming, and shocking to see how few Christians there are in the Church, who have enough experience to direct those who are struggling after high attainments in piety. Whenever a teacher tries to go beyond his own experience, he becomes a blind leader of the blind.

This group of converted Christians, who are able, at least for a while, to labor successfully for the conversion of others, without ever having grown much in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, has increased a lot during the great revivals that have recently taken place.

The fourth group of converted Christians, and I must say that there are comparatively few of them, have learned a lot about Christ as a sanctifying, as well as a justifying Savior. They have drunk so much from the fountainhead of love, and from the waters of the sanctuary, that they are able, not merely to direct an inquiring sinner, but also an anxious Christian. I have always noticed that these Christians feel peculiarly concerned for the weak lambs of the Church. The weak, stumbling, and God dishonoring state of the Church, is what especially afflicts them. Seeing the halting, complaining, anxiety, and the folly of the Church moves them with strong compassion.

Now it seems to me, that something in Paul’s life would really help the Church on this subject. Paul seems to have spent a number of years, almost exclusively working to convert sinners, and establish Churches. However, during his confinement at Rome, and in the latter part of his ministry, he appears to have had his attention turned particularly to the subject of strengthening the Church. It is very edifying to see, in all his epistles, this prominent feature of his character, which is a great desire or concern to promote growth in grace among Christians. Please don’t think that he abandoned working to convert sinners. However, it is, I think, clear, beyond all doubts, that the sanctification of the Church occupied most of his mind at that time. And it is clear, from his epistles, that he did not believe that the Church would ever be sanctified, merely by pressing them to labor exclusively for the conversion of sinners, or by dwelling on those particular subjects, that he called, “the beginning of the doctrine of Christ”. Paul’s letters were, I think, undeniably designed to lead Christians into a fuller knowledge of Christ, in all His relations, to the need, the means, and the feasibility of entire sanctification. The same seems to have been true of all the Apostles, whose epistles have come down to us.

But I have made so many preliminary remarks, that I never got to my main purpose, which is to notice some of the reasons why converts have not grown more, in grace. Until my next letter, I remain,

C.G. FINNEY,

A Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.