Charles G. Finney - 19th Century Evangelist

Often criticized by some for his charismatic conversion and “hard-to-define” theology, in the mid-nineteenth century Charles Grandison Finney conducted evangelistic crusades throughout the American Northeast that led thousands to Christ. Some say his ministry resulted in as many as half a million conversions[1]. So powerful was his ministry, a Rochester man converted during a revival later said,

"The whole community was stirred. Religion was the topic of conversation in the house, in the shop, in the office and on the street…Grog shops were closed, the Sabbath was honored, the sanctuaries were thronged with happy worshippers…There was a wonderful falling off of crime. The courts had little to do, and the jail was nearly empty for years afterward."[2]

Finney was born in upstate New York in 1792, and had little interest in spiritual things when he was younger. Neither of his parents were particularly religious, and he had little exposure to church or preaching. At age twenty, he became an apprentice to a lawyer in Adams, New York. His curiosity in religion was aroused as he began to see “quotations from the Bible in his law book”[3] Charles purchased his first Bible and when he, “found a reference by the law authors to the Bible, [he] turned to the passage and consulted it in its connection”[4].[OPEN]. A local Presbyterian minister would stop into the law office frequently and converse with Charles, often inviting him to church meetings, which he attended from time to time. However, Charles soon became disillusioned with the Christian faith because, according to Charles,

“the fact that they prayed so much and were not answered, was a sad stumbling block to me. I knew not what to make of it. It was a question in my mind whether I was to understand that these persons were not truly Christians, and therefore did not prevail with God; or did I misunderstand the promises and teachings of the Bible on this subject, or was I to conclude that the Bible was not true?”11

His observations in Christian meetings did not match up with Christ’s words in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, Seek, Knock”. On further reading of his Bible, Charles became convinced that the answer to the question of unanswered prayer lie in “revealed conditions upon which God had promised to answer prayer; that they did not pray in faith, in the sense of expecting God to give them the things that they asked for”11 [FAITH]. Charles Finney’s openness to and study of the bible, soon led him to conclude that it was indeed the true Word of God [WORD]. Finney knew that if the Bible was true, he would have to settle the question of his own salvation as a top priority in his life,

“I therefore, then and there resolved, as far as possible, to avoid all business, and everything that would divert my attention, and to give myself wholly to the work of securing the salvation of my soul.”[5][SINGLE].

That day, while praying in the woods, Finney thought he heard someone approaching, and interrupted his prayer to see if it were so. This simple act brought him great shame as he exclaimed to himself,

“such a degraded sinner as I am, on my knees confessing my sins to the great and holy God; and ashamed to have any human being, and a sinner like myself, find me on my knees endeavouring to make my peace with my offended God!”¹²[SIN].

Appalled at his own sinfulness, he cried out to God, asked for forgiveness, and received assurance of salvation. Later that evening, Charles experienced what he describes as,

“a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost. Without any expectation of it, without ever having the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me, without any recollection that I had ever heard the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul.’”¹²[SPIRIT].

The next day, Charles Finney realized that he was called to preach the Gospel. He recounts in his autobiography,

“I had the impression, which has never left my mind, that God wanted me to preach the Gospel, and that I must begin immediately. I seemed to know that the Lord commissioned me to preach the gospel.”[6][CALL].

This was the beginning of Finney’s ‘change of career’, for that very day he resigned as a lawyer and began a lifetime of serving God, saying to one of his clients whose case Finney was to try in court that day, “I have a retainer from the Lord Jesus Christ to plead his cause, and I cannot plead yours.” [SINGLE].

Finney set out to preach, rising very early every morning to pray before going about his work. Finney states in his autobiography, “I had been in the habit of rising early in the morning, and spending a season of prayer alone in the meeting house; and I finally succeeded in interesting a considerable number of brethren to meet me there in the morning for a prayer meeting, and we were generally together long before it was light enough to see to read.”¹³ [PRAY].

Everywhere Finney preached, revival broke out, and as revival grew, so did opposition to the ministry. People didn’t like to have their lifestyles challenged from the pulpit. Large groups of ruffians would do what they could to keep Finney from arriving in their town.

“The people throughout the region tried to retaliate by planning stern measures against Finney. Possibilities discussed included tarring and feathering him, riding him out of town on rail, arresting him and giving him walking papers. At one meeting a man with a gun rose up intent to shoot and kill the evangelist. God's hedge of protection was so obvious, for all of these plans came to nothing, that an awe of the power of God started to grow on the dissenters.”¹³

Through all the trials Finney remained undaunted and pressed on [STAND], spending the rest of his life in ministry, and finishing well as Professor of Theology and President at Oberlin College, in Ohio. Finney died in Oberlin, Ohio, in 1875, aged 82 years.