It was March 6, 1831, and Charles Grandison Finney was concluding one of the most successful revivals in the history of Christianity.
Finney was a 29-year-old lawyer when he disappeared into a New York forest. He had told himself that he wouldn’t come back until he had given his heart to God. That day, he was so floored by a powerful and emotional experience of God’s love that his life had been forever changed. In a meeting the following morning, he told his client that he had been called to argue God’s case instead. It was then that he had abandoned his career to enter ministry.
It had bothered Finney when his congregation told him that they were “pleased” with his sermons. He would have rather his sermons be productive than pleasing. He abandoned the theoretical and attractive preaching style that was common at the time. He opted for a more honest and hard-hitting approach that was often said to resemble a lawyer’s call to action rather than a preacher’s sermon.
As Finney had begun to see success in his ministry, he had also begun to see growing opposition. His decision-based evangelism had rocked the Calvinist world of up-state New York. Many traditional Christians had criticized Finney for allowing women to pray in mixed prayer meetings, and for preaching and praying in common, every-day English.
Despite the controversy, Christians and non-Christians alike came in droves to Finney’s revival meetings.
In September, 1830, Finney began daily services in Rochester, New York. People from the surrounding area poured into the city, and shop-keepers closed their businesses during the meetings to encourage participation. As the town grew by two thirds, crime decreased by two thirds.
On March 6, 1831, Finney delivered the 98th sermon--the last one of the Rochester revival. He prepared to move his ministry to New York City, where he would continue preaching. He would go on to turn the evangelical world upside-down—inspiring countless revivals across America and the world. He would be called the father of modern revivalism and would pave the way for evangelists like Billy Sunday and Billy Graham.
Deuteronomy 30:19
I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live,
