The Great Awakening ( ) Mike Rettler November 18, 2015

Background  evangelicalism: movement from formal, outward, and established religion to personal, inward, and heartfelt religion  historians recognize several “Great Awakenings” in the United States, but I will focus primarily on the first  due to its impact and lasting effects  I will explain the history of the First Great Awakening and then discuss some of its effects  the history will be explained by identifying each of the main leaders in the movement and their role in the revival

History Jonathan Edwards ( )  pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts  considered one of the greatest intellectuals of American Church history  in 1734, he became convinced that dangerous theological notions were infecting ministers and congregations in the Connecticut River Valley  wanted to combat tendency to rely on self and natural abilities for obtaining salvation before God

History Jonathan Edwards ( )  preached a two-sermon series on "Justification by Faith Alone"  "We are justified only by faith in Christ, and not by any manner of virtue or goodness of our own."  result: revival broke out in town and hundreds of people came to Christ..."scarcely a single person in the whole town was left unconcerned about the great things of the eternal world"  this revival would have likely remained local if Edwards wasn't requested by Benjamin Colman, a pastor in Boston, for a report of the events  this eventually led to his writing of...

History Jonathan Edwards ( )  A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton  written in 1737, two years after the revival  printed in London, the center for religious intelligence, and became widespread  the narrative had a greater effect than the revival itself  beyond being a description of the events in Northampton, he also outlines several universal steps to conversion…

History Jonathan Edwards ( )  one tries to live righteously through their good works and study scripture attempting to avoid sin and damnation and to "earn" salvation  these individuals inevitably fail to live up to the Old Testament legal standard, and they experience despair at their failures and inherent sinfulness  successful converts experience "converting grace" and "awaken" to see that forgiveness is available to all who have faith that Jesus' sacrifice atones for all sins  this revelation of grace is followed by a sense of joy or an internal "new light" from the Holy Spirit and a desire to spread the Christian gospel and leave sin behind. Also, true converts experience a greater sensitivity to their "heart sins", such as pride and judging others, sins with which they were largely unconcerned before conversion when they were primarily concerned with legalism or their own "saving" works. Even though this change has occurred, many Christians "have no imagination that they are now converted."

History John Wesley ( )  in Georgia struggling with his outreach to the Native Americans and British settlers  wrote George Whitefield in 1736 that "the harvest is great and the laborers are so few" and "what if thou art the man, Mr. Whitefield, to supply the need?"

History George Whitefield ( )  Englishman, but plays one of the largest roles in the American Great Awakening  he is the central figure of the Great Awakening  the Holy Spirit-led movement towards a more personal, emotional, inward, and experiential religion was fed by the dramatic preaching of Whitefield and others  came to Christ in Oxford undergraduate studies, where he met John and Charles Wesley

History George Whitefield ( )  efforts to promote Christianity were not conventional  preached wherever people met  outdoors because churches couldn't hold the crowds he drew  often not on Sunday  any hour of the day or night  he was Anglican, but he cooperated with any denomination that would support his work  he prepared his sermons carefully, but he delivered them impromptu  he and his associates were great utilizers of print media

History George Whitefield ( )  focused his sermons on the "New Birth", referring to Jesus' talk with Nicodemus  stern demands of God's law  pitiful state of lost sinners  glory of a union with Christ  people listened...in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and his seven trips to America  following Wesley's request, Whitefield went to America in December 1737  2 weeks before his 23rd birthday  when he left, he was London's best known celebrity

History George Whitefield ( )  Whitefield's second visit to America  one of the most dramatic events in American religious history  preached almost every day for a month  preached extensively in Savannah  home base where he ran an orphanage  preached in Charleston, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and smaller cities in- between  crowds up to 23,000 which was more than the population of Boston itself

History George Whitefield ( )  Jonathan Edward's wife describes Whitefield like this: "He makes less of the doctrines than our American preachers generally do, and aims more at affecting the heart. He is a born orator. You have already heard of his deep-toned, yet clear and melodious voice. It is perfect music. It is wonderful to see what a spell he casts over an audience by proclaiming the simplest truths of the Bible. I have seen upwards of a thousand people hang on his words with breathless silence, broken only by an occasional half-suppressed sob."

History George Whitefield ( )  his preaching led to many testimonies like Nathan Cole: "And my hearing him preach, gave me a heart wound. By God's blessing: my old foundation was broken up, and I saw that my righteousness would not save me; then I was convinced of the doctrine of Election; and went right to quarreling with God about it; because that all I could do would not save me; and he had decreed from Eternity who should be saved and who not."

History Revivalism  transported easily to the frontier  required only an earnest preacher and an audience of people concerned about their souls before God  abandoned establishments and formal education requirements of ministers  spread like wildfire across America  we still are seeing the results of this revival today, almost 300 years later

Effects Because of The Great Awakening, we know:  …what a healthy church looks like  …what revival looks like  …what some inhibitors to revival are

Effects We know what a healthy church looks like:  vibrant worship, deep teaching, intimate fellowship, aggressive evangelism, compassionate social concern  just like Acts 2:42-47  without the Spirit of God, one or two of these can be manufactured  we won’t know what is wrong if we don’t know what a healthy church looks like

Effects We know what revival looks like:  justification by faith dawns on the people in a new way  God’s presence comes down and people have clear heartfelt communication with the Lord  the “going-out” of God’s people has a tremendous effect on the world around them  revival is not a manufactured event put on by local churches to “bring-in” people, although that is a good thing  we cannot plan “revivals”  sometimes there are “signs and wonders”…sometimes there are not

Effects We know what some inhibitors to revival are:  bad cardinal doctrine  deadness – we may have a knowledge of justification by faith, but our practice shows otherwise  unbalanced – too much focus on secondary and tertiary doctrines  over-mechanized or over-scheduled  unmortified sin - ongoing behavior of sin of significant people of the church that is hidden (Jonah, Achan)  get rid of obstacles and let the Holy Spirit work  the Holy Spirit’s job is to show us our sinfulness and show us the beauty of Jesus

Questions  Do we know our history?  Do we want our Lord to repeat it through the work of His Holy Spirit?  Do we have anything inhibiting revival in our own personal lives?  the disciples didn’t look for a traitor, but asked “Is it I, Lord?”

Citations "A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 18 Dec Web. 22 July "Introduction 1." Keller, Timothy. Blueprint for Revival. Redeemer Presbyterian Church. 29 July Radio. "Jonathan Edwards (theologian)." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 28 June Web. 22 July Noll, Mark A. The Old Religion in a New World: The History of North American Christianity. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, Print. Noll, Mark A. The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, Print.

Thank you!  Thanks so much for the opportunity to discuss this great period in American history with you.  I am by no means an expert, but if you have any questions or would like to talk more, please contact me at: 