His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,
through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence… 2 Peter 1:3
Did you happen to catch the movie, A Great Awakening? It’s an 18th century historical drama depicting the unlikely friendship between itinerant preacher George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin during the Great Awakening. While the colonies sought unity in purpose, Whitefield’s sermons stirred a generation and Franklin realized liberty must be awakened in the hearts of the people.
Whitefield was born in England. He was befriended by the Wesley brothers. I read that Charles sent him a copy of a 17th century book written by Henry Scougal (initially a private letter of spiritual counsel to a friend). The son of a Scottish Presbyterian minister, Scougal was by all accounts an exceptionally gifted minister, theologian, and author.
Whitefield said he never knew what “true religion” was until he read Scougal’s treatise, titled “The Life of God in the Soul of Man.” By “true religion” Scougal meant genuine Christianity or authentic spirituality. It’s not orthodoxy, though right doctrine is important. It can’t be reduced to a system of moral rules (i.e., “being a good person”). And it’s not the tendency to over-value emotional experience at the expense of actual, sustained spiritual growth.
What Whitefield learned from Scougal was the inwardness and supernaturalness of biblical godliness, the union of the soul with God rooted in faith and manifesting itself in love, purity, and humility. The “divine life” stands in God’s unbounded affection for us in mastery over our natural, “self-love” inclinations. Sound doctrine, moral actions and affectional engagement are outflows of the divine life in the human soul.
Perhaps you’ve read John Piper’s book, “Don’t Waste Your Life.” R.C. Sproul writes, “The worst sin against stewardship is to waste your life.” Scougal’s understanding of the nature of “true religion” is the antidote. It weighed heavily in Whitefield’s conversion. Religion stopped being a duty and became a delight, and he went on to preach the new birth that was the door of entry into true religion. May our nation experience yet another Great Awakening today!
Dan Gallagher, Stewardship Team