Founding Fathers Biblical Influence

‘First Great Awakening’ Preachers

By Harry Swanson

Today, it’s difficult to understand how and why so many of the founding fathers held such a thorough understanding of the Bible and were so committed to its teachings.

The United States was designed by them as a Christian nation with the Old and New Testament scriptures as its pillars. To grasp this, it’s probably best to start with the First Great Awakening that occurred between 1730s and 1740s. This was a religious movement that impacted on Protestantism and religious devotion throughout all Protestant churches in the early colonies. Back in the United Kingdom, it was referred to as the Evangelical Revival.

During that time frame, there were major religious leaders guiding a divine spiritual revival that included George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Wesley and his brother John Wesley. They began preaching a message of revival, importance of the Holy Spirit and salvation that held to nondenominational boundaries. Their preaching left listeners with a feeling of conviction of the need for salvation in Christ.

That in turn, also led to the individual’s pledge to live to a higher level of morality as found in the scriptures. The revival stressed a full conversion of mind but also a “new birth” in heart. This true conversion offered an assurance of everlasting salvation for eternity.

These preachers cast a wide net that was intended to include all listeners. All were in need of conversion, regardless of position, free or slave, male or female. This revival movement had an extra additional impact on African-Americans in the south who converted to Christianity in higher numbers.

In response to this revival, ministers throughout the colonies began calling for revival of religion. They wanted a revival that placed greater importance on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with converts experiencing a personal relation with God.

George Whitefield

1714-1770

Whitefield was a famous preacher during the Great Awakening. He preached up and down the eastern seaboard and is considered to have made the greatest impact on uniting the thirteen colonies into one nation. Whitefield attended Oxford and became good friends with John and Charles Wesley. Together, the three formed Methodism.

Initially, his preaching was difficult for many churches who would refuse his requests to attend. This only forced his meetings out-doors. Crowds would grow to over 30,000 per session. Whitefield had a very loud and powerful voice that carried some distance.

Benjamin Franklin, who became a friend, wrote he could hear his voice nearly a mile away. Franklin was so impressed with Whitefield’s words that he had an auditorium built for him in Philadelphia. Sarah Edwards, wife of Johnathan Edwards, wrote; “It is wonderful to see what a spell he casts over an audience by promoting simplest truths from the Bible…”

Johnathan Edwards

1703-1758

Edwards was a religious leader who is given credit for the preaching that began the revival known as the “Great Awakening.” This movement of faith moved quickly through the 13 American Colonies. Faith helped unite the Colonies prior to the Revolutionary War.

Jonathan wrote the “Narrative of Surprising Conversion.” In it, he states: “And then it was, in the latter part of December, that the spirit of God began extraordinarily to…work amongst us. There were, very suddenly, one after another, five or six persons who were, to all appearances, saving the converted, and some of them wrought upon in a very remarkable manner.”

Charles Wesley 1707-1788

Charles is the brother of John Wesley the founder of Methodism. Charles was also an important leader in Methodism. Charles had a religious experience on May 21, 1738 where he realized salvation was obtained by way of the cross and not by works.

He was a hymn writer and wrote over 6,500 hymns during his life. Some say over 10,000. In 1739 Charles published his Hymns and Sacred Poems. Charles wrote 1,000s of hymns including the Christmas hymn, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

John

John was the founder of Methodism and is considered one of the greatest evangelists in the 1700s. Both he and his brother were good friends with George Whitefield attending Oxford together. Both Wesley’s sailed together to serve as missionaries to Georgia. Upon returning to England he experienced the following on May 24th 1738, according to his journal:

“In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”