Product Description

What is true Christianity? There is perhaps no better person in recent history to answer this question than Charles Finney. Finney (1792-1875) was the most powerful Christian preacher of the 1800s who sought to clearly articulate what the Scriptures say about living the true Christian life that pleases God. He fearlessly challenged his hearers to bring every aspect of their lives into obedience to God. This book contains sixteen messages of Finney that describe the essential practice of Christianity. Each message will challenge your faith in a deep way and call you to the life that God intends.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #534507 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Customer Reviews

Wow
Besides the Bible, this book has made the biggest impact in my life. Our culture has moved so far away from what Christianity really is. We have made it into something easy and comfortable. Charles Finney boldly declares the truth about being a Christian. He proclaims the truths that most present day Christians ignore or dare not speak of. Some of these include the indulgence in fashion, worldly pleasures, and material gain. My life has changed significantly after readying this. For example, I don't enjoy wandering aimlessly through shopping centers, I have disconnected my cable (serious sacrifice for a tv-aholic), and my relationship with God has deepened. I want nothing more than to spend time with him. No matter how much time I spend, it is not enough. People in our day have gotten so used to living life for themselves, of praying to God to satisfy their desires. The real goal of a Christian is to be a complete servant to God, to seek His will and follow it with our heart. Our Father loves us so much, how could we give Him anything less? I finished this book and have started reading it again. It may take a bit of time to get used to Finney's style of writing. He doesn't fill his sermons with extra fluff. The messages are thick and rich with material. The reader may have to stop and digest a page, paragraph, or line before moving on. After living in this culture for so long, Finney's message may seem radical to some at first. It seemed so to me, because I had pushed the limits of Christianity and tailored it to my life. I encourage you to read this book and become apart of the relationship Christ wants to have with you. I hope it impacts your life as powerfully as it has mine.

beyond nominalism
Charles Finney speaks powerfully to one of the most pressing issues within the church today: nominalism. In the first sermon included here, "Discerning Your Character," Finney presents a list of qualities that characterize those who "profess to serve the Lord but in reality serve themselves" (10). In this position myself for the vast majority of my life, I found Finney's words to be among the most convicting I have read or heard.
Finney's sermons, however, do not leave his reader despondent. Rather, with his honest and probing words, he points the way through conviction and repentance to having a "consistent, well-grounded, stable hope" in salvation, because it is only in this state that any Christian can be useful to the advancement of the Lord's kingdom (196). In this way, one might say that Finney's approach to the Christian faith is a systematic one; beyond the emotionalism or single "sinner's prayer" that sometimes characterize conversion today, Finney's collected sermons lead his reader through a thoroughgoing process of soul-searching repentance and complete consecration to Jesus. This approach has helped me to pass beyond the cycle of religious ups and downs, the fallings away and reconversions that I once experienced, to a more steady advance in the Christian life.
Honestly, aside from the Bible, I can recommend no book more highly for those who desire to go deeper with Christ.

Valuable insight for today
Charles Finney had a way of exposing the true condition of the heart. He used illustrations that made the point clear. He could show a person, by their actions in the events of every day life, where their true heart really was. He also had great insight into reaching the lost, and gives important advice in how to witness effectively. I recommend this book,it will make you think!