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Principles of Liberty
Beautiful brand new condition book, no marks, no wear. .
194 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
About the author
Charles Grandison Finney
468 books70 followersCharles Grandison Finney was a leader in the Second Great Awakening. He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. Finney was best known as an innovative revivalist, an opponent of Old School Presbyterian theology, an advocate of Christian perfectionism, a pioneer in social reforms in favor of women and blacks, a religious writer, and president at Oberlin College.
He is not to be mistaken for his great-grandson, Charles G. Finney (1905-1984).
He is not to be mistaken for his great-grandson, Charles G. Finney (1905-1984).
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 15, 2022
Still feeling a little conflicted about Finney. It's good to urge fellow-believers on to a state of sinless perfection. After all, this is what the Bible teaches.
But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
--Matthew 5:48 (NLT)
Finney, though, can't seem to resist taking that extra step, saying "and this is the only way you will get into heaven." Example from The Kingdom Of God In Consciousness:
Do not, therefore, I pray you, say, O, I am to be saved by grace, therefore I lay no stress upon my own holiness. But I ask you, my dear sir, what is salvation? Is not an element of salvation personal holiness, or righteousness? True, if saved at all, you are saved by grace. But mark! to be saved by grace is to be made holy by grace, to be made righteous by grace. It is to have by grace, the very state of mind which the text describes, righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Let no one then pretend to fall back upon Christ who does not suffer Christ to reign in his heart. The religion of many is sheer Antinomianism. They really suppose that they are going to be saved by an imputed without an imparted righteousness.
They know that they are living in the daily indulgence of sin; that they do shun the cross, and always have done so; that they never have made a clean breast of confession, or washed their hands by restitution; in short, they have never become personally upright, honest, holy, and yet they think they are going to saved by Christ! They say, we have believed, and therefore we are forgiven and accepted. They think that by one act of faith they come into a state of perpetual justification.
But this is naked Antinomianism. If this be true, then the law must indeed be repealed and abolished; for if the moral law remains in force, the soul must be condemned if it indulges in sin.
Color me Antinomian, then. I do believe in what he calls imputed righteousness. It is the righteousness of Christ that secures my place in the Lamb's Book of Life and not my own righteousness, even if I credit my own righteousness to the grace of God. Does he forget that "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah Isaiah 64:6)?
There's a lot that's good here, but not a book I'd offer to someone considering becoming a Christian or to a new believer.
The complete works of Charles Finney are long out of copyright and can be found here.
But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
--Matthew 5:48 (NLT)
Finney, though, can't seem to resist taking that extra step, saying "and this is the only way you will get into heaven." Example from The Kingdom Of God In Consciousness:
Do not, therefore, I pray you, say, O, I am to be saved by grace, therefore I lay no stress upon my own holiness. But I ask you, my dear sir, what is salvation? Is not an element of salvation personal holiness, or righteousness? True, if saved at all, you are saved by grace. But mark! to be saved by grace is to be made holy by grace, to be made righteous by grace. It is to have by grace, the very state of mind which the text describes, righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Let no one then pretend to fall back upon Christ who does not suffer Christ to reign in his heart. The religion of many is sheer Antinomianism. They really suppose that they are going to be saved by an imputed without an imparted righteousness.
They know that they are living in the daily indulgence of sin; that they do shun the cross, and always have done so; that they never have made a clean breast of confession, or washed their hands by restitution; in short, they have never become personally upright, honest, holy, and yet they think they are going to saved by Christ! They say, we have believed, and therefore we are forgiven and accepted. They think that by one act of faith they come into a state of perpetual justification.
But this is naked Antinomianism. If this be true, then the law must indeed be repealed and abolished; for if the moral law remains in force, the soul must be condemned if it indulges in sin.
Color me Antinomian, then. I do believe in what he calls imputed righteousness. It is the righteousness of Christ that secures my place in the Lamb's Book of Life and not my own righteousness, even if I credit my own righteousness to the grace of God. Does he forget that "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah Isaiah 64:6)?
There's a lot that's good here, but not a book I'd offer to someone considering becoming a Christian or to a new believer.
The complete works of Charles Finney are long out of copyright and can be found here.
Displaying 1 of 1 review