Power From On High
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Power From On High

by

Charles Grandison Finney

Database © 2008 WORD search Corp.

Contents

Chapter 1. Power from on High

Chapter 2. What is it?

Chapter 3. The Endowment of the Spirit

Chapter 4. Endowment of Power from on High

Chapter 5. Is it a Hard Saying?

Chapter 6. Prevailing Prayer

Chapter 7. How to win Souls

Chapter 8. Preacher, Save Thyself

Chapter 9. Innocent Amusements

Chapter 10. How to Overcome Sin

Chapter 11. The Decay of Conscience

Chapter 12. The Psychology of Faith

Chapter 13. The Psychology of Righteousness

I. What Righteousness is not

II. What Righteousness is

III. How we know what Righteousness is

IV. How a Sinner May Attain to Righteousness

Chapter 1

Power from on High

Please permit me through your columns to correct a misapprehension of some of the members of the late Council at Oberlin of the brief remarks which I made to them; first on Saturday morning, and afterwards on the Lord’s Day. In my first remarks to them I called attention to the mission of the Church to disciple all nations, as recorded by Matthew and Luke, and stated that this commission was given by Christ to the whole Church, and that every member of the Church is under obligation to make it his lifework to convert the world. I then raised two inquiries: (1) What do we need to secure success in this great work? (2) How can we get it?

Answer.—1. We need the endowment of power from on high. Christ had previously informed the disciples that without Him they could do nothing. When He gave them the commission to convert the world, He added, “But tarry ye in Jerusalem till ye be endued with power from on high. Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Lo, I send upon you the promise of My Father.” This baptism of the Holy Ghost, this thing promised by the Father, this endowment of power from on high, Christ has expressly informed us is the indispensable condition of performing the work which he has set before us.

2. How shall we get it? Christ expressly promised it to the whole Church, and to every individual whose duty it is to labor for the conversion of the world. He admonished the first disciples not to undertake the work until they had received this endowment of power from on high. Both the promise and the admonition apply equally to all Christians of every age and nation. No one has, at any time, any right to expect success, unless he first secures this endowment of power from on high. The example of the first disciples teaches us how to secure this endowment. They first consecrated themselves to his work, and continued in prayer and supplication until the Holy Ghost fell upon them on the Day of Pentecost, and they received the promised endowment of power from on high. This, then, is the way to get it.

The Council desired me to say more upon this subject; consequently, on the Lord’s Day, I took for my text the assertion of Christ, that the Father is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him than we are to give good gifts to our ...

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About Power From On High

Power from On High, is a series of sermons by Charles Grandison Finney, many of which were first published in the New York Independent from 1871-74. These sermons are concise, mature, challenging and Biblical.

About the Author
Born in 1792 in Warren, Connecticut, Charles Grandison Finney was the youngest of fifteen children. The son of farmers, Finney never attended college, but his six foot three inch stature, piercing eyes, musical skill, and leadership abilities gained him recognition in his community. He studied as an apprentice to become a lawyer, but after a dramatic conversion experience and baptism into the Holy Spirit in Adams, New York, he resigned from all of his duties at his law office to attend to the call of God on his life which was to preach the gospel. In December of 1823, he became a licensed minster by the Presbyterian Church, Evans Mills, New York.

He moved to New York City in 1832 where he pastored the Chatham Street Chapel, and later founded and pastored the Broadway Tabernacle, known today as Broadway United Church of Christ. Finney's presentation of the gospel message reached thousands and influenced many communities. In addition to becoming a popular Christian evangelist, Finney was involved with the abolitionist movement and frequently denounced slavery from the pulpit. In 1835, he moved to Ohio where he would become a professor and later president of Oberlin College from 1851 – 1866.

Finney was a primary influence on the "revival" style of theology which emerged in the 19th century. Finney's theology is difficult to classify, as can be observed in his masterwork, Religious Revivals. In this work, he also states that salvation depends on a person's will to repent and not forced by God on people against their will. However, Finney affirmed salvation by grace through faith alone, not by works or by obedience. Finney also affirmed that works were the evidence of faith.

Finney's understanding of the atonement was that it satisfied "public justice" and that it opened up the way for God to pardon people of their sin. This was the so-called New Divinity which was popular at that time period. In this view, Christ's death satisfied public justice rather than retributive justice. As Finney put it, it was not a "commercial transaction."

One of the most famous things Finney did was implement public professions of faith where people would come down the isle of the Church to proclaim their faith, and he also set up the opportunity for seekers to be counseled about their faith before making the profession. An uncommon practice at the time, which has been adopted as a standard for many Churches today. In August 1875, Finney died in Oberlin due to a heart ailment.

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