Quotes & Sayings About Charles Finney

No man can possibly be benevolent or religious, to the full extent of his obligations, without concerning himself, to a greater or less extent, with the affairs of human government. — Charles Grandison Finney

These are the sports, the offthrows, of the universe instead of the species; these are the weird children of the lust of the spheres. — Charles G. Finney

Ministers often preach about the Gospel instead of preaching the Gospel. They often preach about sinners instead of preaching to them. — Charles Grandison Finney

A law without sanctions is no law; it is only counsel, or advice. — Charles Grandison Finney

Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together. Never do they love one another so well as when they witness the outpouring of each other's hearts in prayer. — Charles Grandison Finney

A revival may be expected when Christians have a spirit of prayer for a revival. That is, when they pray as if their hearts were set upon it. When Christians have the spirit of prayer for a revival. When they go about groaning out their hearts desire. When they have real travail of soul. — Charles Grandison Finney

This is the circus of Dr. Lao.
We show you things that you don't know.
We tell you of places you'll never go.
We've searched the world both high and low
To capture the beasts for this marvelous show
From mountains where maddened winds did blow
To islands where zephyrs breathed sweet and low.
Oh, we've spared no pains and we've spared no dough;
And we've dug at the secrets of long ago;
And we've risen to Heaven and plunged Below,
For we wanted to make it one hell of a show.
And the things you'll see in your brains will glow
Long past the time when the winter snow
Has frozen the summer's furbelow.
For this is the circus of Dr. Lao.
And youth may come and age may go;
But no more circuses like this show! — Charles Grandison Finney

Often, without being at all aware of it, men judge themselves, not by God's rule, but by their own. — Charles Grandison Finney

How often God visited the Jewish Church with judgments because they would not repent and be revived at the call of His prophets! How often have we seen Churches, and even whole denominations, cursed with a curse, because they would not wake up and seek the Lord ... — Charles Grandison Finney

I was like you once, long time ago. I believed in the dignity of man. Decency. Humanity. But I was lucky. I found out the truth early, boy.
And what is the truth, Stark?
It's all very simple. There's no such thing as the dignity of man. Man is a base, pathetic and vulgar animal. — Charles Grandison Finney

It would be a serious mistake to think of Billy Graham or any other television revivalist as a latter-day Jonathan Edwards or Charles Finney. Edwards was one of the most brilliant and creative minds ever produced by America. His contribution to aesthetic theory was almost as important as his contribution to theology. His interests were mostly academic; he spent long hours each day in his study. He did not speak to his audiences extemporaneously. He read his sermons, which were tightly knit and closely reasoned expositions of theological doctrine — Neil Postman

I read of the revivals of the past, great sweeping revivals where thousands of men were swept into the Kingdom of God. I read about Charles G. Finney winning his thousands and his hundreds of thousands of souls to Christ. Then I picked up a book and read the messages of Charles G. Finney and the message of Jonathan Edwards on 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,' and I said, 'No wonder men trembled; no wonder they fell in the altars and cried out in repentance and sobbed their way to the throne of grace!' — Leonard Ravenhill

No government is lawful or innocent that does not recognize the moral law as the only universal law, and God as the Supreme Lawgiver and Judge, to whom nations in their national capacity, as well as individuals, are amenable. — Charles Grandison Finney

Revival comes from heaven when heroic souls enter the conflict determined to win or die - or if need be, to win and die! The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. — Charles Grandison Finney

In nearly all cases, if the people complain of the length of our sermons it is because we fail to interest them personally in what we have to say. — Charles Grandison Finney

When God has specially promised the thing, we are bound to believe we shall recieve it when we pray for it. You have no right to put in an 'if', and say, 'Lord, if it be thy will ... This is to insult God. To put an 'if' in God's promise when God has put none there, is tantamount to charging God with being insincere. — Charles Grandison Finney

Said Father Nash was a most wonderful man in prayer, one of the most earnest, devout, spiritually-minded, heavenly-minded men I ever saw ... He labored about in many places in central and northern New York, and gave himself up to almost constant prayer, literally praying himself to death at last.
I have been informed that he was found dead in his room in the attitude of prayer. — Charles Grandison Finney

The Church must take right ground in regard to politics ... Politics are a part of a religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to the country as part of their duty to God ... God will bless or curse this nation, according to the course Christians take in politics. — Charles Grandison Finney

No doubt there is a jubilee in hell every year about the time of meeting of the General Assembly. — Charles Grandison Finney

There can be no higher enjoyment found in this world that is found in pulling souls out of the fire and bringing them to Christ. — Charles Grandison Finney

When you come back to God for pardon and salvation, come with all you have to lay all at his feet. Come with your body, to offer it as a living sacrifice upon His altar. Come with your soul and all its powers, and yield them in willing consecration to your God and Saviour. Come, bring them all along-everything, body, soul, intellect, imagination, acquirements-all, without reserve. — Charles Grandison Finney

The end for which Christ lives, and for which He has left His church in the world, is the salvation of sinners. — Charles Grandison Finney

If the presence of God is in the church, the church will draw the world in. If the presence of God is not in the church, the world will draw the church out. — Charles Grandison Finney

When there is no offense I make no defense. — Charles Grandison Finney

Whatsa mattah allee time talkee talk bear business? Me no savvee bear business. You no like this Gloddam show, you go somewhere else. — Charles G. Finney

A state of mind that sees God in everything is evidence of growth in grace and a thankful heart. — Charles Grandison Finney

You hear the word, and believe it in theory, while you deny it in practice. I say to you, that 'you decveive yourselves'. — Charles Grandison Finney

When sinners are careless and stupid, and sinking into hell unconcerned, it is time the church should bestir themselves. It is as much the duty of the church to awake, as it is for the firemen to awake when a fire breaks out in the night in a great city. — Charles Grandison Finney

Some men will spin out a long prayer telling God who and what he is, or they pray out a whole system of divinity. Some people preach, others exhort the people, till everybody wishes they would stop, and God wishes so, too, most undoubtedly. — Charles Grandison Finney

It is a mournful fact that most men, and indeed all men of worldly character, have so much regard to public opinion that they dare not act according to the dictates of their consciences when acting thus would incur the popular frown. — Charles Grandison Finney

Stephen King consummately honors several traditions with his rare paperback original, 'Joyland.' He addresses the novel of carny life and sideshows, where the midway serves as microcosm, such as in those famous books by Ray Bradbury, Charles Finney and William Lindsay Gresham. — Paul Di Filippo

Revival is a renewed conviction of sin and repentance, followed by an intense desire to live in obedience to God. It is giving up one's will to God in deep humility. — Charles Grandison Finney

Why will God's creatures sin against his throne? Can there be such madness in beings gifted with reason's light? — Charles Grandison Finney

When there is a spirit of controversy in the church or in the land, a revival is needful. The spirit of religion is not the spirit of controversy. There can be no prosperity in religion, where the spirit of controversy prevails. — Charles Grandison Finney

It obeys none of the natural laws of hereditary and environmental change, pays no attention to the survival of the fittest, positively sneers at any attempt on the part of man to work out a rational life cycle, is possibly immortal, unquestionably immoral, evidences anabolism but not katabolism, ruts, spawns, and breeds but does not reproduce, lays no eggs, builds no nests, seeks but does not find, wanders but does not rest. — Charles Grandison Finney

Effective prayer is prayer that attains what it seeks. It is prayer that moves God, effecting its end. — Charles Grandison Finney

The obligation of human beings to support and obey human governments, while they legislate upon the principles of the moral law, is an unalterable as the moral law itself. — Charles Grandison Finney

Repentance is a change of willing, of feeling and of living, in respect to God. — Charles Grandison Finney

The moral law of God is the only law of individuals and of nations, and nothing can be rightful government but such as is established and administered with a view to its support. — Charles Grandison Finney

Understand now what lying is. Any species of designed deception. If the deception is not designed it is not lying. But if you design to make an impression contrary to the naked truth, you lie. — Charles Grandison Finney

There can be no revival when Mr. Amen and Mr. Wet-Eyes are not found in the audience. — Charles Grandison Finney

Great sermons lead the people to praise the preacher. Good preaching leads the people to praise the Savior. — Charles Grandison Finney

Prevailing prayer is that which secures an answer. Saying prayers is not offering prevailing prayer. The prevalence of prayer does not depend so much on quantity as on quality. — Charles Grandison Finney

Every moment of your lives you are exerting a tremendous influence, that will tell on the immortal interests of souls around you. Are you asleep, while your conduct is exerting such an influence? — Charles Grandison Finney

Sin is the most expensive thing in the universe. Nothing else can cost so much. — Charles Grandison Finney

Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the gospel. To overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the Church with false converts ... Time will make this plain. — Charles Grandison Finney

You no like this Gloddman show, you go somewhere else. — Charles G. Finney

Unless I had the spirit of prayer, I could do nothing. — Charles Grandison Finney

There is a fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom, which is founded in love. There is also a slavish fear, which is a mere dread of evil, and is purely selfish. — Charles Grandison Finney

The reason why wicked men and devils hate God is, because they see Him in relation to themselves. Their hearts rise up in rebellion, because they see Him opposed to their selfishness. — Charles Grandison Finney

I returned to the front office, and found that the fire that I had made of large wood was nearly burned out. But as I turned and was about to take a seat by the fire, I received a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost. Without any expectation of it, without ever having the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me, without any recollection that I had ever heard the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love, for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me, like immense wings. — Charles Grandison Finney

A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God. — Charles Grandison Finney

When the church finds its members falling into gross and scandalous sins, then it is time for the church to awake and cry to God for a Revival of Religion. — Charles Grandison Finney

Unless the will is free, man has no freedom; and if he has no freedom he is not a moral agent, that is, he is incapable of moral action and also of moral character. — Charles Grandison Finney

It is the great business of every Christian to save souls. People complain that they do not know how to take hold of this matter. Why, the reason is plain enough; they have never studied it. They have never taken the proper pains to qualify themselves for the work. If you do not make it a matter of study, how you may successfully act in building up the kingdom of Christ, you are acting a very wicked and absurd part as a Christian. — Charles Grandison Finney

The time has come that Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics or the Lord will curse them ... Christians have been exceedingly guilty in this matter. But the time has come when they must act differently ... Christians seem to act as if they thought God did not see what they do in politics. But I tell you He does see it - and He will bless or curse this nation according to the course they Christians take in politics. — Charles Grandison Finney

He that winneth souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30) - Those are the best educated ministers, who win the most souls. — Charles Grandison Finney

A revival of religion presupposes a declension. — Charles Grandison Finney

Every member must work or quit. No honorary members. — Charles Grandison Finney