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(Even though this message is from Spurgeon, it's all about a man converted by George Whitefield's preaching, with a twist.)
The Hell Fire Club?
(edited from Spurgeon's sermon, #950
"Means for Restoring the Banished" )
Mr. Thorpe was a member of an 'infidel' club.
In those days infidelity was more blasphemous
than now. This infidel society took the name of
the "Hell Fire Club". Among their amusements
was that of holding imitations of religious
services, and exhibiting mimicries of popular
ministers.
Thorpe went to hear George Whitfield preach,
that he might caricature him before his profane
associates. He listened to Whitfield so carefully
that he caught his tones and his manner, and
somewhat of his doctrines.
When the "Hell Fire Club" met to see his caricature
of Whitfield, Thorpe opened the Bible that he might
take a text to preach from it after the manner of
Whitfield. His eye fell on the passage, "Except you
repent, you shall all likewise perish." As he spoke
upon that text he was carried beyond himself, lost
all thought of mockery, spoke as one in earnest,
and was the means of his own conversion!
He was carried by the force of truth beyond his
own intention, like one who would play in a river,
and is swept away by its current.
Even the scoffer may be reached by the arrows of truth!
Scripture has often been the sole means in the hands
of its divine Author of converting the soul.
"For the Word of God is full of living power. It is
sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into
our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes
us for what we really are." Hebrews 4:12
(After his amazing conversion, Thorpe became a
noted preacher of the gospel. This is the most
amazing conversion I have ever heard of. -editor)
John MacArthur had this to say about the incident: (Note: I do not agree with everything MacArthur teaches, but this is right on),
"There’s a story in the biography of George Whitefield about a man named Thorpe, who was a bitter opponent of everything that is holy. He and a group of his friends—all of them young, rebellious thugs—conspired together to mock and oppose George Whitefield’s evangelistic ministry while Whitefield was preaching in Bristol, England.
George Whitefield had severely crossed eyes, if you have ever seen a realistic likeness of him. And these guys used to refer to him as “Dr. Squintum.” They called their little gang “The Hell-Fire Club,” and they disrupted meetings, mocked Whitefield on the streets and in public places, and generally tried to make his ministry a reproach in their community. Whitefield’s preaching had already made a deep and lasting impact in Bristol, and these young ruffians hated him for it. So this guy Thorpe got one of Whitefield’s published sermons and took it to the local pub, where the “Hell-Fire Club” was gathered to drink together while they make a burlesque of Whitefield.
Thorpe was apparently pretty good at doing impressions, and he had all Whitefield’s mannerisms and gestures down pat. So he stood in the center of this pub and crossed his eyes and began to deliver a derisive rendition of Whitefield’s sermon. But in the middle of the sermon, the Word of God pierced his heart, and he suddenly stopped and sat down, trembling and broken-hearted. Right then and there, he confessed the truth of the gospel and gave his heart to Christ. His aim was to taunt and ridicule, but he accidentally converted himself! Or rather, the power of the Word of God penetrated his soul and cut him to the heart. He became a preacher himself and quite an effective evangelist, because he knew so well the power of the Word of God to penetrate hardened hearts.
Notice that the Word of God pierces to the very depths, “even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). It probes to the deepest recesses of the heart, no matter how hardened or how closed the heart might be. In fact, only Scripture can do that.
Notice how militant this language is. It sounds like the language of armed conflict—swords and cutting, and dividing asunder of the joints and marrow. It’s vivid, destructive-sounding language—the language of warfare and devastation. And it is true that sometimes the Word of God pierces hearts as a judgment, without remedy and without any healing.
But I don’t think that’s primarily what the writer of Hebrews has in mind. In this context, he is urging his readers to examine themselves, lest they fall away from Christ before they have truly embraced Him with saving faith. He is warning them that it is possible to come close to Christ and yet fall away without entering into His rest—the rest that comes with redemption and the forgiveness of sins."
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"Whitefield was a flame of fire. And as that flame has shone so bright, enlightened the minds and warmed the hearts of so many, it is very important to keep it burning. But as it has long since ceased to burn in the original socket, and now shines only as re- flected through the historic page, Whitefield's life, words and deeds should be in every household. "Though dead, he yet speaketh." Enshrined in the hearts of God's people, like his great Master, he still lives by the fervent prayers he prayed, the eloquent sermons he preached, and the holy doctrine he taught. Dead to self and consecrated to God, with his towering faith, humble walk and holy life, he still lives by the godly example he set us. Bold, earnest, elo- quent and powerful, as a preacher, he still lives as "the unequaled prince of pulpit orators." Having lived and died for Christ he still lives as a martyr for Jesus. But Whitefield was not only a flame of fire, he was also a flame of love. And it was the union of the flame of fire with the flame of love that made him so powerful. Who struck fresh life into a dead church? George Whitefield. How? By the power of his fervent prayers, eloquent sermons and abundant labors. "He smote the rock" of the church's resources, and streams of life and salvation gushed out. He touched the dead corpse "of a lifeless, palsied church, and it rose and stood upon its feet." Then let the church garner his remains, hold forth his brilliant, Christ-like example, print and circulate his life, until it shall abound as the leaves of autumn."
From, THE LIFE Great Preacher, REVEREND GEORGE WHITEFIELD, "PRINCE OF PULPIT ORATORS," WITH THE SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS, AND SPECIMENS OF HIS SERMONS. BY Rev. A. S. BILLINGSLEY, 1878
The Hell Fire Club?
(edited from Spurgeon's sermon, #950
"Means for Restoring the Banished" )
Mr. Thorpe was a member of an 'infidel' club.
In those days infidelity was more blasphemous
than now. This infidel society took the name of
the "Hell Fire Club". Among their amusements
was that of holding imitations of religious
services, and exhibiting mimicries of popular
ministers.
Thorpe went to hear George Whitfield preach,
that he might caricature him before his profane
associates. He listened to Whitfield so carefully
that he caught his tones and his manner, and
somewhat of his doctrines.
When the "Hell Fire Club" met to see his caricature
of Whitfield, Thorpe opened the Bible that he might
take a text to preach from it after the manner of
Whitfield. His eye fell on the passage, "Except you
repent, you shall all likewise perish." As he spoke
upon that text he was carried beyond himself, lost
all thought of mockery, spoke as one in earnest,
and was the means of his own conversion!
He was carried by the force of truth beyond his
own intention, like one who would play in a river,
and is swept away by its current.
Even the scoffer may be reached by the arrows of truth!
Scripture has often been the sole means in the hands
of its divine Author of converting the soul.
"For the Word of God is full of living power. It is
sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into
our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes
us for what we really are." Hebrews 4:12
(After his amazing conversion, Thorpe became a
noted preacher of the gospel. This is the most
amazing conversion I have ever heard of. -editor)
John MacArthur had this to say about the incident: (Note: I do not agree with everything MacArthur teaches, but this is right on),
"There’s a story in the biography of George Whitefield about a man named Thorpe, who was a bitter opponent of everything that is holy. He and a group of his friends—all of them young, rebellious thugs—conspired together to mock and oppose George Whitefield’s evangelistic ministry while Whitefield was preaching in Bristol, England.
George Whitefield had severely crossed eyes, if you have ever seen a realistic likeness of him. And these guys used to refer to him as “Dr. Squintum.” They called their little gang “The Hell-Fire Club,” and they disrupted meetings, mocked Whitefield on the streets and in public places, and generally tried to make his ministry a reproach in their community. Whitefield’s preaching had already made a deep and lasting impact in Bristol, and these young ruffians hated him for it. So this guy Thorpe got one of Whitefield’s published sermons and took it to the local pub, where the “Hell-Fire Club” was gathered to drink together while they make a burlesque of Whitefield.
Thorpe was apparently pretty good at doing impressions, and he had all Whitefield’s mannerisms and gestures down pat. So he stood in the center of this pub and crossed his eyes and began to deliver a derisive rendition of Whitefield’s sermon. But in the middle of the sermon, the Word of God pierced his heart, and he suddenly stopped and sat down, trembling and broken-hearted. Right then and there, he confessed the truth of the gospel and gave his heart to Christ. His aim was to taunt and ridicule, but he accidentally converted himself! Or rather, the power of the Word of God penetrated his soul and cut him to the heart. He became a preacher himself and quite an effective evangelist, because he knew so well the power of the Word of God to penetrate hardened hearts.
Notice that the Word of God pierces to the very depths, “even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). It probes to the deepest recesses of the heart, no matter how hardened or how closed the heart might be. In fact, only Scripture can do that.
Notice how militant this language is. It sounds like the language of armed conflict—swords and cutting, and dividing asunder of the joints and marrow. It’s vivid, destructive-sounding language—the language of warfare and devastation. And it is true that sometimes the Word of God pierces hearts as a judgment, without remedy and without any healing.
But I don’t think that’s primarily what the writer of Hebrews has in mind. In this context, he is urging his readers to examine themselves, lest they fall away from Christ before they have truly embraced Him with saving faith. He is warning them that it is possible to come close to Christ and yet fall away without entering into His rest—the rest that comes with redemption and the forgiveness of sins."
The Flaws of a Fad-Driven Church, Part 6
Piercing the Soul As we saw in yesterday’s post, the first characteristic of the Word of God is that it is powerful. Here’s characteristic number 2: 2. The Word of God is penetrating. N
www.gty.org
"Whitefield was a flame of fire. And as that flame has shone so bright, enlightened the minds and warmed the hearts of so many, it is very important to keep it burning. But as it has long since ceased to burn in the original socket, and now shines only as re- flected through the historic page, Whitefield's life, words and deeds should be in every household. "Though dead, he yet speaketh." Enshrined in the hearts of God's people, like his great Master, he still lives by the fervent prayers he prayed, the eloquent sermons he preached, and the holy doctrine he taught. Dead to self and consecrated to God, with his towering faith, humble walk and holy life, he still lives by the godly example he set us. Bold, earnest, elo- quent and powerful, as a preacher, he still lives as "the unequaled prince of pulpit orators." Having lived and died for Christ he still lives as a martyr for Jesus. But Whitefield was not only a flame of fire, he was also a flame of love. And it was the union of the flame of fire with the flame of love that made him so powerful. Who struck fresh life into a dead church? George Whitefield. How? By the power of his fervent prayers, eloquent sermons and abundant labors. "He smote the rock" of the church's resources, and streams of life and salvation gushed out. He touched the dead corpse "of a lifeless, palsied church, and it rose and stood upon its feet." Then let the church garner his remains, hold forth his brilliant, Christ-like example, print and circulate his life, until it shall abound as the leaves of autumn."
From, THE LIFE Great Preacher, REVEREND GEORGE WHITEFIELD, "PRINCE OF PULPIT ORATORS," WITH THE SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS, AND SPECIMENS OF HIS SERMONS. BY Rev. A. S. BILLINGSLEY, 1878
