People You’ve Probably Never Heard Of But Should: Asahel Nettleton

If the Lord tarries for one hundred years and some chap like myself decides to start a series of blog articles on people you’ve probably never heard of, do you think that Billy Graham would be one of those forgotten leaders? That seems shocking doesn’t it? How could a man that has been influential in seeing thousands come to Christ be forgotten when we talk about church history? Impossible, right?

It is estimated that 30,000 people were converted to Christ due to the ministry of Asahel Nettleton. Yet, most of us have not heard of this man of God.

Little Asahel was born to a Connecticut farming family in 1783. He was converted during a season of revival in the early 1800s. His heart was soon stirred to follow Christ in missions. To this end, and with much difficulty, he attended Yale. At the time Yale was a sturdy evangelical school led by Timothy Dwight (the grandson of Jonathan Edwards).

By 1811 Nettleton was preaching. His intention was still foreign missions but the Lord would have him to be an itinerant preacher instead. Almost from the beginning the Lord blessed Nettleton’s preaching and ministry. By the time of his death in 1844 he was instrumental in seeing some 30,000 people come to know Christ.

Why You Should Know Him:

If you have any familiarity with revivals/revivalism you are probably asking yourself how many of those 30,000 decisions for Christ actually stuck. Consider this: “of the 84 converts in an 1818 revival at Rocky Hill, Connecticut — according to their pastor’s report 26 years later — all 84 had remained faithful. Similarly, only three spurious conversions out of 82 professed commitments were noted by another pastor in his report on revival services held in Ashford, Connecticut.” (Source)

There were two prominent contemporaries of Nettleton. One such man was Nathaniel Taylor. Taylor and Nettleton were actually friends at Yale. The two went separate ways. Taylor embraced what has come to be known as New Haven Theology.

Taylor denied original sin. He believed that Adam’s sin was not imputed to any man but that men were guilty when they have sinned themselves. All men are able to choose the right path but none do. Taylor further denied the doctrine of election. The New England Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Calvinism) was “in” during this time. Taylor and one of his disciples, Charles Finney, were instrumental in changing that tide. Taylor did not view the death of Christ as actually saving any man but only introducing a system whereby men might be saved.

Nettleton rejected this. He also rejected the “dangerous methods” of Charles Finney. Finney, a Pelagian, adopted a more emotional approach to evangelism. He hoped to influence the free will of men through their emotions. This led to an influx of such things as the altar call. Men like Nettleton rejected this and hoped to appeal to the will with the power of truth.

To contrast the ministry of Nettleton with Finney/Taylor is telling and instructive for our generation. By some accounts Finney had produced over 500,00 converts. “Produced” is probably the correct term. Finney’s contemporary supporters (and later even Finney himself) believed that a good number of these had not remained in the faith.

Nettleton serves as a great example of faithfully plodding in gospel ministry.

Sample:

Nettleton had a deep and abiding confidence in the power of God and His Word to convert sinners. That is evident in his various writings:

We have no new Gospel, no other terms of salvation than those that have always been held out for acceptance. The sinner has been taught invariably that he must not look for comfort without submission. And such has been the faithfulness of our spiritual teachers, that, in most cases, those who have been slain by the law, and brought to despair of climbing up some other way, have been led directly to the Saviour, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; and who has always been ready and willing to receive them.

Though he strongly opposed the work of Finney he was always cordial and loving in his discussions with him. He embodied what he said here:

We may talk of the best means of doing good; but, after all, the greatest difficulty lies in doing it in a proper spirit. Speak- the truth in love, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves — with the meekness and gentleness of Christ.

Lastly, it is helpful in a day when Calvinism is equated with a lack of evangelism or passion for the lost, to read the words of Nettleton’s appeals to sinners:

A certain individual said to him: "I cannot get along with the doctrine of election."

"Then," said Nettleton, "get along without it. You are at liberty to get to heaven the easiest way you can. Whether the doctrine of election is true or not, it is true that you must repent, and believe, and love God. Now, what we tell you is, that such is the wickedness of your heart, that you never will do these things unless God has determined to renew your heart. If you do not believe that your heart is so wicked, make it manifest by complying with the terms of salvation. Why do you stand cavilling with the doctrine of election? Suppose you should prove it to be false, what have you gained? You must repent and believe in Christ after all. Why do you not immediately comply with these terms of the gospel? When you have done this, without the aids of the divine grace, it will be soon enough to oppose the doctrine of election . Until you shall have done this, we shall still believe that the doctrine of election lies at the foundation of all hope in your case."

Further Reading:

This is a nice short biographical sketch of Nettleton, The Forgotten Evangelist.

There is a book by Bennet Tyler on the Life and Labors of Asahel Nettleton. You can purchase it here. Or you can try to piece it together for free at Google Books (and also here). Honestly, if you are really interested I’d just spend the 15 bucks and get the book.

Iain Murray has done a ton of work on this period. Much is said of Nettleton, Taylor, and Finney in his work Revival and Revivalism.

Finding whole sermons of Nettleton’s is difficult. You’ll find most of the existing ones and a few other resources here.

5 Ways to Preach for Gospel Renewal

Tim Keller believes that our churches need gospel renewal.  One means to accomplish this is through the faithful preaching of God’s Word.  In his book, Center Church, Keller lists five characteristics that define preaching for gospel renewal. 

1. Preach to distinguish between religion and the gospel.  “Critique both religion and irreligion”.
2. Preach both holiness and the love of God to convey the richness of grace.  “Only when people see God as absolutely holy and absolutely loving will the cross of Jesus truly electrify and change them”. 
3. Preach not only to make the truth clear but also to make it real.  “Present the beauty of Christ".
4. Preach Christ from every text.  “Jesus is the ultimate point and message of every text”. 
5. Preach to both Christians and non-Christians at once.  “Evangelize as you edify, and edify as you evangelize.” 

Keller’s book is filled with such helps and it is available for a limited time for only $8.99 in Ebook format. 

5 Ways to Seek Revival

Andrew Fuller lived in a period in Baptist history much like ours.  Numbers were declining, controversies were stirring, souls were neglected, and the cultural climate was very rocky.  Fuller believed that one thing sorely needed was a revival.  To this end he listed 5 ways that those in his day could pursue revival

1. Prayer
2. Cultivation of Christianity in the home
3. Witnessing to unbelievers
4. Self-examination
5. A spirit of generosity for those in need

Honestly, I find Fuller’s list interesting.  I would probably add something about the ministry of the Word.  Yet, I am very encouraged by the presence of cultivating Christianity in the home and having a spirit of generosity for those in need.

What do you think of Fuller’s list? 

This list was originally published in a little different format in The armies of the Lamb edited and introduced by Michael Haykin.

Faithful or Fickle?

I posted this at the new Reforming Youth Ministry site as well:

In his classic work on Spiritual Depression, Martin Lloyd-Jones writes, “Do not think in terms of bargains and rights in the Kingdom of God. That is absolutely fatal. There is nothing so wrong as the spirit which argues that because I do this, or because I have done that, I have the right to expect something else in return”. (129)

In this context Lloyd-Jones is addressing those that believe, “if we pray for certain things, we are bound to have them, for instance if we pray all night for revival we must have revival”. In our day the church is inundated with such philosophy. Peruse the shelves of your local Christian bookstore and you will find countless titles that promise and “If-then” fix-all in your relationship with God. And yes, those of us that are Reformed-minded are not immune to this. Who of us has not been tempted to think that if we have good doctrine and solid Bible teaching then God will honor His Word and souls will get saved?

If my previous post is read through the lens of “bargains and rights” then it will be grossly misunderstood. Reading through such a lens one would come to the conclusion that if we have biblical student ministry then we will inevitably produce solid twenty-somethings. If you read through such a lens you might get fired up by the statistics and go on a quest to make the student ministry at your church more biblical. And that would certainly be a good thing. However, this is what could happen:

• Rather than going up because you are doing things biblically, your attendance actually begins to drastically dwindle. If you are still looking through the lens of “bargains and rights” then you will quickly assume “well, that didn’t work” and will abandon the biblical approach for something else that “gets results”.
• God blesses your ministry exponentially. You observe marked spiritual growth in your teenagers. Your attendance increases. Teens are coming to know Christ. Your student ministry has become biblical. Looking through the lens of “bargains and rights” you will inevitably conclude—in a spiritual sounding way of course—that God blessed you because you followed these steps. Pride will begin creeping in as you start getting book deals and have people asking “how do you do ministry”.

How then should you read the last post and everything else that is forthcoming? Read it with a goal of faithfulness. Rather than having a “bargains and rights” mentality have an “even if you don’t” mentality. In Daniel 3 we read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They are faced with the option of being faithful to God alone in worship and risk their lives or preserve their lives and become guilty of idolatry; they chose faithfulness. Their words in verses 16-18 is a reflection of an “even if you don’t” mentality. This is their response to King Nebuchadnezzar’s threat of throwing them in the fiery furnace:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Did you notice that? We expect that God will deliver us. We have faith that God will reward our faithfulness by a miraculous display of his power. God will protect us. And then you see the “even if not” mentality shine through. If I can be allowed to paraphrase, “King, even if God, for His good pleasure, decides not to preserve us we are still going to be faithful to Him and not you.” Regardless of results we must be faithful. What does an “even if you don’t” mentality look like? This is what could happen:

• Rather than going up because you are doing things biblically, your attendance actually begins to dwindle. However, because you have an “even if you don’t” mentality you press on in faithfulness to God. You may never have high attendance or have any of the typical marks of successful ministry. Your ministry may have the fruit of Isaiah (see chapter 6) instead of the fruit of Jonah. Yet, you will also get the reward of Isaiah instead of Jonah—“well done good and faithful servant”.
• God blesses your ministry exponentially. You observe marked spiritual growth in your teenagers. Your attendance increases. Teens are coming to know Christ. Your student ministry has become biblical. Because you have an “even if you don’t” mentality your “success” results not in pride but in humble awe that God would shine His mercy upon you. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego people start asking about your God instead of about your opinion (3:28).

What will it be? Will you have an “even if you don’t” mentality or will you view ministry through the lens of “rights and bargains”?