First sentence from the introduction: George Whitefield's life as a Christian was dedicated to knowing God and making him known. His transformative personal experience of the new birth in Christ undergirded and propelled a remarkable public preaching ministry that not only transcended denominations and oceans but also attracted listeners from all segments of society.

First sentence from chapter one: Central to George Whitefield's life and ministry was the new birth. In 1769, one year before his death, he recounted a retrospective review of his conversion in which he narrated his struggle to find peace with God. His listeners were reminded that baptism alone does not assure anyone of entering heaven. He vulnerably rehearsed his misguided journey of excessive asceticism that almost killed him and the futility of seeking God solely by external human efforts. He joyfully credited Charles Wesley's gift of The Life of God in the Soul of Man by the Scottish minister and professor Henry Scougal (1650-1678) which confronted him with his need to be born again. With a tinge of delight, he then added, "Whenever I go to Oxford, I cannot help running to that place where Jesus Christ first revealed himself to me, and gave the new birth."

Whitefield on the Christian Life: New Birth to Enjoy God is a biography of George Whitefield. It is one of many in a long, continuing series published by Crossway. (I have read a handful of books from the series.) The books focus just as much--if not more--on the theology and doctrine of a particular man than on his actual life. Though the book does to some extent do a bit of both. The book is more arranged thematically than chronologically. (Though, of course, it follows some chronology, but when it comes down to choosing between the doctrinal subject (or theme) and following a strict chronology, doctrinal theme wins out.)

This book--like many others in the series--works to place the subject--George Whitefield--in the context of his times. It shows what influenced him, and subsequently how he influenced others.

Whitefield's focus was on PREACHING and then perhaps on having his sermons published. He preached 18,000 SERMONS, AN AVERAGE OF 530 SERMONS A YEAR FROM 1736 TO 1770. That number is staggering.

I learned plenty while reading this book.

Quotes:
As a preacher of one book, Whitefield did not regard the Bible as simply providing the raw material or content for his sermons: as a founding father of the evangelical movement, he let Scripture shape both where and how he urged his listeners to experience the new birth.