John Piper - Amazing grace in the life of William Wilberforce

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John Piper writes with a pastors heart and a scholars pen. This concise study makes for compelling reading, with its eloquent exploration of Wilberforces Christian faith and the first principles that flowed from it.

One cannot rightly understand Wilberforces legacy as a reformer without understanding how his faith informed that legacy. Such a faith and such a legacy have much to say to us still. This is a book to savor and treasure.

KEVIN BELMONTE, author of W illiam Wilberforce: A Hero forHumanity and lead historical consultant for the motion picture Amazing Grace: The William Wilberforce Story AmazingGraceLWW.48754.i04.qxd 12/6/06 1:59 PM Page 2

BOOKS BY JOHN PIPER

Gods Passion for His Glory

The Pleasures of God

Desiring God

The Dangerous Duty of Delight

Future Grace

A Hunger for God

Let the Nations Be Glad!

A Godward Life

Pierced by the Word

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ

The Legacy of Sovereign Joy

The Hidden Smile of God

The Roots of Endurance

The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God

The Innkeeper

The Prodigals Sister

Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

Whats the Difference?

The Justification of God

Counted Righteous in Christ

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

The Supremacy of God in Preaching

Beyond the Bounds

Dont Waste Your Life

The Passion of Jesus Christ

Life as a Vapor

A God-Entranced Vision of All Things

When I Dont Desire God

Sex and the Supremacy of Christ

Taste and See

Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die

God Is the Gospel

Contending for Our All

What Jesus Demands from the World

When the Darkness Will Not Lift

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Amazing Grace in the Life of

William Wilberforce

John Piper

F O R E W O R D B Y J O N AT H A N A I T K E N

C R O S S W A Y B O O K S

A P U B L I S H I N G M I N I S T R Y O F

G O O D N E W S P U B L I S H E R S

W H E A T O N , I L L I N O I S

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Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce Copyright 2006 by Desiring God Foundation

Published by Crossway Books

a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.

Cover design: Josh Dennis

Cover photo: Bridgeman Art Library

First printing 2002

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, EnglishStandard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Piper, John, 1946

Amazing gracein the life of William Wilberforce / John Piper; foreword by Jonathan Aitken.

p. cm.

ISBN 13: 978-1-58134-875-0 (tpb)

1. Wilberforce, William, 1759-1833. 2. Great BritainPolitics and government1760-1820. 3. Great BritainPolitics and government1820-1830. 4. AbolitionistsGreat Britain

Biography. 5. LegislatorsGreat BritainBiography. 6. Anti-slavery movementsGreat BritainHistory. 7. Philanthropists

Great BritainBiography. I. Title.

DA522.W6P57

2006

941.07092dc22

2006029181

BP

16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07

13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Contents

Foreword

Introduction: Enduring for the Cause

His Early Life

God Has Set Before Me Two Great Objects

A Multitude of Christlike Causes

Extraordinary Endurance

The Deeper Root of Childlike Joy

The Gigantic Truths of the Gospel

Desiring God: A Note on Resources

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The fatal habit of considering Christian morals as distinct from Christiandoctrines insensibly gained strength. Thus the peculiar doctrines ofChristianity went more and more out of sight, and as might naturallyhave been expected, the moral system itself also began to wither anddecay, being robbed of that which should have supplied it with life andnutriment.

W I L L I A M W I L B E R F O R C E

We can scarcely indeed look into any part of the sacred volume withoutmeeting abundant proofs that it is the religion of the Affections whichGod particularly requires.... Joy... is enjoined on us as our boundenduty and commended to us as our acceptable worship.... A cold...

unfeeling heart is represented as highly criminal.

W I L L I A M W I L B E R F O R C E

If we would... rejoice in [Christ] as triumphantly as the first Christiansdid; we must learn, like them to repose our entire trust in him and toadopt the language of the apostle, God forbid that I should glory, savein the cross of Jesus Christ.... Who of God is made unto us wisdomand righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.

W I L L I A M W I L B E R F O R C E

His presence was as fatal to dullness as to immorality. His mirth was asirresistible as the first laughter of childhood.

J A M E S S T E P H E N

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Foreword

Jonathan Aitken

Even in the hands of a talented biographer, William Wilberforce is a difficult subject, for the story of his life can only be told with insights that transcend the writing of political history. The extraordinary tenacity he displayed over forty-six years of legislative warfare before the slave trade was abolished was an epic of Parliamentary perseverance.

However, the real wellsprings of this momentous achievement are to be found not in votes counted, speeches delivered, or bills passed but in a far deeper level of spiritual and moral conviction.

John Piper has written a brilliant book because he so clearly understands that capturing the spirit and soul of William Wilberforce is crucial to portraying the man and his mission. The historical and political narrative of this account is impeccable, but the reader is also given a profoundly perceptive picture of how Wilberforce lived his life spiritually, from the inside. The artistry of this portrait results in a superlative biographical study that demonstrates the truth of the old adage: A well-written life is as exceptional as a well lived one.

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Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce did not always live his life well. In his youth he was a spoiled, selfish libertine who spent much of his time at the gaming tables playing poker. Having inherited a large fortune from his father, he could indulge his tastes for gambling as well as wining and dining in fashionable London clubs where he was also well known for his fine singing voice.