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Andrew Murray
Andrew Murray (1828 - 1917). South African pastor, author, and revivalist born in Graaff-Reinet, Cape Colony, to Dutch Reformed missionary parents. Sent to Scotland at 10, he studied at Aberdeen University and Utrecht, Netherlands, returning ordained in 1848. He pastored in Bloemfontein and Worcester, later moderating the Dutch Reformed Church’s Cape Synod. In 1860, he sparked a revival in the Orange Free State, preaching to thousands across racial lines despite apartheid’s rise. Murray wrote over 240 books, including Abide in Christ (1882) and With Christ in the School of Prayer, translated into dozens of languages. His emphasis on holiness, prayer, and divine healing influenced global Pentecostalism. Married to Emma Rutherford in 1856, they had eight children, four becoming missionaries. He founded theological seminaries and the Huguenot College for women. Despite chronic illness, he traveled to Europe and America, speaking at Keswick Conventions. His devotional works remain widely read, shaping Christian spirituality across denominations.
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Andrew Murray emphasizes the urgency of believing in Christ to avoid perishing, highlighting the dire state of humanity without Him. He urges listeners to understand the depth of sin and hopelessness in the world, both globally and locally, and to recognize their role as beacons of light amidst darkness. Murray calls for a heartfelt engagement with the plight of the unconverted, encouraging prayer and reflection on the meaning of 'whosoever' as the key to hope for the perishing. He stresses that true understanding of God's love and our mission requires time and dedication to grasp the condition of the world around us.
Whosoever Believeth Might Not Perish.
Our text says ‘that whosoever believeth might not perish’! Without Christ they must perish. Think of all the inconceivable sin and wretchedness the life on earth implies and then of all the hopelessness for the world to come. Read some missionary book, giving an account of some special mission field, with definite statements as to the need, and say to God you really want to know the world in which you are placed, of which you are part, for which you are to live. Unless we study the world and take its condition in, we cannot possibly know God’s love for it, or our calling. Or think of what Scripture says of the god of this world, of the terrible power that absolutely possesses and rules these souls, and holds them in darkness and misery, and find out wherein the power and awfulness of heathenism consists. Or look nearer home, to the ungodly masses in every Christian country. Take time to consider the state of the unconverted you know, the friends you love, the people you deal with, the thousand faces that are familiar, and regard them all as making up the perishing world, in the midst of which you are to be a shining light, a streaming fountain of life. Then you will begin to see that it needs time, and trouble, and heart, and prayer to take in the divine meaning of this word ‘world’, and that other word ‘whosoever’ which is its only hope. (Excerpted from The Coming Revival, by Andrew Murray , pg. 62)
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Andrew Murray (1828 - 1917). South African pastor, author, and revivalist born in Graaff-Reinet, Cape Colony, to Dutch Reformed missionary parents. Sent to Scotland at 10, he studied at Aberdeen University and Utrecht, Netherlands, returning ordained in 1848. He pastored in Bloemfontein and Worcester, later moderating the Dutch Reformed Church’s Cape Synod. In 1860, he sparked a revival in the Orange Free State, preaching to thousands across racial lines despite apartheid’s rise. Murray wrote over 240 books, including Abide in Christ (1882) and With Christ in the School of Prayer, translated into dozens of languages. His emphasis on holiness, prayer, and divine healing influenced global Pentecostalism. Married to Emma Rutherford in 1856, they had eight children, four becoming missionaries. He founded theological seminaries and the Huguenot College for women. Despite chronic illness, he traveled to Europe and America, speaking at Keswick Conventions. His devotional works remain widely read, shaping Christian spirituality across denominations.