- Home
- Speakers
- George Fox
- Epistle 58
George Fox

George Fox (1624 - 1691). English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire. Apprenticed as a shoemaker, he left home at 19, seeking spiritual truth amid Puritan and Anglican tensions. In 1647, after visions and direct experiences of God, he began preaching an “inner light” accessible to all, rejecting clergy and formal worship. By 1652, he gathered followers in northern England, forming the Quakers, known for pacifism and simplicity. Fox traveled across England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and America, enduring eight imprisonments for his beliefs, including at Lancaster Castle. He wrote Journal (1694) and numerous letters, shaping Quaker theology with calls for equality and justice. Married to Margaret Fell in 1669, a key Quaker leader, they had no children, but she had eight from her prior marriage. His 1660 Declaration rejected violence, influencing conscientious objection. Fox’s emphasis on personal revelation transformed Protestantism, and his writings remain central to Quaker thought.
Download
Sermon Summary
George Fox emphasizes the importance of focusing inwardly rather than being distracted by the world, warning against lightness and superficiality. He encourages believers to be steadfast in truth, to control their speech, and to avoid the puffing up of knowledge that leads away from genuine faith. Fox calls for a reliance on the inner teacher, the Holy Spirit, rather than external influences, and stresses that true holiness cannot be found in worldly practices. He urges Christians to act in love and sincerity, using all things for God's glory, while remaining faithful amidst worldly opposition. Ultimately, he reminds believers to love one another and to dwell in the light, as the world is at enmity with God.
Epistle 58
O Friends! look not out; for he that doth, is darkened [Eccl 12:3]. And take heed of lightness; take heed of the world, and of busying your minds with things not serviceable. A wise man's eye is in his head [Eccl 2:14], but a fool's eye is gazing up and down [Prov 17:24?]. Oh! be valiant for the truth upon the earth [Jer 9:3], and tread upon the deceit! And keep to yea and nay [Mat 5:37]; for he that hath not power over his own tongue, his religion is vain [James 1:26]. And take heed of knowledge, for it puffeth up [1 Cor 8:1], but dwell in the truth, and be what ye speak; he that abideth not in the truth, is led by the evil one [John 8:44]. Wait on the Lord, he will perfect his work amongst you; he that hearkens diligently to the teacher within [Isa 55:2?], denieth all outward hireling teachers [Mic 3:11]. He that is made the temple of the holy ghost [1 Cor 6:19], placeth no holiness in the world's temples. The teachers without exalt the carnal mind [Rom 6:7], but the teacher within destroyeth it. There is not a word in all the scripture to hold up the practice of sprinkling infants, nor the word sacrament, nor to hold up an hour glass, to preach by for an hour's time in a place; but the vain mind doth hold up many things, which Christ doth not command. Earth maketh masters, (amongst earthly men,) but let him that ruleth, rule in love; for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof [Psa 24:1]. And he that laboureth, let him labour as to the Lord, in love. So let love be the head in all things, and then the Lord is exalted; then there is no eye service, but singleness of heart [Col 3:22]; then all that is done, is done as to the Lord [Col 3:23]. So be faithful in all things, and keep from the world's vain customs. Do not wear apparel, to gratify the proud mind, neither eat nor drink, to make yourselves wanton; for it was created for the health, and not for the lust, to be as servants to us, and we servants to God, to use all those things to his glory. To whom be praises, honour, and glory for evermore, who hath created all things to his glory, and so to be used and spent. Do not make profession to be seen outwardly, for Christ was condemned by the world, and the formal professors, and all his followers are as wonders to the world. Therefore marvel not if the world hate you [1 Jn 3:13], but rejoice. Look not back, but keep forward, knowing that the world is enmity with God [James 4:4]. Ye that know the light, love one another, and dwell in it, and know one another in it. G. F.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download

George Fox (1624 - 1691). English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire. Apprenticed as a shoemaker, he left home at 19, seeking spiritual truth amid Puritan and Anglican tensions. In 1647, after visions and direct experiences of God, he began preaching an “inner light” accessible to all, rejecting clergy and formal worship. By 1652, he gathered followers in northern England, forming the Quakers, known for pacifism and simplicity. Fox traveled across England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and America, enduring eight imprisonments for his beliefs, including at Lancaster Castle. He wrote Journal (1694) and numerous letters, shaping Quaker theology with calls for equality and justice. Married to Margaret Fell in 1669, a key Quaker leader, they had no children, but she had eight from her prior marriage. His 1660 Declaration rejected violence, influencing conscientious objection. Fox’s emphasis on personal revelation transformed Protestantism, and his writings remain central to Quaker thought.