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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.
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Sermon Summary
George Fox encourages his friends to actively engage in spreading the truth of the Gospel, emphasizing the importance of not hiding their gifts and talents. He urges them to be diligent in their service to God and to be mindful of their time on earth, reminding them that they are sojourners and should live in the fear of God. Fox warns against the distractions of worldly desires and calls for unity among Friends in ministry to effectively share the truth with others. He expresses a desire for them to be valiant in their efforts and to give a joyful account to God at the end of their lives.
Epistle 405
Dear friends,—With my love to you all, and all the rest of Friends; I was glad to hear from you; but you gave me no account of the increase of truth amongst you, nor what meetings you have had amongst the Indian kings and their people abroad in the countries, and of your visiting Friends in New England, Virginia, and Carolina, nor of your travels and labours in the gospel; who have in all those countries, liberty to serve and worship God, and preach the truth. And I understand many have a desire to live in it, especially in Carolina; and you <292> who travel now from Friends, to Friends thither, it is thought strange that you do not visit them; therefore I desire that you may all improve your gifts and talents, and not hide them in a napkin, lest they be taken from you [Luke 19:20]; and not to put your candle under a bushel [Mat 5:15], lest it go out; and not to be like the foolish virgins, which kept their name of virgins, but neglected having oil in their lamps [Mat 25:3]. Such were not diligent in the work of God, nor in the concerns of the Lord, nor in their own particulars. And therefore my desires are, that you may all be diligent, serving the Lord and minding his glory, and the prosperity of his truth, this little time you have to live [1 Cor 7:29]; and be not like Adam in the earth, but use this world as though you did not use it [1 Cor 7:31]; for they that covet after this world, fall into divers snares and hurtful lusts [1 Tim 6:9]. And therefore consider, that you are but sojourners here [1 Chr 29:15], that you may pass your time in the fear of God; and you being many, and having many of the Friends of the ministry, going over into those parts, you may be a hinderance one unto another, if you do not travel in the life of the universal truth, that would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth [1 Tim 2:4]. And if you would have them come to the knowledge of truth, let them know it, and where it is to be found. So I desire that you be valiant for it upon the earth [Jer 9:3], that you may give a good account unto God at the last with joy [Heb 13:17]. So, I desire that all Friends in the ministry may see this in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. And so with my love to you all in the holy seed of life that reigns over all. Amen. G. F.
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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.