- Home
- Speakers
- George Fox
- Self Judged And Mastery
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
Topic
Sermon Summary
George Fox emphasizes the importance of dwelling in the measure of God's Spirit, which brings unity and peace. He warns against boasting above one's measure and encourages self-reflection to allow the Spirit to guide individuals closer to God. Fox urges believers to judge themselves with the Light to avoid condemnation and strive for unity in love. He highlights that moving away from the eternal life into the changeable world leads to strife and confusion.
Self Judged and Mastery
FRIENDS, I do Warn and Exhort you all in the Presence of the Lord God, Dwell in the Measure, which God hath given you of himself, in which is no Strife, but Unity: Therefore every one of you dwell in it. And this I do Warn you of, Boast not your selves above your Measures, but dwell in the Truth it self; that with the Measure of the Living Spirit of the Living God, ye may be guided up to God, in which Spirit ye will all have Unity in the least Measure of it. And so every one of you Judge Self, for it would have the Mastery; which is to be Condemned with the Light, in which is Unity. So, the Eternal God of Light, and Life and Power be with you all, and in you all! And keep from all Strife, and above it, in Love and Unity in every Place. And Friends, the going from the Life into the Changable, is the Cause of Strife and Confusion. 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.