John Piper’s short biography on William Wilberforce is available January 29 as a softcover book and immediately as a free PDF.
Speaking of Wilberforce, Piper notes:
“He believed with all his heart that new affections for God were the key to new morals (or manners, as they were sometimes called) and lasting political reformation. And these new affections and this reformation did not come from mere ethical systems. They came from what he called the “peculiar doctrines” of Christianity. For Wilberforce, practical deeds were born in “peculiar doctrines.” By that term he simply meant the central distinguishing doctrines of human depravity, divine judgment, the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross, justification by faith alone, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and the practical necessity of fruit in a life devoted to good deeds.”
I previously mentioned the upcoming major motion picture Amazing Grace. Here is the trailer: