Outsiders

It was during the persecution of the Waldensians that the gospel flourished. It was as England burned not only the Bibles Tyndale translated, but the preachers of those Bibles as well, that God’s Word spread. It was as Manz preached and planted churches under the shadow of prison that the Anabaptists grew. It was as John Bunyan languished in prison that Pilgrim’s Progress was written. And it was as the fires of persecution-driven revival diminished in England that God empowered the preaching of Charles Spurgeon.

Outsiders

Outsiders is a collection of the stories of fifteen men who held nothing back from God. It is the story of how these men lost earthly riches to find much greater heavenly riches. It is an account of God’s sustaining grace, and how He carries His children through the most difficult of times. The book has become one of my favorites, and I think you’ll see why by the end of the review.

Zeal for the Bible

When I say that I like this book so much, it’s the lives of the men that are so challenging. These fifteen men did not differ from us today—most of them came from poor beginnings. The only thing that made them leave such a mark on history is that they allowed God to work His will through them.

While reading this book, their lives amazed me again and again. God gave these men the courage to persevere with the Gospel under dire circumstances. Some of them under threat of death, while others under criticism and verbal attack. They never burned John Bunyan at the stake, but he still suffered twelve years of imprisonment in a stereotypical dungeon.

The one thing that tied all these men together was their fervent love for the Lord and their determination to share the Gospel. They didn’t care what the government said. Every one of them, though under widely different circumstances as far as religious freedom, did the exact same thing: they preached Christ.

A Challenge to Christians

Outsiders is especially challenging amid today’s complacent Christianity. Many have grown comfortable and have lost the zeal of those before us. One line from chapter one jumped out at me:

For many of them, it was not a question of if they would be martyred, but of how much they could accomplish before martyrdom came.

Outsiders

These people, in this case the Waldensians, knew for a fact that they would be killed for their faith. Despite that, they boldly preached it in accordance to the Bible with no fear of what the government might do to them. For the Waldensians, the government was rather unfriendly. Soldiers mercilessly slaughtered them in the Massacre of Piedmont, yet the survivors fled only to continue sharing their faith.

Final Thoughts

Outsiders is a great read for any Christian who wants to have his faith strengthened. With uncertain times ahead, it is comforting to know that others before us have endured horrible circumstances and stayed faithful.

I wouldn’t recommend this for younger readers, but only because of the brutal (though not graphic) descriptions of how some people were executed.

You can find the book on Amazon here.

And now, I’ll end this review with three of the many quotes from the men of Outsiders.

The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue is prayer; they do not go on praying; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God’s glory, they should pray until they get it.

George Müller

Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.

George Müller

Would you like me to tell you what supported me through all the years of exile among a people whose language I could not understand, and whose attitude toward me was always uncertain and often hostile? It was this, ‘Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.’ On these words I staked everything, and they never failed. I was never alone.

David Livingstone