Andrew Fuller Books: A Reading Guide to His Classic Works

Theology Evangelism Bible Study Biography

Andrew Fuller (1754–1815) was the Baptist pastor at Kettering, England, who argued that the gospel should be offered freely to every sinner and then helped send William Carey to India to do it. His collected works fill several thick volumes. TheWay Library has four of his books, all free to read: his famous treatise on faith, a short book for Christians who have drifted, a volume of Bible exposition, and the life of a friend. For his life story, see who was Andrew Fuller.

Where to start

Start with The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation. It's the book that made his name and the one that still matters most. After that:

If your heart has gone cold toward God: The Backslider.
For a picture of missionary zeal and holy joy: Memoir of Rev. Samuel Pearce.
To read him preach through Scripture: Expository Discourses on the Book of Genesis.

Every quotation below is checked against the book it comes from. For many more, see our collection of Andrew Fuller quotes.

Theology and the gospel offer

The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation

This is Fuller's answer to a question that divided the Baptists of his day: should ministers call unconverted people to believe in Christ, or is faith only for those who already see signs of grace in themselves? Fuller says sinners are to be called, and he proves it from Scripture.

Part I explains why the question matters and defines saving faith: a hearty belief of what God has said about Christ, not a feeling that you personally are saved. Part II sets out six propositions. Unconverted sinners are commanded, urged and invited to believe. Everyone is bound to receive whatever God reveals. Though the gospel is a message of pure grace, it still calls for obedience, including faith. Unbelief comes from a corrupt heart and is a serious sin. God threatens and punishes unbelief, which would be unjust if faith weren't a duty. And the things that go with faith, such as repentance and love to God, are required of everyone too. The concluding reflections speak to preachers.

Faith in Jesus Christ, even that which is accompanied with salvation, is there constantly held up as the duty of all to whom the Gospel is preached.
The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation, Proposition I

It's a careful argument, not a light read, but it's short and clear. Pastors and anyone who wonders whether they're allowed to come to Christ should read it. Read The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation.

The Christian life

The Backslider

Fuller wrote this small book out of grief, after watching people he'd walked with fall away in belief or in life. He begins by showing that every kind of backsliding starts in the heart, then describes its different forms, from a quiet cooling of love to falls into error, worldliness or open sin. Like a priest examining leprosy, he lists the symptoms of a declining spirit. Then he shows the harm of sin left on the conscience without repentance, and closes with a long, tender chapter on the way back.

One thing is certain; you are a sinner, a poor miserable perishing sinner: the door of mercy is open; and you are welcome to enter it.
The Backslider, On the Means of Recovery

That last chapter is the heart of the book. Fuller tells the backslider to come again as a sinner, not to rake through the past looking for proof of conversion, and to trust the mercy that's still offered. This edition has an introduction praising Fuller and recommending the book. It reads in an hour or two. Read The Backslider.

Bible exposition

Expository Discourses on the Book of Genesis

For years Fuller explained a passage of Scripture to his congregation every Sunday morning, and these discourses on Genesis came from that work. Each one takes a passage, explains it verse by verse, and draws out plain lessons for life. This copy has thirty-five discourses, from the days of creation through the fall, Cain and Abel, Enoch, Noah and the flood, and Babel, to the long story of Abraham: his call, his faith, the covenant, the angels at Mamre, Sodom, the offering of Isaac and the search for a wife for Isaac. It ends with Isaac and Abimelech in Genesis 26.

Though faith is not our justifying righteousness, yet it is a necessary concomitant, and mean of justification…
Expository Discourses on the Book of Genesis, Abram Justified by Faith

A note on this copy: it stops at Genesis 26, so it seems to be only the first volume of the work, and the scan has misread letters and page headers throughout. It's still very usable alongside your Bible. Read the Expository Discourses on Genesis.

Biography

Memoir of Rev. Samuel Pearce

Samuel Pearce was the young Baptist pastor at Cannon Street, Birmingham, and Fuller's dear friend. He threw himself into the new mission to India, raised money and prayed for the missionaries, and wanted to go himself, though his brethren judged he should stay. He died of consumption in 1799, still in his early thirties.

Fuller built the memoir mostly from Pearce's own letters and journals: his conversion and call, his zeal for missions and his friendship with William Carey, his labors, and the peace and joy of his last illness. Then Fuller sketches his character, which he says was governed by holy love, and closes with reflections on why Christian biography is worth reading.

Cheerfulness was as natural to him as breathing; and this spirit, sanctified by the grace of God, gave a tincture to all his thoughts, conversation, and preaching.
Memoir of Rev. Samuel Pearce, General Outlines of His Character

This one is moving and easy to read. The scanned text has frequent misread words, but the story comes through. Read the Memoir of Rev. Samuel Pearce.

Why read Andrew Fuller today

Fuller holds together two things Christians often pull apart: confidence that salvation is entirely God's work, and an urgent, open call to everyone to believe. He's also a pastor through and through, honest about sin, gentle with the struggling, and glad about Christ. Start with The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation, then read The Backslider. All four books are on the Andrew Fuller author page.