Born in 1753, Lemuel Haynes was an indentured servant who grew to become a dynamic and

influential reformed preacher and abolitionist in the decades surrounding the American Revolution.

Nicknamed the Black Puritan, he's often credited as being the first African American ordained

for ministry in the United States.

Today we're pleased to share a short biographical account of Haynes' life and a sermon he wrote and delivered on John 3-3,

both of which are adapted from the selected sermons of Lemuel Haynes, a new addition to Crossway's short classics series.

Let's get started.

Biography of Lemuel Haynes.

Lemuel Haynes, 1753 to 1833, was one of the most extraordinary Christian preachers in American history.

Born to an unknown white woman and African-American man, Haynes spent the first 21 years of life

in indentured servitude. Immediately upon his release, Haynes joined the war effort against Great Britain,

fighting at Lexington and Concord. After the war, Haynes studied theology and became the first

ordained black preacher in the United States.

He quickly became celebrated throughout New England for his scholarly yet passionate sermons,

most of which he preached while pastoring a predominantly white church in Vermont.

Haynes' theological skill, rhetorical ability, an evangelical manner, earned him the nickname

the Black Puritan.

Convinced of reform theology and the sovereignty of God over all of life and history,

Haynes wrote and preached to guide the hearts of his audience toward holiness, orthodoxy, especially against the heresy of universalism,

and social reform. Today, Haynes is celebrated both as a model of reformed evangelical preaching and as an essential figure in the history of African American Christianity.

A sermon on John 3.3.

Jesus answered and said unto him,

...