How Jonathan Edwards Wrecked My Soul

That title is misleading. It needs to be more Edwardsean to be accurate. It should be titled How a Wrong-Headed Application of Jonathan Edwards Has Nearly Made Shipwreck of My Soul. Let me explain.

About seven years ago I read this Resolution of Jonathan Edwards:

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

Since that moment I have made it my ambition to not lose one moment of time for the glory of God. I have failed at this on numerous occasions. But one thing you could say about me is that I have been driven. I have been driven to take captive every moment in activity for God.

And it is wrecking my soul. Awe of God has been replaced by activity for God. I’m worn out and my joy in the Lord has faded. Activity for God, and even pursuing knowledge of Him, is not the same as savoring and treasuring Him.

What I failed to see is that Edwards’ prime resolution was this:

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad’s of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

For Edwards he wanted to take every moment captive to drink deeply of God. For me I wanted to take every moment captive to do stuff for God. There is a massive difference.

I wrote this on a notepad yesterday:

Maybe, smelling one rose and actually worshipping would do more for awe in my soul than a whole host of “doing great things for God”.

I’m slowly learning that the way to “improve every moment in the most profitable way I possibly can” is to find joy in God in whatever I am doing at any given moment. Edwards did not mean that we surrender joyous activity—like observing spiders—and get busy with “spiritual things” like Bible reading. What Edwards meant is that while we are doing things, like enjoying spider watching, we pursue joy in God. That’s how you improve a moment.

Last night I ate a bowl of grapes. They were really good. And I thought about how amazing it is that God would fill His creation with such tremendous things like grapes. And so I thanked God for giving us these little treasures. And I worshipped.

I think I’m learning.

A Lion For Our Defense, A Lamb For Our Distress

If you are a poor distressed sinner, whose heart is ready to sink for fear that God never will have mercy on you, you need not be afraid to go to Christ, for fear that he is either unable or unwilling to help you: here is a strong foundation, and an inexhaustible treasure, to answer the necessities of your poor soul; and here is infinite grace and gentleness to invite and embolden a poor unworthy fearful soul to come to it.  If Christ accepts you, you need not fear but that you will be safe; for he is a strong lion for your defense; and if you come, you need not fear but that you shall be accepted; for he is like a lamb to all that come to him, and receives them with infinite grace and tenderness.  -Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ”

A lion for our defense.  A lamb for our distress.

Review of Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography by Iain Murray

Author: Iain Murray

Pages: 504

Publisher: Banner of Truth

Price: 21.78

Genre: Biography


Quick Summary:

Who was Jonathan Edwards? That question invites a polarity of answers. Was Jonathan Edwards a cold theologian or a man passionate about the glory of God? Was he a man that preached more on the delights of heaven or the fires of hell? A great divine or a great tragedy? Who was Jonathan Edwards?

In this biography Iain Murray exposes the reader to the real Jonathan Edwards. Murray attempts to wrestle Edwards out of the hands of the demonizing biographers of recent scholarship and reintroduce the Edwards that was actually known by his contemporaries. Murray takes us into the mind of the great divine as well as into his heart. The reader not only observes Edwards in his study but also with his child on his lap. Edwards is seen not only as one passionately pleading with sinners but also earnestly praying for his children. Murray traces the life of Jonathan Edwards from boyhood to death to legacy and shows us the many different facets of this great man of God.

What I Liked:

In the introduction Murray says that we “fail to understand Edwards aright until the record of his life begins to [kindle a fire in our souls].” Murray’s goal is not only to reintroduce Edwards to the reader but to introduce the reader to Edwards’ God. Our author succeeds. Iain Murray is one of my favorite biographers. He does a wonderful job of letting the subject speak for himself. As you turn the last page of an Iain Murray biography you cannot help but respond in worship. Not, of course, worship directed neither to Murray— nor to his subject—but worship directed to the God they both serve.

What I Disliked:

Occasionally, Murray will let Edwards off the hook a little early. In his effort to rescue Edwards from his highly critical biographers, occasionally Murray will be under critical. This is, however, the exception and not the rule. Overall, it is historically reliable.

Should You Buy It?

This is perhaps the best biography written on Edwards—definitely so in the last 200 years. Even if you own numerous biographies of Edwards this particular work also uses material from recent studies that will not be found elsewhere. This book would be a great addition to any library.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Review of John Gerstner--Jonathan Edwards: Evangelist

Author: John Gerstner

Pages: 192 pgs

Publisher: Soli Deo Gloria

Price: 8.95

Genre: Theology/Evangelism/Puritan


Quick Summary:

One of the primary critiques of Puritanism and folks like Jonathan Edwards is a lack of evangelism and evangelistic appeal in their sermons. Is it possible that the greatest Calvinistic theologian may also be one of the most evangelistic preachers? In this work John Gerstner attempts to systematize the evangelistic methods of Jonathan Edwards.

The first four chapters are Gerstner’s attempt to justify, as well as reconcile, the diverse views of Edwards. The major part of the book is comprised with the exploration of Edwards’ doctrine of seeking. After fully developing Edwards’ view of seeking Gerstner address other issues such as “faith alone”, “backsliding”, “regeneration”, and “preservation of the saints”.

What I Liked

If the reader desires a more full understanding of the Puritan (and Edwardsean) doctrine of seeking then this is an excellent resource. It is often difficult to grasp the relation between sovereign election and calling sinners to repentance. This book will give the reader a better (although still not complete) understanding of such doctrines. As it says on the back cover this is an excellent resource for those “desiring a theology of the greatest of all the Puritan divines”. Gerstner does an adequate job of systematizing Edwards’ doctrine of “steps to salvation”.

It is also helpful that Gerstner brings in many quotes from Edwards, and does so in a manner that is still quite readable. It is an enjoyable read but also not a light read.

What I Disliked

At times Gerstner interacts with the Edwards’ views. It is my opinion that the book would have been helped along with more interaction from Gerstner. The subjects are often so deep and seemingly contradictory that the reader would be helped by thoughtful interaction—as well as Scriptural defenses of Edwards’ belief. This is, perhaps, due to the pointed focus of Gerstner and such a book was not his intent. Nonetheless, it would have been more beneficial to hear more from our collaborator.

Gerstner also uses the sermon more than the written text of Edwards. Edwards was a man of orderly thought. Every sermon was thought out, but perhaps not as thorough as the theological writings of Edwards. It would have been helpful to see the development of Edwards’ theology. Footnotes and a bibliography are also not included in this work and would have been quite helpful.

Should You Buy It?

The student of Edwards (and Puritan theology) does not want to miss this work. It systematizes the thought of Edwards in a quite helpful way. It also gives help to the student in formulating his own views of the “steps to salvation”. This is also a very difficult read. It may not be the most beneficial to the unlearned. Chances are that if you are reading this review you have some exposure to Edwards, if so then I would recommend this book. If you are reading this review and looking for an introductory to Edwards then look elsewhere; perhaps Iain Murray’s A New Biography on Edwards or George Marsden’s classic biography.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 12/31

Looks like bloggers are back to work this morning; as soon as I looked at my Google Reader I noticed 28 new posts. It being New Year's Eve, I thought it wise to point you to a couple articles on the New Year. Matt Harmon points us to Jonathan Edwards Resolutions; which are always good to read this time of year. It is especially important that we remember Edwards' beginning statement: "Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake." I reminded our youth on Sunday that even if we make our New Year's resolution something to the effect of "determining to know nothing in 2008 but Jesus Christ and Him crucified", we will fail by January 2nd or 3rd. Therefore we must live under and preach the gospel to ourselves daily.

Many people use this time of year to reflect upon the past year, and sometimes their entire lives. John Piper considers it a yearly dress rehearsal for meeting Jesus. Therefore, this time of year can serve to awaken us to a realization of another year passed and another moment closer to meeting the Lord. Pyromaniacs use the last words of Benazir Bhutto to remind us of the frailty of life. How ironic that her last words were "Long live Bhutto". As this year draws to an end we must remember that the only way to accurately proclaim "Long live..." is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Last night Tim Challies summarized the Reality Check Conference. He concluded his blogging on sessions 6 and 7.

Timmy Brister concluded his 2007 Year in Review with post 10-6 and 5-1. One of these posts that particularly caught my interest was On Hitting Homiletical Homeruns. The conversation was also carried over at Said at Southern, here. The discussion is over plagiarism in the pulpit. The discussion began when James Merritt suggested going to his website and preaching his sermon instead of spending so much time putting together their own. This is not an uncommon thing. I frequently get fliers in the mail encouraging me to stop preparing sermons and do what really matters (and apparently what I should really want to do)--spend time with our youth. I wonder if this might be an unbiblical practice on top of another (shout out to Garrett). I wonder if we had a plurality of elders maybe a teaching pastor could spend time on sermon prep and the other elders could do some of those other things. Maybe the pastor was not meant to be the lone ranger and having to rip sermons off the internet because he spent 30 hours this week at the hospital and in counseling.

The 9 Marks newsletter has been posted online. This newsletter focuses on Corporate Prayer and will be worthy of checking out.

John Piper points us to Clyde Kilby's 10 Resolutions for Mental Health.

Lastly, the Irish Calvinist draws our attention to a video posted on James White's site. It compares Joel Osteen, The Secret, and Stuart Smalley. It would be humorous if Osteen did not boast 20,000+ deceived members. The reason I am so strongly opposed to Osteen is because he is a false prophet that deceives many. He preaches a half (maybe quarter) truth that is divorced from the bloody Cross of the Gospel. The problem is not that God doesn't want to bless us. The problem is that the blessing is not in material things it is in God Himself, and it comes through the Cross. Not only the Cross of Christ but also ours (Matthew 10:38). Here is the video: