Edwards begins his argument supporting the centrality and importance of affections to the Christian life with a look at 1 Peter 1:8: “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Written to believers suffering under intense persecution, Edwards […]
Archives for July 2017
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 2): Why Edwards Wrote It
Every revival in the church includes an unhappy mixture of good and bad—the fruit of God bringing people to saving faith and a greater love of His excellence, and the fruit of the devil’s deceptions and the corruption in believing and unbelieving hearts. Indeed, “It is no new thing, that much false religion should prevail, […]
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 1): The Glories, Evils, and Confusion of the Great Awakening
Jonathan Edwards’ classic work, The Religious Affections, is likely the greatest book ever written on the nature of the Holy Spirit’s work in the heart of a true believer or the essence of the true Christian life. Thoughtful reflection in its pages reaps the enormous dividends of greater understanding and appreciation of the infinite excellence […]
Lessons from Love and Contempt Toward Jonathan Edwards
In the early pages of his biography of Jonathan Edwards, Iain Murray catalogs an enlightening mix of opinions concerning the eighteenth-century theologian and pastor. At first blush, the extreme and opposite views of Edwards give the impression that people were not talking about the same man. Yet, they were, and therein lies a great lesson […]
