As we come to the last two articles in our study of Religious Affections, Edwards addresses two possible objections to the doctrine that Christian practice is the chief of all signs of saving grace. The first objection asserts that Christian works as the main sign of true religious affections contradicts Edwards’ emphasis throughout Affections that […]
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 31): Distinguishing Sign Twelve: Gracious Affections Produce Christian Works (5)
In the previous article we saw how Christian works provide the greatest evidence of saving faith to our own conscience. We turn now to see that holy practice “confirms and crowns all other signs of godliness,” [1] that it forms the proper and best evidence of every grace the Holy Spirit gives to the believer […]
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 30): Distinguishing Sign Twelve: Gracious Affections Produce Christian Works (4)
In our study of Edwards’ analysis of Christian practice, we now turn from how Christian works give evidence to others of a saving work of the Holy Spirit, to how the same works form the greatest evidence of saving faith to our own conscience. Scripture and Assurance to Our Conscience The Bible presents Christian works […]
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 29): Distinguishing Sign Twelve: Gracious Affections Produce Christian Works (3)
We come to the third section of Edwards’ treatment of Christian practice as evidence of true religious affections, of a true and saving work of the Holy Spirit in a believer. Not only does Edwards call this the “chief” evidence of God’s grace in the heart, he spends twenty percent of the entire treatise on […]
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 28): Distinguishing Sign Twelve: Gracious Affections Produce Christian Works (2)
In the previous article we saw that, despite failures and backsliding, true affection for Christ produces obedience to Scripture, diligence, and perseverance in love and service to Christ, even in the face of intense opposition. Edwards explains why by showing how the previous eleven signs of true religious affections generate Christian practice. The Indwelling Holy […]
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 27): Distinguishing Sign Twelve: Gracious Affections Produce Christian Works (1)
We come to the final sign of a true work of God in the heart of a believer, what Edwards considers “the chief of all the signs of grace”—Christian practice. As the net effect, or that which flows from the preceding eleven distinguishing signs, a holy life constitutes the best evidence of true faith in […]
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 26): Distinguishing Sign Eleven: True Affections Desire Growth, False Affections Rest Satisfied
The believer’s new sense and love of the beauty of God’s holiness produces a desire for more love to God, more regret that we do not love Him more, greater grief over sin, and more longing for personal holiness. Indeed, the more we grow in Christ, the more we seek to grow in Christ. The […]
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 25): Distinguishing Sign Ten: Gracious Affections Have a Beautiful Symmetry
Edwards begins the discussion of sign ten with the caveat that perfection awaits us in heaven, a truth that applies to every distinguishing sign. We have all carried into our new and transformed life in Christ a trainload of unholy baggage, including bad habits, wrong thinking, character weaknesses, etc. Nonetheless, the extraordinary change that comes […]
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 24): Distinguishing Sign Nine: Gracious Affections Soften the Heart
False affections, even those derived from a fear of God’s judgment for sin, ultimately harden the heart and dull the conscience, making them less sensitive to sin and its deserved condemnation. True affections have the opposite effect, increasing a fear and disgust of sin from a sense and love of the beauty of holiness. A […]
Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 23): Distinguishing Sign Eight: Gracious Affections Produce a Christ-Like Demeanor
In addition to giving a sense of the beauty of God’s holiness and all that flows from it, the indwelling Holy Spirit conforms us to the character of our Savior. True religious affections “naturally beget and promote such a spirit of love, meekness, quietness, forgiveness and mercy, as appeared in Christ.” [1] The Christian Demeanor […]
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