Jonathan Edwards Blog Posts and Resources by Dr. Craig Biehl

Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 33): Distinguishing Sign Twelve: Gracious Affections Produce Christian Works (7)

We come to the last article in the series examining Edwards’ arguments in his classic treatise, Religious Affections, and a second possible objection to Christian practice as the chief sign of true religious affections: Does the principle of works as evidence of God’s grace in the heart contradict the doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone? Does it elevate works at the cost of “the glory of free grace”? ^[1]

Cause or Effect
Edwards views the objection as “altogether without reason.” Scripture teaches that works as the price to purchase God’s favor negates the free grace of salvation, not works as the evidence of God’s favor. “Surely the beggar’s looking on the money he has in his hands, as a sign of the kindness of him who gave it to him, is in no respect inconsistent with the freeness of that kindness.” ^[2] The Scriptural doctrine of justification by faith recognizes our works as unacceptable to God as payment for sin and unable to move God to give us eternal life, but never denies their importance as the fruit of God’s grace. ^[3]

New life in Christ necessarily produces a changed life, but to claim that a necessary result of salvation must therefore be its cause is illogical and unbiblical. Christian works follow but never merit salvation—Christ alone satisfied the sinless perfection and penalty required by God’s justice for eternal life. Even faith does not justify as a meritorious work, but as that which unites us to Christ who earned salvation for us. God justifies the ungodly by the imputation of Christ’s perfect righteousness to those united to Him by faith. In Christ we have every benefit of His life, death, and resurrection. In Christ we have justification and new life. ^[4]

Every Grace of God
If Christian practice as a vital sign of God’s grace denies salvation by free grace, then every fruit of God’s work in the heart denies salvation by free grace. For instance, love and loyalty to God; joy, humility, and the desire to exalt and give all glory to Christ, each give important evidence of new life.

To make light of works because we are not justified by works, is the same thing in effect as to make light of all religion, all grace and holiness, yea, true evangelical holiness, and all gracious experience; for all is included, when the Scripture says, we are not justified by works; for by works in this case, is meant all our own righteousness, religion, or holiness, and every thing that is in us, all the good we do, and all the good which we are conscious of, all external acts, and all internal acts and exercises of grace, and all experiences, and all those holy and heavenly things wherein the life and power and the very essence of religion do consist, all those great things which Christ and His apostles mainly insisted on in their preaching, and endeavoured to promote, as of the greatest consequence in the hearts and lives of men, and all good dispositions, exercise and qualification of every kind whatsoever; and even faith itself, considered as part of our holiness. We are justified by none of these things; and if we were, we should, in a Scripture sense, be justified by works. ^[5]

Yet, Scripture portrays these things as essential, as evidence of true faith and new life in Christ. Again, if good works cannot be an inevitable fruit of saving faith and a vital and necessary part of the Christian life without compromising justification by faith alone, then neither can any fruit of God saving and sanctifying us. Anything we have or do to merit the benefits of Christ’s saving work contradicts free grace—godly practice as the fruit and evidence of saving faith does not. Thus, Abraham’s works justified or gave evidence of his faith as true, even as he was justified by grace through faith alone. ^[6]

Scripture’s Testimony
Scripture often speaks of holy practice and free grace in the same breath.

Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool’ (Isa. 1:16-18 NAS).

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev 3:20-21 NAS). “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son” (Rev 21:6-7 NAS). “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14).

For Edwards, we should no more reject “works” as vital to the Christian life than we should reject “holiness, godliness, grace…and even faith itself.” To make any of these meritorious or a basis of our justification contradicts free grace, but all serve as evidence of God’s work in the heart. ^[7]

God’s Way Is the Right Way
As finite and fallible, we cannot see into the depths of another man’s soul, and our judgments cannot be fully trusted. Moreover, the natural and supernatural influences on human affections are so “innumerable and unsearchable” that “no philosophy or experience will ever be sufficient to guide us safely through this labyrinth and maze” without the direction God provides in Scripture. ^[8]

God knows everything. He knows every heart. He knows what is best for us, what allowances should be made for the differences between people, how natural affections can imitate and intermingle with grace, how our imagination influences our affections, and how our thoughts and imagination can mix with the Spirit’s work of illumination. Knowing another’s heart is a complex and messy business, and we are easily deceived. But God has given us the best rules to make sense of the confusion.

We create big problems when we de-emphasize or second-guess that which Scripture calls evidence of true faith in Christ, under the mistaken belief that stressing such things nullifies grace. ^[9] Wisdom examines others and ourselves by God’s standards, not our own. And God’s way brings blessing, including the conviction of deceived people professing Christ who have yet to truly know Him. ^[10] It promotes godly works over excessive boasting about our experiences, removing barriers to faith as we speak and demonstrate the truth of the Gospel, rather than hardening unbelief by hypocritical displays of talk without deeds. In this way, the light of Christ in believers “would so shine before men, that others, seeing their good works, would glorify their Father which is in heaven.” ^[11] To Him be glory forever, Amen.

^[1] BT, 375: Yale, 455.

^[2] BT, 376; Yale, 455.

^[3] Ibid.

^[4] New life always accompanies justification, but new life never justifies. Justification of sinners is solely by the imputation of Christ’s perfect righteousness, the only righteousness that satisfies God’s unchanging justice and requirement for eternal life. For an in-depth exposition of Edwards’ understanding of the merit of Christ’s righteousness as the sole basis of salvation, see Biehl, The Infinite Merit of Christ: The Glory of Christ’s Obedience in the Theology of Jonathan Edwards.

^[5] BT, 377; Yale, 456-7.

^[6] BT, 378; Yale, 457. No contradiction exists between the reality of Abraham’s faith as displayed by the works it produced, as presented in James 2:18-26, and Abraham as justified before God by faith alone, apart from works, as explained in Romans 4. In any event, God does not contradict Himself, though our dim and limited perspective often hinders our understanding.

^[7] BT, 380; Yale, 459.

^[8] BT, 380-1; Yale, 459.

^[9] BT, 380; Yale, 459.

^[10] BT, 381; Yale, 460-1.

^[11] BT, 382; Yale, 461. Cf. Matt. 5:16.

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Gleanings from The Religious Affections (Part 32): Distinguishing Sign Twelve: Gracious Affections Produce Christian Works (6)

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 the greatest evidence of God’s saving work in a believer involves the inward experience of the heart. ^[1]

Heart and Practice Are Inseparable
On the one hand, those professing faith in Christ should “judge their state chiefly by their inward experience” because “spiritual experiences are the main evidences of true grace.” ^[2] But, this does not deny that Christian practice forms the chief evidence of grace in the heart. Rather, the godly motives behind our actions give evidence to our conscience of the Holy Spirit’s work in the soul.

For Edwards, conduct cannot be separated and distinguished from inward experience. Since our outward actions are directed by and determined by the will, they should be seen as “secondary” as “dependent” on “the acts of the soul.” ^[3] And while some inward experiences involve no action, such as meditation on a passage of Scripture, every action involves the heart. ^[4] Thus, inward operations of the soul are no less heart-felt Christian experience because they generate outward action. ^[5]

Holy Practice and Knowing God
Though Christianity is foremost a relationship of the heart between God and man, holy practice forms the most important and distinguishing part of this inward spiritual experience. “‘Did not your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?’ Declares the LORD” (Jer. 22:15-16 NAS). “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers” (Rom. 1:9). “For our proud confidence is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world” (2 Cor. 1:12 NAS). “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3).

But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left (2 Cor 6:4-7).

“And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me” (Col. 1:29-2:1 NAS). Inward love to God appears outwardly in our actions and pursuits.

Religion of the Heart
True Christian practice, then, involves the experience and the heart. Indeed, according to Edwards, religious activity apart from new life in Christ is “good for nothing,” while religious experience with no change in behavior is “worse than nothing.” ^[6] True faith in Christ involves the affections, while the holy actions that flow from them display their holy nature. The strength of affections between two friends is best seen when they “carry them through fire and water for each other.” ^[7]

Trials and the Witness of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit dwells in us as a “pledge,” giving inward witness that we are sons of God (2 Cor. 5:5 NAS). “This seal of the Spirit is the highest kind of evidence of the saints’ adoption that ever they obtain.” ^[8] At the same time, the Spirit’s witness displays itself most visibly in our obedience under severe difficulties. The suffering church and “the full assurance and unspeakable joys of many of the martyrs” give abundant testimony “that Christ commonly gives, by His Spirit, the greatest and most joyful evidences to His saints of their sonship in those effectual exercises of grace under trials.” ^[9] “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Pet. 4:14 NAS).

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rom. 8:15-18 NAS).

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it” (Rev. 2:17 NAS)

Next up: Do Christian works as the chief evidence of God’s grace in the heart contradict the doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone?

^[1] BT, 370-5; Yale, 450-5.

^[2] BT, 370; Yale, 450.

^[3] BT, 371; Yale, 450.

^[4] BT, 371; Yale, 450-1.

^[5] BT, 371; Yale, 450.

^[6] BT, 373; Yale, 452.

^[7] BT, 373-4; Yale, 453.

^[8] BT, 374; Yale, 454.

^[9] BT, 374-5; Yale, 454.

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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 in Christ. ^[2]

True and Saving Knowledge of God
As we have already seen, obedience to God gives evidence of a saving knowledge of God. “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4 NAS). Indeed, knowledge of God without love and honor to God brings God’s judgment (Rom. 1:18ff.)

Repentance
Christian works of obedience accompany and give evidence of true repentance, faith in Christ, and belief and embracing of the truth. Believers are to “bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matt. 3:8 NAS). In Paul’s appeal to King Agrippa, he recounts his call to Jews and Gentiles to “repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance” (Acts 26:20 NAS).

Saving Faith and Belief of the Truth
In Romans 4, Abraham’s justification is by faith, alone, apart from human works. In James 2, Abraham’s faith is shown to be true. Edwards understood that salvation includes justification and new life, and that believers never have one without the other.

Christ, alone, met the requirements of God’s justice for eternal life by His righteous obedience and death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. Saving faith unites to Christ, in Whom we are justified by His righteousness imputed to us, and given new life by His righteousness imparted as the Holy Spirit indwells us and displays His nature in and through us. Only Christ’s imputed righteousness justifies; His imparted righteousness justifies no one, but shows the reality of justification by the works of new life.

True faith, then, believes and lives the truth: “For I was very glad when brethren came and bore witness to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth” (3 John 1:3 NAS).

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone (James 2:21-24 NAS).

Abraham’s best works were tainted and could never merit eternal life according to God’s standard of justice. Abraham’s faith, however, was justified as genuine by his works. Anyone can say, “I believe.” But, the faith that merely knows facts the way demons know God, does not unite to Christ for justification and new life. This “dead” faith lacks the ¬love for Christ’s holy character, trust in Christ for salvation, and obedience from love and gratitude.

The Will to Forsake All for Christ
Many proclaim a heart to forsake all for Christ. But, like Matthew, a willing heart is seen by what it does. ^[3] When called by Christ, “he left all, rose up, and followed him” (Luke 5:28).

When the rich young ruler intimated to Christ his willingness to do whatever it takes to inherit eternal life, he displayed his true heart when “he went away grieved” when Christ told him to sell all, “for he was one who owned much property” (Matt. 19:22 NAS). Perhaps he could spare a few camels, a goat, or beachfront property on the Galilee shore, but he was unwilling to forsake all for Christ.

Trust in Christ
Further, willingness to suffer for Christ reveals trust in Christ. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it” (Matt. 10:38-39 NAS). “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tim. 1:12 NAS).

Moses, by faith, “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward (Heb. 11:24-26 NAS). The faithful of Hebrews 11 includes many who were tortured, mocked, imprisoned, and killed. “They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground” (Heb. 11:37-38 NAS). They ventured all for the object of their faith and hope.

Love to God and Man
As seen throughout Religious Affections, the love for the excellence of God’s perfections, perfections made lovely by the beauty of God’s holiness, forms the ultimate ground of all gracious or godly affections. A true love for God displays itself in our obedience, in acts of love for God and others.

Humility and a True Fear of God
Humility before God displays animates our actions toward God and others. “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Mic. 6:8).

God praised Job for his reverent life. “For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8 NAS). Though not without hiccups, Job “held fast his integrity,” despite his sufferings. And so should we, “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil” (Prov. 3:7).

True Thankfulness
Acts of gratitude display a heart of gratitude. “What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me?” (Ps. 116:12 NAS). “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High” (Ps. 50:14). “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; and to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God” (Ps. 50:23 NAS).

Gracious Longing and Hope
Holy desires and hope “are not idle wishes,” but active in pursuing God. “O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Ps. 63:1 NAS). “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3 NAS). “We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:2-3 NAS).

A Holy Joy
The heart that loves the beauty of God’s moral excellence pursues a life of holiness in obedience to God. “I have inherited Thy testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform Thy statutes forever, even to the end…. I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches” (Ps. 119:111-12, 14 NAS). Love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6 NAS).

Christian Courage and Endurance
“The trial of a good soldier is not in his chimney corner, but in the field of battle.” ^[4] Thus, the Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to join him in suffering hardship “as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:3). The courage and endurance of soldiers in Christ’s service appear in action and perseverance.

Conclusion
When people proclaim their great and wonderful experiences and extraordinary episodes of love and joy, “they are no further to be regarded than they have influence on their practice.” ^[5] Talk is easy. Like Peter before Pentecost, anyone can proclaim their love, loyalty, and willingness to suffer and die for Christ. But, new life in Christ makes them a reality.

^[1] BT, 364; Yale, 444.

^[2] BT, 364-370; Yale, 444-449.

^[3] BT, 366; Yale, 446.

^[4] BT, 370; Yale, 449.

^[5] Ibid.

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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 as “a distinguishing and sure evidence of grace” to the believer’s conscience. “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3 NAS). “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him” (1 John 3:18-19 NAS). ^[1]

For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end (Heb. 6:10-11 NAS). ^[2]

The Heart Gives Evidence
The heart behind our actions provides the main evidence to our conscience that our faith is true. Our actions cannot be separated from the intent of our heart that produce them. Therefore, when God views our actions, “He looks at the practice of the soul; for the soul is the man in God’s sight.” ^[3] And when our works flow from a heart of love to God, the same love gives direct evidence to our soul that our faith is true. ^[4] Our actions display the “exertion of grace in the will, directing and commanding the actions of the body.” ^[5] Thus, God judges our works by the heart behind them. “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds” (Jer. 17:10 NAS). “I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds” (Rev. 2:23 NAS).

Action Reveals Preference
The nature of a heart is seen by its choices. “When a man is at liberty whether to walk or sit still, the proper proof of his having a heart to walk, is his walking. Godliness consists not in a heart which intends to do the will of God, but in a heart which does it.” ^[6] “It is therefore exceedingly absurd, and even ridiculous, for any to pretend that they have a good heart, while they live a wicked life.” ^[7] God rebuked Israel for proclaiming their fidelity and intent to obey while they habitually ignored His commands. “I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. ‘Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always” (Deut. 5:28-29 NAS)

Trials Reveal the True Heart
“Holy practice, under trials, is the highest evidence of the sincerity of professors to their own consciences.” ^[8] God does not test us to gain knowledge for Himself, but uses trials to show us the nature of our heart. ^[9] Like gold, we best know our faith once it has been clarified in God’s furnace. We know the strength of a building when it withstands the wind. We know true wheat from chaff by its winnowing, or the strength of a staff by the weight it can bear. To weigh ourselves rightly, “we must weigh ourselves in the scales that God makes use of to weigh us.” ^[10]

Grace Is Perfected in Practice
The perfection of a tree is not in the planting of the seed, its sprouting, growth, and the forming leaves and blossoms, but in producing fruit. ^[11] “If we would see the proper nature of anything whatsoever, and see it in its full distinction from other things, let us look upon it in the finishing of it.” ^[12] In Abraham’s offering of Isaac, “faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected” (James 2:22 NAS). “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected” (1 John 2:4-5 NAS). “No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12 NAS). ^[13]

Scripture Insists that Holy Practice Is the Chief Evidence
Holy practice “is ten times more insisted on as a note of true piety throughout the Scripture, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, than anything else.” ^[14] And love, expressed by action, tops the list. ^[15] “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14 NAS).

Scripture Insists that Holy Practice Is the Chief Evidence to Our Own Conscience
Jesus identifies obedience as the greatest sign of love to Him: “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine” (John 8:31 NAS). “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15 NAS). “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:8 NAS). “You are My friends, if you do what I command you” (John 15:14 NAS).

The Spirit through John, says: “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar” (1 John 2:3-4 NAS). “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him” (1 John 3:18-19 NAS). “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10 NAS).

God Will Judge Works to Reveal His Righteous Judgment to Every Conscience
God knows everything. Thus, in His judging the hearts of mankind, “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:5 NAS), He will not seek information to form an opinion, but will reveal the righteousness of His judgment. ^[16] “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds” (Jer. 17:10 NAS). “And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth” (1 Pet. 1:17 NAS). “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done” (Rev. 22:12 NAS). ^[17]

Summary
“Christian practice is the most proper evidence of the gracious sincerity of professors, to themselves and others; and the chief of all the marks of grace, the sign of signs, and evidence of evidences, that which seals and crowns all other signs.” Indeed, the best evidence of a fig tree is it produces figs. ^[18] Edwards warns us to give biblical principles the attention and importance that Scripture gives to them.

God knew which way of leading and guiding souls was safest and best for them: He insisted so much on some things, because He knew it to be needful that they should be insisted on; and let other things more alone as a wise God, because He knew it was not best for us so much to lay the weight of the trial there….And for us to make that great which the Scripture makes little, and that little which the Scripture makes great, tends to give us a monstrous idea of religion; and (at least indirectly and gradually) to lead us wholly away from the right rule, and from a right opinion of ourselves, and to establish delusion and hypocrisy. ^[19]

^[1] BT, 341; Yale, 420.

^[2] BT, 341; Yale, 420-1.

^[3] BT, 344-345; Yale, 424.

^[4] BT, 345; Yale, 424.

^[5] BT, 346; Yale, 425.

^[6] BT, 348; Yale, 427.

^[7] BT, 348; Yale, 428.

^[8] BT, 352-353; Yale, 432.

^[9] BT, 352; Yale, 431.

^[10] BT, 353; Yale, 432-433.

^[11] BT, 355; Yale, 435.

^[12] BT, 356; Yale, 436.

^[13] See also 1 John 4:17-19.

^[14] BT, 356; Yale, 436.

^[15] BT, 357; Yale, 437.

^[16] BT, 361; Yale, 441.

^[17] See also Pr. 24:12, Jer. 32:18-19, Matt. 25:30-46, Rom. 2:5-13.

^[18] BT, 363; Yale, 443.

^[19] BT, 358; Yale, 438.

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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 how and why the Holy Spirit in believers produces Christian practice.

A Heart to Love Christ Will Love Christ
“Having a heart to forsake all for Christ, tends to actually forsaking all for Him, so far as there is occasion, and we have trial.” Similarly, “having a heart to deny ourselves for Christ tends to a denying ourselves indeed, when Christ and self-interest stand in competition.” ^[1] A new heart does new things; true love does acts of love.

True Grace Is Active
New and divine life in the soul directly and necessarily produce Christian works. “Nothing in the universe…has a greater tendency to fruit. Godliness in the heart has as direct a relation to practice, as a fountain has to a stream, or as the luminous nature of the sun has to beams sent forth, or as life has to breathing.” ^[2] Indeed, Christ saved us for this purpose. “All is calculated and framed, in this mighty and manifold change wrought in the soul, so as directly to tend to this end.” ^[3] “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph. 1:4 NAS). “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10 NAS). Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14 NAS).

“Everything in a true Christian is calculated to reach this end,” ^[4] while God’s judgment rests on the fruitless: “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matt. 3:10 NAS). Christ cursed the fig tree on which He expected to find figs and found none (Matt. 21:19). In His parable of the soils, the good soil yields a crop of “a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty” (Matt. 13:8 NAS). In concluding His parable of the Vine and Vinedresser, where barren branches are trimmed and thrown into the fire, Christ concludes: “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:1-8 NAS). God’s grace in the heart produces fruit.

Professing believers are likewise warned in the Book of Hebrews: “Ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned” (Heb. 6:7-8 NAS).

True Saints Perform True Christian Works
Unbelievers may do many things that outwardly appear Christian, such as attending church for blessings, or seeking to live a moral life to avoid God’s judgment. Yet, mercenary Christians will not endure, especially in the face of severe trials or disgrace. “An unsanctified man may hide his sin, and may in many things, and for a season refrain from sin; but he will not be brought finally to renounce his sin, and give it a bill of divorce; sin is too dear to him.” ^[5]

Moreover, the straight and narrow way involves the self-denial of “utterly denying and finally renouncing all ungodliness.” ^[6] The unbeliever that follows Christ for benefits but lacks the new sense that sees and loves the beauty of God’s holiness, will not wholly deny self. Pharaoh let God’s people go at the threat of annihilation, but revealed his wicked heart by sending his chariots after them to retrieve his cheap labor force. His actions were restrained for a while, but his heart remained unchanged. ^[7]

True Christian Practice Displays a True Christian Profession
Christ, Himself, declares the supreme measure of a true profession of faith:

You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits (Matt. 7:16-20 NAS).

Actions speak louder than words. A life of service and sacrifice for Christ’s honor and exaltation give greater evidence of love to Christ than testimonies of great and heartfelt experiences of God’s love when a changed life is absent. ^[8]

Passing affections easily produce words; and words are cheap; and godliness is more easily feigned in words than in actions. Christian practice is a costly, laborious thing. The self-denial that is required of Christians, and the narrowness of the way that leads to life, does not consist in words, but in practice. ^[9]

Therefore, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16 NAS). And while we reject the pharisaical practice of good works to be seen and honored by others, a transformed heart is seen by a transformed life. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him” (John 14:21 NAS).

Caveats
Christian truth must be believed. With each of the twelve signs of a saving work of God in believers, Edwards presumes belief in the essentials of Christian doctrine. The good works of an atheist give no evidence of new life in Christ. An implied or explicit profession of basic Gospel truth is necessary, including (but not limited to) belief that Christ is Lord and Savior, that He satisfied the requirements of God’s justice by paying the penalty for our sins on the cross. True believers hate and “renounce all sin,” knowing they are sinful and deserve God’s wrath. As believers, we “embrace Christ as our only Saviour; and that we love Him above all, and are willing for His sake to forsake all, and that we do give up ourselves to be entirely and forever His, etc.” ^[10] Believers embrace the Gospel and “profess that they rely on Christ’s righteousness only, and on His strength; and that they are devoted to Him, as their only Lord and Saviour, and that they rejoice in Him as their only righteousness and portion.” ^[11]

The content of faith must be understood. Those claiming faith in Christ must grasp the meaning and personal implication of what they profess. A rote or superficial repeating of “customary” and accepted language of Christian testimonies gives no evidence of a true profession of Christianity. Anyone can merely repeat what they have heard or been taught. ^[12]

The timing and exact steps of a personal experience of the new birth need not be understood. For a profession of Christianity to be considered acceptable, you need not understand the exact timing and stages by which the Holy Spirit changed your heart and brought you to faith. During the Awakening, some insisted you must be able to give an accurate account of such steps in order to be received into fellowship as a Christian, disregarding the “vastly more important and essential” marks of true belief. ^[13] What counts is the results of what God has done in our heart, not the exact specifics of how He did it.

Christian practice goes beyond a moral life. The absence of great character flaws and scandalous living do not constitute uniquely Christian works. By the common grace of God, many unbelievers live outwardly moral lives and, relative to others, appear as upright and excellent people. Christian practice, however, involves a life devoted to the service and obedience to God though Christ. ^[14]

No external appearances are infallible evidences of grace. No one infallibly knows the heart of another. God, alone, knows perfectly the state of a professing believer’s soul, seeing what we cannot see and knowing what we cannot know. Moreover, “it is impossible certainly to determine how far a man may go in many external appearances and imitations of grace, from other principles.” ^[15] As we have seen throughout the treatise, especially with respect to uncertain signs of grace, people “serve God” for a host of reasons that have nothing to do with a true love of God for who He is.

Next up: More evidence that gracious affections produce Christian works.

^[1] BT, 320; Yale, 397.

^[2] BT, 320; Yale, 398.

^[3] BT, 321; Yale, 398.

^[4] BT, 321; Yale, 399.

^[5] BT, 324; Yale, 404.

^[6] Ibid.

^[7] BT, 326; Yale, 405.

^[8] BT, 330-1; Yale, 330.

^[9] BT, 332; Yale, 411.

^[10] BT, 334; Yale, 413.

^[11] BT, 335; Yale, 414.