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 […]
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
