Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Jonathan Edwards offered “Twelve Distinguishing Signs of Truly Gracious and Holy Affections” in his Religious Affections of 1746. A spiritual awakening in New England in prior years included dramatic works of God in many hearts. But some of these were only short-term stirs and critics soon questioned the whole awakening. Edwards responded with his set …
Read More Edwards’ Twelve Signs – the FourthIn 1746 Jonathan Edwards presented “Twelve Distinguishing Signs of Truly Gracious and Holy Affections” in his Religious Affections. Edwards held that God achieves transformation in souls by stirring human affections. After Adam’s fall everyone follows selfish desires—the affections of self-interest. But God overturns this captivity through the attractive power of his own person. Edwards pointed to …
Read More Edwards’ Twelve Signs – the ThirdIn Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections he offered “Twelve Distinguishing Signs of Truly Gracious and Holy Affections.” Edwards believed God’s transforming work starts in the affections, where motives operate. People follow their desires, and God can move heart desires. As he does this the world sees his grace at work. Edward’s second Sign traced this connection: “The first …
Read More Edwards’ Twelve Signs – the SecondIn Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections we find his list of “Twelve Distinguishing Signs” of God’s authentic work in transforming souls. Every Edwards biography will supply context for this work—as in George Marsden’s, Jonathan Edwards: A Life, chapter 17. Our aim here is simply to review Edwards’ call to an affective and effective Christian spirituality. This post takes up …
Read More Edwards’ Twelve Signs – the FirstWhat do I mean by Christian “affections” in the heart-based theology of this website? A big influence has been Jonathan Edwards (1703-58). His writings on Religious Affections were collected as a single volume (v. 2) in The Works of Jonathan Edwards (Yale, 1959). In the weeks to come I plan to survey some of his …
Read More Edwards’ Religious AffectionsIn a recent sermon on Proverbs 3:5-6 I probed the contrasting features of verse 5 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” How does understanding differ from the heart here? Do our hearts compete with our understandings at times? Is this a call for us to trust feelings …
Read More On Proverbs 3:5-6Recently I received a notice from Amazon, the owners of WordPress (my Spreading Goodness platform). They plan to drop “Feedburner” – the subscription system many use to receive my blogs – and haven’t offered a replacement. Shucks! And I don’t have my own replacement, or a website engineer who knows how to chase options for …
Read More A noticeGod, as creator, gifts all of us with growth. Paul attributed this to Jesus in the broad context of creation in Colossians 1:16-17—“all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Julie Canlis, in Calvin’s Ladder, tells us of the church father, Irenaeus, …
Read More Growth in ThanksgivingRichard Sibbes’ portrayal of faith was trinitarian and Christ-centered. An English Puritan (1577-1635), he shared a deep concern about a question still alive today. How do we engage God? Do we matter to him? And if so, what does he want from us? Sibbes’ answer was biblical and personal. God the Father wants a bride …
Read More A bride for JesusIn Gentle and Lowly Dane Ortlund wrote, “He [Jesus] sends his grace to us, personally, individually, eternally. Indeed, he sends himself—there’s no such ‘thing’ as grace …” (p.211). Yes, Jesus shares God’s grace with us by the Spirit, so divine grace is his expansive love. And while we may recognize many special acts of divine grace, together …
Read More Finding Grace