It is a Jonathan Edwards kind of a Friday today and Moody publishers would like to give to you a set of five new books about Edwards. They are offering five sets of these books with each set being a $30 value. Not half bad, is it?

The Essential Edwards Collection is edited by Douglas Sweeney and Owen Strachan. Here’s what Moody says about the series:

Jonathan Edwards was a colonial, philosophical preacher and theologian. To many he stands as the preeminent theologian and thinker of the American tradition. This series of five books covers Edwards’ life and major writings opening an accessible window into the heart and mind of the man credited for starting the First Great Awakening.

By way of introduction, presentation and reflection the authors unearth the choicest treasures of Edwards’ writings for lay people to discover. Eminently readable and understandable, The Essential Edwards Collection proves you do not need to be a scholar to enjoy and benefit from the writings and life of Jonathan Edwards.

This set includes all 5 books of The Essential Edwards Collection: Jonathan Edwards Lover of God, Jonathan Edwards On Beauty, Jonathan Edwards On Heaven and Hell, Jonathan Edwards On the Good Life, and Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity.

Easily accessible and readable, you do not need to be a scholar to enjoy these insights about Jonathan Edwards and his writings.

Each winner will receive the full set of five books. And I really don’t know what to say about it beyond that. So sign up and win!

Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

In 2006, Reformation Trust published Steven Lawson’s Foundations of Grace, the first volume in a promising series titled “A Long Line of Godly Men.” Though the original publication schedule called for a new book every year or two, the second volume, Pillars of Grace has been repeatedly pushed back and is now listed as a November 2009 release. However, while we’ve been awaiting that title, we’ve been treated to two volumes in a companion series called “A Long Line of Godly Men Profiles.” The first of these told of The Expository Genius of John Calvin while future releases promise to focus a spotlight on an aspect of the ministries of Martin Luther, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, and other notable pastors and theologians.

Ask those who love biography and ask those who admire Jonathan Edwards and you will find the jury split on which biography best tells the life of Edwards. Some will vote for Iain Murray’s Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography while others will opt for George Marsden’s Jonathan Edwards: A Life. Most will say, rightly, that you cannot go wrong with either one; both are excellent and both are well worth reading.

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in the writing of prominent Christians of days past. Christians have turned with renewed interest to church Fathers, to Reformers and to Puritans. One of the chief benefits of this interest has been the many “interpretations” and contemporary adaptations of classic books. Taylor and Kapic, working with Crossway, have edited two volumes of John Owen, giving us updated versions of Owen’s classic texts on the Holy Spirit and on Sin and temptation. Also from Crossway comes Signs of the Spirit, Sam Storms’ interpretation of Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections.

It was a couple of years ago now that I read George Marsden’s great biography of Jonathan Edwards. As I read it I was often stopped short by Edwards’ wisdom. Constantly surrounded by conflict, and often facing people who sought to undermine his ministry, Edwards had every opportunity to reflect on the task of a minister. One of these conflicts involved the question of whether sermons should primarily enlighten the mind or whether they should primarily stir the affections. Charles Chauncy, his opponent in this debate, believed that “an enlightened mind, and not raised affections, ought always be the guide of those who call themselves men; and this, in the affairs of religion, as well as other things.” Chauncy, as with many men of his day, believed that the affections were closely related to the passions of one’s animal nature and needed to be restrained by the higher faculty of reason. Intellect was on a higher plane than affection.

Edwards disagreed, teaching that one could not neatly separate the affections from the will. Both the intellect and affections are fallible and unreliable, he insisted, but both are given by God and ought to be exercised by the Christian.

Marsden points out an application of this. “Critics of the awakenings alleged that when people heard many sermons in one week they would not be able to remember much of what they had heard. Edwards countered, ‘The main benefit that is obtained by preaching is by impression made upon the mind in the time of it, and not by the effect that arises afterwards by a remembrance of what was delivered.’” Marsden concludes, “Preaching, in other words, must first of all touch the affections” (Page 282).

I found this a great encouragement. Like every other Christian, I have often sat enraptured in church, having my mind filled and my affections stirred. But sometimes after arriving home I can barely remember a word that was said. The same is sometimes true of books, Bible studies and conferences. What was so meaningful at the time may be nearly forgotten only a short time later, leaving me to question if it was really so important in the first place. This is not to say that nothing sticks in my mind. Certainly I do remember a lot of what I hear and what I read. But when I consider a 500-page book or a series of eight addresses and compare what I read or what I heard to what I now remember, it can be awfully frustrating. It can be discouraging.

But, according to Edwards, if I were to worry in this way I would be placing too great an emphasis on intellect while downplaying the importance of affections. I independently reached a similar conclusion to this not so long ago, though unlike Edwards, my conclusions were based on necessity rather than being argued from Scripture. With the amount of conferences I attend and the number of books I read, I have had to have faith that God is working through them, even if I cannot remember the intimate details of a book or conference even only three short weeks after the fact. I’ve had to trust that the effort is not wasted, even if so much seems to fade away so quickly. I’ve had to trust that the Holy Spirit is at work behind the scenes, doing His work, even when I cannot easily measure any benefit. I’ve had to trust, and this has been a useful exercise to me.

The words of Edwards gave me confidence that the benefit of a book cannot be measured simply by how much I remember a week or two weeks or a month after reading it. The benefit of a sermon may be greater during the hearing of it than in the later reflections upon it. The benefit of a conference may be more in the hearing than in the recounting of it. God uses books, Bible studies, conferences and sermons not just to fill my mind, but also (and perhaps even primarily) to stir my affections, even if a frustrating amount of the benefit seems to fade away far too quickly.

I ran Edwards’ quote through Google and found that others have discussed these words as well. I found one article particularly beneficial. Paul at Expository Thoughts applies them to taking notes during church. He also quotes Martyn Lloyd-Jones who wrote of Edwards, “The first and primary object of preaching is not only to give information. It is, as Edwards says, to produce an impression. It is the impression at the time that matters, even more than what you can remember subsequently…. It is not primarily to impart information; and while you are writing your notes you may be missing something of the impact of the Spirit.”

God was good to allow me to encounter these words. In the couple of years since I first read them, they have often resounded in my heart and given me confidence that the Spirit is at work when my affections are stirred and my heart longs for Him.

We made it! This marks the final reading in Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections. I hesitated for a while before suggesting that we read a 380-page book together, but we did it. And what a read it was. My only real regret is that I feel like I have only skimmed the surface. In his companion volume to this book, Sam Storms says that he had to read the Affections many times through to have any confidence that he knew what Edwards was saying. I am sure that is a near-necessity. While I know I’ve learned a lot from the book, I know also that I could read it again and benefit just as much. Someday I’ll have to do that.

This week we read a rather lengthy portion of the book—Edwards’ twelfth and final mark of genuine religious affections—that they have their exercise and fruit in Christian practice. He saved the best and most important mark for last and, over 80 pages, proved time and time again that a Christian’s confidence in his salvation is to be found primarily in his practice of the Christian faith. A person will know he is a Christian if he is inwardly and outwardly conformed to the image of Christ. As Edwards says, “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.”

Instead of interacting with all 80 pages of this week’s reading, I thought I’d simply share some of the quotes I highlighted. These will give the flavor of all Edwards had to say.

“Hypocrites may much more easily be brought to talk like saints, than to act like saints.”

“In order to a man’s being properly said to make a profession of Christianity, there must undoubtedly be a profession of all that is necessary to his being a Christian, or of so much as belongs to the essence of Christianity.”

“No external manifestations and outward appearances whatsoever, that are visible to the world, are infallible evidences of grace.”

“A man’s actions are the proper trial what a man’s heart prefers.”

“The things that put it to the proof whether men will prefer God to other things in practice, are the difficulties of religion, or those things which occur that make the practice of duty difficult and cross to other principles beside the love of God.”

“If we put true gold into the furnace, we shall find its great value and preciousness: so the truth and inestimable value of the virtues of a true Christian appear when under these trials.”

“God’s future judging of men, in order to their eternal retribution, will not be his trying, and finding out, and passing a judgment upon the state of men’s hearts, in his own mind; but it will be, a declarative judgment; and the end of it will be, not God’s forming a judgment within himself, but the manifestation of his judgment, and the righteousness of it, to men’s own consciences, and to the world. And therefore the day of judgment is called the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

“Certainly that which our supreme Judge will chiefly make use of to judge us by, when we come to stand before him, we should chiefly make use of, to judge ourselves by.”

And that’s it for The Religious Affections. Please feel free to add comments, share your experiences, and so on. If you’d like to suggest the next book we read together, feel free to leave a comment on that as well. We’ll start our next round of Reading Classics Together in a few weeks.

Today we are supposed to continue with our reading of Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections. Unfortunately my week was such that I did not manage to get through the whole reading. Thus I am going to defer this until Saturday. I do apologize. However, if you have read the chapter and have something to say about it, please do so in the comments. I’ll update this on Saturday.

Don’t tune out just because this is about Jonathan Edwards. For the second time in this round of “Reading Classics” I want to withhold comment and just leave readers with some of Edwards’ wisdom. In this week’s reading he has been suggesting that a “great and very distinguishing difference between gracious affections and others is, that gracious affections, the higher they are raised, the more is a spiritual appetite and longing of soul after spiritual attainments increased. On the contrary, false affections rest satisfied in themselves.” And here are a few of the things he says on the subject:

*****

The more a true saint loves God with a gracious love, the more he desires to love him, and the more uneasy is he at his want of love to him; the more he hates sin, the more he desires to hate it, and laments that he has so much remaining love to it; the more he mourns for sin, the more he longs to mourn for sin; the more his heart is broke, the more he desires it should be broke the more he thirsts and longs after God and holiness, the more he longs to long, and breathe out his very soul in longings after God: the kindling and raising of gracious affections is like kindling a flame; the higher it is raised, the more ardent it is; and the more it burns, the more vehemently does it tend and seek to burn.

*****

Spiritual good is of a satisfying nature; and for that very reason, the soul that tastes, and knows its nature, will thirst after it, and a fullness of it, that it may be satisfied. And the more he experiences, and the more he knows this excellent, unparalleled, exquisite, and satisfying sweetness, the more earnestly will he hunger and thirst for more, until he comes to perfection. And therefore this is the nature of spiritual affections, that the greater they be, the greater the appetite and longing is, after grace and holiness.

*****

But with those joys, and other religious affections, that are false and counterfeit, it is otherwise. If before, there was a great desire, of some sort, after grace; as these affections rise, that desire ceases, or is abated. It may be before, while the man was under legal convictions, and much afraid of hell, he earnestly longed that he might obtain spiritual light in his understanding, and faith in Christ, and love to God: but now, when these false affections are risen, that deceive him, and make him confident that he is converted, and his state good, there are no more earnest longings after light and grace; for his end is answered; he is confident that his sins are forgiven him, and that he shall go to heaven; and so he is satisfied. And especially when false affections are raised very high, they put an end to longings after grace and holiness. The man now is far from appearing to himself a poor empty creature; on the contrary, he is rich, and increased with goods, and hardly conceives of anything more excellent than what he has already attained to.

*****

Where we read in Scripture of the desires, longings, and thirstings of the saints, righteousness and God’s laws are much more frequently mentioned as the object of them, than anything else. The saints desire the sincere milk of the word, not so much to testify God’s love to them, as that they may grow thereby in holiness. I have shown before, that holiness is that good which is the immediate object of a spiritual taste. But undoubtedly the same sweetness that is the chief object of a spiritual taste, is also the chief object of a spiritual appetite. Grace is the godly man’s treasure: Isa. 32:6, “The fear of the Lord is his treasure.” Godliness is the gain that he is covetous and greedy of. 1 Tim. 6:6. Hypocrites long for discoveries more for the present comfort of the discovery, and the high manifestation of God’s love in it, than for any sanctifying influence of it. But neither a longing after great discoveries, or after great tastes of the love of God, nor longing to be in heaven nor longing to die, are in any measure so distinguishing marks of true saints, as longing after a more holy heart, and living a more holy life.

Next Week

What a great chapter. And now, the end is in sight. The final portion of the book is longest, coming in at over 70 pages. This is too much for one week, I’m sure. So here is what I propose. For next Thursday we will read the first twenty pages or so of the Twelfth mark as they comprise a kind of introduction to the section. We will stop before reading point I (“I shall consider Christian practice and holy life, as a manifestation…”). So we will read the first twenty pages this week before taking two to read the final sixty. And then, those of us who have made it through, will have finished another classic!

Today we turn to one of our final readings in The Religious Affections. We are quickly closing in on the book’s closing pages. In another few weeks we’ll be ready to turn to another book. But for now, let’s look to what we read this week.

Summary

Here is what we have learned so far about religious affections:

1. They are from a divine influence.
2. Their object is the excellence of divine things.
3. They are founded on the loveliness of the moral excellency of divine things.
4. They arise from the mind’s being enlightened, rightly and spiritually to understand or apprehend divine things.
5. They are attended with a reasonable and spiritual conviction of the reality and certainty of divine things.
6. They are attended with evangelical humiliation.
7. They are attended with a change of nature.
8. They are attended with, the lamb-like, dove-like spirit and temper of Jesus Christ.

This week Edwards adds two new signs, the ninth and tenth: gracious affections soften the heart and are attended and followed with a Christian tenderness of spirit; and truly gracious and holy affections have beautiful symmetry and proportion.

Discussion

While I wish I would have taken more time to read through this section, there was still much to glean. I’m quickly learning that The Religious Affections is a book that will reward repeated readings.

In the first of this week’s signs of true affections, Edwards writes about Christian tenderness of spirit. False affections have a tendency in the end to harden the heart while true affections must necessarily soften it. “False affections, with the delusion that attends them, finally tend to stupefy the mind, and shut it up against those affections wherein tenderness of heart consists: and the effect of them at last is, that persons in the settled frame of their minds, become less affected with their present and past sins, and less conscientious with respect to future sins, less moved with the warnings and cautions of God’s word, or God’s chastisements in his providence, more careless of the frame of their hearts, and the manner and tendency of their behavior, less quicksighted to discern what is sinful, less afraid of the appearance of evil, than they were while they were under legal awakenings and fears of hell.” This is a sound warning to any Christian to discern whether his affections for Christ are true or false. A person cannot continually express a false love to Christ and remain unaffected. Sooner or later a refusal to submit to Christ will lead to greater hardening.

I thought this was a great sentence that offered a lot to think about: “Such persons as these [who display false affections], instead of embracing Christ as their Savior from sin, trust in him as the Savior of their sins.” In other words, “They trust in Christ to preserve to them the quiet enjoyment of their sins, and to be their shield to defend them from God’s displeasure.” Instead of trusting that Christ will save them from their sin and destroy the power of those sins in their lives, instead they trust Christ to overlook those sins and to mediate with God even though they have no intention of giving up the sin. I had to highlight this sentence as well: “Godly sorrow has much greater influence to make the heart tender, than mere legal sorrow from selfish principles.”

I also enjoyed this, dealing with boldness, a topic I’ve thought about a great deal. “There is doubtless such a thing [as boldness]; and it is chiefly to be found in eminent saints, persons of great degrees of faith and love. But this holy boldness is not in the least opposite to reverence.” There are some who, in their boldness, show a great disrespect to God. But our boldness as we approach God as people reconciled to him must always be marked with humility and reverence.

I could go on, but will turn to the next sign of gracious affections. Here Edwards discusses something that at first struck me as very strange: symmetry and proportion as a mark of a true follower of Christ. But as he explained himself, it began to make good sense. He says that in all God has made there is beauty and symmetry and this ought to be true in the lives of Christians. Christians should not display a lack of balance, focusing on only particular issues or sins. Thus “one great difference between saints and hypocrites is this, that the joy and comfort of the former is attended with godly sorrow and mourning for sin. They have not only sorrow to prepare them for their first comfort, but after they are comforted, and their joy established.” There is proportion between joy and sorrow in the lives of those who are truly saved. Those who are not may experience great joy but never with accompanying sorrow for sin.

Edwards provides several examples of other unbalances. “Some men show a love to others as to their outward man, they are liberal of their worldly substance, and often give to the poor; but have no love to, or concern for the souls of men. Others pretend a great love to men’s souls, that are not compassionate and charitable towards their bodies. The making a great show of love, pity and distress for souls, costs them nothing; but in order to show mercy to men’s bodies, they must part with money out of their pockets. But a true Christian love to our brethren extends both to their souls and bodies; and herein is like the love and compassion of Jesus Christ.”

This line rang true as I thought about “the dangers of discernment” I outlined in The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. “It is a sign that affections are not of the right sort, if persons seem to be much affected with the bad qualities of their fellow Christians as the coldness and lifelessness of other saints, but are in no proportion affected with their own defects and corruptions.” It is so easy to see the sin in other people while ignoring the sin in ourselves. This comes from the pen of the man who offered this as one of his Resolutions: “Resolved, To act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings, as others, and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.” A person who shows truly gracious affections will be a person far more affected by his own sin than by the sin of another person.

Here is how a person might know that he is displaying false affections: “Some pretend to have a great abhorrence of their own sins of heart, and cry out much of their inward corruption; and yet make light of sins in practice, and seem to commit them without much restraint or remorse; though these imply sin both in heart and life.”

And finally, Edwards offers this as a vivid illustration: “They [false believers] are like the waters in the time of a shower of rain, which, during the shower, and a little after, run like a brook, and flow abundantly; but are presently quite dry; and when another shower comes, then they will flow again. Whereas a true saint is like a stream from a living spring; which, though it may be greatly increased by a shower of rain, and diminished in time of drought, yet constantly runs.” Are your affections to Christ stirred by times of great emotion but then disappear altogether until stirred once more? If so, this may be a sign that you are displaying false affections.

Next Time

The eleventh mark is very short while the twelfth is very long. I think we will tackle only the eleventh next week and then try to find a logical way of breaking up the twelfth. So next week’s reading is short and should be easy!

Your Turn

As always, I am eager to know what you gained from this part of the book (and to know that I’m not the only one left reading). Feel free to post comments below or to write about this on your own blog (and then post a comment linking us to your thoughts). Do not feel that you can only say anything if you are going to say something that will wow us all. Just add a comment with some of the things you gained from the this week’s reading. The discussion in the past weeks really has been very helpful to me and to others. So please keep it up!

Because I am traveling to Chicago tomorrow, I am posting this week’s “Reading Classics” entry a day early. This week brings us to our twelfth reading in Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections and turns to the seventh and eighth signs of true religious affections.

Summary

Here is what we have learned so far about religious affections:

1. They are from a divine influence.
2. Their object is the excellence of divine things.
3. They are founded on the loveliness of the moral excellency of divine things.
4. They arise from the mind’s being enlightened, rightly and spiritually to understand or apprehend divine things.
5. They are attended with a reasonable and spiritual conviction of the reality and certainty of divine things.
6. They are attended with evangelical humiliation.

This week Edwards adds two new signs, the seventh and eighth: they are attended with a change of nature and they tend to, and are attended with, the lamb-like, dove-like spirit and temper of Jesus Christ.

Discussion

I’ll be surprised if any of Edwards’ marks hit deeper than the sixth. I found that section deeply challenging and it has given me a lot to think about, even a couple of weeks later. Having said that, this week also offered some great opportunities for reflection.

The seventh sign is perhaps one of the most obvious—that true religious affections are accompanied with a change of nature. Scripture makes it clear that, though men may love religion and drive themselves to change, those who are Christians are only those whose very natures have been changed and renewed by the Spirit of God. So we can only right expect to see true affections arising from the hearts of those who have been given new natures. Edwards says (in a sentence that displays many of his punctuation peculiarities), “A man may be restrained from sin, before he is converted; but when he is converted, he is not only restrained from sin, his very heart and nature is turned from it unto holiness: so that thenceforward he becomes a holy person, and an enemy to sin.” For those who claim to be converted but who seem to undergo no great change in his bad qualities, “it is greater evidence against him than the brightest story of experiences that ever was told is for him.” Edwards warns against those who claim to be converted by who hold on to their pet sin, their besetting sin. “He that forsakes other sins but saves his leading sin, the iniquity he is chiefly inclined to, is like Saul when sent against God’s enemies the Amalekites with a strict charge to save none of them alive, but utterly to destroy them, small and great; who utterly destroyed inferior people, but saved the king, the chief of them all, alive.” That is an excellent insight and one well worth pondering.

The eighth sign Edwards offers is that true Christians are marked by the lamb-like, dove-like spirit and temper of Jesus Christ. “In other words, they naturally beget and promote such a spirit of love, meekness, quietness, forgiveness and mercy, as appeared in Christ.” There is abundant Scriptural evidence for this. “Everything that appertains to holiness of heart does, indeed, belong to the nature of true Christianity and the character of Christians; but a spirit of holiness as appearing in some particular graces may more especially be called the Christian spirit or temper.”

Edwards offers this statement and challenge: “Christians are Christlike; none deserve the name of Christians, that are not so in their prevailing character.” Even in times of pain and persecution, Christians are to be marked by such qualities. “The strength of the good soldier of Jesus Christ appears in nothing more than in steadfastly maintaining the holy calm, meekness, sweetness, and benevolence of his mind, amidst all the storms, injuries, strange behavior, and surprising acts and events of this evil and unreasonable world.” He goes on to say, “If we see any of the followers of Christ, in the midst of the most violent, unreasonable, and wicked opposition of God’s and his own enemies, maintaining under all this temptation, the humility and quietness and gentleness of a lamb, and the harmlessness and love and sweetness of a dove, we may well judge that here is a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” However, “when persons are fierce and violent, and exert their sharp and bitter passions, it shows weakness instead of strength and fortitude.”

I enjoyed and was challenged by this reflection: “There is a pretended boldness for Christ that arises from no better principle than pride. A man may be forward to expose himself to the dislike of the world, and even to provoke their displeasure, out of pride. For it is the nature of spiritual pride to cause men to seek distinction and singularity; and so oftentimes to set themselves at war with those that they call carnal, that they may be more highly exalted among their party.” It reminds me of Westboro Baptist Church (and, sadly, a little bit of me).

And let me draw your attention to one more quote, this one speaking about mean and contentious Christians. “The Scripture knows of no such true Christians, as are of a sordid, selfish, cross and contentious spirit. Nothing can be invented that is a greater absurdity than a morose, hard, close, high-spirited, spiteful, true Christian. We must learn the way of bringing men to rules, and not rules to men, straining and stretching the rules of God’s word to take in ourselves, and some of our neighbors, until we make them wholly of none effect.” What a warning this is to Christians who find themselves drawn to conflict!

Next Time

For next week, as you might expect, we will read the ninth and tenth signs of true religious affections. This will leave us just two more to cover!

Your Turn

As always, I am eager to know what you gained from this part of the book (and to know that I’m not the only one left reading). Feel free to post comments below or to write about this on your own blog (and then post a comment linking us to your thoughts). Do not feel that you can only say anything if you are going to say something that will wow us all. Just add a comment with some of the things you gained from the this week’s reading. The discussion in the past weeks really has been very helpful to me and to others. So please keep it up!