Written by Jordan Hoge
Who was Jonathan Edwards?
Jonathan Edwards is commonly recognized as America’s greatest theologian. He was a Puritan preacher, writer, pastor, and missionary of The First Great Awakening. He boldly esteemed the clear truths of the gospel, making clear to all under his ministry that there is salvation for those in Christ, and there is severe wrath in hell for the sinner. Before Edwards finished preaching his most famous sermon titled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, it is told that there was a great moaning and crying out as people cried for mercy and asked what they must do to be saved.[1]
Edwards is quite frequently recognized for his devotion to the Calvinistic tradition. Through his preaching and writings, Edwards trumpeted a robust theology of the sovereignty of God. It has been said that no preacher during the Puritan tradition ever stressed the sovereignty of God as much as Edwards did, and in his dedication to preaching the sovereignty of God, his preaching proved evangelistically fruitful.[2] Though Edwards held to a traditional Protestant doctrine directly linked to the teachings of Calvin, Edwards started a movement that characterized many of New Englands Congregationalists churches at the turn of the Nineteenth Century.[3] This Edwardsean movement, frequently referred to as the New Divinity Movement (New Lights), proved unique because it was staunchly Calvinistic and spiritually revivalistic.[4]
What was Edwards’ Resolve?
Though most-often recognized as a thunderous preacher, Edwards was also a prolific writer. J.I. Packer has noted that it is the writings of Jonathan Edwards that are his most important contribution to evangelical theology today.[5] As a teenage boy, Edwards penned seventy resolutions to which he would strive to maintain in his life and ministry to God. It is most likely that Jonathan Edwards sat down and began writing these resolutions as an eighteen-year-old and would have completed all seventy before his twentieth birthday.[6] To give a sample, here are the first five of seventy. (A link to all seventy can be found in the footnote below.)
1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.
2. Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the forementioned things.
3. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.]]
4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.
5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.[7]
A Lesson from Edwards’ Resolve
As seen above, Edwards sought to never waste a moment by giving every bit of himself for the purpose of furthering the Kingdom of God for the glory of God. By considering both Edwards’ doctrine and his life, we can glean an incredible insight regarding how we ought to live as Christ’ ministers today. Jonathan Edwards, the man who has been called the most dogmatic in the propounding the doctrines of divine sovereignty, implemented great, personal resolves in his individual life to maximize his effectiveness for advancing the Kingdom of God. The doctrine of divine sovereignty did not relax Edwards to sit more comfortably in his pew and wait for God to work out the redemption of sinners. Rather, Edwards’ understanding of divine sovereignty propelled him forward as he realized it is God’s plan to sovereignly work through wrath-deserving men to preach the only message that revives and redeems the soul. Because God had sovereignly chosen those who would believe upon His Son, Edwards ministered all-the-more and trusted the Holy Spirit to bring the preordained plan of God to fruition through his ministry. It should be reasoned that Edwards’ robust theology of divine sovereignty intensified Edwards’ resolve to live for the glory of God by giving every waking moment to the cause of Christ and the advancement of His gospel.
Now, Christian, consider your life today. Do you seek to take every moment within your waking hours and maximize it for the glory of God? From what I can gather for many Christians, I think so often we may spend our days scrolling mindlessly through social media for a couple of hours a day to turn around to say, “My life is so busy.” Or maybe we truly are busy and we need to ask ourselves, “Are we busy with the right things?” Christian, are you resolved to make your life count for the cause of Christ? If you trust in the sovereignty of God to bring others to salvation, do you also believe that he can sovereignly use you to accomplish what He has purposed?
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[1]Michael A. G. Haykin, review of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Puritan Reformed Journal Volume 2, number 1, (2010): 362-363.
[2]J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (Wheaton: Crossway, 1990), 297.
[3]Jason G. Duesing, ed., Adoniram Judson: A Bicentennial Appreciation of the Pioneer American Missionary (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2012), 31.
[4]Ibid.
[5]J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (Wheaton: Crossway, 1990), 37.
[6]“The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards,” Stephen Nichols, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/resolutions-jonathan-edwards/.
[7]Jonathan Edwards, Letters and Personal Writings (WJE Online Vol. 16), Ed. George S. Claghorn, http://edwards.yale.edu/archive/?path=aHR0cDovL2Vkd2FyZHMueWFsZS5lZHUvY2dpLWJpbi9uZXdwaGlsby9nZXRvYmplY3QucGw/Yy4xNTo3NDoxLndqZW8=.
Corinth Baptist Church 