Latest / Reformed Thinking / Why You Must Grow in the Knowledge of God’s Truth (Hebrews 5:12) | Jonathan Edwards

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Why You Must Grow in the Knowledge of God’s Truth (Hebrews 5:12) | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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So picture yourself walking into a very high end exclusive
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steakhouse. You sit down at a crisp white
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table, you look at the menu and you order the prime.
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Dry aged rib eye. Sounds like a pretty fantastic
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night out, honestly. Right, you are ready for a
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substantial, heavy meal. The waiter nods, takes your
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menu, walks away and a few minutes later returns to your
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table. OK, I am tracking with you.
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But instead of a heavy cut of beef on a hot ceramic plate, he
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gently sets down a plastic baby bottle filled with lukewarm
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milk. He gives you a polite smile and
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just walks away. Oh well, I mean my first
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reaction would likely be intense insult.
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I think anyone would feel that way.
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But what if that waiter knows a medical reality about you that
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you refuse to acknowledge? What if your digestive system
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has regressed to such a severe degree that you could not
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physically handle that steak even if you tried to eat it?
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So your body would just reject it entirely.
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That is a really unsettling scenario.
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It is unsettling, and that is the precise tension we are
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examining today. Welcome to a new deep dive on
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the podcast Reformed Thinking. We take your sources and extract
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the most crucial pieces of insight, acting as a shortcut to
1:10
being well informed. And today, our mission centers
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on a striking historical source. We are looking at a sermon by
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the 18th century theologian Jonathan Edwards focused on the
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text of Hebrews chapter 5, verse 12.
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Yeah, and Edwards makes a highly specific argument regarding the
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necessity and advantage of a thorough knowledge of divine
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truth. He builds the case that theology
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is not a specialized hobby for pastors or academics, but a
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strict requirement for every single Christian.
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The hook for this whole discussion is that staggering
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complaint from the apostle in the book of Hebrews.
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The writer's looking at a group of Jewish believers who have
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been in the church for a substantial amount of time.
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Right, chronologically, they should be instructing others by
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now. Yet they have gone backward.
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They have regressed to the point of needing milk instead of
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strong meat. Which brings us right back to
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your steakhouse analogy. It is a severe regression.
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It really is. So I want to ask you, the
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listener, a very direct question.
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Do you ever feel like you are coasting on the basics of your
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faith? That is a great question to ask.
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Like maybe you know the childhood catechisms or the
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basic Sunday school summaries, but you are not actively growing
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in your comprehension of the things of God.
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Spot on. Since we know there is a severe
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defect in staying on a diet of spiritual milk, we first have to
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figure out what the strong meat actually is.
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What is the specific category of knowledge that Edward says we
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are required to consume? Well, to understand what that
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strong meat entails, we have to analyze how Edwards defines the
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concept of divinity itself. He describes divinity as the
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doctrine of living to God by Christ.
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OK, so he classifieds it as a science, right?
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But we need to clarify what that means in an 18th century
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context. Yes, he's using the classical
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definition of science. Or science.
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Yeah, that just means a structured, organized body of
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knowledge. But this science sits far above
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all others. How so?
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I mean, humanity pursues a lot of noble fields of study, true.
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Think about it. We study astronomy to comprehend
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the mechanics of the visible heavens.
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We studied geography to map the earth and anatomy to map the
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human body. Those are all noble pursuits.
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But divinity is different. Yeah, divinity is the single
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discipline where the object of study is God himself and the
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great business of religion. And from our Protestant Reformed
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theological framework, which heavily influences Edwards, we
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have to draw a sharp distinction here.
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It aligns perfectly with the Westminster Confession of Faith.
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Yes, we have to draw an uncompromising distinction
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between two kinds of revelation. We have general revelation,
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which is the light of nature, and special revelation, which is
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the Scripture. Right.
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And Edwards notes that while the light of nature shows a certain
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realities about God, like his existence or his immense power,
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it teaches us absolutely nothing about the gospel scheme.
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Nothing at all. It teaches us nothing about a
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mediator. So the strong need the apostle
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refers to is that specific revealed knowledge contained
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exclusively in the texts of the Old and New Testaments.
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I can hear an immediate reflexive objection from a
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modern listener regarding this strict reliance on a written
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text. Well, I'm sure you can, yeah.
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What do you think they would say?
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Well, many people would argue that they can look at a
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beautiful, breathtaking sunset over the ocean, or stare up at a
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sky full of stars on a clear night and know God simply
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through observing nature. Right.
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We hear that sentiment all the time today.
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People claim they feel closest to their creator when they are
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out hiking in the woods or sitting by a quiet lake.
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They argue that nature itself is a sufficient textbook for
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understanding who God is. Yeah, the idea that the universe
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actively declares the glory of God as the Psalm state.
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Precisely so. The pushback is why do we need
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to sit down and rigorously study an ancient complex texts to get
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this strong meat? Why cannot a person simply
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observe the beauty of the natural world and find
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everything they need for their spiritual life right there?
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That objection is incredibly common today.
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It is largely because our culture has been heavily
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influenced by Romanticism, which elevates natural observation and
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personal feeling over objective, revealed truth.
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So how does Edwards handle that? He handles it by pointing
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directly to our fallen state and the noetic effects of sin.
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The noetic effects of sin refer to the way human depravity has
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corrupted our minds, our reasoning, and our ability to
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interpret the world correctly. So it is an issue with our
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internal hardware, so to speak, yeah.
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Exactly. I mean, if we were still in the
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Garden of Eden, uncorrupted by Finn, our reading of the Book of
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Nature might be entirely accurate.
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We would look at a tree and immediately comprehend the
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goodness of God. But in our current fallen
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condition, our minds suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
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right? Furthermore, the light of nature
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cannot provide the specific knowledge required for
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salvation. The first chapter of the
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Westminster Confession makes this exact mechanism incredibly
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clear. It says, the light of nature and
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the works of creation leave men inexcusable, but they are not
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sufficient to give that knowledge of God and of his
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will, which is necessary unto salvation.
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Notice the distinct difference between those two outcomes.
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Nature provides enough evidence to condemn us because it shows
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us there is a perfectly just Creator whose standard we have
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failed to meet. But nature does not provide this
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solution. That is a harsh but necessary
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distinction. You can look at a sunset and
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deduce that there is a creator who possesses immense scale and
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design capabilities. But that sunset will never tell
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you that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
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The stars will never explain the doctrine of justification by
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faith alone. Right where Christ's
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righteousness is imputed to the Sinner.
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A hike in the woods will not reveal the substitutionary
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atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross, taking the wrath of God
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in the place of His people. So Christian divinity depends
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entirely on historical verbal revelation.
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If you want to know the truth as it is in Jesus, you are
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completely dependent on the Scriptures.
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The light of nature offers no gospel, no blood, and no
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forgiveness. Well, OK, so if we accept that
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the specific saving knowledge comes exclusively from the
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scriptures, the obvious next step is determining how we are
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actually supposed to internalize it.
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Yeah, that is the big question. Is Christianity essentially a
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giant pop quiz where God checks to see if we have the right data
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uploaded into our brains? Does God just want a spreadsheet
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of correct theological answers? Edwards addresses this tension
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by drawing a massive distinction between two different kinds of
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knowledge. He categorizes them as
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speculative knowledge, which is natural or head knowledge, and
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practical knowledge, which is spiritual or heart knowledge.
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Let us unpack that. What does speculative knowledge
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look like? Speculative knowledge uses your
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understanding and your rational faculties.
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It is the ability to articulate doctrines, define theological
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terms, and comprehend the logical sequence of a biblical
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argument. And practical knowledge, on the
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other hand, involves the affections it is feeling and
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tasting. The Excellency of the Truth.
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Right, they are two very different experiences.
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I like to think of it through this analogy.
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Imagine the difference between reading the sheet music of a
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complex, brilliant Symphony versus actually sitting in a
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concert hall and hearing the orchestra play it.
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Oh, that is a really helpful way to frame it.
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The speculative knowledge is looking at the sheet music.
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You can see the time signature, you can analyze the chord
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progressions, you comprehend the mathematics of the rhythm.
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So you possess accurate head knowledge of the composition.
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Yeah, but practical knowledge is when the conductor lowers the
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baton, the cello swell, the brass section hits, and you
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actually feel the physical force of the music vibrating in your
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chest. You experience the beauty, the
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terror and the emotional weight of the peace.
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That analogy perfectly illustrates the mechanics of
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human psychology as Edwards understood it in the 18th
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century. They operated on what was called
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faculty psychology. Which basically divided the soul
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into the understanding and then the will or the affections,
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right? Yes, and Edwards makes a vital
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point here regarding how those two types of knowledge, the
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sheet music and the auditory experience, interact.
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A person might assume that the goal is simply to get into the
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concert hall and feel the music, and therefore they can
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completely ignore the sheet music.
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Meaning they might view theological study as dry and
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unnecessary. Right.
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But Edwards argues that you cannot have the practical
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without the speculative. The mere intellect without the
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affections is insufficient. Yes, if you only have head
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knowledge, that is not enough. Like if you can perfectly recite
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the Westminster Shorter Catechism but have no love for
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Christ in your heart, that knowledge is vain and will only
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increase your eternal condemnation.
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Spot on. However, a rational knowledge is
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the mandatory, non negotiable prerequisite for spiritual
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knowledge. You cannot experience a due
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sense of a doctrine in your heart if your mind has
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absolutely no concept of what that doctrine actually is.
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Because God designed the human soul in such a way that the
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affections respond to what the mind comprehends.
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The mind is the gateway. Exactly, you have to seek the
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rational knowledge through rigorous reading and study in
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order to obtain the spiritual knowledge.
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The Holy Spirit does not bypass the intellect to spark a feeling
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in the chest. The Spirit eliminates the truth
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that the mind has already grasped.
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Therefore, the speculative is sought specifically as a means
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to reach the practical end. Yes.
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So for you, the listener, if you desire to genuinely feel God's
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presence, or if you long to experience that spiritual
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sweetness and closeness that other believers talk about, you
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cannot bypass your intellect to get there.
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There is a very prevalent modern notion that studying rigorous
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theology is academic, sterile, and somehow opposed to a vibrant
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emotional relationship with God. Yeah, people often set up a
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false dichotomy between being theologically deep and
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spiritually alive. That Edwards is arguing the
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complete opposite. He's saying your spiritual
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emotions will literally starve to death if you do not feed your
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intellect with objective revealed truth.
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Because the head must be engaged before the heart can be
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affected, we have to look at how God actually delivers grace to
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us through our rational minds. And Edwards argues that no means
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of grace can be of any benefit whatsoever without knowledge.
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He states that preaching is completely useless if it conveys
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no objective knowledge to the mind of the hearer.
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He actually points to 1st Corinthians chapter 14 for that.
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The Apostle Paul argues there that preaching in an unknown
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tongue profits no one. Right.
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If a minister stands in the pulpit and speaks a language you
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do not understand, or if he uses lofty rhetoric that obscures the
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actual text of Scripture, it is as if he is speaking into the
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air. The listener leaves with a vague
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sense of having attended a religious event, but their mind
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is completely unfruitful. This reliance on the intellect
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connects directly to the reformed view of the sacraments
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as well, doesn't it? It absolutely does.
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Think about baptism in the Lord's Supper.
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There are visible signs and seals of the Covenant of Grace,
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but the entire purpose of a sign is to convey knowledge of the
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thing it signifies. Let us look at the mechanics of
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the Lord's Supper from a Reformed perspective.
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We do not hold to the Roman Catholic view of
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transubstantiation, where the elements physically turn into
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the body and blood of Christ. Nor do we hold to a view that
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the elements work like a magical Talisman dispensing grace
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regardless of the participants mental state.
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In the Reformed tradition, the elements are a means of grace
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specifically because they engage the understanding and the faith
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of the participant, aided by the Holy.
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Spirit, right? So if you do not understand the
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doctrine behind the Lord's Supper, if your mind is not
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actively grasping the historical realities of Christ's broken
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body, His substitutionary death, and the promises of the New
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Covenant, then participating in the sacrament has no proper
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effect on your soul. Eating the bread and drinking
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the wine without comprehending the gospel attached to them is
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spiritually useless. Human nature dictates that
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nothing can come at the heart but through the door of the
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understanding. You cannot see the wonderful
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Excellency of Christ's love in dying for sinners unless your
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mind is first accurately informed about the legal and
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covenantal reasons those things were done on the cross.
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I understand the mechanism you were describing, but I also know
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the modern church heavily leans into a different definition of
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belief. Well for sure.
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Doesn't requiring so much intellect make faith cold?
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Isn't faith supposed to be blind trust?
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We frequently hear people talk about taking a leap of faith.
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Yeah, as if the ideal Christian is someone who just closes their
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eyes, shuts off their critical thinking faculties and jumps
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into the dark, trusting God will catch them.
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If we demand that people possess A robust, rational comprehension
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of these theological concepts like justification, covenant
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theology, or substitutionary atonement before they can truly
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experience grace, aren't we turning a local church into a
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university classroom? I see where that concern comes
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from. Doesn't this shut out the
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average person who just wants to love Jesus simply without
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needing a theology degree? Well, that pushback relies on a
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definition of faith heavily influenced by 19th century
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existentialism, not the biblical text.
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The concept of a blind leap of faith is entirely foreign to the
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Scriptures. Wait, really?
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So blind trust is not a virtue. No, blind trust is actually a
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characteristic of foolishness. Edwards counters this anti
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intellectual idea by pointing out that God deals with man
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strictly as a rational creature. So when biblical faith is an
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exercise, it is not placed in some vague, unknown, mystical
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entity. Not at all.
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Look at the logical sequence in Romans chapter 10, verse 14.
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The Apostle Paul asks, how shall they believe in him of whom they
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have not heard? Ah, I see.
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It is a psychological and spiritual impossibility to love
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an object that is entirely unknown to your understanding.
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Right. The heart cannot set its
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affections upon on an object if the mind possesses no clear idea
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of it. The reasons that induce the soul
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to love must first be understood before they can exert a
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reasonable sanctifying influence on the affections.
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So true faith is not a leap into the dark, It is a reasoned,
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calculated trust resting entirely on a revealed truth.
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Yes, you trust God precisely because your mind has grasped
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His historical character, His covenant promises, and His
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documented actions in history. You believe He will keep His
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promises tomorrow because you have studied the text and seen
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how He kept them yesterday. That makes a lot of sense.
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So if God specifically designed grace to enter through the door
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of our understanding, that reality forces us to ask a
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massive question about the very purpose of human reason itself.
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It does, and Edwards brings up a fascinating contrast here
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between humans and animals. He points out that God gave
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humans outward senses and bodily appetites in common with the
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beasts of the field. We experience physical pain, we
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get hungry and require sustenance.
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We seek shelter from the cold. We have a drive to reproduce.
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All of that is shared. But God gave humans a superior
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faculty that no animal possesses, which is the faculty
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of abstract understanding and reason.
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And if God gave us this massive superior capability, he must
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have a specific end goal for it. We are not just animals with a
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slightly upgraded operating system.
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Right, we possess A fundamentally different capacity
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designed for completely different reality.
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Edwards delivers a severe critique on this point.
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He argues that God never gave us superior faculties so that they
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could function as mere servants to our animal appetites.
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The primary end of human reason, the very reason it exists, is to
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comprehend divine things. It is the highest faculty we
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possess. So to prioritize the intellect
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for securing physical comfort while ignoring the knowledge of
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God creates a massive inversion of the created order.
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It is equivalent to making a king a servant to the peasants.
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Wow, that is a stark image. If your entire life is
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structured around using your brilliant human mind simply to
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figure out how to eat better food, sleep in a more
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comfortable bed, acquire material wealth and secure
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physical safety, you are using your highest capacity to achieve
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the lowest possible goals. Yeah, you are functioning as a
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highly efficient animal, completely missing the intended
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function of your rational soul. Let us apply an analogy to see
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how damaging that inversion actually is.
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Imagine you purchase a multi $1,000,000 Quantum
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supercomputer. OK, I'm picturing it.
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This machine is capable of simulating the birth of
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galaxies, sequencing human DNA in seconds, and solving
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mathematical equations that would take standard computers
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1000 years to process. You bring this technological
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marvel into your living room and you plug it in.
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So far so good. But instead of using it for its
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intended massive purpose, you load a cheap, poorly coated
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computer virus onto it just to see the screen flash break
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colors. Oh man, that is such a waste.
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You run a brute force program that does nothing but overheat
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the motherboard, degrade the hardware, and eventually burn
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out the processors. So if you only use your
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intellect to figure out secular business, acquire wealth, or
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gratify your bodily senses, you are not just wasting your mind,
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you are actively degrading it. Exactly.
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You are running a malicious program on a supercomputer.
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I want you, the listener, to evaluate your own daily mental
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diet right now. That is a tough evaluation to
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make. How much of your highest mental
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capacity is spent calculating trivial Earth Day matters versus
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contemplating the eternal? We live in an era where it is
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incredibly easy to use our brilliant minds to memorize
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sports statistics, optimize our stock portfolios, and analyze
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the plot holes in a television show while offering God only the
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exhausted leftover scraps of our mental energy at the end of the
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day. That evaluation forces us to
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look at the actual subject matter we are supposed to be
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studying. Right.
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If our minds were built specifically before this high
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purpose, and if wasting that purpose degrades the mind, what
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makes the subject of divinity worth all this intense,
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sustained effort? Edwards insists that the objects
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of this science are the greatest possible subjects in existence.
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We are not studying the mating habits of insects or the
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historical trade rules of ancient civilizations where the
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knowledge eventually hits a dead end.
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We are studying the eternal 3 in one.
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We are studying Jesus Christ, the God Man who possesses 2
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distinct natures in one person. We are investigating the entire
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covenantal work of redemption and the eternal inheritance
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promised to the Saints. These are subjects of
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Superlative Excellency. Furthermore, this subject is
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entirely inexhaustible. If you study human sciences, you
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might eventually reach the absolute edge of current human
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knowledge. A mathematician might learn all
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there is to know about a specific subfield.
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But the work of redemption is full of unsearchable wonders.
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Edwards points out that angels themselves spend their time
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looking into these very things. Think about the Apostle Peter's
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statement in first Peter chapter one verse 12 where he mentions
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things that angels long to look into.
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Angels are majestic, ancient, incredibly intelligent beings
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who dwell in the immediate presence of God if they are
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captivated by the cross. They find their highest
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intellectual joy in studying the unfolding drama of redemption,
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seeing the manifold wisdom of God displayed in the salvation
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of sinners. So if the celestial beings find
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the subject endlessly fascinating, it is completely
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absurd for humans, who are the actual beneficiaries of this
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redemption, to treat it as a boring or irrelevant subject.
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I am going to push back on behalf of the listener again,
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because practical reality dictates how we spend our time.
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This concept of rigorous study sounds great for theologians.
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Sure, it sounds wonderful for Puritans in the 18th century who
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did not have electricity or modern distractions.
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Right, but I work a strict 9 to five job in a high stress
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corporate environment. I have a mortgage to pay.
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I have 3 kids who need to be driven to soccer practice,
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helped with their homework, and fed dinner.
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Yeah, you are physically and mentally exhausted by the time
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you get them to bed. Isn't this level of rigorous
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intellectual, theological study strictly the domain of ordained
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ministers? Didn't God establish the
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pastoral office precisely so they could do the heavy lifting
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for US, study the Greek and Hebrew, parse the systematic
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theology, and then just hand us the summary on Sunday mornings?
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Edwards firmly addresses that exact sentiment, and he does so
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by distinguishing between different types of knowledge and
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their ultimate consequences. OK, how does he break that down?
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He points out that matters of philosophy, physics or advanced
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mathematics can be left to specialized scholars because
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those subjects do not alter our eternal state.
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So if 2 philosophers have a warm dispute about the nature of
21:33
abstract concepts, or if two physicists debate quantum
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mechanics, the common person can completely ignore the debate
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without any negative consequences for their soul.
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Precisely. But matters of divinity are
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entirely different. Doctrines regarding
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justification, the essence and attributes of God, the nature of
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sin, and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit concern every
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single person equally. Because we all face the exact
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same eternal judgement. The mechanic, the nurse, the
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school teacher, the corporate executive, and the ordained
22:05
minister all stand in equal necessity of justification
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before a holy God. And that eternal condemnation to
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which we are all naturally exposed is equally dreadful for
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everyone. Therefore, we all need the same
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Savior, and we all require the exact same knowledge of how to
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be reconciled to Him. So the common people cannot say,
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let us leave these matters to the divine's Your eternal state
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hangs on the balance. God requires this knowledge of
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you personally, which makes this your primary business,
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regardless of how exhausting your earthly occupation might
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be. The Protestant Reformation was
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built on the priesthood of all believers.
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The conviction that the plowboy needs to know the scriptures
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just as well as the Pope. Yes, and because this subject
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dictates our eternal standing, and because the requirement
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applies to everyone equally, we need to look at exactly how far
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God went to make sure we had access to this knowledge.
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He did not just drop a vague hint and walk away.
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God did not leave us to uncertain guides or forces to
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guess what He requires for reconciliation.
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He intervened in human history in a massive, undeniable way.
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He separated the entire people of Israel from the rest of the
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nations for this very purpose, giving them the Law and the
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Covenants. He raised up a continuous
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succession of prophets over centuries.
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He gave them the Holy Spirit. He confirmed their truths with
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massive miracles that broke the established laws of nature,
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providing objective verification of their message.
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He sent angels to deliver messages, and finally he sent
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his own Son into the world to be the great prophet to Peach us.
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All of this immense historical instructional effort culminated
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in the written word. Edwards draws attention to a
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very specific and vivid metaphor found in the Book of Jeremiah to
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illustrate this effort. Yeah, God repeatedly speaks of
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himself as rising early to send the prophets to teach the
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people. This phrasing signifies that God
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did not treat our theological education as a secondary side
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project. When a person is earnestly
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engaged in a crucial task, they set their alarm, they wake up
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early, and they get straight to work.
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God applies that very human characteristic to Himself to
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demonstrate that His heart was intensely engaged in instructing
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us. We need to ask why God used this
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specific method. Why did God use historical
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events, centuries of prophets, and a written text instead of
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simply downloading the theological data directly into
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every individual's mind? Because historical objective
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revelation protects us from the chaos of subjective fanaticism.
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If our faith was based solely on internal feelings or individual
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downloads, it would change every day depending on our mood.
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By anchoring the revelation and historical facts recorded in a
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massive, abundant book, the Scriptures, God provided an
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objective standard. This book contains the writings
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of Moses, David, Solomon, the prophets, the Apostles, and the
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words of Christ himself. God did all of this to teach us.
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And Edwards draws the inescapable, logical conclusion.
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If God does such great, historically unprecedented
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things to teach us, we ought not to do little to learn.
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That logic is completely inescapable.
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Think about the gravity of that historical effort.
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Imagine you contracted a rare, deadly disease.
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OK, another analogy. Let us hear it.
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Brilliant scientist works for decades, fights through
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unbelievable bureaucratic obstacles, secures billions in
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funding, and finally writes 1000 POGE Life Saving Manual
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detailing the exact protocol you must follow to cure yourself.
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He travels across the globe and during massive hardship to hand
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deliver this manual directly to your doorstep.
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Right. And if you take that manual, put
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it on a shelf, let it gather dust, and then thank the
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scientist profusely for his hard work while you slowly succumb to
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the disease. Because if you were too lazy to
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read the text, that is the absolute height of hypocrisy.
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Your gratitude is totally hollow in that scenario.
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Thanking God for the Bible, praising the existence of the
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scriptures in your church services, recognizing the blood
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of the martyrs who died. To translate it into English
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while being too indifferent to actually open the book and study
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it during the week is entirely insincere.
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So if God has executed all this historical heavy lifting to
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provide this abundant material, how do we practically apply
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ourselves to learning it in our daily lives?
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We cannot just feel guilty about our lack of study.
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We need a concrete method. Edwards provides very clear
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practical rules for the student of divinity.
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First, he says to read the scriptures assiduously.
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That means do not settle for a cursory glance.
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Do not just skim a chapter to check a box on a yearly reading
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plan without paying attention to the actual theological sense of
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the text. Second, compare one scripture
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with another. This relies on the Reformed
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principle of the analogy of faith, the rule that Scripture
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interprets. Scripture, the harmony of the
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different parts, casts a massive amount of light upon the whole.
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You use the clear didactic passages of the epistles to
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interpret the more obscure or historical passages of the Old
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Testament. Third, procure and utilize other
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theological books. He actually rebukes people for
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being too cheap to buy good books, noting that many read the
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same old book on a Sunday until it becomes a task.
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He encourages utilizing the labors of faithful men who have
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studied before us. 4th. Seek God for wisdom, citing
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James chapter one verse 5. God is the fountain of
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knowledge, and you must recognize your own intellectual
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blindness. But Edwards also includes a very
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strict warning regarding the motivations for this study.
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You must not seek knowledge for applause or to win theological
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disputes with others. In Reformed theology, we
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maintain a robust doctrine of total depravity.
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That depravity means our hearts can take the purest divine
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knowledge and twist it into a tool for intellectual pride.
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The apostle Paul warns that knowledge puffeth up.
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If your goal in reading the latest systematic theology book
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is to win arguments in comment sections or to look like the
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smartest person in your Bible study, that knowledge will
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likely lead you into error and puff you up with pride.
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The goal must always be the benefit of your soul and the
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active pursuit of holiness. I want to focus on a highly
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specific cultural critique Edwards makes in his application
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because it translates incredibly well to our modern context.
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He talks about how people spend their long winter evenings.
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In agrarian 18th century New England, the winter evenings
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were long, cold and dark, providing hours of downtime.
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He observes that instead of using that time to study the
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scriptures, people go from house to house engaging in
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unprofitable conversation. They gossip, they argue about
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public affairs, they vent corrupt dispositions, and they
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just amuse themselves to wear away the time.
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We face the exact same temptation today, just with
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different technology. We all share this modern
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exhaustion. When we get home from work and
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the sun goes down, what do we default to?
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We sit on the couch and binge watch 5 episodes of a television
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show where we spend 2 hours doom scrolling on our phones,
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consuming short videos that evaporate from our memory the
28:57
second they end. We argue endlessly in digital
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comment sections about political affairs that only cause
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contention. Edwards is pointing out that
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time is a finite resource. You could be digging into divine
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truths during those hours. You could be reading those
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theological books. You could be studying the
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architecture of your salvation. It is a severe indictment of how
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willingly we trade our intellectual birthright for
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mindless digital entertainment. It is a sharp critique, and it
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strips away our primary excuse. We cannot legitimately claim we
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lack the time for theological study when we willingly
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surrender hours every single night to entertainment.
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Having laid out the method for study and the proper use of our
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time, we must conclude with the final and most vital step that
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prevents this acquired knowledge from becoming stagnant and
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rotting in the brain. Edwards says that whatever
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knowledge you do acquire, you must practice according to it.
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Let us recap the core argument we have walked through today.
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Theology is not a niche subject reserved just for scholars,
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academics, ordained pastors. It is the fundamental calling of
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every single rational creature. It is the necessary prerequisite
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for experiencing the grace of God in your heart, because the
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mechanism of the human soul dictates that the heart cannot
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love what the mind does not know.
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And acquiring this knowledge requires diligent, intentional
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and rigorous study of the Scriptures, rejecting the
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natural laziness that plagues us all.
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You cannot coast on the spiritual milk of your
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childhood. You are explicitly commanded to
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consume the strong meat of divine truth.
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I want to leave the listener with a final thought that builds
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directly on Edward's last directive regarding practice.
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There's a fascinating epistemological insight found in
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the Gospel of John, Chapter 7, verse 17.
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Jesus says if any man will do his will, he shall know of the
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doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.
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The thought you should Mull over is this knowledge is not a
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passive possession you store in a mental filing cabinet.
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Obedience actually acts as a lens.
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When you take the small amount of theology you currently know
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and you put it into rigorous action in your daily life, when
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you actually forgive your enemy or give generously or mortify a
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specific sin, it sharpens your spiritual vision.
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It makes the more complex, abstract doctrines easier to
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comprehend. If you are struggling to
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understand the deep mysteries of God, check your obedience to the
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clear commands He has already given you.
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Action clarifies theology. That brings us right back to our
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opening thought at the State House.
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If you want a digestive system capable of handling the strong
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meat of the word, you have to exercise it.
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You cannot just stare at the food on the plate analyzing its
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chemical makeup. You have to consume it and put
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the energy to work in your life. Thank you for joining us on this
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deep dive. Until next time, keep your mind
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engaged and your Bible open.