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Why Love Is the Heart of All True Grace | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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You know, usually when we talk about a medical diagnosis,
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there's this expectation of like, real precision.
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Right, yeah, like an engineering schematic or something.
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Yeah, you break your arm. The X-ray shows that jagged
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white line and the Doctor just points and says, well there it
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is. It's binary.
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It's clean, broken or not broken.
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Spot on. But when you step into the realm
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of human motivation and spiritual health, that X-ray
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machine is just totally broken. We are looking at a diagnostic
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landscape that is, well, honestly, it's pretty murky.
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Oh, absolutely. We try to categorize spiritual
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health by looking at outward actions, you know, tenants
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records, theological exams, but those things do not always give
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us the true picture of what is actually happening inside the
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heart. They really don't.
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So welcome to reform thinking. Today we're taking a long, hard
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look at an issue that gets right to the core of how we diagnose
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true spiritual life. We are opening up the source
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material from the 18th central theologian, Jonathan Edwards.
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Yes, specifically his classic work Charity and Its Fruits.
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We are going to be focusing on his analysis of the Apostle
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Paul's words in First Corinthians chapter 13, verses
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one through 3. And I mean, it is arguably one
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of the most famous passages in all of scripture.
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You hear it at like almost every wedding.
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Right. Love is patient.
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Love is kind. Yeah, that one.
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But Edwards takes it out of that sentimental context.
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He applies it as a rigorous test of saving faith.
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He looks at the text and sees a terrifying standard being set by
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the Apostle Paul. So the mission for our deep dive
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today is to uncover why Edwards argues that all saving grace and
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all true Christianity are summed up in a single, specific virtue.
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He argues that everything hinges on Christian love.
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But before we get into the text, we want you, the listener, to
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think about your own definition of charity right now.
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Because honestly, we have culturally conditioned
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definitions of that word that will just get in the way of what
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Edwards and the Apostle Paul are actually saying.
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Yeah, the cultural baggage is heavy with this word.
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It really is. So we are going to give you a
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rigorous but highly accessible breakdown of Edward's logic
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today, but you have to be willing to let go of those
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assumptions. OK, let's unpack this.
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How do we even begin to define charity in the context of this
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18th century theologian examining a 1st century letter?
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Well, we have to start by clearing away our modern
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associations. I mean, in common conversation
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today, when you hear the word charity, your mind probably goes
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straight to a philanthropic organization.
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Yeah, like a nonprofit. Right, we think of charity as
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giving money to the poor. Or, you know, dropping a few
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coins into a bucket during the holidays.
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Or maybe on a more relational level, we might say we're being
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charitable when we give someone the benefit of the doubt in an
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argument. Yeah, putting a positive
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construction on their behavior. Right, it's an action, it's
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writing a check or it's choosing not to assume the worst about a
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Co worker. It is a discreet thing you do.
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But Edwards points out that the New Testament word used by the
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apostle Paul, the Greek word agape, has a much wider scope.
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How much wider? Well, the proper English
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translation for agape should really just be love by charity
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in the New Testament. What is meant is the very same
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thing as Christian love. So it's not just a donation.
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No, it is the disposition or affection whereby one person is
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dear to another. Then why did the King James
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translators use the word charity in the first place?
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They were influenced by the Latin translation Caritas, which
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actually carries that broader meaning of high esteem and
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affection. OK, that makes sense.
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But if the text actually means love, why do people so often
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shrink the definition down to just writing a check or being
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polite? It's a good question.
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It seems like we've taken this massive concept and reduced it.
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It is like treating charity as a single branch of a tree, or
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maybe just one piece of fruit hanging off the side, rather
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than acknowledging it as the entire root system itself.
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What's fascinating here is that that reduction happens because
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outward actions are just easier to measure.
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Well, for sure, it is much easier to tally up how much
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money you gave away than it is to evaluate the internal
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position of your soul. Edwards actually aligns First
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Corinthians chapter 13 with another passage to clarify this
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First Corinthians chapter 8. What does chapter 8 say?
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Paul writes Knowledge puffeth up but charity edifieth.
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So he's comparing the two. Right.
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Edwards notes that the comparison being made in both
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chowders is identical. Paul is comparing knowledge to
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charity and the preference is always given to charity.
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Because knowledge makes you arrogant.
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Yeah, knowledge usually puffs a person up with pride, but
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charity edifies or builds up. Edwards makes a crucial
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observation here. What is called charity in the
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first verse of chapter 8 is actually called loving God just
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two verses later. Wait, really?
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So it's used interchangeably. Yes, it is the very same
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concept. So it is not just about loving
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your neighbor and it is certainly not just about giving
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away your money. It is a comprehensive
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disposition. Precisely.
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This love is directed both vertically toward God and
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horizontally toward fellow creatures.
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It is an entire disposition of the soul.
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It isn't just something you switch on for an hour on Sunday.
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No, it is not an isolated action that you perform on a Tuesday
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and forget about on a Wednesday. It is the lifeblood of the
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Christian. So to our listeners, ask
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yourself, do you view charity as a transaction?
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Like something you do to check a moral box?
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Or do you view it as a disposition of the heart?
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Because if Edwards is right, and if the apostle Paul is right,
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treating charity as a mere transaction is a critical error.
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Yeah, now that we have established that this is a
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comprehensive, all-encompassing disposition of love, let us look
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at the specific text Edwards uses to prove the absolute
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necessity of this love. We need to see what happens when
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it's missing, right? If this disposition is missing,
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people try to substitute other things for it.
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Let's look at those substitutes. The Apostle Paul is quite
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thorough in his dismantling of these substitutes.
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If we look at First Corinthians 13 verses one through 3, Paul
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lists what Edwards categorizes into two distinct groups.
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OK, what are the groups? The highest privileges and the
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highest performances. Let us start with the
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privileges, Paul says. Though I speak with the tongues
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of men and of angels, and though I have the gift of prophecy and
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understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all
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faith so that I could remove mountains.
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Wow. I mean, those are staggering
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privileges. We need to pause and think about
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what those meant to the Corinthian church at that time.
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They were huge. Right, because Corinth was a
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Greek city heavily influenced by Greek philosophy and rhetoric.
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They highly valued eloquence, esoteric knowledge, and
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spectacular spiritual displays. Oh, they loved a good show.
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So when Paul says, you know, speak with the tongues of
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angels, he is identifying the absolute highest level of
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spiritual eloquence they could possibly imagine.
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And to understand all mysteries, that means having perfect
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theological clarity. Like grasping the deep doctrines
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that confuse the rest of us, right?
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And faith to move mountains. That is miraculous visible
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display of spiritual strength. The Corinthians were obsessed
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with these things. They were.
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They thought these spectacular gifts were the undeniable proof
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of spiritual maturity. And yet Paul says if I have all
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of those highest possible privileges and have not charity,
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I am nothing. I'm just sounding brass or a
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tinkling symbol. It is all just noise.
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But Paul does not stop at privileges.
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He moves to the highest performances, which are what he
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says. And though I bestow all my goods
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to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and
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have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
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Edwards makes a shocking claim here, right?
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He argues that natural men, meaning people who have not been
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regenerated by the Holy Spirit, people who do not possess true
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saving grace, can actually possess these extreme privileges
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and enact these extreme performances.
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Yeah, let that sink in. A person could give away their
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entire life savings to feed the poor and still profit nothing
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spiritually. It is a terrifying thought, but
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it is the logical conclusion of the text.
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Greater things than these no natural man ever had or did.
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These are the very things in which human beings are
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exceedingly prone to trust for their righteousness, aren't
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they? Absolutely.
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We look at the outward performance, the massive
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donation, the eloquent sermon, the theological brilliance, and
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we assume there is spiritual life.
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But the apostle declares that if we have them all, without this
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specific disposition of Christian love, we are nothing.
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All the virtue that distinguishes a true Christian
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is summed up in this love. Hold on.
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I have to push back on that last performance Paul mentions.
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Giving the body to be burned. Yeah, we are talking about
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martyrdom. How is it even possible for
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someone to give their body to be burned, to literally become a
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martyr but not have love? It sounds counterintuitive.
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Isn't that a bit cynical? Like if someone is willing to
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literally die for A cause, should we give them the benefit
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of the doubt rather than assuming they are just chasing
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historical clout? What on earth is driving that
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person to face the flames if not love?
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It is a fair push back and it forces us to look at the dark,
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well, the very complicated mechanics of human motivation.
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Edwards recognizes that the human heart is capable of
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driving massive sacrifices for entirely selfish reasons.
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So he's not calling all martyrs fake.
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No, he's not saying every martyr is fake.
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He's saying the act of burning does not by itself prove the
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heart is right. OK then what drives a person to
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the flames without love? Pride is a massive motivator.
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A person might want to be remembered as a hero seeking
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historical glory or the praise of a specific community.
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Wow, dying just for the applause.
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Or they might be driven by a legalistic fear, like a terror
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of hell, that convinces them that making the ultimate
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physical sacrifice is the only way to purchase their salvation.
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Oh, so they are trying to force God's hand through their own
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extreme suffering? That's it.
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So the action looks identical from the outside.
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The martyr with love and the martyr without love of both
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burn. But the internal reality is
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completely different. Yes, the action itself cannot
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validate the heart. Without the core of Christian
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love, even martyrdom is an empty, vain show.
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It is a performance driven by the ego, not by an affection for
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God or for fellow men. Edwards is stripping away our
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ability to hide behind extreme actions.
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Let's bring this into a relatable modern scenario.
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Think about someone today making massive public donations.
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Maybe they build a hospital weighing or they take on
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grueling volunteer work in a dangerous part of the world, but
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they make sure camera crew is there.
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They do it solely for social media clout or, you know, for
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reputational management after a major scandal.
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We see that all the time. We do.
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The action looks incredibly virtuous.
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People benefit from the hospital.
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The hungry gets fed. But it lacks the saving grace of
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love. It is driven by public
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relations, not a divine temper in the soul.
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The motivation is self preservation or self exaltation.
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That is a very accurate modern equivalent.
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The world sees the outward performance and applauds.
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The hospital wing does physical good, but God looks at the heart
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and sees sounding brass. Just noise, yeah.
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Let a man have what he will and do what he will.
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It signifies nothing spiritually without charity.
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Everything that does not have charity contained in it is
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nothing. This love is the life and soul
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of all religion. So if these incredible outward
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actions can be completely devoid of true love, and if the absence
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of love renders them spiritually useless, where does true
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Christian Love Actually come from?
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That's the $1,000,000 question. Because biologically and
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psychologically, the love I have for different things feels very
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different. But Edwards makes a radical
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claim about the origin of this love.
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He does. He posits a massive theological
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thesis here. Yeah, all true Christian love is
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one in the same and it's principle.
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Meaning what exactly? Oh wait, I mean how does he
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define that? He means that whether that love
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is directed vertically up at God or horizontally out at man, it
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comes from the exact same spring in the heart.
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It is a singular fountain. I want to make sure we grasp
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this. Yeah, He is saying that the love
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I have for God on a Sunday morning during worship is the
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exact same substance as the love I have for my annoying neighbor
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on a Tuesday afternoon. Yes, because those feel like 2
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entirely different emotions. Well, they feel different
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because the object of the affection is different and the
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circumstances are different, but the root substance is identical.
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The holy love in the heart of the Christian is fundamentally
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different from the love of other men.
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A natural man might love his child out of biological instinct
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and love his friend because of shared interests.
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And those love spring from different worldly motives.
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Right, but a truly Christian love is 1 as to its principle.
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Edwards gives 3 distinct proofs for this, and these proofs are
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crucial to understanding his entire framework.
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Let us break down those 3 proofs.
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How does he justify this idea of a singular substance?
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First, he argues that it all comes from the exact same
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Spirit. It is from the breathing of the
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Holy Spirit that true Christian love arises toward both God and
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man. So it starts with the Spirit.
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Yes, the Spirit of God is a spirit of love.
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God is love. When the Holy Spirit enters the
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soul of a believer, love enters with it.
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The very nature of the Holy Spirit is love, and by
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communicating Himself to the Saints, their hearts are filled
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with divine charity. So the Holy Spirit does not just
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drop off a package of love and walk away.
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The Holy Spirit imparts his own nature, which is love itself.
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Yes, believers become part or takers of the divine nature.
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Paul calls it the love of the Spirit in Romans chapter 15.
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OK, that's the first proof. What's the second?
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Second, Edwards points out that this love is wrought in the
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heart by the same work of conversion.
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You mentioned regenerated by the Holy Spirit earlier.
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Before we go further, what does regeneration actually look like
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in this context? Good catch.
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Edwards is talking about a fundamental change in a person's
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nature. Regeneration is the theological
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term for being born again. It means the Holy Spirit takes a
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heart that is naturally cold and hostile to God and brings it to
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life. Edwards is arguing that the Holy
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Spirit does not perform 2 separate works of regeneration.
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Like one for God and one for people.
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Right. He doesn't do one work to infuse
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a spirit of love to God, and a totally different work to infuse
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the spirit of love to men. In the work of conversion, the
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Spirit renews the heart by giving it a single divine
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temper. It is one divine temper that
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flows out in both directions. Exactly.
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I mean, that is spot on. I think of it like a city's
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water supply. You have this massive singular
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reservoir of water sitting up in the hills.
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OK, I like this. That water might flow out of a
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kitchen faucet to wash dishes, or it might flow out of a garden
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hose to water the tomatoes. It looks different at the point
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of delivery, and it is watering different things, but it
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originates from the exact same reservoir.
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The water itself is identical. That's a great way to picture
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it. If we connect this to the bigger
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picture, you can see how this guards against hypocrisy.
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Also, Well, you cannot claim to have a massive reservoir of love
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for God while your tap runs completely dry toward your
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neighbors. If the reservoir is full, the
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water has to go somewhere. Oh wow, yeah.
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The first Epistle of John makes this argument forcefully.
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How can you love God whom you have not seen, if you do not
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love your brother whom you have seen?
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If the spring is in the heart, it will flow in all appropriate
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directions. So if the love comes from the
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same spirit and is produced by the same work of conversion,
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what is the third proof? The third proof is that when God
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and man are loved with a truly Christian love, they are loved
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from the same motives. Motives.
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Yes, When God is loved rightly, He is loved for His Excellency,
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for the beauty of His nature, and especially for His Holiness.
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And it is from that exact same motive that the Saints are loved
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for holiness sake. Oh, I see.
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Men are loved because they bear God's image or because they
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relate to Him as His creatures. The respect to God is the root
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of the gracious love to men. You love the reflection because
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you love the source. Think about how clarifying this
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is for your own life. To our listeners, it
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dramatically simplifies the Christian walk.
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You do not need to generate 10 different types of love for 10
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different situations. It's so freeing.
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It really is. You do not need to try and
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manufacture a special kind of love for your boss, and a
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different kind of love for your spouse and a different kind of
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love for your church. You need to rely on the single
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divine temper implanted by the Holy Spirit.
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You just need to let the water from the reservoir flow.
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It removes the exhausting burden of trying to manufacture
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situational affections. You rest in the singular
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principle of divine charity. Here's where it gets really
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interesting. If we accept that this singular
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reservoir of love guards against hypocrisy, how does it actually
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translate into the physical things we do every day?
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Does an internal feeling automatically guarantee outward
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obedience? Edwards does not just leave love
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as this abstract internal feeling.
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He moves into a logical argument for why this specific kind of
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love naturally produces all outward obedience.
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He argues that if you have the root, the tree will inevitably
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bear all the necessary fruit. Edwards appeals to reason here.
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He argues that reason teaches us that love naturally disposes a
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person to all proper acts of respect toward both God and man.
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So it's an automatic response. Yes, if a man sincerely loves
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God, that love will automatically dispose him to
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render all the respect that God is due.
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It is an organic cause and effect.
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Let us breakdown what that duty to God actually looks like in
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practice. How does love create specific
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actions toward the Creator? Edwards lists several ways.
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First, love disposes a man to honor God, to worship Him, and
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to heartily acknowledge His greatness.
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Because if you love someone, you naturally want to elevate.
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Them right? You want others to see how great
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they are. Second, love disposes us to
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trust God. We do not suspect the veracity
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of those for whom we have entire friendship.
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We trust our friends. That is very true.
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If we love God, we will give credit to His Word and put
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confidence in Him amid difficulties.
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That makes perfect sense. Distrust is usually born out of
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a lack of affection or suspicion of someone's motives.
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If I do not love someone, I'm always wondering what their
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hidden agenda is. Yeah, you're always on guard.
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But if love assures us of God's perfect motives, trust is the
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natural byproduct. What else?
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Love disposes our hearts to submission to the will of God.
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We are always more willing that the will of those we love should
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be done rather than the will of strangers.
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Because we naturally desire to please those we love.
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Therefore, true affection for God will make a person
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acknowledge God's right to govern and make them submit to
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His commands without resentment. Finally, love disposes us to
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walk humbly with Him. Walking humbly.
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A true Christian delights to have God exalted on His own
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abasement because He loves Him. It is not a forced humiliation.
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It is a delightful casting of oneself in the dust before the
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Most High out of sincere affection.
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So love produces honor, trust, submission, and humility toward
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God. What about the horizontal
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duties? How does this internal affection
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regulate our behavior toward other people?
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Edwards is incredibly thorough here.
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He says love will prevent all lying, fraud and deceit.
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Why? Because you're not disposed to
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exercise fraud or treachery towards someone you love.
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To defraud someone is to treat them like an enemy.
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But love destroys enmity. Love produces justice.
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It makes us want to give those we love their due.
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Love worketh no I'll to his neighbor, as Paul writes in
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Romans. Yes, it also produces
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contentment which prevents envy. If you truly love your neighbor,
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you will not covet what they have.
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You will be content in the sphere where God has placed you,
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and you will actually rejoice in their prosperity.
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That's hard to do. It is, but love produces
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meekness and peaceableness. It restrains A bitter spirit.
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It prevents broils and quarrels. As Proverbs says, hatred
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stirreth up strifes, but love covereth all sins.
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Edwards goes even further, showing how love governs entire
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social structures. This is where I think his logic
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gets really sharp. Oh, he really scales it up.
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He argues it governs the relationship between citizens
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and rulers. Love will dispose of people to
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give their rulers honor and subjection.
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And on the flip side, it will dispose rulers to govern justly.
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Let us expand on the mechanics of that.
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How does Edwards argue that love dictates the behavior of a
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politician or ruler? Because we usually associate
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politics with anything but love. It's true, but Edwards is
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looking at the psychological mechanics of leadership.
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A ruler motivated by love views their constituents not as
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stepping stones or as tax revenue, or as pawns in a
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political game. They view them as fellow image
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bearers. Right.
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This internal affection naturally restrains tyrannical
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impulses because you do not oppress what you love.
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A loving ruler seeks the actual good of the people rather than
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their own ends. And it governs congregations and
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ministers to love, makes a people harken to instruction and
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support their ministers. And it makes ministers watch
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ceaselessly for the souls of their flock.
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It dictates the behavior between parents and children, masters
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and servants. If love is implanted in the
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heart, it is alone sufficient to produce all good practice in
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every sphere of life. But you know, I want to offer
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some heavy pushback here. Go ahead.
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Could someone argue that strict discipline, a rigorous legal
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code, and a rigid sense of duty are actually better motivators
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for morality than love? How do you mean?
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Well, love feels like an emotion.
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It feels subjective. Sometimes people wake up and
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they just do not feel love. Would not be safer to rely on
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strict, disciplined obedience to the rules to keep society and
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the church functioning properly. If we just enforce the laws, we
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do not have to worry about whether people feel loving
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today. That is a very common objection.
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We like systems, we like rules, they feel.
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Safe. Exactly.
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I mean, yeah, they do feel safer.
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But Edwards uses rigorous logic to refute it.
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He argues that any obedience performed without love is by
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definition forced, unsound and hypocritical.
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Because it's not sincere, right? If there is no love in what men
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do, there is no true respect to God or men, and if there is no
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true respect, there is no sincerity.
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So you're saying a society held together only by rules is
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essentially a Society of hypocrites?
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Yes, Edwards says, religion is nothing without proper respect
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to God. That is the core of his
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argument. The very notion of religion is
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the creature expressing respect toward the creator.
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And without love. If you remove love, all that
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outward obedience, the strict discipline, the rule following
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is just a seeming show. It is unreal and vain.
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Without love you cannot have true honor.
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You are never Hardy in the honor you seem to render to someone
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you secretly dislike. It's just acting.
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Yes, without love there is no sincere submission, it is just
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forced compliance. He that does not love God will
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never truly trust him, nor cast himself into the arms of His
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mercy with a quiet soul. True respect cannot exist
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without love. Without it, the discipline is
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just a hollow legalistic performance.
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It is the difference between a citizen who obeys the laws of
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the king because he deeply loves and admires the king, versus a
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citizen who obeys the laws solely because he is terrified
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of the King's executioner. That's a perfect illustration.
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The outward behavior looks the same.
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Neither of them breaks the speed limit, so to speak, but the
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internal. The reality of the first citizen
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is freedom and joy, while the internal reality of the second
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is bondage and fear. And the totalitarian compliance
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is not what God is after. And God, who searches the heart,
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is not satisfied with the obedience of terror.
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He desires the willing subjection of love.
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We see this logical conclusion perfectly mirrored in Scripture.
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Edwards does not just rely on human reason, he grounds this
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entirely in the biblical text. This brings us to a fascinating
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discussion on the relationship between the law, faith and love.
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He pulls heavily from Paul here. Yeah, Edwards quotes Romans
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chapter 13 verse 8. He that loveth another hath
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fulfilled the law. And he points to Galatians
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chapter 5 verse 6, which says that faith works by love.
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These verses are pivotal to Edwards theology.
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Let us look at that phrase from Galatians.
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Faith works by love. Edwards makes a sharp, vital
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distinction between a merely speculative faith and a saving,
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practical faith. Let's define speculative faith.
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Speculative faith is when the understanding a sense to a fact.
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You hear a historical or theological proposition and your
24:26
brain says, yes, that is factually accurate.
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You believe the information is true, like believing George
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Washington was the 1st president.
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It is just data. Yes, it's just data, but Edwards
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uses a brilliant analogy here to contrast that with saving faith.
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He says speculative faith is light without heat.
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Light without heat. It illuminates the mind, but it
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does not warm the affections. Saving faith, on the other hand,
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is light and heat together. That is such a vivid picture.
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Speculative faith is like reading a menu at a fine dining
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restaurant. You can read the descriptions of
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the food, you can understand the ingredients, you can appreciate
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the culinary techniques described.
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You'd have all the facts about the meal, right?
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You can even agree that the chef is highly skilled and the meal
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definitely exists in the kitchen.
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You have the light, you have the information, but saving faith is
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actually eating the meal. It is tasting it, enjoying it,
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being nourished by it, and having your hunger satisfied.
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Reading the menu is light without heat.
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Eating the meal is light and heat together.
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That analogy perfectly captures the difference, and this raises
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an important question which brings up a very specific
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passage in the book of James that Edwards leans on heavily.
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Which passage? James chapter 2 where it talks
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about the demons. James says the devils also
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believe and tremble. The faith of devils.
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That is a terrifying concept. It should make us all pause and
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evaluate our own faith. The Devils have speculative
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faith. They have impeccable theology.
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They. Do they know exactly who Jesus
25:54
Christ is? They confessed Him as the Son of
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God during his earthly ministry, when the Pharisees were still
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confused. They believe in the reality of
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heaven and hell. They understand the mechanics of
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atonement. They have an immense amount of
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light, but they lack the warmth of love.
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They lack the consent of the heart.
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And James says they tremble. What does it mean that they
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tremble? It means they have an emotional
26:17
reaction to their theology, but it is a reaction of pure terror,
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not affection. They know God exists and they
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hate him for it. They believe, but they do not
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love the God they know exists. So it is entirely possible to
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have a head full of perfect orthodox theology, to have all
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the light of doctrine, and still possess the faith of a demon, if
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there is no heat, no love accompanying it.
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That is Edward Stark warning. A faith that consists only in
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the ascent of the understanding is no better than the faith of
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devils. True spiritual consent of the
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heart cannot be distinguished from the love of the heart.
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So choice and love are intertwined.
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When a soul truly chooses Christ as a Savior and embraces Him,
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that choice is an act of love. Love is the active, working
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spirit that gives faith its life.
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Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without
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the animating spirit of love is dead.
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How does this massive theological framework translate
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into the daily attitudes of a Christian?
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If love is the animating spirit, what does that actually look
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like when it walks into a room or when it encounters
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opposition? Does an internal feeling
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automatically guarantee outward obedience in stressful
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situations? Yeah, that's what we need to
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know. Edwards provides some very
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practical instruction here by contracting the true Christian
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spirit with the spirit of contention.
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He turns to a narrative in the Gospel of Luke Chapter 9.
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Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem and they
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pass through a Samaritan village.
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And the Samaritans weren't exactly friendly, right?
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No. The Samaritans, because of
27:47
ancient ethnic and religious prejudices, refused to receive
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Jesus. The disciples, specifically
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James and John, are furious. They say, Lord, wilt thou that
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we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?
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They want to incinerate an entire village because of a
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slight against their master. They probably thought they were
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being incredibly righteous and zealous.
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They absolutely thought they were acting out of righteous
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zeal. They were likely thinking back
28:13
to the prophet Elijah calling down fire.
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But Christ rebukes them. He says, You know not what
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manner of spirit ye are of. That's a sharp rebuke.
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It is, Edwards explains, that Christ was not just saying they
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lacked general self-awareness. He was telling them that they
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completely misunderstood the nature of the evangelical
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dispensation they were living under.
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Wait, evangelical dispensation is a massive phrase?
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Are you just saying they did not understand the new rules of the
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Kingdom Jesus was building? Yes, that is it.
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Edwards is pointing out that they were stuck in an older way
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of thinking. They thought revenge and violent
28:48
retaliation were appropriate responses for followers of the
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Messiah. But they weren't.
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They failed to realize that the Christian Kingdom is a Kingdom
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of peace and love. The evangelical dispensation is
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the era of the Gospel where grace and mercy are the defining
29:03
characteristics. They were operating out of a
29:05
spirit of contention, totally ignorant of the true Christian
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spirit they were called to display.
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This is painfully relevant today.
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You look around and you see many people who've been in the church
29:16
for years who know their theology backward and forward,
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yet they still operate with a spirit of bitterness, envy, or a
29:23
constant desire for retaliation. You see it online constantly.
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Oh, all the time. They're always looking for a
29:29
fight. They're always ready to call
29:30
down rhetorical fire from heaven on whoever disagrees with them
29:34
online or in the pews. They fundamentally misunderstand
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the character they are called to display.
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They think their theological precision justifies their
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cruelty. Edwards would say they do not
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know what manner of spirit they are of.
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The New Testament spends more time insisting on the spirit of
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love, peace, gentleness and goodness than on almost anything
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else. It is the defining mark of a
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believer. And the gospel provides the
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ultimate motivation for this behavior, right?
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Absolutely. Let us talk about that gospel
30:03
motive. Why are we called to this
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specific standard of love even when people are hostile to us?
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Because of what God has done, the work of redemption is the
30:13
most wonderful exhibition of love that ever was seen.
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The Gospel reveals the eternal love existing between the Father
30:19
and the Son, and it reveals that Christ laid down His life for
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us, not when we were perfect friends, but while we were
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wandering outcasts, worthless, guilty, and even enemies.
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Paul writes in Romans. God commendeth his love toward
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us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
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That is the motive. If the king laid down his life
30:39
for his enemies, how can his subjects demand fire to fall on
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theirs? Edwards makes a very sharp
30:45
observation about what happens when that spirit of contention
30:47
enters a community. He says that contention ruins
30:51
religion. It is a brilliant pastoral
30:53
observation. Where envying and strife exist,
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there is confusion, and every evil work it is.
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Edwards notes that when contention comes into a place,
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if religion has been flourishing, it presently chills
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and deadens it. Everything good Withers, and
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everything bad begins to flourish.
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Contention is directly against the very essence of
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Christianity. He uses 2 phrases that are just
31:17
brilliant descriptions of an envious or malicious Christian.
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He calls it a dark brightness or a false truth.
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It is an utter absurdity. A cold, hard hearted Christian
31:28
is a contradiction in terms. You cannot have the light of the
31:31
gospel without the heat of its love.
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To claim the name of Christ while harboring malice is to
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walk around as a living oxymoron.
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It is a false truth. Well said.
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So, listener, look at your own circles tomorrow morning.
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Look at your church, your workplace, your family, your
31:46
social media feeds. Are you fostering the warmth of
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Christian charity? Are bringing the heat of love
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into those spaces. Or are you bringing the chill of
31:53
contention? Are you quick to call down fire
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or are you quick to cover offenses?
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This is why Edwards insists that a Christian has to strictly
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guard against these impulses. He advises Christians to
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suppress the very first beginnings of ill will and
32:07
bitterness. We have to fight against any
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temper that tends toward envy, because it overthrows the very
32:13
sum of our religion. We really do.
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We have covered a massive amount of theological ground today.
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We have redefined charity from a simple transaction to an
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all-encompassing disposition. We have seen that the highest
32:24
privileges and performances are empty without.
32:27
It we have traced it to its singular fountain in the Holy
32:29
Spirit, watched it logically produce every duty to God and
32:33
man, and contrasted it with the chilling effect of contention.
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So what does this all mean? All of this analysis leads
32:40
Edwards to call for a rigorous self examination.
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He asked some piercing questions at the end of the study.
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If love is the sum of Christianity, it must appear in
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the life. He asks, what have you done for
32:51
God's glory? How much have you denied
32:54
yourself to promote the Redeemers interest?
32:56
What have you done for your fellow men?
32:58
It is not enough to just feel a warm sentiment while listening
33:01
to a deep dive like this. No, if the heart is full of love
33:05
it will find event you will find or make ways to express your
33:09
love in deeds. When a fountain abounds in
33:12
water, it naturally sends forth streams.
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You cannot stop it. The labor of love is the main
33:17
business of the Christian life. We must not love only in Word
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and tongue, but in deed and in truth.
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As we close out this session, I want to leave you with a final
33:27
thought to ponder. We talked about how true saving
33:30
faith is both light and heat, right?
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We live in an information age that is absolutely obsessed with
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gathering more light. We want more theology, more
33:38
books, more articles, more deep analysis.
33:41
But in all our gathering of light, are we actively starving
33:44
the heat? That's a great question.
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Tomorrow morning, before you consume another piece of
33:48
information to gain more light, ask yourself what specific
33:51
action you can take to generate the heat of love toward an enemy
33:54
or a stranger. Thank you for joining this
33:56
session of reformed thinking. Let the stream of charity flow
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into your daily life.