Latest / Reformed Thinking / Why God’s Grace Will Never Fail His People | Jonathan Edwards

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Why God’s Grace Will Never Fail His People | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

• 0:00
  You know, usually when we talk about a medical diagnosis, there
• 0:02
  is this expectation of precision, like engineering,
• 0:07
  right? Yeah.
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  You break your arm, the X-ray shows that jagged white line,
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  and the doctor just points and says there it is.
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  Broken or not broken. I mean, it is a clean binary.
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  We like things to be visible, to be categorized.
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  Oh absolutely, we want a clear cut answer.
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  But then you step into the world of theology, specifically
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  looking at the human heart, and suddenly that X-ray machine is
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  broken. We are looking at a diagnostic
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  landscape that is, well, honestly, it is entirely murky.
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  It really is. You start asking questions about
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  who is actually secure in their faith and who is just putting on
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  a good show, and the lines get very blurry.
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  So welcome to Reformed Thinking. Today we are taking a deep dive
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  into a classic theological text by Jonathan Edwards where he
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  lays out seven reasons why Grace will never be overthrown in The
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  Believer. Yeah, and this is such a
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  fascinating text to get into. It is, and the goal today is not
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  to just summarize some centuries old document.
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  We are setting out to rigorously examine the actual mechanics of
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  divine preservation. We want to understand the why
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  and the how behind the security of the believer.
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  Right, breaking down his intricate arguments about the
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  nature of the heart, the covenants, and the legal and
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  organic realities of salvation. So let us unpack this.
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  Edwards does not start by talking about God's guarantees
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  in heaven. He starts by dissecting the
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  human heart right here on Earth. Yeah, because before we can even
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  look at how God keeps a person, we have to define what is
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  actually being kept. Right.
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  And the entire argument hinges on a massive distinction Edwards
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  makes right out of the gate regarding the quality of grace.
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  He splits it into two categories, right?
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  True grace and counterfeit grace.
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  He does, and his description of counterfeit grace is honestly
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  terrifying. Oh, it really is.
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  He calls it a superficial thing. It is an outward show.
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  It leaves sin completely unmortified, meaning the course
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  sin is still alive and well and you know it leaves the person
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  totally careless about their final state.
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  So counterfeit grace might look great on the outside, but it
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  does not strike at the root of the problem.
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  Yeah, Edwards completely reframes our understanding of
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  spiritual security right from the opening pages here.
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  We often assume that if someone has a religious experience, like
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  maybe they shed tears during a sermon or they feel a sudden
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  urge to clean up their moral act, that they possess the
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  genuine article. Right, we see the outward change
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  and assume the inward reality. But Edwards forces us to look
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  closer at the actual mechanics of what happens in the soul.
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  He argues that if someone appears to fall away completely,
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  it is not that genuine grace failed.
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  Oh wow. So what is it then?
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  It is that their grace was counterfeit to begin with.
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  True grace, According to him, reaches the very bottom of the
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  heart. It does not just modify
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  behavior, it alters the fundamental nature of the
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  individual. And he uses pretty aggressive,
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  almost violent language to describe this process, doesn't
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  he? He really does, he says.
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  True grace gives sin a mortal wound.
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  It strikes at its vitals. It does not negotiated truce
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  with corruption, it initiates A hostile takeover.
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  A hostile takeover. I like that.
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  And this is a crucial distinction because it sets the
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  stage for everything that follows.
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  Counterfeit grace fails because it leaves the reigning dominion
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  of sin unchallenged. So the person might have
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  superficial affections, but the core governance of their soul
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  remains untouched. Yes.
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  True grace, however, dispossesses sin.
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  It takes the throne, and because it begins in real, thorough
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  conviction, it inherently drives the believer to diligent prayer
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  and creates an earnest desire for preservation.
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  So a person with true grace is highly sensible of the dangers
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  surrounding them. They hunger and thirst for
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  preservation. Right, whereas the person with
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  counterfeit grace is fundamentally careless.
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  Well, I have to push back on something in that description
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  though, because it creates a strange paradox.
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  OK. What do you mean?
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  You mentioned that true grace gives sin a mortal wound and
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  takes the throne, but Edwards specifically uses the phrase
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  that true grace begins a never ceasing conflict with sin.
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  He does say that, yeah. So if true grace strikes a
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  mortal blow and literally takes the throne of the heart, why is
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  there a never ceasing conflict? I mean, if I conquer a city and
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  take the throne, the war is supposed to be over.
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  That is a very fairpoint. But Edwards is describing a
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  scenario where taking the throne is just the beginning of a
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  lifelong battle. Yeah.
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  Are you saying the Christian life is meant to be a constant
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  state of spiritual fever? Because honestly, that sounds
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  exhausting. It does sound exhausting, it
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  almost. Makes the counterfeit version
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  sound more appealing. If you just want a peaceful
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  life. Why would a mortal wound result
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  in a never ceasing conflict rather than an immediate
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  peaceful victory? Well, the conflict is the
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  absolute proof of genuine life. Think about a physical body.
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  A deceased body does not fight off a virus.
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  Oh, I see where you're going with.
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  This right there is no fever, no immune response, no conflict, is
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  completely at peace. But a living body fights.
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  So the fever, the aches, the exhaustion, those are all signs
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  that the immune system is actively engaging an invader.
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  Spot on. Counterfeit grace feels peaceful
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  because the dominion of sin is unchallenged.
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  The person is spiritually asleep, just floating down the
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  river without any resistance. Wow.
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  And true grace disrupts that false peace.
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  Yes, when Edward says true grace takes the throne, he means the
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  governing allegiance of the heart has changed.
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  The new nature is now the rightful ruler, but the old
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  corruption, though mortified and dethroned, is still present in
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  the territory as a rebel insurgency.
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  A rebel insurgency. So it is a never ceasing
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  conflict because the new nature refuses to tolerate the
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  insurgency. Yeah, the new ruler will not
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  sign a peace treaty with the rebels.
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  And this is precisely why true grace inherently drives the
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  believer to diligent prayer and reliance on divine strength.
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  Because the believer feels the friction, they recognize the
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  insurgency and it drives them to their knees to look to God for
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  help. Yes, and the person with
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  counterfeit grace does not feel that friction, so they do not
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  see any reason to desperately seek God's sustaining hand.
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  They just assume everything is fine because the surface of the
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  water looks calm. So the friction is the proof of
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  life. If you are exhausted by the
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  fight against your own selfishness or pride, that
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  exhaustion is actually evidence that you are spiritually alive
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  and fighting back. Exactly.
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  I mean, yes, that is the core idea.
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  But here is where Edwards introduces a major pivot in his
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  logic. He spends all this time
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  establishing how resilient and aggressive true grace is, how it
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  takes the throne and fights this war.
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  You would think his logical conclusion would be there, for
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  true grace is strong enough to survive anything on its own.
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  You would think so, but he goes the complete opposite direction.
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  He argues that left entirely to itself, even true grace would
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  fail. He says that nothing in the
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  nature of grace, considered by itself and apart from God's
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  purpose to uphold it, would be sufficient to make sure it
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  continues. Right.
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  And he brings up the absolute ultimate test case for this.
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  Adam and Eve. Yes, our first parents.
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  Edwards points out that the principle of holiness in them
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  was overthrown and they had zero internal corruption to fight.
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  They had no rebel insurgency in the territory.
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  They were perfect beings in a perfect.
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  So Edwards concludes that in fallen humans who possess all
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  this remaining corruption and face constant opposition, grace
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  would surely fail without God's act of upholding.
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  He cites first Peter chapter one verse 5 saying believers are
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  kept by the strength of God and to help visualize this, imagine
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  a deep sea diver. OK, I like this.
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  The diver is equipped with a state-of-the-art atmospheric
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  diving suit. That suit represents true grace.
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  It is incredible technology. It protects the diver from the
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  crushing pressure of the ocean. And the ocean represents the
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  corruption of the world and the remaining sin in the heart.
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  Yes, but the suit alone does not keep the diver alive.
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  It is the oxygen hose tethered directly to the ship on the
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  surface that ensures survival. If that tether is cut, it does
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  not matter how good the suit is, the diver will perish.
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  Edwards is saying true grace is the suit, but God's continuous
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  upholding is the oxygen tether. If we look closely at that
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  analogy, it eliminates human and completely.
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  We naturally want to believe that once we are equipped with
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  good habits or a renewed mindset, we can sustain
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  ourselves. Right.
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  We want to trust the suit. We want to look at our own
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  religious performance and conclude that we are sturdy
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  enough to handle the pressure. But Edwards carefully breaks
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  down the theological difference between the principle of grace,
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  which is a created thing implanted in the human heart,
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  and the source of its survival, which is the Creator himself.
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  Because grace is a creature and no creature is self sustained.
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  Only God possesses life in and of Himself.
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  Everything else in the universe, including the new spiritual
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  nature within a believer, requires constant active
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  sustenance from the outside. And Edwards provides an
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  extensive list of scriptural evidence to prove God's
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  guarantee here. He does.
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  He looks at Psalm 37, which says, Though a good man falls,
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  he shall not be utterly cast down, because the Lord upholds
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  him with his hand. He thanks Jeremiah 32 as well,
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  where God promises to make an everlasting covenant and put his
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  fear in their hearts so they will not depart from Him.
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  And he quotes Christ in John chapter 6, stating it is the
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  Father's will that Christ should lose nothing of all that has
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  been given to him. God is not just offering a
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  possibility of survival, He is making an ironclad promise based
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  on his own character. The believer is kept entirely by
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  God's promise in action, not by the inherent durability of their
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  own renewed habits or the strength of their own willpower.
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  The tether is the only thing keeping the diver alive.
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  So we have established that God guarantees the survival.
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  The oxygen tether is secure. But Edwards does not just leave
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  it at that. No, He wants to show us the
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  architectural blueprints of salvation to prove why God set
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  it up this way. He moves into the specific
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  logical structures of redemption and covenant theology.
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  His first major argument about the structure is based on the
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  completeness of Christ's work. He argues that if God did not
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  guarantee our perseverance, Christ's redemption would be
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  incomplete. If Christ died only to put
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  humans back into the exact same vulnerable position Adam was in,
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  with the possibility falling again, the entire redemption
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  could be made void. It could all come to nothing.
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  Think about it man, when he was completely strong and had no
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  internal enemies fell. What could a fallen person with
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  imperfect grace and surrounded by powerful enemies possibly do
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  if their survival depended on their own ongoing performance?
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  They would utterly fail. Therefore, a redemption that did
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  not secure them from falling would be a very imperfect
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  redemption. And then he brings in the
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  concept of the New Covenant. He says the covenant of grace
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  was introduced to supply what was lacking in the first
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  covenant. The first covenant had no defect
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  on God's part. It was holy and just.
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  But it lacked a sure ground of perseverance for the human.
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  The only ground humans had was the freedom of their own will,
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  and that proved unreliable. So God made a new covenant,
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  ordered in all things, and sure, with a head and representative
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  who cannot fail, which is Christ.
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  But I have a real issue with how we are defining the word perfect
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  here. OK, let's hear it.
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  If the first covenant was, as Edward says, most holy and just
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  and wise and perfect, why did God design it with a
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  vulnerability? Was it designed to fail?
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  That is a tough question. And seems strange to call a
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  system perfect if it relies on a component human free will that
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  God knew would break under pressure.
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  Well, the vulnerability was on our part, not God's design.
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  The first covenant was perfect in its justice and its
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  requirement of obedience. So it perfectly reflected God's
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  holy standard. Yes, it was exactly what a
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  perfectly just creator would require of a flawless creature.
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  However, the failure of the first covenant demonstrated the
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  total unreliability of human free will when standing alone.
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  It proved once and for all that a creature cannot sustain its
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  own perfection without the direct intervening sustenance of
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  the Creator. Right, It was not that God
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  maliciously designed a trap. Rather, he established a just
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  arrangement that allowed the creature to act according to its
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  own nature. And the failure of that nature
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  sets the stage for the new covenant.
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  The absolute security of the New Covenant is magnificent.
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  Precisely by contrast, under the first arrangement, the
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  representative head was Adam. He was liable to fail, and he
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  did fail. Under the new arrangement, God
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  replaces that fragile human will with a head and surety that
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  cannot fail. He supplies the missing piece.
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  The new covenant does not rely on your ability to maintain your
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  own status. It relies on Christ's ability to
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  maintain it for you. This is a massive shift in how
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  we understand our relationship with God.
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  It moves us from a precarious state of constant probation into
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  a settled state of guaranteed security, grounded entirely in
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  the perfection of the new representative.
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  If the first covenant had never been tested and broken, humans
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  might forever hold on to the illusion that they could
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  maintain their own righteousness.
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  And the breaking of the first covenant shatters that illusion
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  forever. That concept of a representative
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  head brings us right to how Edwards contrasts Grace and
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  works. He shows how relying on human
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  effort to maintain salvation fundamentally breaks the
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  definition of grace itself. It really does.
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  If eternal life is suspended on a person's steadfastness or the
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  strength of their own will to persevere, it reverts back to a
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  covenant of works. It is no longer a covenant of
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  grace. If Sovereign Grace begins the
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  work, it must finish the work. You cannot have grace start the
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  engine and then demand human effort to keep it running.
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  And this builds directly on the representative idea you just
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  mentioned. Edwards calls Adam the first
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  surety and Christ the second surety.
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  A surety is a guarantor, someone who takes on the responsibility
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  for another's obligation. Like someone Co signing a loan
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  but infinitely heavier. Adam failed condemning all whom
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  he represented. Christ has already persevered
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  and fulfilled all terms, justifying and confirming in
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  life all whom He represents. This means the outcome for the
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  believer is locked in. There is no probation period for
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  the Christian because the probation period was completed
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  by Christ. It is like taking a high stakes
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  final exam under the first covenant.
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  Adam took the exam for humanity and he failed.
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  Because he was our representative, everyone failed.
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  Right under the New Covenant, Christ took the exam and scored
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  Florida State. If you are a believer, your name
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  is written on Christ's test. You cannot retroactively fail a
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  test that has already been graded perfect.
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  The grading is finished. The professor has already
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  entered the A+ into the system. Edwards uses a specific logical
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  equation here that he calls the parody of reason.
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  He argues that just as Adam's fall unequivocally ruined his
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  posterity without their individual actions causing it,
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  Christ's victory unequivocally secures his people without their
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  individual actions maintaining it.
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  The logic must hold on both sides, yes.
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  If Adam's failure was sufficient to plunge humanity into ruin,
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  then Christ's success must be sufficient to secure his people
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  in life. If we claim that Christ's
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  victory only gives us a second chance to prove ourselves, we
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  are actually saying that Christ's obedience is less
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  effective than Adam's disobedience.
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  We would be saying Adam's failure was absolute, but
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  Christ's victory is conditional, and Edwards utterly rejects
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  that. He insists that because the
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  second surety is already persevered, we shall surely
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  persevere. The terms of the Covenant have
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  been fulfilled by the Covenant Head.
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  This strikes at the core of human pride.
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  We desperately want to contribute to our own standing.
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  We want to maintain our own grade on that exam.
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  We want to feel like we earned at least part of the credit.
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  But Edwards shows that if we attempt to do that, we are
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  dragging ourselves back under a covenant of works, a system
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  designed to crush us because it demand flawless performance.
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  We have to rest entirely on the finished work of the second
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  surety. The leal transaction is
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  complete. Absolutely complete.
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  OK, so if the legal transaction is complete, what happens when
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  we stand before the judge right now?
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  Well, Edwards takes this finished test and shows us the
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  immediate practical result. He brings us into the courtroom
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  of Divine Justice to talk about the legal reality of
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  justification. If the second surety has scored
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  perfectly, Edwards says the believer is already actually
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  justified. He defines justification as the
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  actual acquittal of the Sinner. It is a full acquittance from
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  guilt, freedom from condemnation, deliverance from
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  hell, and a full title to eternal life.
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  It is a finalized legal decree, and Edwards points out the
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  absolute logical impossibility of having the status and then
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  losing it. You cannot be fully delivered
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  from hell and given a complete title to eternal life while
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  simultaneously having that status suspended on an uncertain
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  future. A full title is a full title.
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  You do not hold a title to a house if the bank can take it
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  back tomorrow because you failed a behavioral condition.
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  That is a great way to put it, but.
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  Here is the obvious critique, the giant loophole that people
• 16:51
  always bring up when we talk about absolute security.
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  I know exactly the loophole you mean.
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  If someone is already fully acquitted, if they hold the
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  irrevocable title to eternal life in their pocket, what stops
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  a person from saying, well, great, the title is mine now, I
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  can live however I want. The old license to sin argument.
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  Right, I can cheat, lie, steal and do whatever pleases me
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  because my final destination is locked in.
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  Does Edwards address that massive loophole?
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  Because if the legal decree is final, human nature will look
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  for a way to exploit it. He absolutely addresses it, and
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  this requires us to connect the courtroom back to our very first
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  point about the anatomy of the heart.
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  OK, tying it back to true and counterfeit grace.
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  Yes, the legal reality of justification never ever happens
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  without the internal reality of true grace.
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  They are distinct concepts. 1 is a legal declaration in the
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  courtroom of heaven, and the other is a biological reality in
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  the human heart. But they are permanently
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  tethered together. God never issues a full
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  acquittance from guilt without simultaneously implanting that
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  sin mortifying throne, taking grace we discussed earlier.
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  So if someone looks at the doctrine or justification says,
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  great, I have the title, I can live in unrepentant sin, they're
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  demonstrating with absolute clarity that they do not possess
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  true grace. They are manifesting counterfeit
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  grace. They are proving that sin still
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  holds the undisputed dominion of their soul.
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  A person with true grace cannot think that way because true
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  grace initiates a never ceasing conflict with sin.
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  The new nature despises the corruption, so the loophole does
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  not exist in Edwards framework. The guarantee of preservation is
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  not a license for the flesh. It is the security needed for
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  the new nature to wage war without the paralyzed realizing
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  fear of ultimate condemnation. God's legal decree of acquittal
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  is matched by His internal work of renovation.
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  He does not just declare a criminal innocent and leave them
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  with a criminal mindset. He declares them innocent and
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  simultaneously changes their desires so they no longer want
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  to commit the crime. That is it precisely.
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  So they are a package deal. You cannot get the legal decree
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  without the internal renovation. The judge who acquits you is
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  also the surgeon who rewrites your spiritual DNA.
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  Wow. Yes, and that leads right into
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  the final pieces of Edwards argument where he moves from the
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  cold hard facts of the legal courtroom into a massive organic
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  reality and finally onto a cosmic battlefield.
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  He argues that the believer partakes in the actual
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  resurrection life of Christ, which is immortal and unfading.
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  He cites Colossians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2 and
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  Galatians chapter 2, showing that we are quickened together
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  with Christ. Christ dies no more.
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  Death has no more dominion over him.
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  Therefore, the spiritual life of the Christian cannot fail.
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  Edwards uses the analogy of the branch and the tree.
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  A grafted branch does not generate its own SAP.
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  Right. It survives entirely because the
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  root is alive. The root pushes life into the
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  branch. If the root, which is Christ,
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  cannot die, then the branch cannot die.
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  Our spiritual life is not just an imitation of Jesus.
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  We are not just trying to act like him.
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  It is the literal life of Christ operating within.
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  Us. It is an organic union.
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  You cannot sever the branch without injuring the tree.
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  The life flowing through the believer is the exact same
• 20:05
  indestructible life that walked out of the tomb on Easter
• 20:08
  morning. The biological imagery Edwards
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  uses here is so helpful. We often think of our spiritual
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  life as an independent flame that we have to cup our hands
• 20:16
  around to protect from the wind. Oh, that is such a common
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  feeling. We think if we slip up, if we
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  get too tired or distracted, the wind blows it out and we are
• 20:23
  left in the dark. But Edwards says no, your
• 20:25
  spiritual life is actually Christ's life animating you.
• 20:29
  The apostle Paul said I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in
• 20:32
  me. You cannot kill the resurrection
• 20:34
  life of the Son of God. It is an immortal and unfading
• 20:37
  life. And this organic union leads
• 20:40
  directly to his final reason, which frames this entire
• 20:43
  discussion on a cosmic scale. Grace is something God implanted
• 20:47
  in the heart against massive opposition from spiritual
• 20:50
  enemies. The enemies of God use their
• 20:52
  utmost endeavors to prevent grace from entering the soul,
• 20:55
  but God manifested His all conquering strength, introducing
• 20:59
  it triumphantly in spite of them.
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  Therefore, Edwards argues, God will not allow himself to be
• 21:04
  conquered by letting those same enemies expel what he brought in
• 21:08
  by his mighty hand. This reframed spiritual warfare
• 21:11
  completely. When enemies attack a believer's
• 21:13
  faith, when the world or internal corruption tries to
• 21:16
  drag you down, they're not just attacking A fragile human.
• 21:19
  They're attempting to overthrow the triumphant, all conquering
• 21:23
  work of God. God's own glory, his own
• 21:25
  reputation as a victorious warrior is on the line.
• 21:28
  God does not lose battles. He will not suffer himself to be
• 21:31
  conquered by allowing the enemy to root out the grace he
• 21:34
  planted. That is the ultimate guarantee
• 21:36
  of the believer's safety. It is not just about your
• 21:39
  survival, it is about God's vindication.
• 21:41
  So where does this leave you? Let us synthesize everything we
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  have covered today. Edwards has meticulously
• 21:47
  constructed an argument showing that true grace is a distinct
• 21:50
  sin, mortifying reality in the heart.
• 21:53
  But it survives not by human willpower, but because God
• 21:56
  sustains it with an unbreakable tether.
• 21:58
  This divine guarantee is rooted in the flawless design of the
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  New Covenant. The completed victory of Christ
• 22:04
  is our second surety, the finalized legal decree of
• 22:07
  justification, the indestructible resurrection life
• 22:10
  shared with the Branch, and God's absolute cosmic victory
• 22:14
  over all enemies. If you are hearing this and
• 22:17
  wondering how it applies to your Tuesday morning, it matters
• 22:20
  because it completely removes the crushing weight of having to
• 22:22
  secure your own eternal status. It shifts your focus away from
• 22:26
  anxiously monitoring your own willpower.
• 22:28
  You no longer have to wake up terrified that today is the day
• 22:30
  your grip slips and you fall out of the covenant.
• 22:32
  You are free to rest in the completed work of Christ, and
• 22:36
  paradoxically, that rest is what actually frees you to pursue God
• 22:39
  out of genuine affection rather than a paralyzing terror of
• 22:42
  failure. You fight the never ceasing
• 22:45
  conflict with Sin not to maintain your status, but
• 22:49
  because your status is guaranteed.
• 22:50
  It takes the frantic, exhausted striving out of the Christian
• 22:54
  life and replaces it with a confident, secure dependence.
• 22:58
  When you realize that the oxygen tether is held by an all
• 23:00
  conquering God who refuses to lose what he has claimed, your
• 23:05
  entire posture changes. You can face the internal
• 23:08
  insurgency of sin with courage, knowing the throne is secure.
• 23:12
  You can look at your own failures and instead of seeing
• 23:15
  them as the end of your justification, you see them as
• 23:17
  reminders of why you need a second surety in the first
• 23:20
  place. The parody of reason stands.
• 23:22
  Christ's flawless record speaks louder than your daily
• 23:25
  stumbling. You are no longer on probation.
• 23:28
  The test has been graded and the score is secure.
• 23:31
  Which leaves us with a final thought to Mull over.
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  We talked at the very beginning about that break in X-ray
• 23:36
  machine, the murky diagnostic landscape of the human heart,
• 23:39
  and how we often try to find our security by peering inward,
• 23:43
  trying to measure the exact strength of our own grace.
• 23:45
  But if God's upholding hand is the absolute, singular guarantee
• 23:50
  of your final state, how should that alter the way you view your
• 23:54
  moments of absolute spiritual exhaustion?
• 23:57
  If the outcome is fully secure, completely locked in by the
• 24:00
  resurrection life of Christ, could a moment of intense
• 24:02
  weakness, a moment where you feel you have absolutely nothing
• 24:05
  left to give, actually be an invitation?
• 24:08
  An invitation to finally drop the illusion of your own
• 24:10
  strength. Stop looking at the fragile
• 24:12
  atmospheric suit and simply watch God sustaining Tether do
• 24:16
  what it promised to do.