Latest / Reformed Thinking / Love That Cannot Be Overthrown | Jonathan Edwards

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Love That Cannot Be Overthrown | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

0:00
Welcome to reformed thinking. You know, usually when we talk
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about a medical diagnosis, there's this expectation of
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precision. Right, yeah, you want things
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clear cut like binary. Right, you break your arm, the
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X-ray shows that jagged white line and the doctor points to
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the screen and says, well, there is the fracture.
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It's super clean, broken or not broken.
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We like things to be visible, you know, to be categorized
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neatly into boxes, especially when it comes to fixing a
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problem. Oh totally, it makes us feel in
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control. But then you step into the world
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of human nature and spiritual resilience and the internal life
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of the mind, and suddenly that X-ray machine is completely
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useless. Yeah, it gives you nothing.
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You cannot just take a snapshot of the human soul to see what is
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going on in there. We're looking at a diagnostic
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landscape that is incredibly murky.
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It is. I mean, trying to figure out
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what is genuine inside someone's heart is incredibly difficult.
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So today for our deep dive, we are looking at a 300 year old
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manuscript that claims to hold basically the definitive X-ray
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of the human soul. That is a bold claim.
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It really is. We are examining a specific text
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from Jonathan Edwards. It is from a series of lectures
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he gave called Charity and Its Fruits.
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And his main argument here is wild.
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It is arresting, honestly. The thesis he drops right at the
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beginning is that true Christian grace cannot be overthrown by
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opposition. Like none of it.
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Right. No matter how bad the
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circumstances get, it survives. To set the stage for anyone
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listening, we should probably clarify what Edwards means when
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he uses the word charity. Yeah, that is a good idea
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because the modern definition is way off.
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Right, because in our colloquial vocabulary today, charity
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usually means giving money to A cause, or maybe donating your
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old winter coats to a thrift store.
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Which is great, but that falls entirely short of what we're
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talking about today. Way short Edwards is unpacking
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the Apostle Pauls words in First Corinthians 13.7.
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He is discussing charity as true supernatural grace and authentic
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Christian love. So it's a divine principle
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implanted in the soul, right? Yeah.
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Not just a philanthropic action you do on a Saturday.
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Spot on. Edwards was writing during the
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18th century, which was a time of massive religious awakening.
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But you know, it was also a time of massive religious confusion.
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Because people were having these intense emotional experiences.
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Yeah, exactly. And Edwards, acting as a pastor
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and a theologian, was trying to help people figure out if what
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they experienced was real. Like was it a passing phase or
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was it a permanent alteration of their nature?
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Right, and this text is his metric for figuring that out.
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And his metric is survival. He states that no matter the
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opposition, this specific grace will survive.
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It will not be overthrown. So if we look at First
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Corinthians 13.7, people often read the verse and assume the
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phrases suffers, long bears all things and well the third one in
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the King James is endureth all things.
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People think they are just synonyms.
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Right. They read them as three
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different ways of saying, you know, be patient.
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But Edwards says that is a total misunderstanding of the text.
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Let's unpack the linguistic distinction he makes here 'cause
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it sets up everything else we're going to talk about today.
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Well, he corrects the synonym assumption based on a really
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close reading of the original language.
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Each phrase points to a different fruit of that grace.
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Like a different way it operates under stress.
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Yeah, First, he explains that suffers long means bearing
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injuries received from other. So does interpersonal patience.
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Right. When someone slanders you,
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wrongs you, or acts maliciously toward you, this grace prevents
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you from retaliating in kind. OK, so that handles the
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interpersonal stuff then. What about bears?
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All things. That means undergoing suffering
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for Christ's sake, without forsaking your duty.
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It is about holding your ground when the world pushes against
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your beliefs. Or when your circumstances just
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become incredibly difficult. Yeah, you don't abandoned your
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post just because the web turn bad.
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So the first is about people, the second is about
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circumstances, and then we get to the third phrase, the one
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Edwards builds his entire argument around.
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The one usually translated as enduring all things.
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Right. But the literal translation of
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that third phrase is fascinating.
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It is not just about lasting through time.
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No. Edwards points out that the
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original language signifies that charity remains under all
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things. Remains under.
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It signifies an abiding nature that stays constant against
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intense, active opposition. It bears up and bears onward
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with constancy. It is not passive resignation.
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Not at all. It is an active weight bearing
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load. You know, remains under.
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Makes me think of structural engineering.
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How so? Imagine you're in a testing
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facility, right? And you want to test a new steel
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alloys tensile. Strength.
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OK, I'm picturing it. You do not just tap it with a
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hammer or leave it out in the rain to see if it rusts.
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No, you really push. It you place it under a
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hydraulic press and you apply immense crushing weight upon
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this beam, you are not seeing if it bends a little bit.
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You want to see if it snaps. Right.
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You want to see if it maintains its structural integrity under a
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continuous agonizing load that is actively trying to snap it in
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half. That is a great visual.
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Grace, in Edwards view, is the beam that never snaps.
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The pressure is real, the weight is agonizing, but the beam
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remains under it. And Edwards connects this
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abiding nature to the broader context of the chapter to show
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how the beam supports the weight.
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Because it's not just clenching its teeth.
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Right, right. This grace does not remain under
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the crushing weight. By just trying really hard, it
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promotes two other specific virtues, faith and hope.
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Oh, right, because faith and hope are mainly occupied with
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suffering. Exactly.
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Sufferings are the trials of faith, and what upholds the
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Christian under that hydraulic press you mentioned is hope.
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Specifically, the hope of a future weight of glory that will
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be given in the end. Charity cherishes this faith and
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hope, and as a result, it remains under all things.
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It cannot be conquered because faith overcomes the world.
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And hope enables the Christian to triumph over the immediate
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pain by like fixing their eyes on and the permanent reality of
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what is to come. Yeah, it looks past the press.
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So if this grace is a beam that won't snap, what is the
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hydraulic press? What is actually pushing down on
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the beam? Well, Edwards does not paint a
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picture of a peaceful, quiet life, that is for sure.
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No, he lists a threefold array of enemies that actively oppose
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the grace in a Christian's heart.
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He calls it a hostile environment.
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He is incredibly realistic about the human experience.
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First, he points to external enemies.
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The devil and his forces. Yeah, he he describes thousands
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of artful, mighty, intelligent devils who are bitter enemies to
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this grace. For you, listening, you might
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translate the effect of that external pressure as the
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overwhelming noise in your life, the targeted attacks on your
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peace. Where the sudden inexplicable
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waves of despair or temptation that just seemed to hit you out
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of nowhere. Right then, second, he lists
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environmental enemies, the world itself.
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With all its allurements and its various forms of temptation
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designed to win you over. The culture around you that
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normalizes selfishness and frankly mocks virtue.
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And 3rd which is the most difficult 1 he points to
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internal enemy. Corruptions inside.
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Yeah, the evil thoughts and sinful inclinations that live
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right within your own breast. The militant language he uses to
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describe this whole situation is striking.
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I mean, he describes the Christian as a Pilgrim and a
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stranger passing through an enemy's country.
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Exposed to attack at any moment, the.
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Attacks are not casual or random.
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They're described as taking a city by storm or coming in like
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a flood. These enemies are unwearied,
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they are implacable, and they seek nothing short of utter
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ruin. He says grace under attack is
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like a spark of fire and swelling billows and raging
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waves that look like they will swallow it up.
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Or he compares it to a flake of snow falling into a burning
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volcano. I love that one.
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He also uses the image of a pure jewel of gold in the midst of a
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fiery furnace. The raging heat is enough to
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consume anything except pure gold.
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Edwards is really trying to shake his audience out of a
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casual Sunday morning only view of spirituality.
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Yeah, he is saying that if you have genuine grace, you are in a
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war zone. The environment you inhabit is
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actively hostile to the life of God in your soul.
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It's not a playground. I have to pause on that
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snowflake in a volcano image though.
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It is such a vivid picture of vulnerability.
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It really is. And it raises a massive question
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for anyone listening if you are under siege and you have an
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enemy inside the wall. Become your own internal
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corruption. Right, which Edwards calls the
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worst enemies of all. How does the city not fall?
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It seems impossible. I mean, a siege is hard enough
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when the gates are locked and everyone inside is fighting
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together, but if you have traitors inside the gates
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pulling the levers and trying to open the doors for the enemy,
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failure seems inevitable. How does the snowflake not melt
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instantly? Exactly.
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Edwards addresses this logical assumption by drawing on
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historical parallels. He looks at the Church of God
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throughout history as a macrocosm of the individual
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soul. OK, give me an example.
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Think of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
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They united all their craft and strength to wipe out the
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Israelites. They had everything on their
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side. They had the the military might,
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the political authority and the geographical advantage.
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By all earthly logic, the Israelites should have been
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completely exterminated. But they survived.
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Right. The Bush was burning, but it was
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not consumed. He also mentions David in the
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wilderness, right? Yeah, David was anointed to be
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king, but for years he was haunted like a Partridge on the
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mountains. Driven from cave to cave by
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Saul, and Saul was a sitting king with an entire standing
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army at his disposal. David had no resources, no army
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of his own at first, just a promise from God.
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Yet David survived and took the throne.
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He expands this to the early Christian Church, surviving
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severe bloody persecutions from the heathen world.
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Where millions were killed without respect to age or sex.
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The Roman Empire used all of its legislative and military might
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to stamp out Christianity. By all appearances, the Church
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should have been destroyed. But the seed remained.
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The fire stayed alive in the floods.
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Edwards uses these historical realities to prove a theological
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point. God has a track record of
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preserving his people in completely impossible scenarios.
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What he does on a macro scale in history, he does on a micro
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scale in the individual human heart.
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Precisely. That historical track record is
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fascinating, but it moves us to a very practical question.
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The attacks are severe, the enemies are relentless, and we
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see people in our own lives. Or maybe we have experienced it
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ourselves, where the pressure comes and the person just seems
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to collapse. We see people walk away.
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Right. So why do some people seem to
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fall away while others survive? Why does the snow melt for some
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while for others it somehow withstands the volcano?
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Edwards makes a crucial distinction here between
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authentic grace and false or counterfeit grace.
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Because they look very similar at.
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First, they do, and this is where Edward's skill as a
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diagnostician really shines. The reason some seem to fall
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away is that they never possessed the true article to
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begin with. They had something that looked
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like grace. Sounded like grace, and maybe
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even felt like grace for a little while, but it was a
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counterfeit. He contrasts true and false
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grace based on how they interact with sin and the human heart.
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Right. Yeah, false grace is a
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superficial show. It might stir up some temporary
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emotions. You might feel A rush of
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gratitude or a sudden in fear of consequences.
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Or strong desire to clean up your life.
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But it leaves the core corruption unmortified.
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Meaning it doesn't kill it. Right, if it wounds sin at all,
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the wounds are slight. They do not reach the life of
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the sin. It leaves the sin in its full
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strength within the soul. So when the pressure of the
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hydraulic press comes down, it is no wonder the sin prevails
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and bears down all before. It it just takes over again.
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This makes me think of an analogy in medicine.
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Imagine a person treating a severe life threatening illness.
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Counterfeit grace is like taking a heavy painkiller for a tumor.
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Oh, that's a good way to put it. The painkiller makes you feel
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better temporarily. The immediate discomfort is
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gone, so you walk around thinking you were cured.
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You have a false sense of peace. But the surgeon never actually
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went in. Right.
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The disease retains its full dominion in your body, quietly
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growing stronger while you feel fine.
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True grace, according to Edwards, is the surgeon.
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It strikes at the vitals. It gives the disease a mortal
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wound. It sends its stroke to the very
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heart of the corruption. It does not just mask the
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symptoms, it attacks the root cause.
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And surgery is invasive. True grace enters the soul and
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begins a never ceasing conflict. It dispossesses sin of its
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dominion. It removes sin from the throne
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of the. Heart, while counterfeit grace
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never dethrones the sin, so the sin just waits for the
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painkiller to wear off. And when the emotional high
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fades, the person goes right back to their old ways because
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their fundamental nature was never altered.
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So how does a person know if they have the painkiller or the
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surgeon? Edwards highlights some very
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specific behavioral differences you can look for.
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The text points out that counterfeit Grace is careless
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about the future. It is not founded on any
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thorough conviction of the reality of spiritual danger.
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It is not diligent in prayer. It assumes everything will just
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work out fine. But True Grace, however, is
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deeply watchful. It is heavily reliant on prayer
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because it is sensible the immense dangers encompassing.
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It it hungers and thirsts for preservation, it lays hold on
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divine strength to support it. You can really see the
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difference in how they handle a failure.
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What do you mean? Well, when someone with
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counterfeit grace fails, they often make excuses, minimize it,
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or simply give up and say the standard is too high.
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But when someone with true grace fails, it grieves them.
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They hate the sin that caused the failure, and they run back
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to God for cleansing and strength.
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The presence of that grief in that fight is the evidence of
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the new nature. Exactly.
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But I want to push back on this a little bit, or at least ask a
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question that might be bothering you if you are listening right
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now. OK, let's hear if.
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True Grace takes the throne, acts like the surgeon, and gives
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Sin a mortal wound. Why does Edward say the Believer
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still carries around corruptions that are their worst enemies?
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That is the big question. Right.
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If the disease is mortally wounded, why is there still a
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war going on inside my head? This brings up an essential
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theological reality about the Christian life.
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Sin is dethroned and it is mortally wounded, meaning its
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final death is absolutely guaranteed.
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But it is not yet fully dead. Right.
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Think of it like an occupying army that has lost its capital
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city, its commanding general and its supply lines.
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The war is decidedly won. The outcome is no longer in
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doubt. But the remaining soldiers are
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now fighting a desperate, violent guerrilla campaign in
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the countryside. I see.
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The new nature creates an active, violent war within the
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soul. Before true grace entered, there
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was a false, careless peace because sin was fully in charge
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and unchallenged. So the presence of the war
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itself. The fact that you feel the
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conflict and hate the internal corruption is evidence that the
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capital has been taken by the rightful king.
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That makes a lot of sense. The conflict isn't a sign that
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you are failing. The conflict is a sign that the
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painkiller wore off and the surgeon is actually doing the
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work. Yes, you are feeling the pain of
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the incision and the healing process, but this shifts our
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discussion to the actual anger of preservation.
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Because we established that true grace fights a winning war.
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But we have to look at the reason for that assured victory,
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right? Because if we are honest, even a
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mortally wounded enemy can be dangerous if the person fighting
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it gets exhausted. A.
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Guerrilla army can still do a lot of damage if the new
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government runs out of resources.
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Edwards makes a massive pivot here.
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He highlights that believers are not kept by the inherent
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strength of the grace itself. This is huge.
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The grace inside you, your own personal holiness, your own
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willpower, is not what guarantees your survival.
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You are kept by the mighty hand of God.
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He references the first Peter 1.5 saying believers are kept by
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the force of God through faith unto salvation.
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This is a vital distinction to make.
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To prove this, Edwards contrasts the believer with Adam, our
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first parent. OK, let's look at Adam.
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Adam was created with a principle of holiness in his
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heart. And here is the key Adam had no
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internal corruption to contend with.
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He had no guerrilla fighters hiding in the countryside of his
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soul. His X-ray was completely clean.
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He had a perfect will, a perfect environment, and direct
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communion with God. Yet he was overthrown.
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He fell. He fell because his standing
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depended entirely on his own free will, his own inherent
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strength. And Edwards argues from the
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greater to the lesser here. Right.
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If Adam fell when he was comparatively perfectly strong
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and had no internal enemies, what would happen to fallen
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humans? We have imperfect grace,
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manifold powerful enemies, and active internal corruptions.
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If our perseverance depended on our own willpower amidst all
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these active enemies, we would certainly perish.
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We would not last a single day against the thousands of artful
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devils in our own traitorous hearts.
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Which raises a massive theological question.
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If God set up the first arrangement with Adam, and it
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failed because it relied on human free will, why is the
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second arrangement fundamentally different?
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Yeah, why didn't God just wind us up again, wipe the slate
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clean and say, well, try harder this time?
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The text explains this by contrasting the two covenants.
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If salvation relied on human steadfastness, it would be a
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covenant of works. And a true covenant of free
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mercy means God undertakes the matter entirely.
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The first arrangement in the garden was holy and just.
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It was a fair test. But it lacked a sure ground of
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perseverance because it rested on.
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Human ability. The second arrangement, the
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Covenant of Grace, was introduced specifically to
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supply what was missing in the 1st.
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It rests on God completing what He started.
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It does not depend on the variable fluctuating willpower
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of the human being. It depends on the immutable,
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unchanging will of God. And Edwards does not just leave
18:13
this as a broad philosophical statement.
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He builds an absolute fortress around this idea.
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He really does. The text provides a rapid fire
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sequence of seven theological proofs for why God will never
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allow this grace to be overthrown.
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We need to walk through these 7 pillars of assured victory
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slowly because this is the bedrock of his entire argument.
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If you understand these pillars, the fear of losing your standing
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completely evaporates. So let's take them 1 by 1.
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OK, the first pillar Edwards builds is the concept of
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incomplete redemption. What does that mean in this
18:47
context? He argues that Christ died to
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redeem us from evil and bring us to glory, if Christ only brought
18:53
us back to Adam's precarious state.
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Meaning we were forgiven, but less just as liable to fall
18:58
again tomorrow. Right then the whole redemption
19:01
would be flawed. It might be made void.
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It would be an imperfect rescue. It makes me think of a
19:06
firefighter running into a burning building.
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Oh I like this. The firefighter throws you over
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their shoulder, carries you past the flames, navigates the
19:13
falling debris, gets you all the way to the front door.
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And then just drops you right back in the living room and
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leaves. Exactly what was the point of
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the rescue if you are left in a state where you could just catch
19:22
fire again? A complete redemption has to
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actually secure the person all the way to the end he.
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Has to take you out of the burning building, put you in the
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ambulance and get you to the hospital.
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Christ did not die just to reset the clock.
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He died to secure the final outcome.
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Which leads directly into his second pillar, the second
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covenant. We touched on this slightly, but
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Edwards formalizes it here as a legal framework.
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The legal side is so crucial to his argument.
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The first covenant had a head and surety, which was Adam who
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was liable to fail. Therefore, God provided a head
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for the new covenant who cannot fail, right?
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Yes, the first covenant could be shaken.
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The new one is ordered in all things and sure, because the
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person guaranteeing it is divine.
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Let's pause on that word surety. It is a legal term that Edwards
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18th century audience would understand intuitively, but we
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need to break it down. Think of it like Co signing a
20:15
massive loan. Right, You want to buy a house,
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but you have terrible credit and no money.
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The bank will not give you the loan based on your own standing.
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So a billionaire steps in and signs the paperwork as your
20:26
surety. The bank grants the loan.
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If you default. The bank does not look at you,
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they look at the billionaire who guaranteed the contract.
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His immense wealth secures your house.
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In the first covenant, Adam was the surety for the human race,
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and he defaulted. In the second covenant, Christ
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is the surety. He guarantees the outcome with
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his own infinite merit. That leads perfectly into the
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third pillar, which focuses on the difference between grace and
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works. Edwards says eternal life cannot
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be suspended on human strength. If it is a covenant of grace,
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then free grace undertakes the whole matter to finish it.
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It has not left the outcome to the strength of our own wills.
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If Divine Grace starts the work, it will finish it.
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If any part of the final preservation relied on your own
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performance, then it ceases to be grace and becomes a wage you
21:15
earned. So if my standing isn't based on
21:17
my performance today, how does that legally work?
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Edwards addresses this with his fourth pillar, the Victoria
21:24
second surety. He takes that cosigner analogy
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and expands it to representation.
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When Adam, our first surety, failed, everyone he represented
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fell with him. He was condemned as the legal
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head of the human race and his posterity was condemned.
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If he had stood the test, he would have been justified and
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his posterity would have been confirmed in life.
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But Christ is the second Adam. He has already persevered.
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He has already faced the devil, the world and the full weight of
21:52
the law, and he did what the first surety failed to do.
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He was justified by His perfect obedience, and He is confirmed
21:59
in eternal life through His resurrection.
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Therefore, by parody of reason, everyone who is represented by
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him is also accepted and confirmed.
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His fulfillment of the terms makes the perseverance of his
22:10
people an absolute certainty. You are not fighting for
22:12
victory, you are fighting from a victory that has already been
22:15
legally secured by your representative.
22:17
That flows right into the fifth pillar.
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Actual justification. The believer is already fully
22:22
acquitted in the courtroom of God.
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Justification is a full deliverance from guilt and hell,
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and a full title to eternal life.
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Edwards argues that it is completely inconsistent to say
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someone is fully acquitted and delivered from hell today, but
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their attainment of eternal life tomorrow is still suspended on
22:38
their uncertain future performance.
22:40
You would be a contradiction in terms.
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You cannot be fully pardoned, handed a royal decree of total
22:46
forgiveness while still being on trial for the same crimes with
22:50
the threat of execution hanging over your head.
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If justification is a past completed event, then future
22:57
glorification is an unavoidable reality.
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The judges bang the gavel. But even if my legal standing is
23:03
secure, I still feel weak. I feel like my own life force,
23:06
my own spiritual energy is draining away under the
23:09
pressure. Edwards anticipates this, and
23:11
his sixth pillar shifts from legal arguments to biological
23:15
ones. It is the pillar of resurrection
23:18
life. The text teaches that the
23:20
believer's spiritual life is actually a partaking of Christ's
23:23
immortal life. He references passages about the
23:26
believer being quickened together with Christ and Christ
23:29
living in the believer. The life animating the true
23:32
Christian is not their own natural energy, it is the
23:35
resurrected life of Jesus operating within them.
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I want to look at the branch and tree concept Edwards uses here.
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Oh this is brilliant if you understand grafting and
23:45
agriculture. If you have a phrase real dying
23:47
branch and you graft it into a massive healthy tree that cannot
23:52
die. A tree with an indestructible
23:54
root system, right? That branch now shares the life
23:58
SAP of the host tree. It's survival is no longer
24:01
dependent on its own severed, limited resources.
24:04
It is a biological guarantee because death has no more
24:07
dominion over the tree. It has no more dominion over the
24:10
grafted branch. As long as the root lives, the
24:12
branch lives. And finally, we arrive at the
24:15
7th pillar, God's triumphant implantation.
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Grace is something God implanted in the heart against massive
24:21
opposition. The internal enemies and
24:23
external devils use their utmost endeavors to keep it out.
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But God used his all conquering might to introduce it
24:29
triumphantly. Edwards argues logically that
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God will not at the last moment surrender himself to be
24:35
conquered by allowing those same enemies to expel what he so
24:39
triumphantly brought in. He breached the walls, took the
24:42
city, planted his flag and he is not going to just hand the keys
24:47
back to the enemy because the guerrilla fighters are making a
24:49
lot of noise. When you look at these seven
24:51
points in complete redemption, the second covenant, grace
24:54
versus works, the victorious second surety, actual
24:58
justification, resurrection life, and triumphant
25:01
implantation, you see Edwards constructing an airtight,
25:04
logically sequenced theological fortress.
25:07
He removes every possible angle where doubt could creep in
25:10
regarding God's ability to preserve the believer.
25:13
Understanding this airtight guarantee actually explains a
25:15
lot about the Spiritual Warfare believer's experience.
25:19
Specifically, it explains why the adversary fights so
25:21
desperately before a person crosses the line into faith.
25:25
This brings us to Edwards application regarding Satan's
25:27
desperation. Edwards says that understanding
25:30
this preservation doctrine explains why the devil's so
25:32
exceedingly opposes the conversion of sinners in the
25:35
first place. The devil knows the theology we
25:37
just discussed. He knows that if a soul is once
25:39
converted, they are forever converted.
25:41
They are forever put beyond his reach and he can never overthrow
25:45
them. He has lost them permanently.
25:47
So his only strategy is to stop the surgery from happening at
25:50
all. The text details the specific
25:53
tactics he uses to prevent this. Yeah, before a person crosses
25:57
that line into true grace, Satan heaps mountains in their way to
26:01
hinder the work. He tries to quench convictions
26:04
of sin. If someone starts feeling guilty
26:06
and looking for answers, he tries to lead them back to sloth
26:09
or distract them with worldly entertainment.
26:12
He flares them with their own goodness, or he discourages them
26:15
with their own vadnais. The psychological warfare
26:18
Edwards describes is incredibly astute.
26:21
Satan suggests blasphemous thoughts to perplex their minds.
26:24
He comes to them by pointing out their own helplessness,
26:27
whispering You know you can't change.
26:29
Why even try? He tells them their day of mercy
26:32
is past or terrifies them with the idea that they have
26:34
committed the unpardonable sin and God has already shut the
26:37
door. Or on the flip side, he tells
26:40
them there is plenty of time left, they are young, they
26:43
should enjoy their life now and get serious about religion when
26:47
they are older. If you are listening to this and
26:49
you have experienced intense doubt, terrifying thoughts, or
26:52
severe spiritual attacks when you try to move closer to God,
26:55
this provides a completely different lens for those
26:57
struggles. You might think those attacks
26:59
are evidence that you are failing, or that God has
27:02
abandoned you. But based on Edward's text, that
27:06
intense warfare might actually be evidence of Satan's panic.
27:09
He is throwing everything at the wall because he knows that once
27:13
the surgeon successfully operates, his dominion is
27:16
permanently over. The noise you hear is the sound
27:18
of a desperate, losing enemy trying to prevent a transaction
27:22
he knows he cannot reverse. That reframing changes
27:25
everything, but Edwards balances this encouragement with a
27:29
sobering reality check. We have to address the seeming
27:32
grace. He talks about those who appear
27:35
to have this grace, but who eventually fall away.
27:38
He compares them to the morning cloud and the early dew, which
27:41
passes away as soon as the sun gets hot.
27:43
Let's say someone has experienced a season of
27:45
religious excitement. They felt terrified of their
27:48
sin. They felt comforted by hearing
27:50
about God's mercy. They joined a church.
27:52
They reformed their habits. But then, over time, the novelty
27:56
wore off. They returned to their old
27:58
habits. They stopped praying in private.
28:01
They went back to gratifying their carnal appetites when no
28:03
one was looking. How does Edwards view their
28:06
situation? He leaves no room for ambiguity.
28:09
He says that if a person returns to those Colonel appetites and
28:12
neglects known duties when the initial excitement fades, then
28:16
the initial appearance was deceptive.
28:18
It was never true grace. He uses the analogy of blossoms
28:21
on a tree in spring. Many of them look beautiful.
28:24
They look exactly like the blossoms that'll produce fruit.
28:27
But a strong wing comes, or a frost hits, and they fall off
28:30
before ever bearing anything. The promise of the blossom
28:33
failed. The result proves the appearance
28:35
was only an appearance. Those who trust in a temporary
28:38
emotional high without an abiding change in their heart
28:41
and life are awfully deluded. True grace creates an abiding
28:46
change. The new creature continues.
28:48
If there is no continuation, there was no new creature.
28:52
That is a heavy warning. It forces you to evaluate the
28:55
foundation of your own actions. Are you relying on a painkiller
28:59
you took ten years ago at a youth camp, or have you
29:02
undergone the surgery that produced a lasting fighting
29:05
change in your nature? But we move from that sobering
29:08
warning to the supreme comfort offered to those who possess the
29:11
genuine article. This is Edward's final
29:14
application for the believers. And it is a majestic application
29:17
he calls true grace an inestimable jewel.
29:20
He says it is worth more than all the jewels, precious stones,
29:23
crowns and costly treasures in the universe.
29:26
Because those physical treasures can be lost, stolen, or left
29:29
behind at death. But the comfort of this
29:31
spiritual jewel is that the person who possesses it will
29:33
never lose it, because the one who gave it will keep it for
29:36
them through all eternity. He says believers stand on the
29:39
munitions of rocks with the everlasting arms underneath
29:42
them. Whatever bitterness their
29:44
enemies manifest, they can laugh their foes to scorn, because
29:47
Jehovah is their defense. Look at the psychological
29:50
benefit of this theology on the battlefield, Edwards finishes by
29:54
talking about the morale of a soldier.
29:56
He points out that fighting a war with the expectation of
29:58
defeat debilitates you. Despondency weakens a soldier.
30:02
If you think you're going to lose, you don't fight very hard.
30:05
But fighting with the absolute assurance of victory increases
30:08
strength. It cooperates with your efforts
30:11
and fuels your endurance. Think of a sports team heading
30:14
into the fourth quarter down by 40 points.
30:17
Their shoulder slump. They run slower.
30:19
They give up on the hard plays. Now imagine the scenario where a
30:23
general is fighting a skirmish and he has already intercepted
30:26
the enemy's unconditional surrender letter.
30:28
The war is officially over, the treaty is signed, but there is
30:32
one last pocket of resistance to clear out before they go home.
30:36
Those soldiers do not fight lazily.
30:38
They fight with unparalleled boldness and joy.
30:42
They know the final outcome is already written in stone.
30:44
That is precisely the morale Edwards wants to impart to the
30:47
Christian. He brings the source material to
30:50
a climax by focusing on the Captain of Salvation.
30:52
This captain guarantees the outcome he has promised that you
30:56
shall overcome, and his promise she'll never fail.
30:59
The soldiers, told to rest on that promise, be faithful to
31:02
their part in the skirmish, and know that the captain will
31:05
personally place the crown of victory upon their head.
31:08
Let's recap the progression of this deep dive.
31:10
We started by defining what it means to remain under
31:13
opposition, that lasting, abiding nature of genuine
31:16
charity under the hydraulic press.
31:18
We walked through the fierce threefold battles it faces from
31:23
the devil, the world and internal corruptions.
31:27
We distinguish the temporary painkiller of false grace from
31:30
the surgical strike of true grace, noting that the ongoing
31:33
war in your soul is evidence of life, not death.
31:36
And then we laid out the seven pillar theological bedrock that
31:39
guarantees God will preserve his people.
31:41
Noting how this absolute legal and biological security changes
31:45
the way we understand Satan's desperate attacks and our own
31:48
daily warfare. If we look at how this applies
31:50
to you, the listener, this knowledge is not meant to be
31:53
abstract theology stored on a dusty shelf.
31:56
Edwards did not preach this to fill people's heads with trivia.
31:59
It is meant to be highly practical armor for your daily
32:02
life. It is the framework that holds
32:04
you up when the crushing weight comes down.
32:06
You are fighting from a secured victory, not for an uncertain
32:10
one. The legal paperwork is signed.
32:12
The tree of life is supplying the SAP.
32:15
This raises a final thought to leave with you.
32:17
We talked about how your internal corruptions are your
32:20
worst enemies, but they are mortally wounded.
32:23
If your absolute worst spiritual enemy is completely aware that
32:26
they cannot actually destroy you, how much of the fear you
32:29
feel today is based on an illusion?
32:32
What would your life look like tomorrow if you treated your
32:34
internal corruptions, your anxieties, and your temptations
32:38
not as fatal threats, but as defeated foes awaiting their
32:41
final eviction? The X-ray might be murky to us,
32:45
but the outcome is crystal clear to the surgeon.
32:48
Thank you for joining us on this deep dive into reformed
32:50
thinking. We will catch you next time.