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Christian Practice and Holy Life as the Evidence of Sincerity | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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How do we really know, you know, if someone's Christian faith is
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is genuine and maybe even harder?
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What about for ourselves? How do we get that solid
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assurance in our own walk? Yeah, it's a fundamental
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question, isn't it? So many people, I think
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naturally lean on, well, what someone says or maybe a really
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moving story they tell or even, you know, strong emotions.
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Right. You see a lot of tears or hear a
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passionate testimony and you think, OK, that must be real,
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but is that the most certain way that's.
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What we want to dig to welcome everyone to reformed thinking,
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where we try to connect these core truths to, well, how we
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think. Today and today, we're starting
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a deep vive into this biblical idea, really looking at it
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through the lens of Jonathan Edwards, that Christian
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practice, what we actually do, our holy living, is the the main
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sign of sincere godliness. Exactly.
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Edwards had this really insightful way of unpacking how
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our actions show what's truly in the heart.
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And this applies whether we're thinking about other people's
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faith or trying to find that clarity, that assurance for
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ourselves. So our goal for you today is to
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really pull out the crucial points on how to recognize true
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faith. We want to offer some clarity,
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look at the scriptural backing, and hopefully give you a
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practical way to view your own walk with God.
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It's about living it out, not just talking about it.
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OK, so let's start with how we see sincerity in others.
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The core idea here, and Edwards really hammers this home, is
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that visible actions, a consistent, holy way of life.
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These are the primary, the most distinguishing signs of whether
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a Christian's faith is sincere, at least to those looking on.
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And this isn't just like Edward's opinion.
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He grounds it firmly in Christ's own teaching.
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You see it so. Clearly right Christ as a point
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blank you will know them by their fruits.
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That's Matthew 7. It's a foundational rule for how
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we recognize faith from the outside.
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It really cuts against just taking someone's word for it,
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doesn't it? It's less about the claim, I
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believe, and much more about, well, what does your life show?
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And Christ doesn't just state it, He gives that analogy, the
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one about the tree and its fruit, Luke 6, Matthew 12, He
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explains, you know a tree by its fruit, not its leaves, not its
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flowers. It's just it's illogical, he
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suggests, to think a good tree produces bad fruit, or a bad
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tree good fruit. So the fruit, the actions become
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the main diagnostic tool. It's how you tell one tree or
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one person's spiritual state from another.
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It's not just a nice picture. It really shows that organic
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link between who we are inside and what we, you know, produce
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outwardly. And here's what's really
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striking what Edwards draws out Christ doesn't tell us to look
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for other things that we might naturally gravitate towards.
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Like what specifically? Well, he doesn't say.
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You'll know them by their eloquent talk or by the amazing
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stories they tell about their experiences.
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He doesn't point to really emphatic statements or big
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emotional. Displays we're even just talking
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a lot about religious things, or crying easily or interestingly,
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even the positive feelings we might have towards them.
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That's a tricky 1. It is, but Christ draws a clear
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line. He steers us away from relying
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only on words or, you know, feelings that can come and go.
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Instead, think about Matthew 516.
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Let your light so shine before men, that others, seeing your
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good works, may glorify your Father.
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Seeing the works, not just hearing about them, that really
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challenges our tendency, I think, to trust a compelling
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stories, sometimes more than consistent, maybe less flashy
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conduct. And this focus on practice, on
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works, it gets strong reinforcement from the apostles
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too. Look at Paul in Hebrew six.
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He talks about people who had these initial illuminations,
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tasted the heavenly gift, but then fell away.
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But when Paul feels confident about the Christian Hebrews, he
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doesn't base it on, say, detailed accounts of their
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conversion narratives. No, he points to their work and
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labor of love, how they minister to other believers.
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Their actions were the proof. That makes sense.
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What about elsewhere? Well, Philippians 2 Paul holds
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up Timothy. Why?
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Because Timothy's service in the Gospel show he prioritized
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Christ's interests over his own game.
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He contrast Timothy with others who just seek their own.
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Timothy's actions demonstrated his heart.
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And John says something similar right in three John.
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Absolutely. He's joyful about Gaius, not
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because Gaius gave a great testimony, but because he was
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walking in the truth and showed charity, practical care for
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fellow believers and even strangers.
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He even gives that rule, doesn't he?
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He that does good is of God, but he that does evil has not seen
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God. It really puts actions front and
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Center for discerning where someone's life is sourced.
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And then you have James. He's maybe the most direct about
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it. James 2.18 Show me your faith
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without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
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He flat out says works are superior to just words as
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evidence of faith. He argues that even telling your
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story is still just showing faith by words, which he sees as
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well vastly short of showing it through deeds.
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Exactly. James isn't knocking faith
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itself, obviously. He's arguing against a faith
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that just stays in the realm of talk, of profession without
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practice. He's pushing us to see the
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tangible results of belief. And, you know, it's not just
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scripture, Edwards points out. That basic reason, just common
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sense, backs us up too well, The idea that men's deeds are better
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and more loyal interpretations of their minds than their words.
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Isn't that something we kind of intuitively know across
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cultures, across time? When you really want to know
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someone's intentions, you watch what they do consistently.
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That's a great point. Actions reveal character in a
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way words often can't. Edwards uses some everyday
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analogies. Think about friendship.
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OK. Someone's steady self giving
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actions in a friendship. That's much stronger proof of
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real friendship than, as Edwards puts it, 1000 earnest
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declarations. So apply that to Christ.
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Someone who actually exerts themselves, denies themselves
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for Christ's honor. That gives stronger evidence of
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love than someone who talks a big game about their love but,
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you know, avoids any difficult service or personal cost.
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Precisely if the person who shows up who acts, not just the
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one who talks about it. Or think about being detached
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from worldly things, Edwards suggests.
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Someone whose behavior shows they're ready to forsake worldly
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comforts for duty. Someone who freely gives for
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religious or charitable causes. That person gives more credible
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evidence of being weaned from the world than someone who just
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says they feel that way but is actually, you know, quite
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acquisitive or hates parting with money.
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The actions show the real priority.
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Right. And humility too.
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Walking humbly, being patient when things are tough, being
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meek with people. That's better evidence of
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genuine humility than someone telling you how unworthy they
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felt during some past experience.
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Especially, Edwards notes, if that same person then acts
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proudly or gets easily offended or can't handle disagreement,
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the actions betray the words. He's highlighting that clash
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between the professed Interstate and the actual outward behavior.
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And love for others, showing kindness, bearing burdens,
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sacrificing for people's well-being.
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That's more believable proof of love than just talking about
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loving feelings while acting selfishly or or being
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argumentative. You see, words are cheap.
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Strong feelings can easily produce words.
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It doesn't cost much to say you love God or others.
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But Christian practice living it out.
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That's, as Edward says, a costly, demanding thing.
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It requires self denial. Which makes it much harder for
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hypocrites to fake consistently. It's easier to talk like a St.
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than to act like 1. The path isn't defined by words,
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but by doing. This helps filter out
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superficial claims. Look where someone's resources,
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time, money, energy actually go. That tells you a lot.
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So let's define this visible Christian practice a bit more.
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What does this positive display of holiness actually look like?
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It's clearly more than just being, you know, a decent person
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or not committing obvious big sins, right?
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That doesn't make your light shine in the way Christ meant.
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Edwards isn't talking about just being polite or outwardly moral.
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It's something more distinctively spiritual.
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So what is it then? It needs, he says, a great
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positive appearance, appearance of holiness in men's visible
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behavior. Not perfection, obviously, but a
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consistent direction, a life that looks like a life of
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serving God, trying to follow Christ's example and gospel
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rules like in the Sermon on the Mount or Romans 12 across the
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board. So universal obedience is key.
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Manifesting love and fear of God.
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Fulfilling duties towards others, fellow Christians and
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enemies. Showing meekness, forgiveness,
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mercy, selflessness. Doing good for souls and bodies.
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Yes, all of that. And consistent personal conduct
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too. Things like temperance,
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mortification of sin, humble conversation, controlling the
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tongue or rather using it for God's glory and blessing others.
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And it's not just on Sundays. It's about walking as Christians
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in all places and at all seasons.
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In worship, yes, but also in families, among neighbors, in
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daily life, in business, in conversation towards everyone,
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friends, enemies, superiors, inferiors, equals.
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It's a holistic view. True faith shapes everything.
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They should appear earnestly engaged in the service of God
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and mankind, working at it, being constant, steadfast, even
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when facing difficulties or temptations.
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And showing a willingness to deny themselves, maybe even
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suffer for God, for Christ, for the faith, for the good of other
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believers. A readiness to let go of
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anything rather than compromise their loyalty to Christ, making
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His honor the priority. Exactly.
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It's doing good things. But from that specific Christ
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centered motive, their whole way of being might carry, as Edwards
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beautifully puts it, a sweet odor of Christian graces and
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heavenly dispositions. And when you see that kind of
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consistent, visible life, Edwards argues, it's vastly
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beyond the fairest and brightest story of particular steps and
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passages of experience that ever was told.
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The actions speak with a clarity and weight that even the most
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moving personal narrative can't quite match in terms of external
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evidence. OK, that makes a lot of sense
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about practice being the main visible sign.
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But that leads to another crucial point.
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You mentioned the need for a proper Christian profession,
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right? Practice assumes something else
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is already in place. That's right.
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While practice is the chief visible sign, it always
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presupposes an open declaration of being a Christian.
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Without that profession, the whole framework for judging
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fruits doesn't really apply in the same way.
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So the. Rules about judging fruits.
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They're given for professing Christians, people who identify
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as part of the Christian community.
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Yes, the rules are to help discern the truth of their
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claim. They aren't meant for judging,
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say, someone from a completely different faith background, or
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an atheist, or someone who explicitly denies Christianity
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based on whether their actions look good by some general
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standard. It's about assessing the
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sincerity of those who claim to be Christian.
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So if someone explicitly says I am not a Christian, then no
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matter how virtuous they might appear outwardly, we wouldn't
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apply these rules to somehow conclude they are a sincere
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Christian. Correct, Edwards uses the image.
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Fruits must be joined with open flowers.
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Bells and pomegranates go together.
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The outward life needs to be connected to an explicit
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profession of faith in Christ. So the profession is, as he
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says, requisite and necessary for the rule of judging by
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fruits to even make sense. Right.
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But, and this is key, it's not the main thing or the
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distinguishing part of the evidence itself.
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It's like, you know, having a physical body is necessary to be
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human, but it's not what distinguishes you as human among
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other creatures. The profession is the starting
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point, the claim being made. The visible fruit then validates
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that claim. OK, So what constitutes a proper
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Christian profession then? What needs to be declared?
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It has to declare all that is necessary to his being a
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Christian. Essentially, you need to profess
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the core elements, the very essence of Christianity.
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And what are those essentials, either stated outright or
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clearly implied? Well first, obviously belief in
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Christ and basic gospel doctrines, professing that Jesus
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is the Messiah, that he atoned for our sins and other
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foundational truths. That's non negotiable.
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Makes sense? What else?
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Repentance A clear declaration of turning from sin.
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This includes acknowledging your own sinfulness.
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Understand you justly deserve God's wrath, renouncing sin,
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being humbled by it, and recognizing God's justice even
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if you were condemned. Think of the baptism of
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repentance in the Gospels, people confessing their sins.
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So a real turning away from the old.
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Life, yes, and then embracing Christ as Savior, A wholehearted
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acceptance of Him as your only Savior, relying on Him, joyfully
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receiving the gospel message, depending on His righteousness
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and strength, rejoicing in Him alone is your hope and portion.
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Like Isaiah, prophecies are those who gladly received the
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Word and Acts. It's a complete reliance on
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Christ, not yourself. Absolutely, and it also involves
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love for Christ and renouncing worldliness, declaring love for
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Christ above everything else, and a willingness to forsake all
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for his sake, letting go of worldly attachments, being
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willing to sell all for the treasure of knowing Him.
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It's a fundamental shift in values.
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What about commitment to God? Crucial professing to give
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yourself up entirely forever to Christ and to God through Him,
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submitting to Him as King, giving Him your heart, your
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whole being. A resolved willingness to obey
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all God's commands, even the hard self denying ones.
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Dedicating your whole life to His service.
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Like those covenant declarations in the Old Testament, A total
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allegiance. Exactly showing your whole heart
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and soul are in these engagements.
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And finally, love for others, manifesting forgiveness towards
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those who've hurt you, a general goodwill to mankind and a heart
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united to Christ's people, loving them as brothers and
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sisters, wanting to worship and serve God alongside them.
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So professing these things signifies that the person is, or
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at least believes they are, experiencing these things
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inwardly. Yes, that they are conscious to
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or do experience such things in their hearts.
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Now how they profess matters too.
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How so? It needs to be done first
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understandingly. The person has to seem
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sufficiently instructed in basic Christian principles to actually
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grasp what they're saying. Words are meaningless if the
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speaker doesn't comprehend them. So no, just rattling off creedal
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statements without understanding, right?
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And second, honestly, there needs to be good reason to
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believe the person is genuinely expressing what's in their
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heart, not just, you know, going through the motions of a
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customary form or using ambiguous language and.
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Edward says the best evidence of that honesty is.
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A practice that agrees with the profession.
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It always comes back to that the life validates the words.
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Now, what about what's not necessary for a valid
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profession? This seems important, especially
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given some church traditions. It is really important, Edward
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stresses. It's not necessary for someone
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to give a detailed account of the particular steps and method
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by which the Holy Spirit worked in their hearts to bring about
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these essential things, especially not in a way that
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was, you know, consciously perceived step by step by them
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at the time. So you don't.
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You don't need to be able to recount a specific dateable
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conversion experience with all the psychological stages mapped
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out. Exactly.
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He says Scripture shows no footstep of the apostles or
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early church leaders requiring such detailed narratives for
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acceptance into fellowship. They required a profession of
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the things wrought, the faith, the repentance, the love, but no
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account of the manner of working.
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That's a significant distinction.
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It is, while sharing specific experiences can sometimes be
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helpful, maybe especially in significant cases like
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ordination, making it a requirement for accepting
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someone as a genuine Christian or ignoring the weightier
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evidence of practice that Edwards argues is unscriptural.
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So a clear story of conversion might add luster, as he puts it,
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but it's not the main or essential proof.
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Precisely the focus should remain on the professed faith
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and the lived out practice. OK, this helps clarify the role
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of profession versus practice when looking at others.
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But what about assurance for ourselves?
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How does practice function there?
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This is where it gets really personal for your own
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conscience, Edwards argues. Christian practice provides a
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direct, immediate, internal witness to the genuineness of
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your godliness. It's based on the internal acts
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and exertions of your soul that direct your outward behavior.
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So it's not just about observing my own outward actions like
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someone else would. Not solely, no.
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It's about the awareness behind those actions.
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Scripture points to this too. Think of first John 2.3.
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Hereby we do know that we know Him if we keep His commandments.
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That knowing comes from the doing, which stems from an inner
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commitment. And that often refers to the
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command to love one another, which starts in the heart,
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right? Yes, it's an act of the mind,
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the heart carried out in practice or first.
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John 3.1819 Let us not love in Word, neither in tongue, but in
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deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are
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of the truth and shall assure our hearts assurance comes from
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loving indeed in truth. Paul in Hebrews 6/2.
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He saw the Hebrews work and labor of love not just as
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evidence to him, but as something that gave them
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assurance, the full assurance of hope.
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Right, and Galatians 6.4 Let every man prove his own work, so
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shall he have rejoicing in himself.
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That in turn, rejoicing comes from examining your own work,
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your practice. Psalm 119.6 also connects having
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respect to God's commands with not being ashamed, implying
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boldness and assurance. Even Christ's teaching in
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Matthew 7, distinguishing the wise man who does his sayings
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from the foolish man who only hears them, that seems like a
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rule for self judgment too. Practice leads to steadfastness
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assurance. And importantly, those sayings
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include inward things being poor in spirit, pure in heart, loving
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enemies. The outward action is rooted in
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an inner disposition that Edwards believes we can be
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conscious of. John 14.21 as well.
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He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, He it is that
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loveth me. The keeping flows from loving.
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And passages like Revelation 2.23 or Jeremiah 17.9 to 10,
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where God searches hearts to render according to works.
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That implies works include the inner disposition, the heart
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attitude, not just the external notion.
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Otherwise, why search the heart? Hezekiah also pleads based on
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walking in truth and with a perfect heart.
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So when Scripture talks about good works or keeping commands
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as evidence for our own conscience, it's more than just
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the physical movements. Much more without the internal
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elements, the intention, the will, the motive rooted in
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grace. Outward actions are, Edward says
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colorfully, no more good works than the regular motions of a
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clock. They aren't truly your spiritual
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actions. So what is it then?
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What's the core? It's the obedience and fruit of
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the man, which means the obedience of the soul, the acts
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and practice of the soul. It's the practical exercise, the
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exertion of inward holiness that occurs in an obedient act.
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It's Grace working through the commanding acts of the will that
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direct the outward action. OK, so Edwards makes the
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distinction here, right between different kinds of grace acting
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in the soul. Yes, he talks about, on one
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hand, imminent acts. These are exercises of grace
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that sort of begin and end within the soul.
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Think contemplation, maybe a feeling of love that doesn't
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immediately translate into an outward deed.
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It's real, but it stays internal at that moment.
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That feeling of warmth or conviction that just sits there
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for a bit. Kind of, yeah.
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It doesn't directly relate to something to be done externally
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right then. These, he says, are distinct
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from practice as the key sign for assurance.
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So what's the other kind? The kind that is the key sign.
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Those are the practical or effective exercises of grace.
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These do immediately respect something to be done.
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They are the producing acts where grace manifests in
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obedience. It's the exertions of grace in
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the commanding acts of the will directing the outward actions.
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Can you give an example? Sure, think of a believer giving
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a cup of cold water out of genuine charity flowing from
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grace, or someone willingly enduring persecution because of
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their supreme love for Christ. The act of the will motivated by
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grace commanding the body. That is the practice of the
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soul. So the decision of the will
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driven by grace is the action as far as our inner self is
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concerned. It includes the aim, the
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intention, the respect for God in that moment.
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Exactly. God looks on the heart.
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That inward grace driven decision is the spiritual core.
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And this practice of the soul, this inner exertion, is
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something thing we can be directly aware of, more so than
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even the outward action itself. That's Edward's point.
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While others see the outward motion, your own conscience has
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a direct view of the exertion of the soul which directs and
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commands that motion. You are immediately aware of
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your own intention, the choice your will is making in a way no
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one else can be as a primary internal witness.
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But there has to be consistency right between the inner command
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and the outer action. Absolutely, he says.
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It would be ridiculous for someone to claim their will was
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commanding them to go to worship while their feet were carrying
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them to a Tavern. Nature itself links the command
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of the will, involuntary actions to the body's movement.
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So you can't really separate them.
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This connection effectively refutes anyone trying to claim
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inner godliness while living an outwardly wicked life.
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Precisely. It effectually cuts off all
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pretensions to evidence of godliness.
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If the external life is consistently contrary.
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The practice of the soul and the actions it commands are united,
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providing a basis for true self assurance or exposing self
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deception. OK, that leads us to the last
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part, some key distinctions and the limits of all this.
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We need to understand how the evidence works differently for
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others versus ourselves, and accept that external judgments
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aren't foolproof. Right.
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So comparing external versus internal evidence, evidence to
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others mainly relies on what is visible to them.
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Outward actions, behavior. That's all they have direct
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access to. But evidence to your own
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conscience focuses on that in our practice which is visible to
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our own consciences, that inner exertion of the soul, the
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commanding act of the will. You see that directly?
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Yes, it's like watching a car versus driving it.
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The driver has immediate awareness of the intention and
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control. Yet these two aspects, inner and
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outer, are linked, right? They aren't totally separate
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things. Not at all.
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Outward actions in a believer are connected to that practical
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exertion of grace in the will. A claim of inner godliness is
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contradicted by a life of outward wickedness because the
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will and the body's actions are normally united by, as Edwards
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puts it, an unalterable law of nature, involuntary acts.
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So what about the limits when we're judging others?
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Can we ever be absolutely certain about someone else's
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state based on their actions? Edward says no.
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Well, Christian practice is the best evidence that mankind can
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have externally. No external manifestations and
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outward appearances whatsoever are infallible evidences of
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grace to others. Absolute certainty is impossible
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for us observing from the outside.
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Why not? What are the limitations?
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Well, pretty obviously we see not his heart.
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We don't know the inner motives perfectly.
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Second, we don't see all of a person's external behavior much
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as private. And 3rd, it's impossible
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certainly to determine how far a man may go in imitating grace
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from other principles, maybe fear or desire for reputation or
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even self deception. We just don't have the full
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picture. But Despite that lack of
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absolute certainty, these visible signs are sufficient for
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practical purposes for guiding our conduct in the Church and
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the world. Yes, they are enough to guide us
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in how we treat fellow professors, to embrace
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professors as Saints for fellowship and ministry in this
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life. We act based on the best
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evidence available, making charitable judgments based on
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profession and practice. And finally, while we can't have
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infallible certainty about others, Edward suggests that our
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own conscience, viewing the practice of the soul, can
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potentially reach a sure assurance.
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That's the powerful implication, he says.
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If others could see so much of what belongs to men's practice
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as their own consciences may see of it, it might be an infallible
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evidence of their state. That internal view, grasping the
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conscious, grace driven choices of the will, directing our
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actions that can provide a solid, reliable witness to
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ourselves about our true spiritual standing.
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It's an assurance grounded in the reality of grace, actively
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working through our will and actions.
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So wrapping this up for today, we've seen how Edwards argues
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that Christian practice, our visible deeds flowing from the
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inner workings of our will prompted by grace, really is the
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chief sign of genuine faith. And that this evidence looks a
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bit different from the outside looking in, compared to the
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direct view our own conscience has.
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And all of this, of course, presupposes a clear
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understanding and honest profession of faith in Christ.
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It leaves us with something to really think about if our
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practice stemming from that interactivity of the soul, can
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offer us a sure witness of grace.
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Well, what does that mean for how you live each moment?
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How might a constant awareness of this practice of the soul,
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the choices your will makes, the intentions behind your actions,
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how might that shape your walk of faith, even in the most
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private times, knowing that God, as we've said, looks directly on
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the heart?