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The Nature and Necessity of Good Works (Ephesians 2:10) | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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You break your arm, the X-ray shows that jagged white line,
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and the doctor just points at the screen and says there it is.
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Right. It's undeniable.
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Yeah, the diagnosis is clean, It's binary, it's visually
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verifiable. We build our entire physical
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reality around this kind of observable data.
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We do. We love measurable metrics.
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We do. But when you step into the world
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of human morality, to the architecture of our intentions
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and the evaluation of our deeds, that X-ray machine just, well,
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it breaks down completely. It shatters, yeah.
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Welcome to Reform Thinking for today's Deep dive.
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Today we are opening up an 18th century diagnostic manual for
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the human soul. And it is a strict manual.
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It really is. We are looking at Jonathan
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Edwards text The Nature and Necessity of Good Works, which
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anchors itself on a single sentence from Ephesians 2 point
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den right? The premise sounds incredibly
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straightforward on a Sunday morning.
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Those who belong to God are his workmanship created in Christ
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Jesus to do good works. You are made new, so you know
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you do good things. It sounds straightforward until
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you apply the magnifying glass Edwards brings to the text.
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Right, because we naturally prefer observable metrics.
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We want to be able to point to a donated check or a completed
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volunteer shift or a polite interaction and just tally it on
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a moral scorecard. And Edwards refuses to let us do
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that. He totally dismantles the
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outward metric entirely and forces a standard that is so
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rigorously detailed it completely reorients the
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definition of a seemingly basic term.
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Yeah, if you are listening to this, you have likely paused at
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some point in your life and wondered if your actions
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actually count. Oh for sure, you help a neighbor
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carry groceries. You bite your tongue when a Co
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worker is being unreasonable and you walk away feeling a sense of
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like moral accomplishment. Our mission today is to evaluate
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that feeling against Edwards criteria.
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And I will warn you up front, by the time we finish walking
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through this framework, it might completely rewire how you view
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your morning commute. Oh.
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Absolutely. How you process your e-mail
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inbox. How you evaluate your own
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internal monologues. Yeah, Edwards operates like a
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spiritual surgeon here. Before he even approaches the
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theological debate of why an action is necessary, he insists
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on defining what the action actually is.
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And he starts entirely from the inside out.
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Right out of the gate, he draws a very sharp boundary between
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habits of grace and acts of grace.
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OK, let's unpack that. So a habit of grace is the
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underlying disposition. It's the dormant capacity within
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a person. But an act of grace is the
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actual exertion. Like the difference between
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knowing how to play the piano and actually hitting the keys.
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Spot on. And here is where he splits the
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atom. He divides those acts of grace
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into two distinct categories, inward and outward.
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And our modern sensibilities are almost exclusively obsessed with
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the outward right. We demand visible proof.
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We do, but Edwards argues that inward acts, so the fear and
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reverence of the Almighty, the genuine love of God, the sincere
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love of your neighbor are properly and fully considered
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works, even if they never manifest in a single physical
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motion. OK, I follow the logic, but
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elevating the mind completely over the physical action feels,
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I don't know, a bit dangerous? Well, doesn't that risk creating
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a culture of people who just sit in rooms feeling holy while the
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world burns? I mean, if my body is not
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moving, if I am not physically intervening to help my neighbor,
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how can Edwards categorize a silent internal affection as an
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actual work? I get that pushback, but he
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views the soul as the principal worker in man.
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The principal work. Right.
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He writes that the mind of man may as properly be said to work
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as the body. The outward acts.
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You know the visible motions of our hands, the words we speak,
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the physical resources we distribute.
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They are defined simply as the visible exertments and actual
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discoveries of those inward graces.
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So they're just the peripheral manifestations of the central
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command. Exactly.
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I mean absolutely. If you strip away the inward
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act, the outward motion has no moral substance whatsoever in
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the Gospel sense. OK, let's think about this
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mechanistically to help you visualize it.
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Yeah, let's look at a computer network.
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The printer is the outward act. It prints a beautiful, flawless
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document that everyone can read and appreciate.
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But the operating system, the inward grace, is what generates
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the content. Yeah, the code underneath.
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Right. If the operating system is
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compromised with malware, say selfish ambition or desire to
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look superior, the network is fundamentally insecure.
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The print a page looks great to the casual user, but the System
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Administrator sees the corrupt code running underneath.
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Totally. I mean, a robot can be
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programmed to hand a sandwich to a hungry person.
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The physical action is identical to a human doing it, but the
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robot cannot perform an inward act of grace.
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So the action has 0 moral value. That analogy tracks perfectly
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with his theology. The physical action takes its
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entire denomination, its actual name and value, from the state
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of the mind and the soul. Wow.
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Yeah, if the mind is not engaged in reverence, love and
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obedience, then whatever the body is doing is utterly
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disconnected from true goodness. Which brings a massive weight to
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our internal lives. Your thought life, your private
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reverence, your silent love for a difficult neighbor.
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These are not just precursors to works.
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No, they are the works themselves, occurring within the
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principal work or the soul. So we cannot rely on the visible
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exertion to prove our own goodness.
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Not at all. Which brings us to the first
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major hurdle Edwards places in front of us.
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If true, works start internally in the operating system.
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Then the person performing the action has to meet some
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incredibly strict qualifications before the action even begins.
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Yes, he introduces the prerequisites of the person and
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the proxy. Break that down for us.
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Identity must precede action. OK.
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He states categorically that a good work in the Gospel sense
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requires the person doing it to be good and reconciled to God.
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You cannot perform an acceptable action if your fundamental
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standing before the Creator is 1 of rebellion or alienation.
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Right, and he illustrates this using Genesis 4.4, the narrative
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of Cain and Abel. God had respect first unto Abel,
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and then to his offering. The order of operations is the
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entire point. There.
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The sacrificer must be accepted before the sacrifice is
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received. You do not offer a sacrifice to
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buy your way into acceptance. Absolutely not.
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You must be accepted on a completely different basis, and
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because you are accepted, your sacrifice is viewed with favor.
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Edwards insists that both the person and the works are only
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considered good because of the righteousness of Christ.
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He brings in a quote from the devout Mr. Herbert, noting that
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an action is a good work if it be sprinkled with the blood of
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Christ. Sprinkled with the blood of
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Christ. Yeah, it must be done by the
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assistance of the Holy Spirit, and critically, it must be done
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in faith. He points to Hebrews 11.6 which
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states that without faith it is impossible to please God.
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OK, let's test that limit because this is where a modern
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listeners that throw their hands.
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Up. I know where you're going with
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this. Let's look at a very practical
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real world scenario. Let's say there is a
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billionaire. OK.
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This individual has 0 faith, is openly hostile to the gospel,
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and is decisively not reconciled to God.
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But this billionaire writes $100 million check to build a
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state-of-the-art pediatric oncology wing.
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A massive philanthropic act. Right.
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And it cures thousands of children over the next decade.
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Are you telling me Jonathan Edwards evaluates that scenario
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and concludes it is not a good work?
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Because frankly, to a parent of one of those cured children,
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Edwards theological purity test seems pretty callous.
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It does. It really does on the surface.
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But this requires us to hold 2 distinct categories of goodness
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in our minds simultaneously. OK, what are they?
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We must differentiate between what theologians often call
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civic goodness or general moral good and evangelical goodness in
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the strict Gospel sense. Edwards is specifically defining
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the parameters of actions that are conformable to the revealed
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rule of the Gospel and necessary in the context of eternal
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salvation. But isn't curing cancer an
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objective good? Regardless of the internal
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motive, the children are alive. The outcome is undeniably
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positive. Yeah, of course.
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You are saying God looks at a cured child and says the action
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is unacceptable just because the billionaire didn't have the
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right theological disposition. God absolutely desires the
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flourishing of society, and the preservation of life is a
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massive civic good. Edwards would never argue that
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the hospital shouldn't be built or that society doesn't benefit
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immensely from the outward moral actions of people, regardless of
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their spiritual state. The common grace of God operates
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through these actions to keep the world from collapsing into
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total misery. OK, so common grace is at work
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there. Yes.
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However, we are evaluating the action from the perspective of
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the actor standing before a holy God.
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Does this $100 million donation proceed from a soul that loves
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the Creator? In our scenario, no.
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Does it flow from a reliance on the Holy Spirit?
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Does it acknowledge the righteousness of Christ?
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If a person is fundamentally alienated from God, the source
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of all true eternal goodness, then their actions, no matter
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how spectacular the societal benefit, lack the root of
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evangelical goodness. So from a human horizontal
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perspective, the action is magnificent.
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We applaud the billionaire, we name the wing after them, and
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society is genuinely better off. But on the vertical axis, the
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relationship between the creature and the creator, the
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action fails the diagnostic test, The sacrificer has not
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been accepted. So the sacrifice, even if it's
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$100 million, falls short of the divine standard.
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Precisely if we blur these categories, we end up with a
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theology where immense wealth or spectacular philanthropy can
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essentially purchase divine favor.
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Oh wow, yeah. It suggests we can dictate terms
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to God based on our horizontal civic achievements while
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remaining vertically hostile to Him.
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Edwards shuts that door completely.
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True evangelical goodness requires A reconciled identity.
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That distinction clarifies so much it strips away the illusion
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that we can balance the scales with big, flashy outward
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gestures while our internal operating system is in total
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rebellion. It really does.
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But Edwards doesn't stop there. Once he establishes that the
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person standing must be rooted in Christ and faith, he shifts
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to the specific mechanics of how the action must be executed.
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Because even if you meet the prerequisite of being reconciled
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to God, you can still execute an action incorrectly.
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Oh, absolutely. And this is where the diagnostic
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criteria become agonizingly precise.
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Break it down for us. He breaks the mechanics of
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goodness down into rules, means, and principles.
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Let's look at lawful means first.
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Edwards explicitly states that acts of justice and honesty must
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be achieved through ways that are themselves lawful and good.
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You cannot bypass righteous methods to reach a righteous
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outcome. His specific example is
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jarringly practical. He says I must not steal that I
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may be charitable to the poor, right?
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You cannot utilize unjust means to fund a supposedly just
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enterprise. Robin Hood theology fails the
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test. It demands total systemic
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integrity. If the method is corrupt, the
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resulting action is disqualified as a good work, regardless of
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who benefits in the end. Think about the broken window
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fallacy. Oh yeah, that's a good way to
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look. At it.
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You cannot fix a shattered window in your own house by
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walking across the street, throwing a rock through your
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neighbor's window and stealing their glass.
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You might end up with a fully repaired, beautiful window on
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your property. The physical outcome looks
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great. But the means you use to acquire
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the materials entirely corrupt the end result, right?
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You have manufactured destruction and committed theft
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to achieve your so-called good work.
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And Edwards points out a corollary to this that is
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staggering when you apply it to historical or current events.
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What's that? You cannot promote God's cause
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using the devil's weapons. He specifically calls out
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rebellion and persecution as the devil's weapons.
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Yes, if we audit human history or even contemporary religious
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discourse, how frequently do we witness individuals justifying
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absolute cruelty, vitriol, and malice because they are
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convinced they are defending A righteous cause?
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All the time they believe the holiness of their objective
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sanitizes the toxicity of their methods.
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Like I am defending truth, therefore I am allowed to be
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vicious to my opponents. Edwards annihilates that
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justification if it is truly God's 'cause it must be advanced
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strictly with God's weapons. Lawful, just and holy means are
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non negotiable. Furthermore, the action must be
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adjusted to a right rule. It has to align with God's
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revealed commandments in Scripture, not our own creative
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human inventions. So we do not have the authority
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to invent novel standards of morality, label them good, and
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demand that the Creator endorse them.
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No, we don't. OK, so we have the right means,
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the right rule, and then he moves to the right principles.
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This is the most intricate piece of his mechanics, he insists.
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Every acceptable action must integrate the head, the will and
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the heart. All three must be firing in
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unison. Let's dissect how he views the
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head. He requires sufficient
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knowledge. He argues that religion must not
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be blind and reason must carry the light before all our
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actions. Edwards is a ferocious opponent
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of anti intellectualism in the realm of faith.
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So you cannot just blindly follow a charismatic leader,
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perform an action without understanding it and claim it as
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a good work. Ignorant compliance is not a
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virtue. You must know what your duty is,
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and you must cognitively grasp why it is your duty based on the
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revealed rule. The understanding has to
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illuminate the mind before the will can even attempt to make a
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valid choice. Which moves the process to the
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will. The action must be voluntary.
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It has to be a free, uncoerced choice.
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If you are forced into compliance by external pressure,
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or if you perform the duty purely out of a slavish,
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unwilling dread, it does not register as a good work.
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No, it must be a matter of active consultation and
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deliberate choice. And if the head understands and
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the will chooses freely, we arrive at the heart, or what
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Edwards categorizes as the affections.
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And this is where the diagnostic test becomes incredibly severe.
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The internal emotional architecture must be completely
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aligned with the outward action. He lists a specific set of
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affections that must be present. I want to spend time looking at
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this checklist because it is brutal when applied to daily
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life. First, he demands integrity of
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heart, singleness of heart. Second, an entire love of God.
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Third, an entire love of goodness itself for its own
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sake. 4th A fear of God, comparing it to Joseph fleeing
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from right. 5th Humility, which he defines as beginning to work
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with a mean or lowly opinion of oneself.
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And finally, alacrity, joy, cheerfulness, and zeal.
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The psychological weight of this list is staggering when applied
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to modern life. Take the requirement of loving
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goodness for its own sake. Intrinsic versus extrinsic
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motivation. Totally.
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If you do a good deed primarily because you want the tax write
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off or because you want your neighbors to think highly of
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you, your motivation is extrinsic.
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You love the byproduct of the goodness, not the goodness
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itself. Wow.
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Edwards requires that the soul love the actual moral purity of
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the ACT, independent of any secondary benefits it might
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yield. And the humility requirement
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acts as a massive filter too. Yeah, you must perform the
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action with a low opinion of yourself, which is.
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So countercultural. It really is.
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Imagine completing a really difficult sacrificial task for
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someone in your community. The natural human response is to
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feel a surge of pride, a sense of moral superiority.
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Like, look at what I sacrificed. I am a remarkably generous
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person. Edwards suggests that the moment
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you become puffed up and enamored with your own moral
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performance, you have failed the affection test.
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The operating system just crashed due to a pride
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malfunction. And the alacrity requirement
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might be the most difficult of all.
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Alacrity, joy and zeal. You must undertake the work with
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gladness and a fervency of spirit.
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This is the cognitive dissonance of doing something good while
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complaining about it. Oh, we've all been there.
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Right. You get a call at 10:00 PM that
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a friend is stranded on the highway.
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You get in your car to go pick them up.
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Outwardly, the action is fantastic.
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You're rescuing a friend. But inwardly you're gripping the
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steering wheel, muttering under your breath about how
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irresponsible they are, how tired you are, and how much you
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resent having to do this. You do it, but you do it
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begrudgingly according to this framework that completely
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invalidates the action. The head knew the right thing to
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do, the will made the choice to do it, But the heart rebelled.
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The joy and alacrity were missing.
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The three cylinders were not firing simultaneously, so the
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action falls short of evangelical goodness.
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He is cutting past the muscle and bone, right down to the
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marrow of human motivation. He really is.
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Which creates the perfect logical bridge to his next major
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diagnostic category, the target. Even if your head, will, and
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heart are completely aligned in the moment of the action, the
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entire endeavor can still be fundamentally corrupt if we zoom
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out and look at where the arrow is pointing.
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Yes, and words distinguishes carefully between principles
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which we just outlined as the fountain the action flows from
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and ends. The ends are the ultimate goal
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the action tends toward. He identifies 3 right ends for
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any acceptable work, our own salvation, the good of others,
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and God's glory. And he is careful to note that
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the first two must be entirely subordinate to the third, right?
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The ultimate target must always be the glory of God.
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To illustrate what happens when the target is misaligned, he
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points to the ultimate historical cautionary tale, the
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Pharisees. He notes that mechanically they
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were doing all the correct outward actions.
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They gave alms to the poor. They prayed consistently.
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They fasted rigorously. If you only evaluated the
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visible exertion, they were flawless.
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But their target was completely skewed.
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They sounded a trumpet before they gave alms specifically to
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have the glory of men. Literally blowing a trumpet.
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Yeah, and they strategically preyed on street corners to
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maximize the visibility. They disfigured their faces when
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fasting so the crowds would recognize their intense
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religious devotion. The goal?
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The final target of all outward discipline with self applause,
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public reputation, and Vainglory, Edwards concludes
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that this wrong end made all their religious duties
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positively sinful. A wrong goal entirely poisons a
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mechanically perfect action. This forces a terrifying ego
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audit for the modern listener, especially in an era of constant
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digital visibility. Oh, the digital age makes this
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so much harder. It does if you perform an act of
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charity or participate in a volunteer event and your very
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first instinct is to take a photo and post it online to
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ensure your network sees how virtuous you are.
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Are you instantly adopting the Pharisee framework?
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It's a tough question. How do we evaluate our own
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hearts when the desire for a little bit of recognition is so
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deeply ingrained in our psychology?
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It is the defining struggle of our generation.
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We have built entire communication platforms around
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the gamification of public approval.
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Likes, retweets, shares. All of it.
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Edwards would likely advise a very specific internal audit,
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focusing on our reaction when the applause is withheld.
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Let's call it the frustration test.
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The. Frustration test?
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OK, how does that work mechanistically?
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Imagine you perform a significant sacrificial good
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work and absolute secrecy. No one ever finds out you
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receive 0 credit. No likes, no public
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acknowledgement, no quiet praise from a peer.
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Assess your internal reaction to that silence.
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Does it frustrate you? Do you feel a lingering sense of
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resentment, as if the effort was somehow wasted or less valuable
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because it went unnoticed? That stings.
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If that frustration is present, it strongly indicates that your
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primary end was the applause of men.
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You were seeking the dopamine hit of extrinsic validation,
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right? However, if you are genuinely
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content and joyful in the total secrecy, satisfied with the
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knowledge that God sees the action and is glorified by it,
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then your target is properly aligned.
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The frustration test, if you are mad, no unnoticed, you did it
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for your own glory. That cuts right through all our
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polite self deception. It removes all the padding.
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So, to summarize the diagnostic manual so far, the person must
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be reconciled to God. The means must be lawful and
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just, the principles must fully engage in enlightened head, a
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free will, and a joyful heart, and the ultimate target must be
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God's glory rather than human applause.
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It is a massive, exhausting checklist.
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It is the natural question that arises is why are we obligated
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to do all of this? What is the underlying driving
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force that demands this level of precision?
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Edwards answers this by zooming out to a cosmic pre temporal
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scale. He points back to the baseline
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text. Ephesians 2.9.
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Created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
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Yes, this requirement is the very design of the spiritual
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creation. It is the specific purpose of
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heaven in regenerating a human soul.
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We were created anew with the explicit design that we should
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walk in these ways of holiness. It is the end goal of Christ's
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undertakings. He redeemed a peculiar people to
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be zealous of good works, right? But the philosophical concept
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that really forces you to pause is when Edwards writes that
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these specific good works were ordained by the Blessed Trinity
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and their eternal consults before man was made.
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The eternal consults of the Trinity.
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That phrase carries A staggering amount of theological gravity.
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It really does. He's arguing that before the
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physical universe was spoken into existence, before the
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concept of time even began, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
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held counsel and decreed that you specifically should walk in
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these specific, detailed good works.
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Think about how that alters the geometry of a Tuesday.
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Afternoon. Oh yeah.
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If you view a mundane moment, say, choosing to show patience
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to a profoundly difficult Co worker, or executing a quiet act
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of generosity, not just as a random isolated choice, but as
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the execution of an action that was decreed and anticipated
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before the foundation of the world by the Divine Council, it
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changes everything. It changes the fundamental
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dignity of everyday life. You aren't just passing time or
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managing interpersonal conflict. You are executing the eternal
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decrees of heaven in real time. It infuses the most microscopic,
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unglamorous moments of our lives with transcendent divine
22:13
purpose. He adds that walking in these
22:15
works is the revealed will of God.
22:17
It aligns us with the historical continuum of the Saints, and it
22:21
acts as the grand, undeniable evidence of our inward grace.
22:25
It is the necessary ornament of the Christian profession.
22:28
This brings us to what I consider the most doctrinally
22:31
tense and logically delicate portion of Edward's entire text.
22:35
We have to look at the relationship between these
22:37
rigorous good works and eternal salvation, because Edwards walks
22:41
a razor thin line here that makes a lot of people very
22:44
uncomfortable. He states plainly, without
22:46
hedging, good works are necessary to salvation.
22:49
Which immediately triggers alarm bells for anyone rooted in
22:52
Reformation theology. The immediate push back is wait,
22:56
are we earning our salvation? Are we operating under a
22:59
transactional system? Edwards anticipates that exact
23:02
pushback and immediately qualifies his statement with
23:05
extreme precision. How does he qualify?
23:07
It he clarifies that these works are not conditions of God's
23:10
election. Predestination to life and glory
23:12
is the result of free, unmerited grace alone.
23:15
It occurs without any consideration of foreseen works.
23:18
So God doesn't look into the future to see if we'll be good.
23:21
Absolutely not. God does not peer down the
23:24
quarter of time, observe that a person will eventually do good
23:27
things, and base his election on that observation.
23:31
God chooses freely, and as an unavoidable consequence of that
23:35
sovereign choice, He decrees that the chosen individual shall
23:38
believe and do good works. So they do not succeed in the
23:42
place of perfect obedience to the law.
23:45
We are not reverting to a covenant of works where we clock
23:48
our moral hours and demand a salvation paycheck from the
23:51
universe. Agreed, Edwards says they are
23:54
necessary by way of qualification.
23:56
This distinction between merit and qualification is the
23:59
linchpin of his argument. Qualification versus merit.
24:02
Yes, he writes that no unclean thing shall enter into heaven.
24:06
Graces and good works fit us for that place and state.
24:10
They dispose us for glory. We are literally not capable of
24:13
experiencing happiness in that specific environment without
24:15
holiness. Let's build a mechanistic
24:17
analogy to separate this idea of qualification from merit,
24:20
because saying works are necessary to salvation still
24:23
sounds dangerously close to earning it for many listeners.
24:26
Let's do it. Think of a deep sea diver
24:28
preparing to descend into the Marianas Trench.
24:30
OK, the deep ocean is an environment with absolute lethal
24:35
demands regarding pressure and oxygen.
24:38
A human being cannot survive in that environment without a
24:42
highly specialized pressurized suit and an independent oxygen
24:46
supply. That is a highly effective way
24:48
to visualize it. Putting on that pressurized suit
24:51
does not earn you the right to the ocean.
24:53
The ocean doesn't owe you a safe passage just because you managed
24:56
to zip up the suit. You haven't purchased the
24:58
trench, but the suit qualifies you to exist within that
25:01
specific environment. Without it, environment itself
25:04
would crush you. It would be entirely lethal.
25:06
The environment of heaven is the immediate, unshielded,
25:09
unfiltered presence of a perfectly holy God.
25:13
To enter that specific environment without being
25:15
fundamentally holy, without possessing an internal nature
25:19
that intrinsically loves goodness and naturally produces
25:22
good works, would not be an experience of paradise.
25:25
It would be terrified. It would be an experience of
25:27
absolute agony. It would be the unprotected
25:28
diver hitting the trench floor. So God, operating entirely by
25:32
His free grace, saves a person and instantly initiates the
25:36
process of sanctification, building the suit.
25:38
Building the suit, he begins producing these good works
25:41
within them, specifically to qualify and fit them for the
25:44
atmospheric demands of heaven. As Edwards brilliantly
25:47
summarizes, we cannot be saved by them, but we cannot be saved
25:51
without them. But how does this framework
25:54
handle the extreme edge cases? What about the thief on the
25:58
cross? The deathbed conversion.
26:00
Right. Or an individual who experiences
26:03
A genuine conversion at the very last hour of their life, lying
26:06
in a hospital bed. They literally do not have the
26:09
time or physical capacity to go out, build hospitals, show
26:13
lawful means, or demonstrate outward alacrity.
26:16
Do they lack this necessary qualification?
26:18
Are they crushed by the environment?
26:20
Edwards addresses this edge case directly, and his answer ties
26:24
beautifully back to his very first argument regarding the
26:26
inside out reality of goodness. The principal worker.
26:29
Exactly. I mean spot on.
26:31
Even those converted at the final hour do perform good works
26:34
inwardly. Remember, the soul is the
26:36
principal worker. They exhibit A hearty confession
26:38
of their sin, an entire hatred of it, sincere prayers, hope,
26:42
deep trust in God, a desperate desire for grace, and an
26:45
unfeigned love. So the operating system is fully
26:48
rewritten and functioning even if the printer is out of paper
26:51
and can't produce a visible document.
26:53
That is the perfect way to phrase it.
26:55
Those internal affections are fully recognized as good works
26:58
performed by the soul. They are completely qualified
27:01
for the environment of heaven because the internal disposition
27:04
of holiness is actively present and functioning.
27:07
That brings the internal and external argument full circle.
27:10
But for those of us who are not on our deathbeds, who do have
27:13
time and physical capacity, Edwards demands we recognize the
27:17
external impact of our actions. We transition from the personal
27:21
necessity of qualification to the massive sociological ripple
27:25
effect our actions have on the surrounding community.
27:27
He focuses heavily on the communal responsibility of the
27:30
believer. He argues that good works
27:33
glorify God externally. He quotes Matthew 516 Let your
27:38
light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
27:42
and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.
27:44
Right. The light of our works
27:46
originates from God, and it functions as a mirror reflecting
27:49
that exact light back to its source for public witness.
27:52
He takes a very pragmatic, almost sociological view of how
27:56
this functions in the real world.
27:58
He says our good works actively stop the mouths of the wicked.
28:02
They remove the occasions for critics to speak evil against
28:05
the Church. When individuals who loudly
28:08
claim the name of Christ operate with visible corruption,
28:10
corporate greed, or interpersonal malice, it
28:13
provides an endless supply of ammunition for critics.
28:16
It totally does. The watching world looks at the
28:19
hypocrisy and assumes the underlying theology is equally
28:22
bankrupt. But a community characterized by
28:24
genuine, inward flowing, lawful and joyful good works builds an
28:29
impenetrable defensive wall around the truth of the gospel.
28:33
It logically silences accusations.
28:35
He also points out that our actions protect good men from
28:38
being scandalized or hurt by bad examples.
28:41
We never act in a vacuum. No, we don't.
28:43
A lack of good works doesn't just damage my own spiritual
28:46
vitality, it actively demoralizes my peers.
28:49
If I act with poor character in a high stress situation, I might
28:53
cause a younger or struggling believer to lose heart or
28:55
stumble. But.
28:56
Conversely, my good work stir up the godly to praise God.
28:59
Yeah, he cites Galatians 1.24 where the Christian Jews
29:02
glorified God Because of Paul's radical conversion and his
29:06
intense subsequent zeal. Pauls individual actions
29:09
generated a massive ripple of worship that extended
29:12
geographically and chronologically far beyond his
29:15
own life. We bear an inescapable
29:18
responsibility to each other. Our daily actions are the visual
29:21
aid to the theology we claim to believe.
29:24
When we fail to produce these rigorous good works, we don't
29:27
just tarnish our personal reputation.
29:29
We actively misrepresent the character of the creator to a
29:32
skeptical world, and we inflict friendly fire on our own
29:36
community. Recognizing how unimaginably
29:39
high the stakes are, Edwards then takes this entire intricate
29:42
theology and weaponizes it against the specific areas of
29:46
his day. He goes to war.
29:47
He really does. He engages in A2 front polemical
29:50
war, firing back at 2 very different opponents, the
29:53
Antinomians and the Romanists. Let's analyze his tactical
29:56
strike against the Antinomians first.
29:57
When Edwards takes aim at the Antinomians, he isn't just
30:00
rehashing the standard. Faith without works is dead
30:02
talking points. He corners them logically.
30:05
Remind Just cover briefly what the antinomians believes for us.
30:09
The Antinomians held that because Christ's obedience was
30:12
flawless and He completely satisfied the wrath of God on
30:16
behalf of believers, the believer has absolutely no
30:19
remaining obligation to the moral law.
30:22
So Jesus did it all. I can do whatever I want.
30:24
Right. Their internal logic dictated
30:27
Christ did it all. Therefore, our ongoing moral
30:30
actions are irrelevant to our standing.
30:32
Grace was viewed as an anesthetic against moral
30:35
exertion. Edwards counters that by
30:37
dismantling their premise from the inside out.
30:39
He points out that Christ didn't just fulfill the law abstractly,
30:42
he aggressively promoted it in his teaching.
30:44
Believers are required to show massive thankfulness and
30:47
obedience to divine commands. Christ explicitly instructed his
30:51
disciples to demonstrate their love precisely by keeping His
30:54
commandments. Edwards clarifies the exact
30:57
mechanism here. While it is true we have nothing
30:59
to do that furthers our salvation by way of merit, we
31:02
have a monumental amount of work to do to demonstrate our
31:04
gratitude and our obedience. Works do not justify us
31:07
meritoriously, but they justify us declaratively.
31:11
Declaratively, that is a vital word.
31:13
Meaning they broadcast a truth that already exists.
31:16
Yes, they declare. They prove to the observing
31:19
universe and to our own consciences that we are
31:21
genuinely among those whom God has already justified.
31:25
And then he pivots to the second front of his polemical war.
31:28
We have to view this next section carefully through the
31:31
lens of 18th century theological PR battles.
31:35
He addresses the Roman Catholic Church of his era, whom he
31:38
refers to as Papists. They're actively weaponizing a
31:41
specific label against the reformed religion, accusing
31:44
Protestants of being Salafidians.
31:47
Salafidians. A term meant to imply that
31:49
Protestants only cared about faith as an abstract concept and
31:53
completely despised actual moral goodness or good works.
31:57
Edwards recognizes this as a critical public relations threat
32:00
to the Reformed movement. He firmly confutes the
32:03
accusation. He states unequivocally that
32:05
while Reformed believers hold faith as the absolute root and
32:08
baseline basis of all graces, holy works are indispensably
32:12
requisite. Indispensably requisite.
32:14
He declares that anyone whose life is devoid of good works
32:17
possesses no true religion whatsoever.
32:20
He is drawing a line in the sand to make it undeniably clear that
32:24
the Protestant doctrine of free grace does not lead to lazy,
32:28
apathetic or immoral living. Properly understood, it
32:32
functions as the rocket fuel for the most rigorous, joyful
32:35
obedience a human can muster. Absolutely.
32:37
He's defending against those who say works don't matter at all on
32:41
one flank, and defending against those who say Protestants don't
32:44
care about works on the other flank.
32:46
Having secured both perimeters, he then points out a third
32:49
error. And this one hurts.
32:50
It does. He calls it a common mistake,
32:52
and it is the error of people believing that outward acts,
32:55
fasting, praying, external charity are sufficient in
32:58
themselves, completely ignoring whether they proceed from the
33:01
Holy Spirit, faith or good principles.
33:03
That third error is the silent killer.
33:06
It likely applied to the majority of his immediate
33:08
congregation in Northampton, and arguably it applies to the vast
33:11
majority of people analyzing their lives today.
33:14
It is the overwhelming human temptation to reduce the
33:17
terrifying infinite demands of religion down to a manageable
33:20
checklist. We crave the checklist.
33:23
We love a checklist. Read 3 chapters of a book,
33:25
Attend 2 meetings a week. Donate 5% of your income,
33:29
Volunteer once a month. If we check the boxes, our
33:31
anxiety drops and we feel a false sense of absolute
33:35
security. But Edwards shatters that
33:38
illusion of security. He demands that we look beneath
33:41
the outward action, pull up the floorboards, and ruthlessly
33:44
interrogate the inward principle.
33:46
Are we acting from a deep, consuming love of God and
33:49
goodness for its own sake? Or are we just expertly managing
33:53
our public image and keeping our anxiety at Bay?
33:56
It is a terrifying audit, It is, but it is also incredibly
33:59
clarifying. Once you strip away the
34:01
checklist, you're forced to rely entirely on the grace he has
34:04
been pointing to all along. Which brings us naturally to the
34:07
final section of our analysis, the blueprint.
34:10
After constructing this massive, heavy theological framework,
34:14
Edwards refuses to leave his listeners paralyzed.
34:16
He provides 4 highly practical directions for actual success.
34:21
First, he instructs the listener to examine their lives to see if
34:24
they fall into any of the mistaken categories we just
34:26
discussed. And then he lays out a four step
34:29
action plan. Let's unpack the mechanics of
34:31
these four steps. Because he isn't just throwing
34:33
out platitudes. Step one, beg the assistance of
34:37
the Spirit. He openly acknowledges that
34:40
these are no mean and common works.
34:43
They require a staggering amount of strength.
34:45
We cannot generate this kind of pure, unselfish God glorifying
34:50
motivation using our own depleted psychological
34:53
resources. We have to actively plead for an
34:56
external infusion of divine help.
34:58
Step 2. Study the scriptures, He insists
35:02
this is the exclusive location to find instructions for
35:04
performing works that are actually acceptable to God.
35:07
We cannot rely on shifting cultural trends, self help,
35:10
philosophy, or our own intuition to define what is good.
35:13
The objective baseline must be the revealed text.
35:16
Step three, Set the example of the Saints before you look at
35:19
the historical figures who have walked this exact path.
35:22
Let's talk about the psychology of this step.
35:23
How does studying historical Saints mechanistically prevent
35:26
burnout? It operates through
35:28
psychological anchoring. When we only compare ourselves
35:31
to our immediate peers, our baseline for what constitutes
35:35
hardship or sacrifice becomes incredibly skewed and fragile.
35:39
We think a minor inconvenience is a massive trial.
35:42
Right. Like the Wi-Fi is slow.
35:44
We think we're suffering, yeah. By anchoring our minds to
35:47
historical Saints, individuals who endured severe persecution,
35:51
immense physical deprivation, and unrelenting hostility while
35:55
maintaining their inward joy and outward works, it shifts our
35:58
baseline. It teaches us what the human
36:00
soul, assisted by the Spirit, is actually capable of enduring.
36:05
When you see that others have run the marathon and remain
36:07
faithful, it prevents the cynicism and weariness that so
36:10
easily infects modern life. And Step 4 carries A striking,
36:14
almost aggressive amount of urgency.
36:16
Redeem and improve the time. He tells his listeners to fix it
36:19
firmly in their thoughts, that they have a massive amount of
36:21
work to do, but their time to accomplish it is short and
36:24
rapidly expiring. He is attacking the modern
36:26
illusion of Endless time. We scroll, we delay, we assume
36:31
we will align our inward grace with our outward actions at some
36:35
undefined point in the future when life calms down.
36:39
Edwards removes every inch of room for procrastination.
36:42
The clock is relentlessly ticking.
36:44
This entire practical framework, constant dependence on the
36:47
spirit, rigorous textual study, historical anchoring to combat
36:51
cynicism and an acute daily sense of mortality is how he
36:55
expects us to translate his massive theological treatise
36:58
into our daily routines. It is not a theoretical exercise
37:01
for him. It is a rigorous, demanding
37:03
daily schedule. So a lot full back and look at
37:06
the sheer scope of the territory we've covered today.
37:08
Edwards takes the concept of a good work and detonates our
37:11
superficial definitions. He does.
37:13
He moves the primary location of goodness away from physical
37:16
actions and transplants it into the very core of the soul, into
37:19
the hidden, silent affections of the heart.
37:21
He demands an uncompromising set of prerequisites, a person
37:25
completely reconciled to God, acting strictly through lawful
37:28
means, guided by an illuminated mind, a free and uncoerced will,
37:33
and a joyful heart, all aiming squarely at the glory of God
37:37
rather than the cheap applause of men.
37:39
And he establishes that these works, while they contribute
37:42
nothing to earning our salvation meritoriously, are the absolute
37:46
non negotiable qualification for the environment of heaven.
37:50
They are the undeniable evidence of our new nature, designed to
37:53
silence our critics and fortify our communities.
37:55
It is a breathtaking, exhaustive vision of what a human life can
37:59
achieve when the internal operating system is fully
38:02
surrendered to its creator. So as we wrap up this deep dive,
38:06
I want to leave you with a final thought to Mull over one that
38:09
pushes this entire framework to its absolute limit.
38:11
We talked about how these works were ordained by the Trinity,
38:14
their eternal consoles, before time began.
38:16
If Edwards is correct that every single good work was architected
38:19
before the foundation of the world, it begs A terrifying
38:22
question about our daily failures.
38:25
When we choose not to do a good work, when we walk past an
38:28
opportunity or let our frustration override our grace,
38:32
are we just making a momentary isolated mistake, or are we
38:36
actively breaking a design architecture that has been
38:38
waiting patiently for us to execute it for 14 billion years?
38:43
What happens to the blueprint of the universe when we refuse to
38:46
play our ordained part? Thank you for joining us for
38:48
this deep dive on reformed thinking.
38:50
Until next time, keep examining the foundations.