May 5, 2017

The Nature of True Virtue in Vol I of the Works - Edwards - II - Chapters 4 & 5

Required reading
The Nature of True Virtue in Volume I of the Works by Jonathan Edwards (Available from Amazon or free here)Read Chapters 4 and 5 of 'Dissertation concerning the nature of true virtue'.

My summary.
Today Edwards teaches us two commonly proposed causes of love.

The first cause is self-love.  Edwards says it may be observed that 'self-love may show, how men in general may approve of justice from another ground, besides that approbation of the secondary beauty there is in uniformity and proportion which natural to all.

The other disposition to love is the natural conscience.  Edwards says that 'natural conscience extends to true virtue, consisting in union of heart to being in general, and supreme love to God.'

What grabbed me
I appreciated Edwards' description of the role of conscience on judgement day and its removal from the unbelievers: 'Christians have the greatest reason to believe, from the Scriptures, that in the future day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, when sinners shall be called to answer before their judge, and all their wickedness, in all its aggravations, brought forth, and clearly manifested in the perfect light of that day, and God will reprove them and set their sins in order before them, their consciences will be greatly awakened and convinced, their mouths will be stopped, all stupidity of conscience will be at an end, and conscience will have its full exercise; and therefore their consciences will approve the dreadful sentence of the judge against them; and seeing that they have deserved so great a punishment, will join with the judge in condemning them. And this, according to the notion I am opposing, would be the same thing as their being brought to the fullest repentance; their hearts being perfectly changed to hate sin and love holiness; and virtue or holiness of heart in them will be brought to the most full and perfect exercise. But how much otherwise have we reason to suppose it will then be! Then the sin and wickedness of their heart will come to its highest dominion and completest exercise; they shall be wholly left of God, and given up to their wickedness, even as the devils are! When God has done waiting on sinners, and his Spirit done striving with them, he will not restrain their wickedness, as he does now. But sin shall then rage in their hearts, as a fire no longer restrained or kept under. It is proper for a judge when he condemns a criminal, to endeavour so to set his guilt before him as to convince his conscience of the justice of the sentence. This the Almighty will do effectually, and do to perfection, so as most thoroughly to awaken and convince the conscience. But if natural conscience, and the disposition of the heart to be pleased with virtue, were the same, then at the same time that the conscience was brought to its perfect exercise, the heart would be made perfectly holy; or, would have the exercise of true virtue and holiness in perfect benevolence of temper. But instead of this, their wickedness will then be brought to perfection, and wicked men will become very devils, and accordingly will be sent away as cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'

Sinners without the restraint of God any longer will be truly awful to behold.

Next week's readingRead Chapters 6, 7 and 8 of 'Dissertation concerning the nature of true virtue'.


Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.







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