August 30, 2019

Five discourses on the soul's eternal salvation in Vol I of the Works - Edwards - XI - Fourth discourse commenced

Required readingFive discourses on the soul's eternal salvation in Vol I of the Works by Jonathan Edwards (Available from Amazon or free here) - Commence the Fourth Discourse (The justice of God) by reading up the Application.

My summary
Today we start the fourth discourse on "That every mouth may be stopped" (Rom. 3:19)

Firstly Edwards looks at the context of the verse, which proves all mankind:
(i) are corrupt;
(ii) are wholly corrupt;
(iii) are corrupt to a desperate degree.

Thus the laws stops the mouths of mankind in:
(i) boasting of their righteousness ;
(ii) making any excuse for themselves.

Then Edwards puts forward the doctrine: "It is just with God eternally to cast off and destroy sinners." 

He then spends the rest of today's reading showing that the truth of this doctrine may appear by the joint consideration of two things:
(i) Man's sinfulness;
(ii) God's sovereignty.

What grabbed me
I appreciated the description of the guilt of man: 'That it is just with God eternally to cast off wicked men, may more abundantly appear, if we consider how much sin they are guilty of. From what has been already said, it appears, that if men were guilty of sin but in one particular, that is sufficient ground of their eternal rejection and condemnation. If they are sinners, that is enough. Merely this, might be sufficient to keep them from ever lifting up their heads, and cause them to smite on their breasts, with the publican that cried," God be merciful to me a sinner." But sinful men are full of sin; principles and acts of sin: their guilt is like great mountains, heaped one upon another, till the pile is grown up to heaven. They are totally corrupt, in every part, in all their faculties; in all the principles of their nature, their understandings, and wills; and in all their dispositions and affections. Their heads, their hearts, are totally depraved; all the members of their bodies are only instruments of sin; and all their senses, seeing, hearing, tasting, &c. are only inlets and outlets of sin, channels of corruption. There is nothing but sin, no good at all. Rom. vii. 18. "In me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing." There is all manner of wickedness. There are the seeds of the greatest and blackest crimes. There are principles of all sorts of wickedness against men; and there is all wickedness against God. There is pride; there is enmity; there is contempt; there is quarrelling; there is atheism; there is blasphemy. There are these things in exceeding strength; the heart is under the power of them, is sold under sin, and is a perfect slave to it. There is hard-hearted ness, hardness greater than that of a rock, or an adamant-stone. There is obstinacy and perverseness, incorrigibleness and inflexibleness in sin, that will not be overcome by threatenings or promises, by awakenings or encouragements, by judgments or mercies, neither by that which is terrifying nor that which is winning. The very blood of God our Saviour will not win the heart of a wicked man.'

Our wickedness knows no bounds and therefore, logically, our punishment should know no bounds.

Next week's reading
Conclude the Fourth Discourse (The justice of God).


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