Author: drthomasclothier

Jonathan Edwards: “That good and sensible man …that great man.” – John Wesley

Jonathan Edwards returned to Yale College in June, 1724. He would serve as one of two tutors until 1726. However, the position of tutor during that time was more than just being a professor, lecturer and instructor. It involved administrative leadership of the college.

Edwards biographer, George Marsden, explains, “He (Edwards) was one of the two tutors at Yale tasked with leading the college in the absence of a rector, or president. Yale’s previous rector, Timothy Cutler, lost his position when he defected to the Anglican Church. After two years, he had not been replaced.”

In spite of the Yale’s trustee’s best efforts to fill the rector vacancy themselves on a rotating basis, it seems that from 1722 to 1726 Yale was virtually without a president. Edwards agreed to assume the position but not without some reservations.

Edwards biographer Iain Murray states, “A tutorship would represent a loss of freedom to plan his days his own way, and in addition to the study and teaching required of him, he knew that there would necessarily be many time-consuming commitments in the administration of the student body.”

Along with his studies, teaching and administrative responsibilities, Edwards was responsible for at least forty and up to sixty students. While this period of time was 300 years ago, it should be noted that college students then were as college students are today. While there were rules and behavioral standards in place, Yale students often disregarded these codes of conduct. Ecclesiastes 1:9 (ESV) applies here when the text says, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

Having completed his first year as a tutor, Edwards became seriously ill. In September, 1725, Edwards became sick and attempted to come home to East Windsor. He made it as far as to the home of Isaac Stiles, the minister of North Haven. Nursed by his mother Esther, Edwards remained in the Stiles’ parsonage for three months, Eventually, Edwards regained his health. However, he came to the conclusion that being a tutor at Yale was not where he most wanted to be. During his long recovery, he prayed to the Lord for guidance.

The rector vacancy was finally filled in September, 1726. Elisha Williams, a popular tutor when Yale was located at Wethersfield, received the appointment to assume the same responsibilities at the college’s relatively new location in New Haven.

It was in August of 1726 that the church in Northampton, pastored by his maternal grandfather Solomon Stoddard, invited Edwards to become assistant pastor. Stoddard was well into his eighties and needed help where he had been pastor for nearly a half century. It was at Northampton that Edwards would serve the Lord for the next twenty-three years of his life. He would become known as Mr. Edwards of Northampton.  

Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!    

“Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.” (Isaiah 3:10 (ESV)

During the years 1722-1723, Jonathan Edwards completed his master’s degree from Yale and began an interim pastoral ministry in New York City. The church was a small Scottish Presbyterian church located near Broadway and Wall Street.

From information derived from historical documents, it is most likely that of the initial ten sermons Jonathan Edwards prepared to preach, his first biblical text was from Isaiah 3:10. The emphasis on the sermon was the joy of the Christian.

“When a man is enlightened savingly by Christ, he is, as it were, brought into a new world. The excellency of the (Christian) religion and the glorious mysteries of the gospel seemed as a strange thing to him before, but now…he sees with his own eyes and admires and is astonished, ” wrote Edwards.

Edwards’ atypical sermon structure was as follows: from the text, to doctrine, to application. Edwards had to discipline himself that his spiritual energy and enthusiasm did not overshadow proper and conventional 18^th century decorum. In other words, Edwards strove to balance enthusiasm for the text with a proper exposition and understanding of the text.

Chief among Edwards’ sermon themes was true conversion and the evidences of true conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. “Zeal in the external exercises of religion proves nothing,” he explained.

Edwards’ extra-biblical readings during this time were books written by his maternal grandfather and pastor, Solomon Stoddard. Stoddard was the best-known living author, concerning the biblical gospel and conversion to the same, in New England at the time.

During the year 1722 as he recalled his time spent in New York. “My longings after God and holiness, were much increased. Pure and humble, holy and heavenly, Christianity appeared exceeding amiable to me. I felt a burning desire to be in everything a complete Christian; and conformed to the blessed image of Christ; and that I might live, in all things, according to the pure, sweet and blessed rules of the gospel.”

“It was my continual strife, day and night, and constant inquiry, how I should be more holy and live more holily and more becoming a child of God and a disciple of Christ. I now sought more an increase of grace and holiness, and a holy life, with much more earnestness than ever I sought grace before I had it.”

The Presbyterian Church of which Edwards provided pulpit supply was the result of a church split. A dissatisfied minority withdrew from the majority congregation and began meeting in their own building. It was during Edwards’ preaching ministry that the smaller congregation realized their error in leaving. Edward also believed a reunion was in the best interests of all concerned.

Since a reunion of the congregation was eminent, Edwards understood that he would no longer be needed. He decided to leave New York during April, 1723.

Edwards returned home to East Windsor, Conn. There is little documentation as to what Edwards did and thought during the summer days of 1723. One diary entry of Edwards, during that time, says, “I now plainly perceive what great obligation I am under to love and honour my parents. I have great reason to believe that their counsel and education have been my making.”

It was during these remaining days of 1723, in considering what he now would do in the ministry, that Edwards sensed God’s call for him to return to Yale as a tutor. This he did so. He returned to Yale in June, 1724.

Have a blessed day in the Lord. May you serve Him where He has sovereignly placed you.

Soli deo Gloria!    

“What God aims at in the in the disposition of things in the affair of redemption is that man should not glory in himself, but alone in God (I Cor. 1:29-31). That no flesh should glory in His presence, that according as it is written, he that glories, let him glory in the Lord.” – Jonathan Edwards, July 8, 1731.  

During the years 1722-1723, Jonathan Edwards completed his master’s degree from Yale and began an interim pastoral ministry in New York City. The church was a small Scottish Presbyterian church located near Broadway and Wall Street.

Biographer Iain Murray explains “All his personal papers from this period indicate that a new master-interest possessed him: it was to enjoy the Word of God.”

Of that particular time in his life, Edwards wrote, “I had then the greatest delight in the Holy Scriptures, of any book whatsoever. Oftentimes in reading it, every word seemed to touch my heart. I felt a harmony between something in my heart and those sweet and powerful words. I seemed often to see so much light exhibited by every sentence, and such a refreshing food communicated, that I could not get along in reading; often dwelling long on one sentence to see the wonders contained in it, and yet almost every sentence seemed to be full of wonders.”   

It was during these two years that Edwards seriously considered what the Lord specifically wanted him to do. It was a soul searching and soul stretching time for the young eighteen year old. It was then that Edwards began writing his “Resolutions.”

Edwards’ Resolutions were/are seventy purpose statements. He designed each one of them as directives for his Christian life and living. They became his guidelines. They were a spiritual checks and balances for him. By them, Edwards could continually evaluate his relationships, conversations, desires and activities.

The first twenty-one Resolutions were written in one sitting. The seventieth was composed on August 17, 1723. Here is but a sample.

• 1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad’s of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.
• 5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
• 7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
• 17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
• 24. Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.
• 25. Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it.
• 28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
• 53. Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer.

I encourage you to take note of Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions and compile your own series of resolutions by which you may glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Have a blessed day.

Soli deo Gloria!

“If someone were to ask me, for example, who I thought was the godliest person that God ever gave to America, the godliest person who ever lived in North America, I would not hesitate to answer that question by saying; Jonathan Edwards.”  — Dr. R. C. Sproul 

Edwards returned from Yale to his parent’s home in the summer of 1721. Upon his return home, and of his recent conversion to Christ, Edwards fondly recalled those memorable days.

“Not long after I first began to experience these things, I gave an account to my father of some things that had passed in my mind. I was pretty much affected by the discourse we had together, and when the discourse was ended, I walked abroad alone, in a solitary place in my father’s pasture, for contemplation. And as I was walking there, and looking up to the sky and clouds, there came into my mind so sweet a sense of the glorious majesty and grace of God, that I know not how to express. I seemed to see them both in a sweet, and gentle, and holy majesty; and also, a majestic meekness; and awful sweetness; a high and great and holy gentleness.”

Edwards’ joy as a new believer in Christ continued during those initial days. It reminds me of my own conversion and the immediate aftermath of God-enabled insight into life, living and creation. 

“After this my sense of divine things gradually increased, and became more and morel lively, and had more of that inward sweetness. The appearance of everything altered. There seemed to be, as it were, a calm, sweet, cast, or appearance of divine glory, in almost everything.”

“I felt then great satisfaction, as to my good state; but that did not content me. I had vehement longings of soul after God and Christ, and after more holiness, wherewith my heart seemed to be full, and ready to break; which often brought to my mind the words of the psalmist in Psalm 119:20: ‘My soul is crushed with longing after Your ordinances at all times.’ I often felt a mourning and lamenting in my heart that I had not turned to God sooner, that I might have had more time to grow in grace.” 

“I spent most of my time in thinking of divine things, year after year; often walking alone in the woods and solitary places for meditation, soliloquy, and prayer, and conversing with God. It was always my manner, at such times, to sing forth my contemplations.”

How wonderful it is to remember when the Lord first broke into our dead souls and raised us into new life in Christ. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your ministry of regeneration (John 3:1-8). Soli deo Gloria!  

“Those who are truly converted are new men, new creatures; new, not only within, but without; they are sanctified throughout, in spirit, soul and body; old things are passed away, all things are become new; they have new hearts, new eyes, new tongues, new hands, new feet; i.e. a new conversation and practice; they walk in newness of life and continue to do so to the end of life.”   — Jonathan Edwards 

Jonathan Edwards’ conversion to personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ approximately occurred in March of 1721. “That change by which I was brought to those new dispositions and that new sense of things,” wrote Edwards in speaking of his conversion to Christ.

Edwards returned to his home in May or June of 1721 full of the joy and love for Jesus Christ. “Edwards’ account of what took place in 1721, as given in his (Edwards’) ‘Personal Narrative’, is the most important statement he ever wrote about himself,” explains Edwards biographer Iain Murray.

“The first instance that I remember of that sort of inward, sweet delight in God and divine things that I have lived much in since, was on reading those words (I Tim. 1:17) ‘Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen.’ As I read those words, there came into my soul, and was as it were diffused through it, a sense of the glory of the Divine Being; a new sense, quite different from any thing I ever experienced before,” Edwards describing his conversion to Christ.

“Never any words of Scripture seemed to me as these words did. I thought with myself, how excellent a Being that was, and how happy I should be, if I might enjoy that God, and be rapt up in Him in heaven, and be as it were swallowed up in Him forever!”

“I kept saying, and as it were singing over these words of Scripture to myself; and went to pray to God that I might enjoy Him, and prayed in a manner quite different from what I used to do; with a new sort of affection. But it never came into my thought, that there was any thing spiritual, or of a saving nature in this.” 

Edwards began to have new comprehensions and ideas of Christ. This included the work of redemption and the glorious way of salvation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He had an increasing, sweet sense of the things of God.  

Edwards was increasingly captivated in reading and meditating upon Christ. This included the beauty and excellency of the person of Jesus along with the lovely way of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. 

“The sense I had of divine things, would often of a sudden kindle up, as it were, a sweet burning in my heart; an ardor of soul, that I know not how to express,” wrote Edwards.

May this be said of us. Pray today that the Lord would rekindle the fire and devotion within your soul for Him and for His Word. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

“Jonathan Edwards has always seemed to me the man most like the Apostle Paul.” – D. Martyn Lloyd Jones

In spite of Jonathan’s rigorous upbringing and exposure to biblical Christianity by his family, he remained unconverted. When Jonathan turned thirteen, his father Timothy enrolled him at the newly founded Collegiate School of Connecticut. The school would later be known as Yale.

Timothy Edwards received his education at Harvard. Harvard began as a Calvinistic school, but had theologically weakened under unbiblical influences. It was due to this “doctrinal erosion” that Timothy decided to enroll Jonathan at Yale, which at the time was strongly committed to Reformed theology. .

At Yale, Jonathan received an excellent college education. He studied grammar, rhetoric, logic, ancient history, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, metaphysics, ethics, natural science, Greek, Hebrew, Christian theology, natural philosophy, and classical literature. He also had a healthy education in the writings of John Calvin, John Owen, William Ames and other Puritan scholars.

Jonathan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1720. He was at the head of his class. He delivered the valedictory address. However, he still was not a converted Christian.

Upon graduation, Jonathan immediately began pursuing a master’s degree at Yale. His studies required two years of independent study. It was during his second year of graduate studies that he received Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord (John 1:12-13). In contemplating I Timothy 1:17, he wrote, “There came into my soul, and there was as it were diffused through it, a sense of the glory of the Divine Being; a new sense, quite different from anything I ever experienced before.”

Concerning his conversion, Jonathan would later write, “I began to have a new kind of apprehensions and ideas of Christ, and the work of redemption, and the glorious ways of salvation by Him. An inward, sweet sense of these things, at times, came into my heart; and my soul was led away in pleasant views and contemplations of them. My mind was greatly engaged to spend my time in reading and meditating on Christ, on the beauty and excellency of His person, and the lovely way of salvation by free grace in Him.”

Dr. Steven J. Lawson writes, “We live in a day of spiritual laxity. Many who confess Christ are pampering themselves to death rather than pushing themselves to holiness. Their spiritual muscles are untrained and unfit. Their wills are soft and unresolved. This is why a study of the life of Jonathan Edwards is so valuable. Considered the towering figure in American Colonial history – arguably the greatest pastor, preacher, philosopher, theologian and author America has ever produced – Edwards lived with an enlarged desire to experience personal godliness.”

May we pursue godliness in much the same way. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria! 

Jonathan Edwards was born October 5, 1703 in East Windsor, Connecticut. Edwards’s father, Timothy, was pastor of the church at East Windsor, Connecticut. His mother, Esther, was a daughter of Solomon Stoddard, pastor of the church at Northampton, Massachusetts.

Jonathan was the fifth child and only son among 11 children. He grew up in an atmosphere of Puritan piety, affection, and learning. Jonathan was trained for college by his father and elder sisters, all of whom received an excellent education. Edwards’ future ministry as a pastor and theologian was certainly grounded by his childhood.   

One biographer of Edwards writes, “Edwards was reared with the rigorous Christian piety of his Calvinistic Puritan heritage. His father’s congregation in East Windsor was visited with seasons of revival and Edwards was not left untouched by them. His spiritual life had its ups and downs and there were times when Edwards thought he had true faith in Christ. But it was not until he was a college student that he “closed with Christ” in a saving way.”

Edwards enrolled in Yale College in 1716. He was just shy of his thirteenth birthday. While at Yale, he became acquainted with John Locke‘s Essay Concerning Human Understanding. During his college studies, Edwards also kept notebooks labeled “The Mind,” “Natural Science,” (containing a discussion of the atomic theory), “The Scriptures” and “Miscellanies.”

One historian explains, “Edwards was fascinated by the discoveries of Isaac Newton and other scientists of this time period. Before he was called to full-time ministry work in Northampton, he wrote on various topics in natural philosophy, including flying spiders, light, and optics. While he worried about those of his contemporaries who seemed preoccupied by materialism and faith in reason alone, he considered the laws of nature to be derived from God and demonstrating his wisdom and care. Edwards’s written sermons and theological treatises emphasize the beauty of God and the role of aesthetics in the spiritual life.”

Edwards continued to be interested in science even after his graduation from Yale. Although many European scientists and American pastors found the implications of science pushing them towards the false theology called Deism, Edwards believed the natural world was evidence of God’s masterful design (Psalm 19). Throughout his life, Edwards often went into the woods as a favorite place to pray and worship the Lord in the beauty and solace of God’s creation.

Take the opportunity today to bask in the beauty of God’s creation. Go for a walk, or even a bike ride, and use it as a time for prayer and worship. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!  

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV)

Why is a study of church history so important when the church exists in a day and time when what occurred yesterday is so quickly forgotten? Perhaps the reason for any study of history, especially church history, is summarized by philosopher and writer George Santayana (1863 – 1952) who wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”

Dr. Nicholas Needham, minister of Inverness Reformed Baptist Church in Inverness, Scotland, explains, “We study church history not merely to learn from and remember the past but to help us wisely serve and glorify God now and for the future. We look to the great figures of eras gone by in order to learn from their successes and failures. We examine their lives that we might be encouraged to imitate them insofar as they followed Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). For until Christ returns, we must be concerned to see the conversion and discipleship of our neighbors and the nations. As we labor toward this end, we must rest in the glorious truth that God is sovereignly fulfilling His purposes as He sovereignly works in and through us as His instruments. As some have said, history is a story written by the finger of God, and that story is centered around the history of the cross of Christ Jesus, who is coming again at the culmination of His mission, when the Great Commission has been fulfilled and all the elect have been saved from every tribe, tongue, and nation.”

Any study of the heroes from church history must include the finest philosopher and theologian that the United States has ever produced; Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). He was one of the leaders of the First Great Awakening, a pastor who articulated and lived a sound biblical, pastoral, and Reformed Theology.

18^th century pastor, theologian, author, missionary and college president, Jonathan Edwards, was truly a renaissance man. This means that he was not only a man of many talents and abilities, he was also a master of those talents and abilities.

Why is Jonathan Edwards so admired by believers in Christ, even in the 21^st century? Please consider the following comments.

“That good and sensible man…that great man.”
JOHN WESLEY, Works, vol.10, 1831, pp. 463 and 475

“Jonathan Edwards, saint and metaphysician, revivalist and theologian, stands out as the one figure of real greatness in the intellectual life of colonial America.”
BENJAMIN B. WARFIELD, Studies in Theology, 1932, p.517

“No man is more relevant to the present condition of Christianity than Jonathan Edwards…He was a mighty theologian and a great evangelist at the same time…He was pre-eminently the theologian of revival. If you want to know anything about true revival, Edwards is the man to consult. Revivals have often started as the result of people reading volumes such as these two volumes of Edwards’ Works.”
D. MARTYN LLOYD-JONES in The Puritan Experiment in the New World, The Westminster Conference Papers, 1976, p.103 ff.

Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

A profile is a sketch or a summary of an individual’s life or a brief episode in a person’s life. Courage refers to doing what is right, even when facing opposition. It is synonymous with bravery, nerve, valor, or guts.

Joshua 1:1-9 indicates the importance of having biblical courage. Joshua had faithfully served God as Moses’ right hand man for forty years following Israel’s Exodus from Egypt. He had witnessed a lot in those forty years. He had seen Moses lead close to two million people during all sorts of situations, both the good and the bad, during those four decades.

But Moses was now dead. Who would lead the Nation of Israel into the Promised Land and conquer it for Israel’s good and for God’s glory? The Lord knew who He wanted, but the man the Lord had set His sovereign call upon wasn’t too sure he was qualified for the job, or that he even wanted the job. The man in question was Joshua.

It was one thing to play second fiddle to Moses for forty years. I was quite another to now be the maestro who would be in charge of leading the orchestra. But Joshua was the man God wanted, called and would use. God knew Joshua needed encouragement and courage. So God came to Joshua and had an audience with the reluctant leader. Joshua 1:1-9 records what God said.

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. ³ Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. ⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. ⁵ No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. ⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

God uses men and woman who are strong and courageous. God chooses to use men and woman who resolve to obey the Lord no matter the cost. Joshua would prove to be such a man. Men and woman of biblical courage were needed then in Joshua’s day and age. They are also needed in our day and age.

Periodically, we will take a brief look at particular individuals in Scripture, or in church history, who profile, or illustrate, courage and conviction to stand for biblical truth. One such individual was Martin Luther whose life we profiled in October 2017 when we observed the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Another individual was Jonathan Edwards.

For the next several days we will examine the life and ministry of Jonathan Edwards. We will profile the man and the work God accomplished through him. We will see the highpoints of his ministry, and the often debated controversies surrounding this pastor and theologian. The goal of this profile is not only to find out who Edwards was, but also to remove the all too frequent misunderstandings that occur when his name is mentioned. We will also seek to understand why this man of the 18^th century still impacts the church in the 21^st century.

Thank you for joining me in the journey.

Soli deo Gloria!

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” (Philemon 25 ESV)

The Apostle Paul began this epistle with the words “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philemon 3 ESV). It is fitting that he concludes this letter to Philemon in a similar vein.

Grace (χάρις; charis) is God’s unmerited favor. Grace is God giving the sinner what they do not deserve; salvation. It must always be remembered that our justification from God the Father is by sovereign grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone (Rom. 3:21-26; Eph. 2:1-9).

As used here, grace is not just what God brings the repentant sinner at the moment of conversion. Grace is also the Lord’s unmerited kindness towards the believer in Christ throughout their sanctification and growth as disciples for Christ.  

In today’s text, Paul wrote that grace originated from and is solely sourced in the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle was using these identifying titles for Jesus in affirming His deity.

It was Paul’s desire that Philemon know God’s grace in the depths of his soul.  The word spirit (πνεύματος; pneumatos) refers to the mind, emotions and the will of man. In other words, Paul referred to the entire person. However, the word “your” is plural in form. Therefore, Paul wrote this final greeting not only to Philemon but also to the others mentioned in vs. 1-2.

One commentator writes, “These believers were already enjoying the grace that brought them salvation. But here, and in verse 3, Paul was concerned that they be encompassed with God’s enabling grace for their daily walk before others. “Spirit” (cf. “your spirit” in the Gal. 6:18 and 2 Tim. 4:22 benedictions) refers to one’s inner spiritual self. What a gracious way for Paul to conclude this touching intimate epistle.”

Have a blessed day in the Lord. May the Lord’s grace be with your spirit.

Soli deo Gloria!