The introduction to Jonathan Edwards included an explanation of the man's dual reputation. Some saw him as a Puritan extremist, fearful of the Old Testament wrathful God, and others as a noteworthy philosopher. He even lamented what he felt to be the loss of true religious conversion during the Great Awakening. He studied John Locke and Rene Descartes, thus mastering his own explanation of determinism, the idea that every event is caused by preceding events according to Newton's laws of nature (cause and effect). The study of these philosophes greatly impacted his views on salvation. I am wondering, though, how this impact was translated into his sermon, which was meant to appeal to emotion rather than to reason.
In "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards repeated the same points often. He mentioned, on more than one occasion, "divine justice". This confused me, though. Edwards was supposedly a "Puritan Calvinist," a believer in predestination. Why, then, did he believe that divine justice would favor someone if they did not stray from the divine path? Also, he makes mention that, "...you shall not suffer beyond what strict justive requires." Why should justice even matter at this point if your fate is determined even before your death? Edwards goes even further to ask his audience to "hearken to the loud calls of God's word and providence."
At least this is the impression I got; I could be mistaken... Explanations are appreciated.
(Sam Maliha)
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3 comments:
"Also, he makes mention that, '...you shall not suffer beyond what strict justice requires.' Why should justice even matter at this point if your fate is determined even before your death?" (Sam)
I think that this is a very interesting point. I think that Edwards makes a strong point throughout his sermon concerning justice. God will not punish us beyond what strict justice requires, true, but strict justice requires us to be thrown away from God's presence, into hell. We, as humans, have offended and angered the God of the universe and He has given us opportunity time and time again to repent, but we have constantly rejected Him. Edwards' point is that, come judgment day, God's not going to show us mercy because we have had enough time to repent and it's time for justice to be served. If we spend our entire lives rejecting God, how can we expect Him to allow us into His presence for eternity?
To answer Sam's question, justice is crucial here. Because strict justice requires that we, impure and unholy creatures, be thrown away from God's perfect and holy presence, there seems to be no hope. But there is hope. Edwards makes a note that God has given us a Mediator, Jesus Christ. Because man is not perfect and cannot keep God's laws perfectly, God offers Christ as a Mediator between us and Himself. Ultimately, what Edwards is saying is that God is willing to put aside the "strict justice" that we deserve if we use Christ as our Mediator, because Christ already paid the cost for our offenses toward God; but for those who ignore Christ and constantly reject God, justice must still be served and the burden will be on them to pay the price and consequences for their constant rejection of God.
Edwards says, "God hath had it on His heart to show to angels and men, both how excellent His love is, and also how terrible His wrath is." God has already shown His love in the biggest way that He can, by letting His Son die and pay the price for our offenses toward God. It's hard to imagine how terrible it would be to bear the burden of the offenses of one man, but to pay for the offenses of all mankind is unfathomable. So, that's God's love. Imagine... God poured his wrath on His own Son so that we don't have to pay the consequences. That true love. But God is also willing to show His wrath to those unwilling to accept His love.
I guess all of this kind of makes up "justice." Ultimately, a price must be paid. The issue is who's going to pay...
Emily T.
"Ultimately, what Edwards is saying is that God is willing to put aside the "strict justice" that we deserve if we use Christ as our Mediator, because Christ already paid the cost for our offenses toward God; but for those who ignore Christ and constantly reject God, justice must still be served and the burden will be on them to pay the price and consequences for their constant rejection of God." -Emily
Emily, I completely understand your point. And I would support it, too. But I still don't feel that the reasoning here directly aligns with the beliefs of Calvinism. Yes, God offered to us His only Son. Yet even if we, as humans, followed him faithfully, Calvinist doctrine insists that our fate is predestined. Today, we follow our faiths in hopes of bettering ourselves and finding a way into the doors of Heaven. Yet if we had predestined faiths, would we even try? I guess I'm still missing why Jonathan Edward's audience would even worry about justice on the whole. Has faith been predestined because we are impure creatures, because this is what we justly deserve? (In Edwards' viewpoint, of course..)
(Sam Maliha)
A.K.A. Comrade Maliha
"Yet if we had predestined faiths, would we even try?" (Sam)
I must admit that I do not fully understand the connection between predestination and justice. I do know that there are occasions in the Bible where God says "seek and You shall find," meaning that those who seek Him and seek to love and glorify Him will find Him and He will give them what they seek. I'm not exactly sure how predestination fits into all of this, but this is a promise that God has laid out. Justice is crucial, and it's essential that a person understand to the best of his ability the extent of God's wrath. Only by attempting to understand this can a person begin to fathom the depths of His love.
It's good to ask questions like this, but sometimes we get so caught up in the details that we forget about the big picture. Ultimately what matters is that God has promised us that if we seek Him with all of our hearts we will find Him. There is no possible way for us to know if we are predestined to go to Heaven or go to hell (and the Puritans certainly struggled greatly with this), but we don't need to worry about that. What we need to do is focus on seeking God and seeking to love and glorify Him. I think after that the rest kind of falls into place.
I realize that's not a direct answer to such a specific question, but right now that's the best I can do. I hope it serves to clarify at least a little bit. It's hard to understand the mind of God and why He does things the way He does. Actually, it's impossible. Sometimes it's better just to admit that we can't understand everything and leave it in God's hands, trusting that He is in control.
Emily T.
P.S. "Has faith been predestined because we are impure creatures, because this is what we justly deserve?" (Sam)
I don't know that I fully understand this question. Clarification please...
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