Mar. 26, 2007
Sound Bite 13: The Sum and Substance
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
The Scriptures teach us that love is the sum of all that is contained in the law of God, and of all the duties required in his word. This the Scriptures teach of the law in general, and of each table of the law in particular. First, the Scriptures teach this of the law and word of God in general. By the law, in the Scriptures, is sometimes meant the whole of the written word of God, as in John 10:34. "Is it not written in you law, I said ye are gods?" And sometimes by the law is meant the five books of Moses, as in Acts 24:14, where it is named with the distinction of the "law" and the "prophets." And sometimes by the law, is meant the ten commandments, as containing the sum of all the duty of mankind, and all that is required as of universal and perpetual obligation. But whether we take the law as signifying only the ten commandments, or as including the whole written word of God, the Scriptures teach us that the sum of all that is required in it is love. Thus when by the law is meant the ten commandments, it is said in Romans 13:8, "He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law;" and therefore several of the commandments are rehearsed, and it is added, in the tenth verse, that "love" (which leads us to obey them all,) "is the fulfilling of the law." Now unless love was the sum of what the law requires, the law could not be wholly fulfilled in love; for a law is fulfilled only by obedience to the sum or whole of what it contains and enjoins. So the same apostle again declares, 1 Tim. 1:5, "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned etc." Or if we take the law in a yet more extensive sense, as the whole written word of God, the Scriptures still teach us, that love is the sum of all that is required in it. In Matt. 22:40, Christ teaches that on the two precepts of loving God with all the heart, and our neighbour as ourselves, hang all the law and the prophets; i.e. all the written word of God; for what was then called the law and the prophets, was the whole written word of God that was then extant. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cat's Q & A: 1. Why do you do the right thing? What affects your choices? Honestly, it's mostly the expectations of other people. I don't want to break step with them. I want to live up to what I perceive their expectations to be. This usually puts me farther out of relationship with them in the end. |
Mar. 16, 2007
Sound Bite 12: Reason Teaches
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
Without love to God, again, there can be no true honour to him. A man is never hearty in the honour he seems to render to another whom he does not love; so that all the seeming honour or worship that is ever paid without love, is but hypocritical. And so reason teaches that there is no sincerity in the obedience that is performed without love, for if there be no love, nothing that is done can be spontaneous and free, but all must be forced. So, without love, there can be no hearty submission to the will of God, and there can be no real and cordial trust and confidence in him. He that does not love God will not trust him: he never will, with true acquiescence of soul, cast himself into the hands of God, or into the arms of his mercy. And so whatever good carriage there may be in men toward their neighbours, yet reason teaches that it is all unacceptable and in vain if at the same time there be no real respect in the heart toward those neighbours; if the outward conduct is not prompted by inward love. And from these two things taken together, that is, that love is of such a nature that it will produce all virtues, and dispose to all duties to God and men, and that without it there can be no sincere virtue, and no duty at all properly performed, the truth of the doctrine follows, that all true and distinguishing Christian virtue and grace may be summed up in love. ------------------------------ Cat's Q & A: 1. Jonathan Edwards often uses the phrase, "reason teaches." Why do you think he does this, and what major points is he emphasizing when he does? I think the beauty and timelessness of Edwards' sermons lies in the fact that he teaches very basic reasoning - he is a master of the mechanics of how to move from reading Scripture to applying it directly to daily life. Actually, I think he's only emphasizing what the original text says - "If I...have not love, I am nothing." (1 Cor. 13:1-3) 2. "Without love, there can be no real submission to the will of God..." How happy are you feeling about doing what God wants rather than what you want today? Better than I did yesterday. 3. "....and there can be no real and cordial trust and confidence in him." So - the question is, on a scale of one to ten, how much confidence do you have in God today? Sadly, about a 3 or 4. Emotionally, anyway. Intellectually, and also on some deeper level, I can say I have nothing else that I rely on when it comes right down to it. Yet I don't live my life that way on a daily basis. In general there is some part of me or other that's out of sync with my knowledge of God's sufficiency - and that knowledge itself is so imperfect. |
Mar. 15, 2007
Sound Bite 11: Hypocrisy Versus Real Faith
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
Thus love would dispose to all duties both toward God, and toward man. And if it will thus dispose to all duties, then it follows, that it is the root, and spring, and, as it were, a comprehension of all virtues. It is a principle, which if it be implanted in the heart, is alone sufficient to produce all good practice; and every right disposition toward God and man is summed up in it, and comes from it, as the fruit from the tree, or the stream from the fountain. Second, Reason teaches that whatever performances or seeming virtues there are without love, are unsound and hypocritical. If there be no love in what men do, then there is no true respect to God ormen in their conduct; and if so, then certainly there is no sincerity. Religion is nothing without proper respect to God. The very notion of religion among mankind, is that it is the creature's exercise and expression of such respect toward the creator. But if there be no true respect or love, then all that is called religion is but a seeming show, and there is no real religion in it, but it is unreal and vain. Thus if a man's faith be of such a sort that there is no true respect to God in it, reason teaches that it must be in vain; for if there be no love to God in it, there can be no true respect to him. From this it appears that love is always contained in a true and living faith, and that it is its true and proper life and soul, without which, faith is as dead as the body is without its soul; and that it is that which especially distinguishes a living faith from every other: but of this more particularly hereafter. ----------------------------- Cat's Q & A: 1. How much are you doing in your spiritual life right now? Church, writing, outreach, homeschooling, lots of things. 2. How much of it is out of love for God? Zero. I realized today that I'm plain mad at God. I want a different life than I've got, and I've been blaming Him for the mess I myself have made. |
Jan. 24, 2007
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 10
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
| Love, the Sum of All Virtue | It will dispose a people to all proper duty to their ministers, to hearken to their counsels and instructions, and to submit to them in the house of God, and to support and sympathize with and pray for them as those that watch for their souls; and it will dispose ministers faithfully and ceaselessly to seek the good of the souls of their people, watching for them as those that must give account. Love will dispose to suitable carriage between superiors and inferiors: it will dispose children to honour their parents, and servants to be obedient to their masters, not with eye service, but in singleness of heart; and it will dispose masters to exercise gentleness and goodness toward their servants. _________________________________ Cat's Q & A: 1. How do you really feel about your church leadership? How much do you trust them, and how much do you criticize them? Welllll..... We got to know our church leadership pretty closely over the last two years when Dave joined the deacons' board. I have had moments of severe criticism, but I've had good enough relationships with those involved to be able to voice my problems and deal with them. I consider those relationships pretty special - I know they're rare among Christians, let alone Christians carrying responsibilities they can't maintain without God's uplifting. 2. How do you relate to your parents? To your children? Not always the best. I tend to take my closest relationships for granted. |
Jan. 22, 2007
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 9
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
Love will dispose to contentment in the sphere in which God hath placed us, without coveting any things that our neighbour possesses, or envying him on account of any good thing that he has. It will dispose men to meekness and gentleness in their carriage toward their neighbours, and not to treat them with passion, or violence, or heat of spirit, but with moderation, and calmness, and kindness. It will check and restrain everything like a bitter spirit; for love has no bitterness in it, but is a gentle and sweet disposition and affection of the soul. It will prevent broils and quarrels, and will dispose men to peaceableness, and to forgive injurious treatment received from others; as it is said in Proverbs 10:12, "Hatred covers up strifes, but love covereth all sins." Love will dispose men to all acts of mercy toward their neighbours when they are under any affliction or calamity, for we are naturally disposed to pity those that we love when they are afflicted. It will dispose men to give to the poor, to bear one another's burdens, and to weep with those that weep, as well as to rejoice with those that do rejoice. It will dispose men to the duties they owe to one another in their several places and relations. It will dispose a people to all the duties they owe to their rulers, and to give them all that honour and subjection which are their due. And it will dispose rulers to rule the people over whom they are set, justly, seriously and faithfully, seeking their good, and not any by-ends of their own. _____________________________________________ Cat's Q & A is cancelled for today - Cat is too tired. If you have thoughts, please comment. |
Jan. 22, 2007
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 8
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
The study of Jonathan Edwards' sermons continues after a long hiatus. We are looking at "Love, the Sum of all Virtue." Links in the sidebar lead to web versions of the full sermons. And so a due consideration of the nature of love will show that it disposes men to all duties toward their neighbours. If men have a sincere love to their neighbours, it will dispose them to all acts of justice towards those neighbours -- for real love and friendship always dispose us to give those we love their due, and never to wrong them. Rom. 13:10. "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour."* And the same love will dispose to truth toward neighbours, and will tend to prevent all lying, and fraud, and deceit. Men are not disposed to exercise fraud and treachery toward those they love; for thus to treat men is to treat them like enemies, but love destroys enmity. Thus the apostle makes use of the oneness that there ought to be among Christians, as an argument to induce them to truth between man and man. Ephesians 4:25.** Love will dispose to walk humbly amongst men, for a real and true love will incline us to high thoughts of others, and to think them better than ourselves. It will dispose men to honour one another, for all are naturally inclined to think highly of those they love, and to give them honour; so that by love are fulfilled those precepts, 1 Peter 2:17,*** "Honour all men," and Phil. 2:3,**** "Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than themselves." ___________________________________________________ Cat's Q & A: 1. Told a lie lately? Tried to make things sound better or worse than they are, or just plain different? If you think about it now, what distracted you from love in that moment? I find I just prefer to tell stories when I'm talking to people. I'd rather tell it the way it sounds best - not to deliberately change it, but to pick and choose what I tell people. 2. when did you last honour someone? Especially a family member or friend? It's easy to feel I don't have the energy to do a little something extra for my closest people. I tend to shift into subsistence mode with very little prodding. But I did take care of some farm stuff for dh while he was working some required overtime shifts. 3. Do you tend to think of others as more important than yourself, or do you find yourself in a constant fight to balance your needs against the rest of the world's? That's easy. I homeschool. I have honestly not trusted God to meet my needs while I give to others. It seems there's so much giving and giving, and not much for refreshment. For whatever reason, I find spouse to be worse than kids -- more of a bottomless pit when it comes to things needed. ___________________________________________________ * Romans 13:10 (NASB) Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. ** Ephes. 4:25 (NASB) Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. ***1 Peter 2:17 (NASB) Honor all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. **** Philip. 2:3 (NASB) Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; ***** Proverbs 10:12 (NASB) Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions. |
Oct. 30, 2006
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 7
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
I now proceed, II. To show the truth of the doctrine, that all virtue that is saving or distinguishing of true Christian, is summed up in Christian love. And, 1. We may argue this, from what reason teaches of the nature of love. And if we duly consider its nature, two things will appear. First, That love will dispose to all proper acts of respect to both God and man. This is evident because a true respect to either God or man consists in love. If a man sincerely loves God, it will dispose him to render all proper respect to him; and men need no other incitement to show each other all the respect that is due, than love. Love to God will dispose a man to honor him, to worship and adore him, and heartily to acknowledge his greatness, and glory, and dominion. And so it will dispose to all acts of obedience to God; for the servant that loves his master, and the subject that loves his sovereign, will be disposed to proper subjection and obedience. Love will dispose the Christian to behave toward God, as a child to a father; amid difficulties to resort to him for help, and put all his trust in him; just as it is natural for us, in case of need or affliction, to go to one that we love for pity and help. It will lead us, too, to give credit to his word, and to put confidence in him; for we are not apt to suspect the veracity of those we have entire friendship for. It will dispose us to praise God for the mercies we receive from him, just as we are disposed to gratitude for any kindness we receive from our fellow-men that we love. Love, again, will dispose our hearts to submission to the will of God, for we are more willing that the will of those we love should be done, than of others. We naturally desire that those we love should be suited, and that we should be agreeable to them, and true affection and love to God will dispose the heart to acknowledge God's right to govern, and that he is worthy to do it, and so will dispose to submission. Love to God will dispose us to walk humbly with him, for he that loves God will be disposed to acknowledge the vast distance between God and himself. It will be agreeable to such a one, to exalt God, and set him on high above all, and to lie low before him. A true Christian delights to have God exalted on his own abasement, because he loves him. He is willing to own that God is worthy of this, and it is with delight that he casts himself in the dust before the Most High, from his sincere love to him. Cat's Q & A: 1. Edwards speaks about God's "dominion." Nowadays, we tend to think of this word only as a variant on the term "dominate." Many non-Christians are thus antagonized by the idea. Do you think that's what Edwards is referring to? When I see these terms, I realize there is no "translation" or paraphrase for them, because they are extremely technical terms. Edwards demonstrates an awareness here of what we would now relegate to the world of mathematics as "domain theory."* However, in the Bible, it's expressed with more universal application as the doctrine of federal headship. He is talking about the fact that God is not only over and above all other domains, God is the highest domain, benig the only infinite thing in existence. 2. Are you familiar with the teaching that "self-abasement" is not a true part of the Christian worldview, but an outdated Victorian teaching that goes against Col. 2:18?** That Christians should have a healthy image of themselves? Do you agree or disagree with Edwards' ideas here? I happen to agree strongly with him. The difference between holy God and sinful man is too huge for the modern reasoning on self-image. For this, I fall back on 2 Cor. 10:12.*** The idea of "healthy self-image" is entirely relativistic, based on measuring oneself against the human average. What Edwards talks about here is the experience of seeing God for who He really is. the fact that we are self-aware beings should tend to produce a strong reaction to this experience. The fact that we are created to love God should mean that it's a positive experience for the Christian (and a negative one for the non-believer, whose idol is himself). * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_theory See also: Free Online Dictionary of Computing See further references in Notes entry. **Col. 2:18 (NASB) Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind... ***2 Cor. 10:12 (NASB) For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. |
Oct. 21, 2006
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 6
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
Second, Christian love both to God and man, is wrought in the heart by the same work of the Spirit.
There are not two works of the Spirit of God, one to infuse a spirit of
love to God, and the other to infuse a spirit of love to men, but in
producing one, the Spirit produces the other also. In the work of
conversion, the Holy Spirit renews the heart by giving it a divine
temper; Eph. iv. 23,* and it is one and the same divine temper thus
wrought in the heart, that flows out in love both to God and man. And, Third,When God and man are loved with a truly Christian love, they are both loved from the same motives. When God is loved aright, he is loved for his excellency, and the beauty of his nature, especially the holiness of his nature; and it is from the same motive that the saints are loved, for holiness' sake. And all things that are loved with a truly holy love, are loved from the same respect to God. Love to God is the foundation of gracious love to men; and men are loved, either because they are in some respect like God in the possession of his nature and spiritual image, or because of the relation they stand in to him as his children or creatures -- as those who are blessed of him, or to whom his mercy is offered, on in some other way from regard to him. Only remarking that Christian love be one in its principle, yet it is distinguished and variously denominated in two ways, with respect to its objects, and the kinds of its exercise, as for example, its degrees, etc.** Cat's Q & A: 1. How often have you made a distinction in your own principles about the way you love God and the way you love people? Do you use different principles for each? I would have to say, yes I do. I'm aware that it's sinful, but I find God has a much more lovable and easy-to-appreciate nature than people in general. God is a mystery that keeps unfolding, whereas people are rather predictable. They're going to sin. End of story. Perhaps if I were better at giving over my own sin to Christ, I wouldn't feel so burdened by others' choices. 2. How often do you base your love for God on the wrong motives? E.g., something good happened today, so it produces feelings of thankfulness and even worship. Or, something didn't work out the way you thought it was supposed to, so you withdraw your trust from God. I'm slowly learning to get better at this one. It started with trying to give honest thanks in everything and ended up with the realization that I can choose not to, but it doesn't make me feel any better. So I set my mind to work on it. 3. How often do you base your love for someone else on the wrong motives? Probably not as much, because left to myself, I naturally dislike people in general. So the only love I have for others is whatever I allow God to give me. But that doesn't mean I've learned to love them a lot, just that I've learned to remind myself that if they're here, God has a purpose for it. I've learned to focus more on enjoying watching God work in my relationships, rather than trying to psych myself up into some intellectually-driven love. Theology is not enough to break me out of my own little world, but witnessing visible expressions of the divine nature is addictive. FOOTNOTES: *Ephes. 4:23 (NASB) ...And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind... ** Paraphrased in modern English: "Even though we are only pointing out that Christian love is one in principle, still, distinctions are made about it and it is categorized in two ways, with respect to the objects of love, and the way it is shown, for example, to what extent, etc." |
Oct. 17, 2006
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 5
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
That this Christian love is one, whatever the objects toward which it may flow forth, appears by the following things:-- First, It is all from the same Spirit influencing the heart. It is from the breathing of the same Spirit that true Christian love arises, both toward God and man. The Spirit of God is a Spirit of love, and when the former enters the soul, love also enters with it. God is love, and he that has God dwelling in him by his Spirit, will have love dwelling in him also. The nature of the Holy Spirit is love; and it is by communicating himself, in his own nature, to the saints, that their hearts are filled with divine charity. Hence we find that the saints are partakers of the divine nature, and Christian love is called the "love of the Spirit," Romans xv. 30,[1] and "love in the Spirit," Col. i.8,[2] and the very bowels of love and mercy seem to signify the same thing with the fellowship of the Spirit, Phil. ii.1.[3] It is that Spirit, too, that infuses love to God, Rom. v.5; [4] and it is by the indwelling of that Spirit, that the soul abides in love to God and man, 1 John iv.12, 13;[5] and iii.23, 24.[6] Cat's Q & A: 1. "The nature of the Holy Spirit is love; and it is by communicating himself, in his own nature, to the saints, that their hearts are filled with divine charity." How much do you feel you know about who God is as a person? Do you think you know enough to determine how He's going to act or what His thoughts are in any given situation? This is one area where chess has benefitted me. When I'm faced with a dilemma about how to act in love, I'm forced to stop and think several steps ahead through the actions I'm considering. The question isn't my good intentions, but whether the results would be pleasing to God. I can only fall back on what His Word says about the meaning of holiness to answer those questions. FOOTNOTES [1] Romans 15:30 (NASB) Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me... [2] Col. 1:8 (NASB) And he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. [3] Philip. 2:1 (NASB) If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion... [4] Romans 5:5 (NASB) And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. [5] 1 John 4:12-13 (NASB) No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. [13] By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. [6] 1 John 3:23-24 (NASB) And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. [24] And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. |
Oct. 16, 2006
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 4
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
And by the apostle's mentioning so many and
so high things, and then saying of them all that they profited nothing
without charity, we may justly conclude, that there is nothing at all
that avails anything without it. Let a man have what he will, and do
what he will, it signifies nothing without charity, which surely
implies that charity is the great thing, and that everything which has
not charity in some way contained or implied in it is nothing, and that
this charity is the life and soul of all religion, without which all
things that wear the name of virtues are empty and vain. In speaking to this doctrine, I would first notice the nature of this divine love, and then show the truth of the doctrine respecting it. And I. I would speak of the nature of a truly Christian love. and here I would observe 1. That all true Christian love is one and the same in its principle. It may be various in its forms and objects, and may be exercised either toward God or men, but it is the same principle in the heart that is the foundation of every exercise of a truly Christian love, whatever may be its object. It is not with the holy love in the heart of the Christian, as it is with the love of other men. Their love toward different objects, may be from different principles and motives, and with different views; but a truly Christian love is different from this. It is one as to its principle, whatever the object about which it is exercised; it is from the same spring or fountain in the heart, though it may flow out in different channels and diverse directions, and therefore it is all fitly comprehended in the one name of charity, as in the text. Cat's Q & A: 1. "...we may justly conclude, that there is nothing at all that avails anything without it." It could be argued that this is Christian snobbery. What about AIDS relief in Africa, humanitarian projects in the Middle East, or grassroots activism in North America? My response to this is to consider where these things sprang from, historically. The answer is religion. Modern humanitarian activism had its birth in the Victorian era, when the British Empire was the main vehicle for the spread of the Gospel. The path that leads to modern secular humanitarianism can be clarified by starting with conservative churches and slowly moving left-of-center through the denominations; for instance, the United Church of Canada retains strong humanitarian values, but is gutted of anything resembling Biblical theology. Secular humanism is what happens when a Christian culture decides to try being good without Christ. Even today, it is statistically those with a Christian faith of some sort who are the most dedicated humanitarians in the 10-40 Window, Africa and elsewhere. 2. "It is not with the holy love of the Christian, as it is with other men." Have you ever seen this contrasted clearly in a Christian's dealings with a non-Christian? Yep. We just got to see it again on the weekend, as the family tried to deal with an unapologetically unsaved, unsocial in-law. The relative she is married to does his best to deal with his wife in a kind and controlled fashion. But her notions of love do not include respect, compromise or consideration for others. Not only that, when he gives in for the sake of grace (basically to avoid an ugly blowout in front of the family), she assumes she is in control of the relationship and has the right to dictate to him even further. In her world, love is something to be presumed upon rather than honoured. |
Oct. 15, 2006
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 3
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
...And this charity is here spoken of,
as that which is, in a distinguishing manner, the great and essential
thing: which will appear more fully when we observe, Secondly,
what things are mentioned as being in vain without it, viz.: the most
excellent things that ever belong to natural men; the most excellent
privileges, and the most excellent performances. First, the most excellent privileges, such as preaching with tongues, the gift of prophecy, understanding all mysteries, faith to remove mountains, etc.; and Secondly, the most excellent performances, such as giving all one's goods to feed the poor, and the body to burned, etc. Greater things than these, no natural man ever had or did, and they are the kind of things in which men are exceedingly prone to trust; and yet the apostle declares that if we have them all, and have not charity, we are nothing. The doctrine taught, then, is this: THAT ALL THE VIRTUE THAT IS SAVING, AND THAT DISTINGUISHES TRUE CHRISTIANS FROM OTHERS, IS SUMMED UP IN CHRISTIAN LOVE. This appears from the words of the text, because so many other things are mentioned that natural men may have, and the things mentioned are of the highest kind it is possible they should have, both of privilege and performance and yet it is said they all avail nothing without this, whereas if any of them were saving, they would avail something without it. Cat's Q & A: 1. More and more commonly, it seems, I read books that list a variety of people who are assumed to be great Christians. (The "Jesus Freaks" books from Bethany House come to mind.) The reasoning is that if they could be killed or persecuted for what they believed in, they must have truly been saved. Do you think you could die to defend your house from burglars? Your country from terrorists? Do you think it's reasonable for the Christian pop culture to assume that because someone died for a cherished belief about God, they must have gone to heaven? Lots of Muslims have died for something that cannot save them, on the conviction that it could. Just because we are told we're going to get to heaven because of such-and-such, doesn't make it so. There has to be corollating, visible, non-falsified evidence to back up the invisible spiritual propositions. 2. Do you believe, based on the passage and the points that Edwards makes, that things like speaking in tongues, doing things in the name of Jesus, or performing miraculous healings are proof that a person is a Christian? No. I never did. One of my first close encounters of the Christianized kind, as an unsaved teen, involved going to a youth revival meeting. People were "speaking in tongues" and being "slain in the Spirit." Thing was, I was well involved in the occult, and the spiritual tone of the room was quite familiar to me. I've since learned that there must be a purpose to such manifestations, and if the purpose (Rom. 8:28) and the results of the actions (Jer. 17:10, scary verse, read it) don't match what God's stated in the Bible, then those things just don't go cha-ching. 3. Do you believe unsaved people can speak in tongues? Yep. |
Oct. 11, 2006
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 2
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
1 Cor. 13:1-3 (NASB) If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. [3] And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. "The word properly signifies love..." So it is manifestly used by the Apostle in this epistle, as he explains himself in chapter viii. 1* -- "Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth," etc. Here the comparison is between knowledge and charity -- and the preference is given to charity, because knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And then, in the next two verses, it is more particularly explained how knowledge usually puffs up, and why charity edifieth; so that what is called charity in the first verse, is called loving God in the third, for the very same thing is evidently spoken of in the two places. And doubtless the apostle means the same thing by charity in this thirteenth chapter, that he does in the eighth; for he is here comparing the same two things together that he was there, viz.: knowledge and charity. "Though I have all knowledge and have not charity, I am nothing;" and again, "charity never faileth, but -- knowledge, it shall vanish away." So that by charity here, we are doubtless to understand Christian love in its full extent, and whether it be exercised toward God, or our fellow-creatures. Cat's Q & A: 1. Are you familiar with the interpretation that these passages on love versus knowledge say Christians should throw out all knowledge-based teaching and just go with their feelings? What's your take on that? My response to this concept is just to go back to the same passage - 1 Cor. 8 - and point out that love edifies. So this isn't about turning off the mind, or about "doctrine" being sinful, but the difference between the sinner's way and God's way of truly learning and growing as a person. FOOTNOTE * 1 Cor. 8:1-3 (NASB) Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. [2] If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; [3] but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. |
Oct. 6, 2006
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 1 - Love, The Sum of All Virtue
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
|
Scripture passage: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Get the full Jon Edwards sermon online here. In these words we observe -- First, that something is spoken of as of special importance, and as peculiarly essential in Christians, which the Apostle calls Charity. And this charity, we find, is abundantly insisted on in the New Testament by Chirst, and his apostles,--more insisted on, indeed, than any other virtue. But, then, the word "charity," as used in the New Testament, is of much more extensive signification, than as it is used generally in common discourse. What persons very often mean by "charity," in their ordinary conversation, is a disposition to hope and thing the best of others, and to put a good construction on their words and behavior; and sometimes the word is used for a disposition to give to the poor. But these things are only certain particular branches, or fruits of that great virtue of charity which is so much insisted on throughout the New Testament. The word properly signifies love, or that disposition of affection whereby one is dear to another; and the original ("agape"), which is here translated "charity," might better have been rendered "love," for that is the proper English of it: so that by charity in the New Testament, is meant the very same thing as Christian love; and though it be more frequently used for love to men, yet sometimes it is used to signify not only love to men, but love to God. Cat's Q and A: 1. How many times have you heard or read the King James "charity" and skimmed over the word, thinking of it only as we use it today? I have to confess that, even starting to read this part of the sermon, I automatically did this. 2. What do you think about Edwards' phrase -- "that disposition of affection whereby one is dear to another"? (A disposition is a stance or attitude, an affection is a feeling.) It struck me, through the ironically archaic language, that Edwards is talking about something pretty deep here. He's talking about holding an attitude which consistently induces a feeling of the worth or intrinsic value of others. |