Many, when they think they are converted, seem to imagine that their work is done, and that there is nothing else needful in order to their going to heaven. Indeed perseverance in holiness of life is not necessary to salvation in the same way as the righteousness by which a right to salvation is obtained. Nor is actual perseverance necessary in order to our becoming interested in that righteousness by which we are justified. For as soon as ever a soul hath believed in Christ, or hath put forth one act of faith in him, it becomes interested in his righteousness, and in all the promises purchased by it. But persevering in the way of duty is necessary to salvation, as a concomitant and evidence of a title to salvation. There is never a title to salvation without it, though it be not the righteousness by which a title to salvation is obtained . It is necessary to salvation, as it is the necessary consequence of true faith. It is an evidence which universally attends uprightness, and the defect of it is an infallible evidence of the want of uprightness. There such as are good and upright in heart, are distinguished from such as fall away or turn aside: "Do good, O Lord, to those that be good, and to them that are upright in their heats. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel" (Psalm 125:4-5). It is mentioned as an evidence that the hearts of the children of Israel were not right with God, that they did not persevere in the ways of holiness; "A generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God" (Psalm 78:8) -Jonathan Edwards
I benefited from this, and hope you do.
3 comments:
Waiting for another great quote...
Edward's approach to righteousness disturbs me. All the quotes used to justify the position are from the old testament. Paul, a much more reliable witness, stated that the new covenant did away with the first, namely the law. Edwards, in my opinion, holds liberty as suspect in order to protect "uprightness" defined by some unstated acceptable and poorly defined standard of works. (How good is good enough?) Edwards also does not recognize the implied time lapse between "make clean the inside of the cup" and "the outside will take care of itself". If by faith I am clean by the Word of God, the outside must eventually conform. Contradictory, then, it must be to focus attention on the state of the outside of the cup in order to judge the inside. What purpose can it server but to discourage. (See Romans 7) Is it not better to focus on the cure (Jesus) than the illness? No longer do we repent of sin bit confess it. We confess it not for some new dispensation of forgiveness but for cleansing from unrighteousness -- the distinction is enormous! No matter the condition of our feet, we are already clean because of the Word Jesus spoke. Even our walk cannot soil us. One last thing: You who would measure "uprightness" ... where is the line between upright and not upright to be drawn. (If you cannot answer this, you are asking believers to comply with a non-standard.)
Sis, the first immediate thought- I hesitate to call Paul a more reliable witness than David. However, let us go ahead a forget about this apparently insignificant king after God's own heart, and focus on what both Paul (under inspiration) and Edwards say. First, Edwards is very clear about mentioning that these people THINK they are converted. After all, out of the heart the mouth speaks...oops that might be OT, so disregard it:-) Since I find Jesus more reliable than Paul, perhaps we could point out that He is very clear on fruit...more later, when it isn't late on a Sunday night...Love you!
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