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    Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity
    Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity
    Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity
    Ebook135 pages2 hours

    Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity

    By Owen Strachan and Douglas Allen Sweeney

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    What is a true Christian? What is the church? Though these are fundamental questions they often go unanswered in our current evangelical context. Far too many pastors and thinkers celebrate the trappings of faith and the mere benefits of Christianity, ignoring the biblical testimony on true conversion that shouts from countless texts from Scripture.

    This has fed an age-old problem: nominal Christianity. Though Edwards is sometimes presented as a scourge, a mean-hearted parson who lived to belt out thunderous damnations, a careful study of the historical record and of Edwards’ writings shows that he was in fact a Christian man devoted to the cultivation of true and saving faith in a spiritually fickle people he tenaciously loved.

    The problem of noncommittal Christianity did not end with Edwards. It not only survives but thrives in the current day. In studying it then, we are studying ourselves. We see that nominal Christianity, a considerable challenge today, has historic roots. We need not face this problem alone, growing more discouraged by the day, flailing as we try method after method to address the problem. Instead, we can find solace, instruction, and encouragement from the biblically saturated life and ministry of Jonathan Edwards.

    Easily accessible and readable, you do not need to be a scholar to enjoy these insights about Jonathan Edwards and his writings.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMoody Publishers
    Release dateJan 21, 2010
    ISBN9781575679273
    Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity
    Author

    Owen Strachan

    Owen Strachan is associate professor of Christian Theology and director of the Center on Gospel & Culture at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. The author of seven books, he is married to Bethany and is the father of three children.

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      Book preview

      Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity - Owen Strachan

      Minnesota

      What is a true Christian? What is the church?

      Though these are fundamental questions, they often go unanswered in our current evangelical context. Oftentimes, we focus little on what actually makes a Christian a Christian and what makes a church a church. This has fed an age-old problem: nominal Christianity, or Christianity that exists in name only. If you have ever witnessed an ongoing pattern of halfhearted belief and weak action on the part of a professing Christian, you have seen the scandal of nominal Christianity. Throughout history, pastors following the Bible have confronted this problem of nominalism, though few have addressed it with greater experience or insight than the eighteenth-century Massachusetts pastor Jonathan Edwards. As we will see, Edwards dealt with nominal Christianity throughout his pastoral career and devoted many sermons and writings to the subject. Though he is sometimes presented as a hardboiled parson who relished belting out damnations, a careful study of the historical record and Edwards’s writings shows that he was in fact a Christian man devoted to the cultivation of saving faith in spiritually fickle people. We will set Edwards in his context in the pages to come, shedding light on his shepherd’s heart and his difficult circumstances.

      But first, we will examine an era quite different from Edwards’s—our own. In the first chapter, we seek to diagnose and understand the struggle of many Christians and churches with lukewarm faith. We reveal in the process that the problem of noncommittal Christianity did not end with Edwards. It not only survives, but thrives, in the current day.

      From there, we will work through Edwards’s personal acquaintance with uncommitted Christianity in chapter two. We’ll look at how he defined true Christianity and his pastoral guidance on the matter in chapter three. We will see as we do so that the pastor’s teaching, though addressed to an era quite different from our own, has eminent theological and practical relevance for our modern situation.

      In chapter four, we will look briefly at two lives that embody Edwards’s conception of true Christianity. In these two examples, we will find fresh impetus to pursue authentic spirituality, and discover that one need not be an evangelical superstar to do great things for good. We will conclude with chapter five by noting what Edwards’s view of conversion led him to do in his own church, demonstrating that Edwards was no ivory-tower thinker, but a pastor who lived his convictions even to the bitter—but scripturally faithful—end. We will then suggest several major lessons and emphases we can pick up from Edwards and apply to the challenges of our day.

      We interact extensively in Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity with the actual writing of Edwards. It will take a little time to get used to his style, but it is our belief that investing even a little effort in reading his writing will yield a huge spiritual payoff. We will mix in our commentary on his writing even as we sketch a general picture of his understanding of real Christianity. As we go, we will offer brief suggestions for application of his views that we hope will be of use to you in your personal reading or in the context of group

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