The Regenerate Heart: From Jonathan Edwards
Regeneration served as a skeleton key to unlock how Jonathan Edwards viewed everything in the Christian life. Jonathan Edwards viewed regeneration as necessarily paired with conversion, conversion being the active side of salvation, and regeneration being the passive side. Regeneration and conversion are two sides of the same coin. In his work Original Sin, Edwards makes the statement:
I put repentance and conversion together, because the Scripture puts them together (Acts 3:19), and because they plainly signify much the same thing. The word πετανοια (repentance) signifies a change of the mind; as the word "conversion" means a change or turning from sin to God. And that this is the same change with that which is called regeneration (excepting that this latter term especially signifies the change, as the mind is passive in it) the following things do show.[1]
THE SINNER IS PASSIVE IN REGENERATION
When a notorious pharisee from Tarsus named Saul was travelling along the road to Damascus, he had an encounter with the 3-in-1 life-giving Creator, God. Scripture says that “immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight.” (Acts 9:18). God took the initiative and revealed himself to Saul. As Genesis 1-3 inform us, due to the sin of the first humans, Adam and Eve, people are born into sin. All people are in need of being born again if they are to belong to Christ. Paul, formerly Saul, writes that humans are dead in sin prior to knowing Christ (Eph. 2:4-5). A dead person cannot make themselves aware of the cemetery in which they lie, no more than we can make ourselves come alive to the beauty of Christ.
For Edward’s, the work of regeneration is something initiated by God alone through the means of His Word. Saul was blinded by a great light on the road to Damascus and could not see for three days (Acts 9:3,9). Edwards explained this divine light that Saul encountered on the road to Damascus in a sermon that he preached on Matthew 16:17: “And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.’”. Edwards’ sermon reads, “There is such a thing, as a spiritual and divine light, immediately imparted to the soul by God, of a different nature from any that is obtained by natural means.”[2] Though a person is naturally free to choose God, they would not due to their sinful disposition.
I have heard a person with an Pelagian theological position argue for a person’s ability to choose God by referencing how the Ethiopian Eunuch went to Jerusalem to worship God, presumably walking around with an Isaiah scroll and yet later gets saved in the desert (Acts 8:26-40). Contrary, it is the Holy Spirit that is the divine light in this Ethiopian eunuch, enabling him to respond to the gospel. Edwards would define divine light as, “a true sense of the divine excellency of the things revealed in the Word of God, and a conviction of the truth and reality of them, thence arising.”[3] This would make perfect sense then that the work of regeneration is passively at work through God’s Word, ultimately leading to the Ethiopian eunuch’s conversion in the desert through Philip.
John 1:12-13 further elaborates, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (emphasis mine). Edwards understood free will to be that humans are free to choose that which we most desire. Humans natural inclination is toward sin, not righteousness. According to Edwards, all of humanity are “by nature in a state of total ruin, both with respect to the moral evil of which they are the subjects, and the afflictive evil to which they are exposed, the one as the consequence and punishment of the other”.[4] This would mean that all of humanity has a disposition toward sin. Edwards distinguishes between “natural ability” and “moral ability”. Natural ability is what a man is physically capable of doing. Moral ability is what a person can or cannot do of their own volition.
Edwards gives the example that a drunkard may not be able to stop drinking or a wife of noble character cannot cheat on her husband. For Edwards human beings, as responsible moral agents, always (without any exception) choose to do what they are most strongly inclined to do at that time. In fact, it is impossible for them not to do what they are most inclined or disposed to do. Contrary to thinking that Edward’s is a mere fatalist, he says that this is consistent with liberty, as we freely choose what we want most. Edward’s writes, “For that which is possessed of no such thing as will, can't have any power or opportunity of doing according to its will, nor be necessitated to act contrary to its will, nor be restrained from acting agreeably to it.”.[5]
Edwards believes humans have no power in and of themselves to put their trust in God and choose God. Due to humans innate sinful nature they are incapable of choosing God, there has to be an external force at work. For Edwards, regeneration is that external force through an act of the Holy Spirit upon a person that enables them to respond to the gospel. He writes, “Never was a natural man engaged earnestly to seek his own salvation: never were any brought to cry after wisdom, and lift up their voice for understanding, and to wrestle with God for mercy… without having his heart affected.”.[6] This is contrary to the Pelagian perspective that puts forth that a person can—in and of themselves—have the ability to put their trust in God.
THE SAINT IS ACTIVE AFTER REGNERATION
The First Great Awakening and the ensuing Great Awakening created quite a stir around questions of regeneration and caused Edwards to zero in on defining ‘true religion’. It was his work Religious Affections that really defined true conversion. Essentially, the converted will live a converted life displaying holy affections. Edwards viewed the human heart to be sinful and not inclined to spiritual affections. The will only moves towards obedience when it is acted upon by the Spirit, this is called by Edward’s a holy affection. Edwards defines true religion, "as being summarily comprehended in love, the chief of the affections and fountain of all other affections”.[7] The only way someone could get a new disposition was by a work of the Spirit – God makes them a new creature with a new disposition. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17).
The hardened hard is insensible to God’s beauty and glory, it is a heart susceptible to unholy affections: hatred, anger, and arrogance. A new sense of the heart is a new disposition that enables someone to see the beauty and glory of Jesus. This is a passive work of the Spirit prior conversion so that the sinner can perceive rightly and then when the Word is preached, they will behold the beauty of God and the excellency of Christ and engage to act in holy obedience.
This new sense of the heart or new nature gives extreme clarity for when looking at true conversion. Edwards makes the point that the religious affections are something that are a result of being a regenerate Christian and will prevail over carnal and natural affections. The affections do not necessarily belong to the human nature but are a very great part of it; so (inasmuch as by regeneration, persons are renewed in the whole man, and sanctified throughout) holy affections do not only necessarily belong to true religion but are a very great part of it.[8] He writes, “True religion is evermore a powerful thing; and the power of it appears, in the first place, in the inward exercises of it in the heart, where is the principal and original seat of it.”[9] It is clear then to see a man’s nature by viewing what they are pursuing.
Edwards's understanding of religious affections give clear lines when approaching topics in the local church such as church membership and church discipline. If a person is truly born again, with a new nature, to think that they would still look like the world or who they used to be is ridiculous. When it comes to obedience, Edwards overlays the heart and the will. This is because we love to sin out of our unregenerate heart where on the flip side, we are obedient to God out of a regenerate heart. Edwards does not believe the will and the heart are distinct from each other but rather the will chooses what the heart loves.
Those that are given a new disposition of the heart towards Christ will naturally grow in divine beauty over a period. Though Jesus and Paul both instruct the removal of those that are unrepentant and fail to grow in divine beauty (Matt. 18:15–17; 1 Cor. 5). According to Edwards's line of thinking, if this new convert is not displaying true virtue then they are not truly Christian. Jonathan Edwards writes, “However, it may not be amiss more particularly to consider the reasons why private affections, or good will limited to a particular circle of beings, falling infinitely short of the whole existence, and not dependent upon it, nor subordinate to general benevolence, cannot be of the nature of true virtue.”[10] True virtue is rooted in benevolent being to Jonathan Edwards, which is, “that which truly and sincerely seeks the good of others, must approve of and love that which joins with him in seeking the good of others.”[11]
True virtue must consist in love to God, who is the “Being of beings, infinitely the greatest and best.”[12] This would disqualify to consider any “good” done by someone that does not love God. The motivation for doing good then becomes to glorify God which stems out of the believers love for God.
IRRESISTABLE GRACE
Edwards appears very Calvinistic in his thinking about regeneration, and his view of regeneration falls under the category of God’s irresistible grace. The word irresistible can be understood that the grace of God is unable of being resisted. As we will explore with Edwards further regarding how he views free will, we have the liberty to resist the grace of God and we do resist the grace of God. RC Sproul articulates it well, in spite of our natural resistance to the grace of God, God’s grace is so powerful that it has the capacity to overcome our natural resistance to it – this is evident with Saul on the road to Damascus. [13]
Irresistible, or efficacious, grace is also evident in the story of Jesus and Lazarus. Lazarus had been dead for four days, long enough for the smell to be quite terrible when Jesus arrives with his disciples and Lazarus' sisters. Prior to going to see the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus told Martha, " I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25). Jesus’ concern is to divert Martha’s focus from an abstract belief in what takes place on the last day, to a personalized belief in him who alone can provide it. Just as he not only gives the bread from heaven (6:27) but is himself the bread of life (6:35), so also he not only raises the dead on the last day (5:21, 25ff.) but is himself the resurrection and the life.[14] When Lazarus is given new life, he immediately responds to Jesus' words and exits the tomb (11:44).
In the same way, a spiritually dead sinner cannot respond to the gospel until God gives new life through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Again, this is why Edwards states that regeneration is the passive side and conversion is the active side because, once regenerated, there is an immediate response. Humans did not make the first move to come to God. God came to earth through Jesus to come to us. Much like Lazarus, God came to our tomb, when we were dead, and cried out to us, "Come forth!". God is the one that gave us a new heart and turned our wills from evil.
CONCLUSION
Edwards distinctions on free will and regeneration are incredibly helpful for navigating through ministry and culture today. It gives us the ability to say we are in one sense free to make choices without us also saying we need to subscribe to Pelagianism to do so. Contrary to Edwards view of original sin, Pelagius argued that the sin of Adam was in no way passed down to the human race. Pelagius believed that humas were inherently good, born innocent, with freedom to choose between evil and good. The grace of God according to Pelagius then helps us lives holy lives. Clearly, Pelagius has not given Romans 5 an honest read.
This has serious implications for approaching ministry. Not only does it minimize the grace of God, but it ignores verses such as Ephesians 2:1 that inform us, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins". It also minimizes the work of Christ in that he did not come to pay the penalty for our sin but rather to set a moral example for us to follow, in showing us how we can obtain heaven. This type of understanding has serious implications for the pastor preaching in the pulpit, he must speak with persuasive power to influence the mind from unconvinced to convinced, from unbelieving to believing. Edwards’s view of efficacious and irresistible grace takes of ton of pressure off the preaching pastor and places it rightly on a sovereign God to move through the means of His Word. Edwards has a view of grace that regenerates rather than merely enlightens the human.
For Edwards, regeneration was an act of the Holy Spirit upon a person that enables them to respond to the gospel. Never was a natural man engaged earnestly to seek his own salvation: never were any brought to cry after wisdom, and lift up their voice for understanding, and to wrestle with God for mercy… without having his heart affected.[15] This is contrary to the Pelagian perspective that puts forth that a person can—in and of themselves—have the ability to put their trust in God. It is clear that for Edward’s he believes a person has no power in and of themselves to put their trust in God.
This liberates the preacher from thinking he has to use gimmicks, or witty one-liners to change the will of those in his congregation. Paul instructs us that we are to plant and water, knowing that it is God that gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:6-7). If the grace of God merely just enlightened our understanding to decide than it could be resistible. Matthew Barret writes in an essay, "Anything short of gratia irresistibilis (irresistible grace) will fail to liberate the will whose master is sin, the world, and the devil."[16] Personally, I am thankful to Jonathan Edwards for shaping how I view free will, regeneration, conversion, and the religious affections that follow.
[1] Jonathan Edwards, Original Sin , ed. Clyde A Holbrook, vol. 3, WJE Online, 2003, 362.
[2] Jonathan Edwards, The "Miscellanies": (Entry Nos. a-z, aa-zz, 1-500), ed. Harry S. Stout, vol. 13, WJE Online, 2003, 146.
[3] Jonathan Edwards, Sermons and Discourses, 1730-1733, ed. Mark Valeri, vol. 17, WJE Online, 2003, 413.
[4] Jonathan Edwards, Original Sin, ed. Clyde A Holbrook, vol. 3, WJE Online, 2003, 103.
[5] Jonathan Edwards, Freedom of the Will, ed. Paul Ramsey, vol. 1, WJE Online, 2003, 103.
[6] Ibid., 102.
[7] Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections, ed. Paul Ramsey, vol. 2, WJE Online, 2003, 106.
[8] Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, ed. John E. Smith, vol. 2 (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1959), 101.
[9] Ibid., 100.
[10] Jonathan Edwards, Ethical Writings, ed. Paul Ramsey, vol. 8, WJE Online, 2003, 554.
[11] Ibid., 548
[12] Ibid., 117.
[13] “Irresistible Grace by R.C. Sproul,” Ligonier Ministries, accessed August 9, 2021, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/what_is_reformed_theology/irresistible-grace/.
[14] D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 412.
[15] Ibid., 102.
[16] An Essay By and Matthew Barrett, “The Battle of the WILL, Part 1: Pelagius and Augustine,” The Gospel Coalition, accessed August 14, 2021, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/battle-will-part-1-pelagius-augustine/.