Book Reviews: Jonathan Edwards, "Sermons on the Matthean Parables" Volumes I, II, & III (Wipf and Stock Publishers)

I am here reviewing all three volumes of sermons in this new series on the Matthean Parables by Jonathan Edwards, published by Wipf and Stock, and edited by Kenneth P. Minkema, Adriaan C. Neele, and Bryan McCarthy.

I say "new" because these sermons have been essentially hidden from modern audiences since they were originally preached in the early to mid 1700's. Thankfully, as of 2012, they have finally been transposed to printed form from their original manuscripts in Edwards' own puzzling handwriting. 

For decades and even centuries, these manuscripts have been stored away, deep in the vault of history, now currently resting in the caring hands of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University.

Today, these powerful sermons can again lift Edwards' voice and be heard anew, in some cases more than 270 years after they originally thundered from the Northampton Church pulpit. Since then, almost no human eyes have viewed them since the Colonial Congregationalist penned them himself. For this reason, these three paperback volumes are a true treasure chest, replete with jewels and gems for advancing Jonathan Edwards studies. 

The whole series, I think, will significantly move forward our understanding of Edward's theology of regeneration and conversion, not to mention his theology of, and first-hand participation in Great Awakening-era revivalism. 

Each of the three volumes is a compendium of multiple sermons on one particular parable. Often, Edwards' sermons were preached over various occasions (called "preaching units") and took on a life of their own, far beyond the typical hour-long sermonic format, so commonly known among the Puritans. Such is the case with these sermons: they are really each a greatly extended but cohesive literary whole, preached upon a particular pericope of Scripture. 

Each sermon series (in one case, 19 preaching units!) treats of multiple theological doctrines, and contains various of Edwards "uses," or applications. Of course, they were originally preached over the time-frame of multiple weeks and even months, often containing both morning and afternoon/evening oratories. 

Volume One focuses on the "Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins" (Matthew 25:1-13). Here, Edwards intends to show the similarities and distinctions between those who virgins who have oil in their lamps and those who do not. In this way, Edwards draws some distinctions between the Church Visible, and the Church Invisible. His primary thrust is to show that there are many professing believers who would appear to be genuinely converted, and yet do not have the new principle of inner life, given only by the sovereign hand of God. 

Volume Two treats of the "Parable of the Soils" (Matthew 13:1-23). Predictably Edwards discourses at some length the four general responses that hearers have to the Gospel as originally given and explained by Jesus. Interestingly, this sermon series was preached immediately after George Whitefield had come through Northhampton. The sermon series itself more than hints at Whitefield's revivalistic power and affect, and the people of Edwards' congregation's reaction to the same. This volume contains an additional text by Whitefield, a brief treatise on how to "hear" a sermon. 

Volume Three is in regard to the "Parable of the Net" (Matthew 13:47-50). Here Edwards powerfully describes the doctrines of grace as it relates to as-yet unregenerate men being forcibly pulled from their natural element (like fish from the sea) and prompted to die to self and live the new life of conversion in Christ. This third volume, although much more in outline form than the others, has the added distinction of being preached at the same time that Edwards was preparing The Religious Affection for publication. For this reason, the reader gets a unique look into what Edwards was stewing on during this great book's final preparations. 

What ties these three volumes together and makes them interesting historical and exegetical material is their relationship to the events of the Great Awakening. Each volume was preached at a unique time in early colonial revivalism history. Additionally, the series taken together gives the modern reader a view of Jonathan Edwards' theology of the Kingdom, since Minkema and Neele have wisely chosen a set of sermons  for publication that are moored to theological motifs held in common by each parable. 

Readers will find these sermons to be a very helpful companion as they read other works of Jonathan Edwards such as The Religious Affections which deal with very similar topics and themes, if only in a more didactic form. For many, the sermons will actually be easier to read than his treatises. 

One weakness should be mentioned. I am not sure why the editors chose to include the very same opening article on "Edwards the Preacher" by Wilson H. Kimnach in all three volumes, but alas, they did. Perhaps they thought that some readers would not buy the whole set and would need the same article printed separately in each volume. For my own part, I would have preferred that they included different prefatory materials in each book. Together they could have done more to prepare and educate the reader as to the historical context of the sermon series. 

Moreover, this set of three books will be an incomparable treasure to all Edwards scholars, as it was to me. The very idea that I am reading today what was hidden for centuries was enchanting. Scholars, pastors, and students of revivalism alike will all greatly benefit from these faithful, historic proclamations of Gospel truth!

--Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida. 

Justification: The Absolute Center of Biblical Christianity

Here is a ridiculous hypothetical. Suppose that earth was visited by aliens from a distant world. And suppose further that their job was to observe life on Earth to determine whether or not it was intelligent. The aliens would probably watch an episode of "Swamp People" or "Duck Dynasty" on the Discovery Channel and suspect that they had landed on the wrong planet!

But suppose that they began to survey our beliefs and fixed their attention on Christianity: What would they discover to be the central core belief of our faith?

Let me turn that question on you for a moment. What would you say is the central article of faith of Christianity?

Some might say “Upholding a certain set of values. Voting for this party or that.” That is important, but Christianity is not a political movement. Others might say “Being a good person; kind, loving, and warm. After all, Jesus told His followers to ‘love their enemies.’” But Christianity is not a social theory. Still others might say, “Obeying the Ten Commandments; living in accordance with God’s moral Law.” Oh how critical! But Christianity is not just an ethical system—it is so much more!

Here is what I would say: “At its absolute center, Christianity is a way (THE ONLY WAY!) for unrighteous sinners to be reconciled to a holy and just God.”

The Westminster Confession of Faith defines justification as follows:

Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein He pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in His sight, on account of the righteousness of Christ imputed (placed upon) to us, and received by faith alone (WSC #33).

Some say, we don’t need theology, just our Bibles; yet this term, "justification" is thoroughly Biblical and is central to Paul's theology in Romans. It is found five times in Romans 3:21-31 for instance. Justification is a legal word drawn from the courtroom of Paul’s day. Literally, it means “to declare to be just.”  God does this, of course, only on the basis of His grace given us through the cross of His Son (vs. 23-25).

Historically, teaching on justification has lit churches up with power, grace, forgiveness, worship, mission, giving, and service! Listen to some of the all time great Reformers:

• Martin Luther (1483-1546): “This is the chief article from which all other doctrines have flowed… It alone begets, nourishes, builds preserves, and defends the church of God; and without it the Church of God cannot exist for one hour.”

• Thomas Cranmer (1489-1566):  “Whosoever denies [the doctrine of justification] is not to be counted for a true Christian man… but for an adversary of Christ.”

• John Calvin (1509-1564): “Where ever the knowledge of [justification] is taken away, the glory of Christ is extinguished… [Justification] it is the main hinge on which salvation turns.”

Brothers, let us not forget to preach justification to our people. It is central to historic Christianity, central to the message of the Gospel, and central to revival.

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida. Follow on Twitter @matt_everhard

Revival and the Lord's Supper

Is it possible that the Lord's Supper may be one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated events that prepares a church for revival? I would argue that this is precisely the case. Here are four reasons why I believe this from Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church.

1) The Lord’s Supper is primarily a recognition and proclamation of the absolute lordship and supremacy of Jesus Christ. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor 11:26).

We call this sacred meal the “Lord’s Supper,” not the Pastor’s Potluck or the Believer’s Brunch, or the Church’s Chow.  “The Lord’s Supper” is not just an arbitrary designation some theologian gave it, that title comes right out of 1 Corinthians 11:20. Both words are instructive:

• Lord’s: It is not just any meal, it is the Lord’s Supper. Jesus commanded it, He ordained it, and it points directly to Him. If this meal is anything at all, it is first and foremost a recognition of--and surrender to--the Lordship of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Every time believers gather around the two simple elements of bread and cup, they are consciously submitting to—and also proclaiming—the Lordship and authority of Jesus Christ as King and Head of the church. The very act of putting that piece of bread in your mouth is a declaration to yourself, your neighbor and the world “Jesus is Lord. Jesus is King. Jesus is God.” 

• Supper: But that second word is important too. It is a supper. That implies that you and I come empty and hungry, not full and proud. You come in need, as a beggar to consume a meal that you did not and could not prepare for yourself—belly aching to be filled by the goodness and mercy of God! Just as could not be saved by bringing good deeds to God, so you can’t be nourished by bringing your own worthiness to the Table. No one should ever approach the Table as though it were some form of “institutional religion” or “ritual,” or “high church formalism.”  

2) The Lord’s Table is a unifying event within the Body of Christ.  Paul is livid with the Corinthians!  He is angrier than a tornado in a trailer park! Why is he so mad? Because the very event that is meant to hold the church together is actually tearing them apart. "When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not" (1 Cor 11:20-22).  

Whenever The Lord's Supper is received as a church, unity is one of the many glorious results. There has never been a revival where hatred, envy, rank, and jealousy are the results. When the church comes to the Lord’s Table, there is no rank, no hierarchy. The smallest child and the most wizened elder are the same rank.

3) The Lord’s Supper (as an act) must never be divorced from repentance (as an attitude).  "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself" (1 Cor 11:27-29).

One phrase that we need to unpack here are the words “unworthy manner.”  It cannot mean that sinners are not welcome, or that if one is struggling with temptation that he is not welcome. Some have refrained from the table because they feel unworthy. But that is not the point. John Calvin said that would be like a man refusing medicine on the grounds that he is sick.

 On the contrary, "unworthy manner" means to receive the supper flippantly without doing the heart work of “examining oneself” mentioned in verse 28. You might ask yourself these questions:

•     Do I recognize myself as being a sinner in need of a Redeemer?
•     Do I desire to turn from my sin and acknowledge Christ’s supreme Law?
•     Do I trust that Christ’s blood alone has justified me and made me righteous?
•     Have I come hungry for grace or full of pride?

4) Communion is a real first-hand, direct, encounter with the person and work of Christ as given to us through the bread and cup. Let me put it to you this way: the communion event is the closest personal encounter we will have with Christ this side of Heaven.

That’s not just an opinion. I am drawing that statement from 1 Corinthians 10:16. Where Paul says, "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Cor 10:16). That word “participation” is the Greek word koinonia which means the an intimate form of person-to-person fellowship.

Some love to be in nature, hiking or kayaking, mountain climbing or swimming. But being in nature is never called participation in the body and blood of Christ in Scripture. Others love praise music or the good old hymns from centuries past. But music is never called koinonia with the body and blood of Christ. Others still love a good sermon, or commentaries, or church history. Some (nerds like me) like books by dead theologians. But these are never called koinonia with the body and blood of Christ.

Theologians have long debated exactly HOW Christ is present in the elements of the Lord’s Table. In the middle ages a view developed that the bread and cup literally transform into the body and blood of Christ in a doctrine called “transubstantiation.” Others have swung too far to the other side and said that nothing special happens at all; that the LS is just a visual reminder of the cross in history, like an old dusty dog-eared photograph. This is called the “Memorial” view.

But John Calvin and the Reformed theologians of our church have always said something different. We have maintained that while the bread remains bread and the juice remains juice; that nonetheless something much more is happening here. Something on the spiritual level. We are actually being drawn into the presence of the Reigning Resurrected Christ. We call it the “Real Presence” view. It states that in some mystical way, Christ is actually, really, and truly present with us in a first-hand way. Although His body is literally raised to the Right Hand of God, that He is really and truly among us at the Table. God shows up!

In some mysterious way—even the best theologians admit some mystery here—we are feasting on Christ and what He has done for us. It is quite literally “soul food.” Therefore, the moment the bread hits your tongue, you taste the forgiveness that Christ bought for you with His body. The moment that the tangy crispness of the juice or wine hits your palate, you taste the grace that He bought for you by His blood.

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida. Follow on Twitter @matt_everhard

Book Review: The Biography of Robert Murray M'Cheyne. By Andrew A. Bonar.

Every once in a while, I finish a book that, the very act of finishing the last page, makes me feel that I have just lost a dear friend. This is especially true for me in biographies wherein the protagonist dies an early and untimely death.

Such was the case of the biography of Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813-1843) by his contemporary Andrew A. Bonar. At the end of the book, at M'Cheyne's early death at age 30, I found my own soul crying out to God in grief for a lost friend.

M'Cheyne a young Presbyterian pastor in the town of Dundee, Scotland seems to have been one of those rare souls who continually lived in the conscious, joyful presence of God. His own kindred spirit, Andrew Bonar, does an admirable job of capturing the essence of a young pastor who seemed to have had two passions above all things: a zeal for personal holiness and devotion, and an unquenchable desire to save souls.

Clearly the author (Bonar) wrote this work as a eulogy for the life of a close friend. In that sense, it is far from objective. Picking up this work for the first time, the reader must realize that these pages were written to memorialize a man dearly loved by the author. It was not meant to be an evenhanded critique of M'Cheyne's successes and failures as a minister. The author, therefore, is not concerned to set out in public view the many shortcomings that M'Cheyne saw resident within his own soul.

Having said that, the biography itself is a stirring first-hand recollection of one of nineteenth century Scotland's most fire-baptized preachers. As M'Cheyne's closest mortal friend, Bonar was privileged to have access to many of his personal affects. Within this book, the reader finds an equal mixture of quotations from M'Cheyne's extant letters, poetry, journal entries, sermon manuscripts, and no short supply of his more lively verbal quotations.

Bonar stirringly traces the life of his protagonist from his birth, to his immense grief at his brother's death as a young man, to his ordination in the church of Scotland, to his charge in the Dundee church, to his evangelistic mission to Israel to preach the gospel to the Jews, to his participation in the revival fires of Scotland, and finally to the stirring account of his death.

The reader is constantly refreshed in his own walk with the Lord as we hear M'Cheyne preach passionately to his own people both from the pulpit and by house-to-house interviews. One gripping event was moving to this reviewer (himself a pastor): when M'Cheyne and Bonar returned from their life's great mission-adventure to Israel, M'Cheyne found that the interim pastor had been used of God to spark a revival in the church he himself loved so dearly. Rather than fight a deadly jealousy within his own soul that God had so used another man, M'Cheyne praised God knowing that the salvation of his people's souls is infinitely more valuable than his own reputation as a preacher. 

Throughout, M'Cheyne is imminently quotable, and many of his gems are so striking to the reader so that he is forced to put the book down and engage in prayer himself:

• "I fear the love of applause...May God keep me from preaching myself instead of Christ crucified." 
• "Rose early to seek God and found Him whom my soul loveth. Who would not rise early to meet such great company!...They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."
• "Never see the face of man till you have seen His face who is our life, our all." 
• "It has always been my aim, and it is my prayer, to have no plans with regard to myself, well assured that I am, that the place where the Savior sees fit to place me must ever be the best place for me." 
• "I see a man cannot be a faithful minister until he preaches Christ for Christ's sake--until he gives up striving to attract people to himself, and seeks only to attract them to Christ. Lord give me this!"

M'Cheyne was a man whose doctrine was solidly rooted in the Confession of his Presbyterian tradition. He openly confesses his love for the Westminster Confession of Faith and its doctrine while at the same time cherishing the very presence of Christ alone in the "secret" places of his study. As a divine, M'Cheyne preached with full vigor both the electing grace of predestination, and the responsibility of man to repent and believe the Gospel. His doctrine of election, therefore, did not quench his zeal for evangelism. (It never should, of course).

Impact
Two things will be of lasting worth to me having read this biography.

First of all, in the waning pages of his biography, Bonar includes an unfinished manuscript of M'Cheyne's own pen called "Reformation." Here, the young pastor wrote out his own guidelines for seeking personal holiness, especially through the God-ordained means of confession of sin. These short pages are a masterpiece of self-reflection, mortification of the flesh, renunciation of the world, and the grace of repentance. He begins, "I am persuaded that I shall obtain the highest amount of personal happiness, I shall do most for God's glory and the good of man...by maintaining a conscience always washed in Christ's blood." Anyone who seriously pursues holiness would do well to put into practice the recommendations with which M'Cheyne charges himself.

 Secondly, among his poems, "Jehovah Tzidkenu" must surely be his greatest. Here, he writes of the obstinacy of the human heart, the free grace of God in Christ, and the treasure of salvation. He writes,

I once was a stranger to grace and to God,
I knew not my danger, and felt not my load;
Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree,
Jehovah Tsidkenu was nothing to me.

I oft read with pleasure, to sooth or engage,
Isaiah´s wild measure and John´s simple page;
But e´en when they pictured the blood sprinkled tree
Jehovah Tsidkenu seemed nothing to me.

Like tears from the daughters of Zion that roll,
I wept when the waters went over His soul;
Yet thought not that my sins had nailed to the tree
Jehovah Tsidkenu"”´twas nothing to me.

When free grace awoke me, by light from on high,
Then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die;
No refuge, no safety in self could I see"”
Jehovah Tsidkenu my Saviour must be.

My terrors all vanished before the sweet name;
My guilty fears banished, with boldness I came
To drink at the fountain, life giving and free"”
Jehovah Tsidkenu is all things to me.

Jehovah Tsidkenu! my treasure and boast,
Jehovah Tsidkenu! I ne´er can be lost;
In thee I shall conquer by flood and by field,
My cable, my anchor, my breast-plate and shield!

Even treading the valley, the shadow of death,
This "watchword" shall rally my faltering breath;
For while from life´s fever my God sets me free,
Jehovah Tsidkenu, my death song shall be.

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida. Follow on Twitter @matt_everhard.