Few theologians in the church’s history are as influential as Jonathan Edwards. Edwards is a particularly important figure in the history of the United States. One could argue that Edwards is the greatest theologian in the history of the United States. Many think about the sermon Sinners In the Hands Of An Angry God or his resolutions. One of the most important works that Edwards produced was The Freedom of The Will. Edwards provides a theological and philosophical framework for understanding human freedom. The review will be divided into four distinct sections: the historical context, the definition of terms, the theological implications, and how a proper understanding of human freedom fosters discipleship in the local church.
The Historical Context
The spiritual conditions of America before the First Great Awakening were grim and dark. The theological zeal of the early settlers had begun to wane, and deism began to rise. Through a series of faithful Pastors, the Lord brought about an awakening. An awakening that would spread like wildfire throughout the colonies. One of the men responsible for this awakening was Jonathan Edwards. There were multiple theological problems that Edwards would spend time addressing. Deism, the idea that God set everything into motion and then removed his hands from it was a predominate view in the colonies. In the middle part of the 1700s, Arminianism began to flourish in the United States. Many of our churches today still hold this view, but what is it exactly?
The Arminian view of human freedom is that of libertarian free will. Meaning man is free to choose whatever he wants. To the Arminian says Edwards, “the human will is not constrained or determined by any power outside of itself. The argument then bleeds over into moral responsibility. If human beings are morally responsible for their actions, then they have to be free in the libertarian sense. What this idea of human freedom suggests is that if there is any coercion or control outside of themselves then they are not morally responsible for those actions, nor is it fair to hold them responsible. It is against the backdrop of this theological system that Edwards begins to address. He begins his writing by defining terms, which will help us understand the theological implications of this work.
Defining Terms
Edwards spends the first section of The Freedom Of The Will defining key terms. Edwards defines the will as “that by which the mind chooses anything” To Edwards the act of the will is the same as the act of choosing, which means that the will is the process by which humans choose one thing rather than another. The will and the desire of man are so closely intertwined that it becomes what Edwards calls an inclination.
Already one can see the differences between Edwards’s view of human freedom and the Arminian view. The Arminian separates the will and desire, but Edwards suggests that one cannot do that because he is inclined to execute the will of his desire.
Edwards goes on to define the will of man by stating “human beings are guided by and shaped above all by their affections… Our loves or affections are the truest indicators of who we are.” Edwards’s definitions help the reader understand that human beings will always make a choice to follow their desires. The Arminian position is that man can make a choice to desire God, and that at the moment of faith, he is the one who has that desire. However, if one follows the definitions that Edwards has set out, man will never desire God above his human sinfulness. It is with this that we will now consider the theological implications of The Freedom Of the Will
Theological Implications
Edwards spends a great deal of time arguing the philosophical side of Arminianism. In the latter part of this work, he shifts gears to focus on the Biblical Testimony of human freedom. He uses a three-fold approach to critique the Arminian view of free will. First, certain texts where certain people are given over to their sin; second, the excellence of Jesus; and third, God’s foreknowledge of future events.
Consider first those who have been given over to their sin by God. To the Arminian, if any moral agent is bound to perform any moral action, then they cannot be held responsible that said action. This is the old men are just robots’ argument. To argue against this, Edwards offers the following texts, Psalm 81:12 “So I gave them up to their own hearts’ lust, and they walked in their counsels.” Acts 7:42” Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven.” Romans 1:24 “Wherefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness, through the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies between themselves.” Romans 1:28 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind.” Man is rejecting God, and God is using secondary causes to keep their eyes darkened and keep their hearts hard. The Westminster divines would write about this in the Larger Catechism.
The excellence of Jesus is something Edwards focuses on in this work, but he also has an eleven-part sermon series on this very topic. It is with this topic that Edwards begins to set out the differences between a robust reformed theology and the Arminian position. The natural man apart from the regenerating work of the Spirit will never see Christ as excellent. They have no desire for God unless God first begins the work in them. It is only after the work of regeneration and true biblical conversion that one begins to truly see and seek the excellence of Christ. Ephesians 1, no doubt, comes to most of our minds. The electing love of the Father, Jesus securing those elected by the Father, and the seal of the promised Holy Spirit teaches us that salvation is a complete work of God. Do you see Jesus as excellent? If the answer is yes, which I hope it is, then it is because God himself changed your desires.
Lastly, God’s foreknowledge of future events. The Arminian view of foreknowledge is the same today as it was in Edwards’s day. God looks down the corridors of time and sees those who will place faith in him and man cooperates with God in his salvation. The theological implication of this view is that man should receive the glory for his salvation and not God. However, since God from all eternity elected a people for himself, and in his foreknowledge knew them before the foundation of the world, God is glorified in the salvation of sinners. There is no event past or future that God does not know and did not ordain. This view of God’s foreknowledge gives the believer confidence that nothing that comes to pass is outside of his control.
Application For MCC
The reviews we have looked at thus far have been simplistic, and that is purposeful. While this review offers more details it is just a sample of what Edwards writes. It is filled with depth, and it makes God glorious. We are wrapping up our discipleship season at church, and I would like to offer five ideas that will spur us on in our discipling of the nations.
- God has elected people from every tongue, tribe, nation, and people. God sends missionaries to certain places of the world to bring his elect sheep into the fold. Pray that God would raise many more from our midst to go to the nations.
- Confidence in God. The doctrines of grace give us confidence that God will give Jesus the fullness of the reward for which he died. When we understand the sovereign election of God, it gives us great confidence that God will save us, and all we have to do is be faithful in spreading the gospel.
- Total depravity and total inability give you a framework to explain the problems in our current culture. Why is man so concerned with the modern self? Why the rejection of objective truth? Why the rise of transgenderism, Marxism, and other worldly ideologies? Because man in his natural state before God hates him and his people.
- It’s fine if you’re not cool. This one is particularly important for the youth in our church to understand. The illusion of “being cool” can be found in every generation. What is cool today will be boring later. What is never-ending is the redemptive work of God and living for his glory.
- Consider the end of all things. God created the world, God allowed Adam to fall into sin, and God brought about the redemptive work of his elect, and he will bring his elect home. That is the beauty of our theology, and that is the reason it is imperative to understand the need for free moral agents to be given a new heart.