In 1720, Edwards graduated from Yale, first in his class. By the time he was 23
years old, he became the assistant pastor and later the pastor at the church in
Northampton, Massachusetts. Early in his pastoral career, Edwards struggled with
the meaning of true revival. What could he do to get his congregation to experience
revival? His generation was the second generation of the Puritans. The first generation
had worked hard and been very diligent to sow the seed of the gospel and to make
America a City on a Hill. Many great spiritual gains were made and the kingdom
of God had begun to spread in the young America. But now, the second generation
had lost much spiritual desire. They had lost saltiness and the zeal needed to
continue the spread of the kingdom of God. Edwards was not the only one who recognized
the need of spiritual revival. Throughout the history of the church, whenever
territory for the kingdom of God is won, the devil becomes increasingly jealous
and hostile. This is why God's church can never be satisfied or content. It must
always make every effort to enter through the narrow door. So Edwards began a
series of sermons with much prayer, in order to wake up the sleepy congregation
that had become too involved with their own business and everyday life and not
with Christ and his kingdom. In 1731, he preached a message called, ``God glorified
in man's dependence.'' In it, he attacked the liberal argument that sin was merely
a condition of ignorance. He believed that human sin was an inherent enmity against
God and that salvation meant a change of heart. This challenged complacent believers
to earnestly and sincerely and thoroughly search their hearts of sins and repent.
Such earnest soul searching by individuals is a step toward salvation. In 1733
he preached a message called ``A Divine and Supernatural Light.'' He stressed
that real Christianity requires encounters with the truth, but that the truth
must be illuminated by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Only this can produce
a sense of divine excellency of the things revealed in the word of God. One of
the effects of this encounter will be a delight in the glory of God. He stated,
``The convert does not merely rationally believe that God is glorious, but has
a sense of the gloriousness of God in his heart … there is a sense of the loveliness
of God's holiness.'' Edwards was writing from personal experience. When he first
encountered the Scripture under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, his life
began to change. Part of this new Spirit-driven concern in the young Edwards at
that time was a fervent interest in revival and the extension of Christ's Kingdom.
In the following year, 1734, Edwards began a series of sermons about justification
by faith. The main message was called, ``Justification by faith alone.'' He said,
``Justification comes not through good works, but through faith.'' He defined
faith in terms of total response to Christ, of one being in Christ. Edwards always
stressed the central theme of the religious experience or ``sense of the heart''
as he called it. In that year, 1734, revival began to break out in Northampton,
Massachusetts. It began among the young people who had been drifting away from
the church. If a nation is to be revived spiritually, then it must first come
from its young people. Why young people? Because they are not fixed-minded or
corrupt like old people. Young people tend to be learning and pure in their desires.
Acts 2:17 says, ``In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all
people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions….''
Young people, especially those of college age are the best ones from whom a spiritual
revival can take place. They are the hope of the country and its future. And even
many young people can bring their parents to the Kingdom of God. Once Shepherd
Todd Funk was spiritually revived through the Bible study, he began to teach his
mother and she began to be revived. At each Bible study she would say with wonder,
``I didn't know that!'' Many young people wanted to meet with Edwards personally
after his sermons to have discussions. In that year of 1734, a great change began
to occur among the people. There was a great and earnest concern about the things
of God and eternal life. An intense conviction of sin was nearly universal among
those responding to the Northampton revival. Deeper sins like pride and envy were
the focus. Some were even convicted that they were not more convicted. In his
early years, Edwards was an intellectual introvert. He could not manage the small
talk needed for parish visitation. But now many came to Edwards personally to
his office to have Bible study. This is very much like UBF's 1:1 Bible study.
These personal 1:1 meetings are the seeds of spiritual revival. This revival of
1734 was the spark that was fanned into flame along the whole East Coast until
or about 1743. What were some more of the signs of this great revival? For one,
personal thirst and desire for God for each individual. Secondly, a personal witnessing
such as campus fishing grew on a large scale. The sharing of the gospel, which
was previously directed mainly from clergy to laity, now flowed in new channels---from
wives to husbands, even from children to parents. Over a short period of time,
hundreds came to Christ. Towns seemed to be full of the presence of God. Edwards
wrote, "The town seemed to be full of the presence of God: it was never
so full of love, nor joy, and yet so full of distress as it was then…
it was a time of joy in families on account of salvation being brought unto
them; parents rejoicing over their children as new born, and husbands over
their wives.'' Edwards wrote about this revival in 1736 in a work
called ``A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God.'' He interpreted
the religious revival as evidence of God's redemptive work in New England. Later
he wrote ``The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God'' in 1741 and
``Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival'' in 1743. In both of these works,
he defended the revival as an authentic religious experience. But he himself became
critical of the revival though he seemed to defend its authenticity. He asked
``What are the true signs of a revival and what are some of the false signs?''
His criticalness shows his deep desire for people to be true in their faith and
to make sure that they were indeed making the effort to enter through the narrow
door to the kingdom of God. To live as God's people one must thoroughly search
one's own heart. Spirituality is not a series of emotional experience but a way
of life. Edwards was very demanding upon his congregation. But it was in a good
way so that they would be true and sincere to God who sees and judges the heart.
For instance in 1742, he drew up a covenant for his congregation to sign, binding
them to live their faith visibly. This is a reminder that we have a covenant with
God. The covenant is the new covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ which
he poured out for sinners like us. Through his blood we as sinners become God's
people and God becomes our God. We therefore must live as his people living responsible,
faithful and holy lives to Jesus our Lord and Savior. But for what is Jonathan
Edwards most noted? It is his famous sermon he delivered in 1741 called ``Sinners
in the Hands of an Angry God.'' This sermon created spiritual panic among the
congregation who heard it. His key verse was Deuteronomy 32:35 which says, ``It
is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of
disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.'' In this sermon he stated that
rebellious man is far too small and weak to resist the judgment of God which was
sure to come. He said in his sermon, "There is nothing that keeps wicked men
at any moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God… Hell, the very
expression of divine wrath, is prepared; the fire is made ready; the furnace
is hot now; the flames do now rage and glow… Unconverted men walk over
the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places
in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these
places are not seen.'' The response of the audience was one of screaming and
weeping. They reached for building columns and chair rails, something solid to
hold onto, because they were sure that the floor of the church would suddenly
open up and swallow them into the fires of hell under their feet. This sermon
has the true meaning of the fire and brimstone preaching. But Edwards believed
that America was destined to be part of the glorious work of God. He even believed
that the millennium would begin in America. He quoted Isaiah 60:9 in regards to
this, which says, ``Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of
Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and to the honor of
the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.''
Edwards believed that the ``islands'' here referred to America. Later in his life
around the year 1751, he served as a teacher and missionary to the Indians. In
1758, three months before he died, he became the President of Princeton. We can
say that Edwards life did much to advance the gospel in America. His life and
faith was a great part in the First Great Awakening in America that started a
great spiritual revival. Edwards made every effort to make sure that his flock
entered through the narrow gate. He worked hard because he had a great vision
for America. We can see that his hard labor sowed many good seeds that are still
growing here in this country. Like Edwards, we must work hard and make every effort
to teach the Bible 1:1. Sometimes we seem crazy and look crazy to be so diligent
to get others to study the Bible. But we must continue to do so and believe that
1:1 Bible study is God's way to spark a great revival and to make America a Kingdom
of Priests and a Holy Nation.