Sermons by Jonathan Edwards on the Matthean Parables, Volume 1: True and False Christians (On the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins)
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
The first volume of Sermons contains a previously unpublished series by Edwards on Jesus’ parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins from Matthew 25. It presents an important look into Edwards’ developing thought on the nature of sainthood and related topics of theoretical and practical Christianity, particularly in the context of widespread spiritual renewal. Edwards preached these sermons in the lull between the Connecticut Valley Revival of 1734–35 and the Great Awakening, which started in Massachusetts in late 1740. Two introductions describe Edwards’ preaching style and method, providing a historical context.
For the entire set of sermons, see Sermons by Jonathan Edwards on the Matthean Parables (3 vols.)
- Presents sermons from a prominent American theologian
- Uses rich imagery from the well-known parables of Christ
- Offers applicable and insightful teaching
Top Highlights
“Edwards urges his congregants to cultivate a reverential rather than a sinful fear of God, the difference being that a sinful fear makes one afraid to come to God, while a reverential fear makes one afraid to go away from him.” (Page 29)
“And according as you love and esteem the Lord Jesus Christ, will you desire to have your soul adorned to fit it for him. The more you love him, the more worthy will he appear in your eyes of your adorning yourself for him.” (Page 62)
“This sermon is a formal literary unit consisting of three main divisions, Text, Doctrine, and Application.” (Page 8)
“So it oftentimes is that false Christians are well received among true Christians. They have lamps as well as themselves, and that is all that is visible to them; as to the inside of their vessels, that is hid from ‘em, they can’t see whether they have any oil or no.” (Pages 79–80)
“So true Christians may sometimes resemble false in the ‘corrupt frames that they are in,’ motivated primarily by ‘natural principles’ and feeling no different from when they were unconverted.” (Page 22)
Any writings of Jonathan Edwards, one of the greatest and most influential of Evangelical theologians, are worthy of careful attention, but these sermons engage with the crucial question of distinguishing a true experience of grace from a hypocritical profession of conversion. They are therefore of central importance for understanding an enduring issue in Evangelical faith and practice.
—David W. Bebbington, professor of history, University of Stirling, Scotland
Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) was a theologian, preacher, missionary, writer, and philosopher who has made an incalculable impact on theology, politics, philosophy, the church, and American culture in general. One of the first graduates of Yale college, Edwards went on to write and preach in the Calvinist and Puritan tradition that was his heritage. His church in Northampton, Massachusetts was the epicenter of the Great Awakening, a religious revival that shaped the American religious landscape for years to come. A prolific preacher and writer, Edwards is the author of some of the most important theological works ever penned, including A Treatise concerning Religious Affections and The End for Which God Made the World. The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Yale Edition (26 vols.) is the definitive edition of his many books, treatises, sermons, and notes.