Religious Affections

I recently read a selection from Jonathan Edwards in Devotional Classics. The excerpt in this reading begins with, "The kind of religion God requires… Does not consist in weak, dull, and lifeless "wouldlings" - those weak inclinations that lack convictions - that raise us but little above indifference. God insists that we be good earnest, fervent in spirit, and that our hearts be engaged vigorously in our religion." Many years ago I would have been surprised to read a statement like this from a Calvinist or someone from a Reformed tradition. My tradition was one that eschewed all tradition except the one we were making, forging, and practicing for ourselves at that set time and place. We heard scary stories of other denominations that denied the power of the Holy Spirit, denominations that were dry, dead, and dying because they refused the gift of baptism in the Holy Spirit. The problem comes when one reads someone like Jonathan Edwards.

He writes, "When we receive the Spirit of God we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost who is like fire and along with it the sanctifying and saving influences of God. When this happens… it burns within us." These are not the words of a dried up passionless man. These are the words of a soul hungry for God, a soul thirsty for that which only God can give. I think that many Pentecostals would do well to read Jonathan Edwards because in this portion he highlights one of the primary attributes of the Holy Spirit, namely the convicting work he does in our hearts and his sanctifying power in the lives of Christians. I find it amusing that many in Pentecostal circles would dismiss Edwards because of the Christian tradition he hails from but what I see here is a man just as baptized in the Holy Spirit as anyone from the Pentecostal stream.

Later he mentions what he terms the "spring of action" and how stirred by the Spirit, our affections are also stirred. He also ties in the knowledge of doctrine and theology with religious affection, correctly noting that knowledge of these things are useless without our hearts being stirred first. Reading this passage made me think of the other day when I was teaching a class on water baptism at my church. I read Titus 3:3-7 and as I was reading it, my eyes began to water and my voice began to crack. There is something about this scriptural passage that always stirs me to tears, always stirs my affection, but also my gratitude to God for his love and for saving me. It made me understand that a neglected part of the work of the Holy Spirit in my tradition is conviction. We would highlight the convicting work of the Spirit in regards to conversion but we would focus on the ecstatic experience as a way of sanctification rather then the Holy Spirit stirring our affections for God in such a way that encourages us to keep from sinning as we pursue Him.