The Greatest Enemy

What are the distinguishing qualities of those that are in favor with God, and entitled to His eternal rewards? A great question, and, according to Jonathan Edwards, “there is no question whatsoever that is of greater importance to mankind” (Edwards 15). Today I began Edwards’s great treatise “The Religious Affections”. The book is essentially Edwards’s attempt to give an answer to this most important question.

Why is this question so important? Edwards proposes, and I agree, that it is important because the greatest enemy of Christ’s Gospel is false religion. Edwards says it like this: “It is by the mixture of counterfeit religion with true, not disconcerted and distinguished, that the devil has had his greatest advantage against the cause and kingdom of Christ all along hitherto.” (Edwards 17) We must know what true religion (what Edwards calls religious affection) is, so we may refute this great enemy of false religion. This enemy also does not come banging on our door. It comes slowly and does not show itself. It infects and slowly spreads. This disease is a slow killer, not a sword thrust. We cannot see false religion until we know true religion, so this brings us back to our original question; what is the qualities of those that are in favor with God? Is it a dramatic conversion? A passion for the church? Authentic praise? A changed life? A more joyful life? Willingness to serve? What does the true Christian manifest? This is the importance of what Edwards is writing.

The reason that the devil has so used this strategy of false religion is that it has a duel purpose. Firstly, it will make some believe they are saved, when in fact they are not. Think of the tragedy. A life believed to be lived on the narrow way, reaches eternity only to realize that they had been infected with the disease of false religion all their lives. As Edwards says, “making them think they are something when they are nothing” (19). The second purpose is to empower the outward enemies of God in their fight. To empower those who would scream “Hypocrite” at all opportunities. Those who hate Christianity find their advantage in those who do not realize that their proclamation to follow Christ is false. Those who try to live the Christian life without the help of God will fail, and so these are paraded by those who hate the Christian life.

I wish to find these answers and many more as I continue to dive into my Bible and “The Religious Affections”. I believe as Edwards does that “we shall never be in the way of truth” (16), and consequently there must be those who find the truth. I pray to Christ Jesus that I might be one who finds the truth, and that I may live with true religious affection. I pray that God will guide me as I read and study on the topic. I also pray that I remember to examine my own eyes before examining the eyes of others (Matt 7:1-6). I invite you on my journey.