From The Preaching of Jonathan Edwards, John Carrick

… Edwards maintains, that fallen man suffers moral inability and there are certain things that he simply cannot do. First, (Edwards explains to the Indians in the latest preaching on this text), [December 1751] men cannot make satisfaction for their sins; only God can do that. Second, men cannot earn a righteousness that makes them acceptable before God; only he can provide that. Third, men cannot change their hearts which, yet, must be changed by God. This alone is enough to demonstrate that Edwards was no incipient Arminian. John Calvin never enunciated the sinner’s moral inability more explicitly and lucidly. The sinner suffers total moral inability to save himself or to cooperate in his regeneration.

Other Helpful Resources:

1. A Jonathan Edwards Reader
2. Ephesians 2:1-5
3. Jonathan Edwards: Legacy
4. Jonathan Edwards Books
   

by Pastor Josh Moody

The first thing to remember is that depression can be used by God. God is not surprised by depression. No, depression is part of God’s sovereign plan. God has a design to use depression for His glory.

Take some biblical examples. The prophet Elijah was depressed – I think we can use that word – after his confrontation with the false prophets on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18-19, especially 19:4). He was down. He actually wanted to die. He felt like a failure (“I am no better than my ancestors”). And he was overcome with exhaustion. Or look at Job. Job did not speak evil of God, but he suffered greatly, and he came as close to inappropriately questioning God without doing so as mortal man has ever done. At one point, he wished that he had never been born (Job 3:3). One can sympathize with both Elijah and Job’s situations.

Could we say that Jesus was depressed? He is certainly described as a “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3). He “sighed deeply” at the grave of Lazarus; he wept over Jerusalem; on the cross, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). Paul felt overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death (2 Corinthians 1:9) and even constructed out of his experience and the inspiration of God a specific theology of ministry where in our weakness God’s strength is all the more revealed (2 Corinthians 4, 12).

Or if you prefer examples of “great” Christian leaders from church history, think of the British preacher Charles Spurgeon. He knew dark days indeed. Or Martin Luther, of whom it is said that after a particularly bad bout of depression his wife needed to remove the door behind which he had locked himself and say to him “is God dead?!”

So, depression is not something that God can’t use! Now, let’s define, diagnose, and then look at some strategies to deal with depression. This is not a counselor’s handbook, nor a replacement for personal help, but some thoughts from one who, by God’s grace, is more than a little prone to melancholy himself, and who has thought long and hard about what God thinks about depression.

1. Defining “Depression”

This is notoriously difficult to do. We might distinguish between biological (neurobiological), circumstantial, and spiritual depression. But as soon as we begin to use these terms, we realize that they are more slippery than they seem. There is a sense in which all depression is biological. After all, all feelings are expressed somehow through neurobiological changes in our mind and body. We are psychosomatic (body-soul) units, and what I feel is certainly affected by what I ate last night. Nonetheless, these distinctions are still helpful, even if they are overlapping categories. The most dangerous form of depression, in my opinion, is at the epicenter of these sets: when depression has neurobiological, circumstantial, and spiritual elements. This is what I call “systemic” depression. It can be very tricky. Even when just two of those sets are involved – for example, someone with neurobiological tendencies towards depression experiences a severe bereavement – the consequential issues are profound. Clinical depression often frightens us most. But systemic depression may be the most dangerous form of depression.

2. Diagnosing Depression

Depression is sometimes related to mundane matters like eating, sleeping, exercising, and other basic bodily functions. When several of these normal bodily activities are negatively influenced, depression may become more serious. You are well advised to seek professional help if you are frequently finding it difficult to sleep (or sleeping too much), if you are eating too little (or too much), etc.

It is crucial to realize when something is getting beyond you — when you need help. It’s normal after a bereavement to experience loss for a substantial period of time, but approximately one year later you should begin to see some improvement. Obviously, some losses are never entirely healed this side of glory, but there is a sense of moving on which needs to come at some point.

People used to assume that the root of depression was suppressed anger – but that is not always the case. Nonetheless, many people feel that they have some not-dealt-with rage or bitterness, which has caused their depression.

3. Strategies for Dealing With Depression

1. You can be depressed and be a Christian. Just because you feel down doesn’t mean you’re not a Christian. You are saved by your faith in Christ, not by your feelings about yourself or your life.
2. You can be depressed and be godly. Not everyone who is depressed is “in sin”. The Bible does tell us to rejoice in every circumstance, but it does not tell us to rejoice because of every circumstance, and there are circumstances which require Christian empathy, commiseration, and compassion, and not simply flippant exuberance. “Mourn with those who mourn”; there is a time to feel sad, even though – objectively and truly – even then we have reason to have joy because of Christ and his eternal promise for us. In fact, God sometimes uses depression to give us new insight into something that otherwise we would not have perceived (many of the Psalms start “depressed” and end with a great declaration of God’s truth).
3. Sometimes the best thing to do is to ‘take the pills’! Obviously, any medication should be administered by an appropriately qualified professional, but Christians need not feel that spiritual maturity means learning to survive without taking the pills. Some of us are less grumpy when we don’t eat certain foods, and if taking the pills prevents me from sinning, or being a stumbling block to my brothers and sisters, or helps me be useful in the Lord’s service, then praise God for his provision of modern medicine. Unfortunately, not all medication works for all people in all situations but, again, a qualified professional can be helpful.
4. Martin Lloyd-Jones, a physician turned pastor, used to have a standard piece of advice for non-medical depression: “The trouble with many Christians is they listen too much to themselves when they should be talking to themselves.” In other words, talk back to the negative voices with the truth of God’s word about yourself, about the future, and about God. Don’t passively listen to your negative thoughts, but fight back with the sword of the Spirit. “What matters is not what I feel is true about myself at any moment, but what I KNOW is true about GOD at EVERY moment.” We need to focus on the objective (God and his promises) and apply that to the subjective (our personal experience). There is a negative spiral that can take place where one thought leads to another and we end up at the bottom again. We need to exercise discipline to turn our thoughts to a positive spiral towards God and his truth.
5. Those of us who do tend toward melancholy need to beware of selfishness. The pit can be a very selfish place to be. You think about how bad your life is, or that relationship that didn’t work, or that you didn’t get that job. But we are called to be centered on God and his way for our lives. Sometimes we simply need to repent of selfishness, and love God first and love our neighbor as ourselves.
6. It is important to maintain regular patterns of healthy practical life, however hard it may seem. The depressed person can begin not to eat so much, not to rest well, not to work, etc. Your body needs good rest, good food, and healthy activity to enable it to heal. Don’t skimp on sleep and food especially when you are feeling down. Don’t stop working, studying, or doing household chores.
7. Idols can be at the root of some spiritual depressions. People who are obsessed by their career, their children, or their looks, can become depressed when things don’t work out well. We need to have God as the only object of our worship, and if a ‘loss’ takes place of a relatively peripheral matter, we should take the opportunity to look forward to eternity with God. Jonathan Edwards wrote a very moving letter to one of his children urging her in her difficulty to realize that God was using this to teach her not to rely on this life for her happiness. Guard yourself against depression by not having idols, by investing your love and affections most of all in God and not in a passing shadow like fame, money, or a nice house.
8. The community and the church are important resources. Some depressed people are prone to being introverts anyway, so there is a tendency to withdraw. Fight that! You need to be around people who think differently, who are not depressed, who are focused on other matters other than what you are grieving over. Stay in community, use the brotherhood of the church as a resource for fellowship and support.
9. Ask for help. Don’t be shy to talk to an elder or one of the pastors about your situation and don’t be shocked if they refer you to a counselor or some other professional. There’s nothing immature about asking for help. It is the proud (=immature) person who does not ask for advice or help. The humble (= more likely to be on the road to maturity) person who asks godly people for help.
10. See the big picture. This life is short. Is it any coincidence that feelings of depression have become more prominent as the western world has become increasingly preoccupied with this world? Heaven on earth is a delusory hope. This life is disappointing. There are rays of light, but into every life a little rain must fall, and even the righteous may suffer. Focus on heaven, where there will be no more crying or tears, for the old order of things will have passed away.

And remember, winter in New Haven is enough to make anyone feel depressed! Spring is here!

Josh Moody is a friend of mine and an amazing Jonathan Edwards scholar. You’ll want to check out his book The God-Centered Life: Insights from Jonathan Edwards for Today, its one of the best books I read in 2007.

You may also want to check out this post I did on Josh back in February of 2008.

Josh Moody on the Intimate World of Jonathan Edwards

On April 24, 2008, Dr. Doug Sweeney and Collin Hansen discussed Hansen’s Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008).

An MP3 of this discussion, sponsored by the Henry Center, is now available from the Henry Center’s media archive (MP3 | video).

Publisher’s Description: From places like John Piper’s den, Al Mohler’s office, and Jonathan Edwards’s college, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen investigates what makes today’s young Calvinists tick.

Church-growth strategies and charismatic worship have fueled the bulk of evangelical growth in America for decades. While baby boomers have flocked to churches that did not look or sound like church, it seems these churches do not so broadly capture the passions of today’s twenty-something evangelicals. In fact, a desire for transcendence and tradition among young evangelicals has contributed to a Reformed resurgence.

For nearly two years, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen visited the chief schools, churches, and conferences of this growing movement. He sought to describe its members and ask its leading pastors and theologians about the causes and implications of the Calvinist resurgence. The result, Young, Restless, Reformed, shows common threads in their diverse testimonies and suggests what tomorrow’s church might look like when these young evangelicals become pastors or professors.

Related Links:

1. Mike Corley interviewed Collin Hansen
2. Collin Hansen’s article in the Sept. 2006 edition of Christianity Today
3. Amazing Grace – The History and Theology of Calvinism
   

This is the first video documentary that answers many of the questions asked about Calvinism or the Reformed Faith. This three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer. Rich in graphics, dramatic vignettes, and biblical analogies, it also features many of the finest reformed thinkers and pastors of our time: Dr. R.C. Sproul, Dr. D. James Kennedy, Dr. George Grant, Dr. Stephen Mansfield, Dr. Thomas Ascol, Dr. Thomas Nettles and more. Visit The Apologetics Group Now to Order!

In Section 1: Indifferent Signs, Number 7 is titled, Errors in Judgment and Delusions of Satan Intermix with the Work. Number 7 reads:

Nor are many errors in judgment and some delusions of Satan intermixed with the work any argument that the work in general is not of the Spirit of God. However great a spiritual influence may be, it is not to be expected that the Spirit of God should be given now in the same manner as it was to the apostles. The Spirit, without error, guided the apostles in points of Christian doctrine. Therefore, what they taught can be relied on as a rule to the Christian church.

And if many delusions of Satan appear at the same time that a great religious concern prevails, it is not an argument that the work in general is not the work of God. In Egypt there were true miracles wrought by the hand of God in spite of the fact that Jannes and Jambres wrought false miracles at the same time by the hand of the devil. Yes, the same persons may experience great influences of the Spirit of God and yet in some things be led away by the delusions of Satan. This is no more a paradox than many other things that are true of real saints. In the present state, grace dwells with so much corruption.

The new man and the old man subsist together in the same person. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil remain for a while together in the same heart. Many godly persons have undoubtedly in the present and previous ages exposed themselves to woeful delutions. They have an aptness to put to much weight on impulses and impressions. They treat these impulses and and impressions as if they were immediate revelations from God to signify something future or to direct them where to go and what to do.

To be sure, Jonathan Edwards immediate context in this ‘work of the Spirit of God’ is revival. Nevertheless, I would argue we can apply these ‘Marks’ to a ‘work of the Spirit’ in a ministry such as Mark Driscoll’s. To that end, it may be helpful to consider what Jonathan Edwards has said here and apply it to Driscoll and his ministry.

I am not saying I agree with Edwards completely or that Driscoll is being influenced by the Devil or that we can apply these ‘Marks’ in all aspects to Driscoll. What I am saying is that Edwards’ thoughts are worth our consideration.

Resource:

• Jonathan Edwards: On Revival
• The Spirit of Revival: Discovering the Wisdom of Jonathan Edwards
• Works of Jonathan Edwards, Yale, Vol. 4, The Great Awakening
• Various books on Jonathan Edwards

. . . That the difference of the opinions of those, who in their general scheme of divinity agree with these two noted men, Calvin, and Arminius, is a thing there is often occasion to speak of, is what the practice of the latter, itself confesses; who are often, in their discourses and writings, taking notice of the supposed absurd and pernicious opinions of the former sort…. Nevertheless, at first I had thoughts of carefully avoiding the use of the appellation “Arminian” in this treatise. But I soon found I should be put to great difficulty by it; and that my discourse would be so encumbered with an often repeated circumlocution, instead of a name, which would express the thing intended, as well and better, that I altered my purpose. And therefore I must ask the excuse of such as are apt to be offended with things of this nature, that I have so freely used the term “Arminian” in the following discourse. I profess it to be without any design, to stigmatize persons of any sort with a name of reproach, or at all to make them appear more odious. If when I had occasion to speak of those divines who are commonly called by this name, I had, instead of styling them Arminians, called them “these men,” as Dr. Whitby does Calvinistic divines; it probably would not have been taken any better, or thought to show a better temper, or more good manners. I have done as I would be done by, in this matter. However the term “Calvinist” is in these days, among most, a term of greater reproach than the term “Arminian”; yet I should not take it at all amiss, to be called a Calvinist, for distinction’s sake: though I utterly disclaim a dependence on Calvin, or believing the doctrines which I hold, because he believed and taught them; and cannot justly be charged with believing in everything just as he taught. . . .

If you have never read Jonathan Edwards’ Freedom of the Will you should. I have just recently read it and all I can say is WOW. I am reading it again and will surely read it again after that. Freedom of the Will is not the easiest of Edwards to understand, but a most necessary read nonetheless.

R. C. Sproul, on Freedom of the Will says:

“This is the most important theological work ever published in America.”

I read Freedom of the Will in A Jonathan Edwards Reader. In this volume, the editors have given us an authoritative anthology including selected treatises, sermons, and autobiographical material by Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards is considered by many to be America’s greatest theologian and philosopher of all time.

Among the many pieces in this Edwards anthology you will find:

• A Faithfull Narrative of the Surprising Work of God
• Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
• A Divine and Supernatural Light
• Religious Affections
• An Humble Inquiry
• Freedom of the Will
• Original Sin
• Various Personal Writings like A Personal Narrative and Resolutions
• Various Letters

A Jonathan Edwards Reader is affordable and will not disappoint.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers.

Page 162-163.

Several personal writings of Jonathan Edwards pull back the curtain a little on this intimate world of the Edwards household. When Jonathan was still single, he wrote this love poem to Sarah, penned about 1723 (they married in 1727). Note how his clear affection for her is threaded through with an admiration for her spiritual qualities:

They say there is a young lady in [New Haven] who is beloved of that almighty Being, who made and rules the world, and that there are certain seasons in which this great Being, in some way or other invisible, comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight, and that she hardly cares for anything, except to meditate on him — that she expects after a while to be received up where he is, to be raised out of the world and caught up into heaven; being assured that he loves her too well to let her remain at a distance from him always. There she is to dwell with him, and be lavished with his love and delight always … A Jonathan Edwards Reader

Related Links:

1. The God-Centered Life Web Site
2. The God-Centered Life: Insights from Jonathan Edwards for Today
3. A Jonathan Edwards Reader

UPDATE: The program is now available for download. Click here to stream, or “right-click, save as” to download.

Related Links:

The Life and Theology of Jonathan Edwards (5 DVD Set)

Storms presented five messages on Jonathan Edwards at Grace Church, Chapel Hill, NC.

1. Jonathan Edwards #1
2. Jonathan Edwards #2
3. Jonathan Edwards #3
4. Jonathan Edwards #4
5. Jonathan Edwards #5

You may want to consider Sam Storms wonderfull book Signs of the Spirit: An Interpretation of Jonathan Edwards’ “Religious Affections”.

A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections stands as Edwards’s most penetrating interpretation of the awakenings of his time, not to mention one of the most penetrating of any time. As in Some Thoughts, he argued against the extremes of emotionalism on the one hand and intellectualism on the other. Affections were essential to true religion, but they had to be tested. First, Edwards lays out his religious psychology of affections, which encompassed both understanding and will and involved the total range of human faculties. Answering critics of the revival, Edwards then discusses at length a series of “negative” signs, or unreliable criteria for judging the graciousness of affections. Finally, and most famously, he provided twelve “positive” signs for self-examination. The twelfth sign, which Edwards gave the fullest treatment, was the importance of Christian practice as evidence of the state of the heart. Here, for Edwards, was the ultimate standard for visible sainthood.

(HT:A-Team)

Jonathan Edwards on Suffering and the Sweetness of Christ

In September, 1725, I was taken ill at New Haven, and while endeavoring to go home to Windsor, was so ill at the North Village, that I could go no farther, where I lay sick, for about a quarter of a year. In this sickness, God was pleased to visit me again, with the sweet influences of his Spirit. My mind was greatly engaged there, on divine and pleasant contemplations, and longings of soul. I observed that those who watched with me would often be looking out wishfully for the morning; which brought to my mind those words of the Psalmist, and which my soul with delight made its own language, My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than they that watch for the morning; I say, more than they that watch for the morning; and when the light of the day came in at the window, it refreshed my soul, from one morning to another. It seemed to be some image of the light of God’s glory.

Signs of the Spirit: An Interpretation of Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections, Sam Storms, Page 189

By Sam Storms / Good News & Crossway

Out of vigorous, fervent, affectionate love for God arise an intense hatred and abhorrence of sin, a dread of God’s displeasure, gratitude for his goodness, delight in God when we sense his gracious presence, and grief when he seems distant. — Sam Storms

Pulpit Magazine has a three part series on Religion Affections and you can get to the series with these links:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Disclaimer: As you read any information I may reference or write myself, consider it in the light of God’s Word. I will surely make mistakes and others have and will. I may reference or point you to Edwards, Wesley, Luther, Newton, Piper, etc. This in no way should be understood as an acceptance of all they have written or said. Please read these men and take what you can from them and always be on guard. Men are that, merely men and most definitely fallible.