The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper

Author:John Piper [Piper, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: REL080000, Preaching, Clergy—Religious life, Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758)
ISBN: 9781441223029
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2014-12-11T05:00:00+00:00

2. Enlighten the Mind

Yes, Edwards said, “Our people don’t so much need to have their heads stored as to have their hearts touched and they stand in the greatest need of that sort of preaching that has the greatest tendency to do this.”7 But there is a world of difference between the way Edwards aims to move the hearts of his people and the way relational, psychologically oriented preachers today might try to move their hearers.

Edwards preached an ordination sermon in 1744 on the text about John the Baptist, “He was a burning and a shining light” (John 5:35 KJV). His main point was that a preacher must burn and shine. There must be heat in the heart and light in the mind—and no more heat than justified by the light.

If a minister has light without heat, and entertains his auditory [hearers] with learned discourses, without a savour of the power of godliness, or any appearance of fervency of spirit, and zeal for God and the good of souls, he may gratify itching ears, and fill the heads of his people with empty notions; but it will not be very likely to reach their hearts, or save their souls. And if, on the other hand, he be driven on with a fierce and intemperate zeal, and vehement heat, without light, he will be likely to kindle the like unhallowed flame in his people, and to fire their corrupt passions and affections; but will make them never the better, nor lead them a step towards heaven, but drive them apace the other way.8

Heat and light. Burning and shining! It is crucial to bring light to the mind, because affections that do not rise from the mind’s apprehension of truth are not holy affections. For example, he says:

That faith, which is without spiritual light, is not the faith of the children of the light and of the day, but the presumption of the children of darkness. And therefore to press and urge them to believe, without any spiritual light or sight, tends greatly to help forward the delusions of the prince of darkness.9

He speaks even more strongly when he says:

Suppose the religious affections of persons indeed arise from a strong persuasion of the truth of the Christian religion; their affections are not the better, unless it be a reasonable persuasion or conviction. By a reasonable conviction, I mean a conviction founded on real evidence, or upon that which is a good reason, or just ground of conviction.10

So the good preacher will make it his aim to give his hearers “good reason” and “just ground” for the affections he is trying to stir up. Edwards can never be brought forward as an example of one who manipulated emotions. He treated his hearers as creatures of reason and sought to move their hearts only by giving the light of truth to the mind.

Therefore, he taught that it is

very profitable for ministers in their preaching, to endeavor clearly and distinctly to explain the doctrines of

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