"The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards" by Steven J. Lawson

This little gem of a book is the second in Lawson’s “A Long Line of Godly Men” series, the first title being “The Expository Genius of John Calvin.” You can find my review of that first title here (insert link).

In this book, Lawson examines the disciplined character of Jonathan Edwards, a man who was a faithful servant of God, and also a very misunderstood figure. He is best known to the secular world as the author of that much maligned (and probably very rarely read) sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” He is, indeed, often portrayed as a dour man who rejoiced in the thought of people entering the lake of fire and suffering there for all eternity. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. As Lawson clearly reveals here, Edwards was a man who had a passionate love for the Lord and a great desire to see souls come to Him for their salvation.

Another interesting fact about Edwards is that he is considered one of the most brilliant men produced by the United States of America, even by secular historians (insert link here). This is all the more amazing when one considers that Edwards never wrote anything other than theological writings! His chief concern throughout his life was to bring glory to God in all things.

It is this characteristic of Edwards, a burning passion for His glory, which Lawson examines and presents to his readers, doing a wonderful job of introducing us to Edwards and explaining what made him the man he was; the man that all Christians would benefit in emulating. The way in which Lawson does this is by presenting the 70 resolutions of Jonathan Edwards and demonstrating how he sought to be faithful to them all of his life. For those of you who are unaware, Jonathan Edwards wrote a series of resolution when he was 20-21 years old. These were written, as he himself asserted, because he recognized that he was “unable to do anything without God’s help…” and he thereby “entreat[ed] him by his grace to enable [him] to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to [God’s] will, for Christ’s sake.” In this sentence you catch a glimpse of a man whose overwhelming desire was to please God above all things.

The book itself is a very short one, about 166 pages, which includes an appendix listing every one of the 70 Resolutions. It is divided into nine short chapters that examine how Edwards sought to live out the resolutions in his life, using them as reminders to be always faithful to his Lord…making his conscience captive to the Word of God!

Within the pages of this book, we meet a man very aware of his own weaknesses; a man aware of his inability to measure up to God who thereby decided only by His power could he ever hope to be pleasing to the Father. He lived, more often than not, with an awareness of his God and overwhelmed by a burning passion to please the Lord who saved him from his sin. Read this little book and fall in love with the object of his zeal, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!