Revival Preaching

Twelve Lessons from Jonathan Edwards

Ernest Eugene Klassen

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781666711479
  9781666711486
• eBook ISBN:
  9781666711493
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religious Biographies

As part of his passion to bring glory to God, Ernie Klassen is particularly interested in the revival of God's people and the awakening of the lost. He believes strongly that God-honoring, Christ-exalting, and Spirit-empowered preaching plays a critical role in revival and awakening. No one models this dynamic better than Jonathan Edwards. He was a pastor who was a protagonist of the First Great Awakening. He thought deeply and critically about religious movements, and his reflections and sermons provide valuable "fodder" for reflection. Revival Preaching extracts the most important lessons of Edwards's writings and sermons for preaching in today's world.

Chapter 1

An Apology for Pathetic Preaching

”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” (Jonathan Edwards).91

“There is today an evangelical rationalism not unlike the rationalism taught by the scribes and Pharisees. They said the truth is in the word, and if you want to know the truth, go to the rabbi, and learn the word. If you get the word, you have the truth. . .. But revelation is not enough! There must be illumination before revelation can get to a person’s soul. It is not enough that I hold an inspired book in my hands. I must have an inspired heart. There is the difference, despite the evangelical rationalist who insists that revelation is enough. . . . .”92

We are at a point where we can begin to explore the sermons and writings of Edwards to ascertain and extract important lessons on Revival Preaching. As we have indicated earlier, we will ask certain key questions: What kinds of sermons were preached before, during and after the Great Awakening? What themes and what texts were preached? What issues were addressed? What was Edwards’s approach to preaching in general? What was his philosophy of preaching? What was Edwards’s approach to preaching before, during and after the Great Awakening? What lessons are there for us as preachers today? What can we learn from the Great Awakening that would facilitate awakening in our day? What correlation exists between his preaching and revival? What made his sermons so effective? Why did God seem pleased to pour out revival through the agency of these sermons? What about the man Edwards sheds light on the correlation between preaching and revival?

As we have raised these questions in our research, we have recognized certain salient truths related to Edwards’s Revival Preaching. We believe that these truths provide valuable lessons for us today who have a preaching ministry and responsibility. We will look at 12 of the most significant.

What we have endeavored to do in this study is approach a particular aspect or element that explains Jonathan Edwards’s view of Revival Preaching, and then (1) define it, dissect it, and look at it from various perspectives. There is a (2) biblical perspective, where we highlight significant Scriptural texts that show the importance of the point and how it played out in the preaching ministry of biblical characters. We endeavor to provide specific (3) quotes from Edwards himself or (4) quotes by Edwardsean scholars that enunciate his understanding of revival preaching. We have also endeavored to provide, where possible, relevant (5) illustrations from the actual sermons of Edwards to demonstrate the case in point. Where possible and helpful, we incorporate Edwards’s comments on those passages. We also draw upon the (6) 70 resolutions of Edwards, if possible and relevant, to show the correlation between the man and his conviction about revival preaching. Finally, we will endeavor to reinforce this fundamental aspect of “Revival Preaching” from (7) other authors. Finally, we will give our (8) conclusion to the matter.

What can we learn about Revival Preaching from Edwards?

Edwards on the Place for Passion in Preaching

Edwards believed in the importance of passionate preaching. He said something on his view of preaching that arrested my attention and triggered this study. Although I quoted it at the outset of this chapter, it merits repetition here. 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” (Jonathan Edwards).93 Revival Preaching is preaching that touches the heart. If this quote were taken out of context, one could deduce that Edwards was denigrating the more rational or cognitive aspect of preaching, in favor of a more emotional and passionate appeal, an appeal to the heart instead of the head. Anyone who has read Edwards’s sermons, knows that was certainly not his practice! It is not a question of either/or; it is a question of both/and. We do not and should not have to choose between head or heart, we must keep both in perspective. There is solid evidence in Edwards to indicate that he believed that the way to the heart was through the head; what he appears to be saying in the above quote is that preachers should not simply or merely be satisfied with a dry, dispassionate intellectual approach. There was evidence in his ministry and in the ministry of others that good orthodoxy was abundant in the pulpits of New England, but that this was not effecting change.

1. Defining the concept

An Apology for Pathetic Preaching

A key word that comes close to capturing this aspect of revival preaching is what I would call “pathetic preaching.” Words change their meanings over time. Take the title of this chapter: An Apology for Pathetic Preaching. The word “apology” can mean either explanation, written in defense of, or something much like the exact opposite: admission of guilt, request for forgiveness, regret, confession, act of contrition, and/or expression of shame. In similar fashion, the word “pathetic” can either mean “poor, wretched, dismal, sad, pitiable, weak, useless, feeble, and something which is to be shirked and abandoned as horrible and miserable. . . or, in the classic and more traditional sense, “pathetic” can mean passionate, moving, heartfelt, fervent, earnest, avid, warm, ardent, touching, zealous, heartbreaking, sensible, affecting, loving, poignant, and stirring, as in preaching “with pathos.” So, I ask the question: does my title mean

a.Asking Forgiveness for Poor Preaching or

b.Asking Forgiveness for Passionate Preaching or

c.In Defense of and Appealing for Poor Preaching or

d.In Defense of and Appealing for Passionate Preaching?

This chapter is primarily about #4, a defense of and appeal for passionate, moving, heartfelt, fervent, earnest, avid, warm, and ardent, touching, zealous, heartbreaking, affecting, loving, poignant, and stirring preaching. In a very real sense this chapter and entire book is motivated by and about #1, asking forgiveness for poor preaching, and then promoting #4. Good, stimulating, moving, relevant pr...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Permissions
• Biographical Sketch of The Author
• Introduction A: Introducing the Theme
• Introduction B: Introducing the Thesis of this Book: A Certain Kind of Preaching Is Conducive to Revival
• Introduction C: Defining our Terms
• Introduction D: Biographical Sketch of Edwards
• Introduction E: Edwards’s View of Preaching
• Chapter 1: An Apology for Pathetic Preaching
• Chapter 2: Prayer, Fasting and Revival Preaching
• Chapter 3: Preaching on Hell or “Sulfurous Sermons”
• Chapter 4: The Role of the Word in Edwards’s Revivalistic and Awakening Preaching
• Chapter 5: The Role of the Holy Spirit in Revival Preaching
• Chapter 6: The Word/Spirit Blend and Preaching
• Chapter 7: The Supremacy of God in Preaching
• Chapter 8: Edwards the Man and Revival Preaching
• Chapter 9: Correlating Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
• Chapter 10: The Importance of Application
• Chapter 11: Spiritual Pride and Revival Preaching
• Chapter 12: Christocentrism
• Chapter 13: Application to Preaching Today
• Appendix 1: What are the Parameters for the Great Awakening?
• Appendix 2: The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards
• Appendix 3: The Defects of Preachers Reproved
• Appendix 4: What Was the Great Awakening Like?
• Appendix 5: The Place of Personal Application
• For Further Reading
• Bibliography