FULL
CONFESSION
Edwards was determined to be brutally honest about his
sin. In resolution 68, he pledged that whenever his investigations of his heart
found sin, he would confess it to himself and to God:
68. Resolved, to confess frankly to myself all that which
I find in myself, either infirmity or sin; and, if it be what concerns
religion, also to confess the whole case to God, and implore needed help. July
23 and Aug. 10, 1873.
Edwards believed that true repentance involved bringing
sin out into the open. He must not cover it up, downplay it, or turn a blind
eye to it. He despised the temptation to shift blame, argue innocence, or wink
at sin. He must not live in denial about his moral failure. Rather, he must
acknowledge himself to be a sinner, justly deserving God’s wrath and
displeasure, then confess his transgressions to God in order to seek His
forgiveness. Confession of sin is agreeing with God about one’s sin. IT is
acknowledging sin to God for what it is—cosmic rebellion against a holy God.
Edwards felt that by confessing the sin he saw in his
life, he would be enabled to go even deeper in tracing the roots of evil in his
heart. In a restatement of resolution 68 in his diary, he wrote:
Saturday morning, Aug. 10. . . . As a help against that
inward shameful hypocrisy, to confess frankly to myself all that which I find
in myself, either infirmity or sin; also to confess to God, and open the whole
case to Him, when it is what concerns religion, and humbly and earnestly implore
of Him the help that is needed; not in the least to endeavour to smother what
is in my heart, but to bring it all out to God and my conscience. By this
means, I may arrive at a greater knowledge of my own heart. (Edwards, “Diary,” Works
[Yale], Vol. 17, 776)
In a striking passage from his “Personal Narrative,”
Edwards expressed his keen sense of the depth of his sinfulness: “My
wickedness, as I am in myself, has long appeared to me perfectly ineffable, and
infinitely swallowing up all thought and imagination; like an infinite deluge,
or infinite mountains over my head. I know now how to express better, what my
sins appear to me to be, than by heaping infinite upon infinite, and
multiplying infinite by infinite. . . . When I look into my heart and take a view
of my wickedness, it looks like an abyss infinitely deeper than hell.” (Edwards,
“Personal Narrative,” Works [Yale], Vol. 16, 802) Edwards knew
there always would be sin to confess to God. As long as he was alive, he
would need to confess his iniquities. (Steven J. Lawson, The
Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards [A Long Line of Godly Men Profile; Lake
Mary, Fla.: Reformation Trust, 2008], 87-89)
Further Reading:
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