Book Review: Jonathan Edwards on The Good Life

In 2011, I am going to approach my book reviews differently.  Last year, I would assemble the books for the month.  This year, I am going to review books as I read them, hopefully with some more detailed reviews. 

The first book of the year is Jonathan Edwards on the Good Life (The Essential Edwards Collection) (2010).  The Good Life is the third book in a five book series by Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney wherein they distill the work of Edwards into five topical books. 

Jonathan Edwards was a passionate pastor theologian who loved God with his heart, soul, and mind.  The authors demonstrate that Edwards rejected worldly notions of happiness, which are temporal and fleeting.  Rather, Edwards believed that true happiness was found solely in Christ.  Though believers may not have an easy life, a life spent on the road toward heaven was indeed the good life. 

Quotable Quotes:

• 'Tis a thing infinitely good in itself that God's glory should be known by a glorious society of created beings. (p. 27)
• At its deepest, most profound level, the good life is the life lived for the glory of God. (p. 30). 
• To save one's soul and experience deepest delight one must abandon the instinct to selfishly pursue one's well being. (p. 33). 
• The happiest Christians are not those who manage to accomplish all of their personal goals. Rather, the happiest Christians are those who embrace what God wants for their lives (p. 35).
• Edward held the fall of man and the sovereignty of God in tension, emphasizing each in turn as directed by the Scripture, but allowing for mystery due to the finitude of human understanding. (p. 60).
• The ideal Christian life is not a prim, stifling affair in which we moralistically perform righteousness for the Lord as joylessly as possible. The ideal Christian life, the good life God intends for us, is a joyful, pleasurable, happy affair in which we shun sin and seek holiness because we treasure God and desire to taste His goodness in all facets of our lives. (p 69). 
• A big view of God, the Bible, and the Christian life brings deep faith and happiness; a shallow view of God, the Bible, and the Christian life creates shallow faith and malnourished happiness. (p. 88). 
• The Bible is a powerful book. We need to read it often--not to check off a holiness box, but to come into direct contact with the Lord of heaven and earth. (p. 95). 
• One cannot read texts like Psalm 119 and claim that the Bible teaches anything but an inseparable connection between faith and holiness. (p 128). 
• All our labor will be lost.  If we spend our lives in the pursuit of a temporal happiness; if we set our hearts on riches and seek happiness in them; if we seek to be happy in sensual pleaures; if we spend our lives to seek the credit and esteem of men, the good will and respect of others; if we set our hearts on our children and look to be happy in the enjoyment of them, in seeing them well brought up, and well settled, etc., all these things will be of little significance to us.  Death will blow up our hopes and expectations, and will put an end to our enjoyment of these things...Where will be all our worldly employments and enjoyments when we are laid in the silent grave? (p. 134). 
• Many Christians, Edwards knew, wanted to grow spiritually. They wanted to know God and go to heaven. But far fewer believers worked hard to deepen their faith and, subsequently, their enjoyment of God. Too many presumed upon God and His grace, expecting Him to simply drop a bag of maturity and happiness out of the sky for quick and easy use. (p. 138). 

The influence of Edwards on John Piper is very evident in this book.  Edwards called for a life of mind and heart with affections set firmly on God and His glory.  4 stars.