Charity and its fruits: Christian love as manifested in the heart and life

Why Read This Resource?

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Can a person have spiritual gifts and still lack genuine faith?

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Jonathan Edwards argues that prophecy, miracles, knowledge, and religious experiences are not the ultimate evidence of Christianity. The true mark of the Spirit's work is charity—Christian love expressed in everyday life.

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In this Archive:​

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There are five lessons. Each lesson is taken from one of Jonathan Edwards' first five lectures in Charity & its fruits.

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• Lesson 1: The Sum of All Virtue

• Lesson 2: Christian Grace: Greater Than Spiritual Gifts

• Lesson 3: Why Religious Works Cannot Replace Christian Love

• Lesson 4: What Charity disposes in Long-Suffering

• Lesson 5: The Envious Spirit

• Page by page Commentary for Lectures one through six in English and Spanish.

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What You'll Learn

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By the end of this archive, you will be able to:

✓ Explain Edwards' distinction between gifts and grace.

✓ Identify why charity is central to Christian maturity.

✓ Understand how the Spirit works ordinarily in believers.

✓ Apply Edwards' teachings to modern Christian life.

 

Who is Jonathan Edwards?​​​

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    Jonathan Edwards is one of the most renowned Puritan preachers, revivalists, and missionaries, playing a major in the Great Awakening and in mid-century Protestantism. His works explore two main themes: the absolute sovereignty of God and the beauty of holiness. Among his works are the most well-known, Freedom of the Will, Religious Affections, and History of the Work of Redemption. In his work Charity and its fruits: Christian love as manifested in the heart and life, Edwards explores the principle of charity more practically for the life of the Christian. The work consists of sixteen lectures, which theologically explain how charity is interpreted conceptually and is manifested in the life of the Christian. The purpose of this project is to examine Edwards' teachings and consider how they may be practiced by modern Christians in their daily lives. Rather than treating the work merely as a theological text, this project focuses on its practical implications for Christian character, relationships, and spiritual growth.​​​​​