Children Quote by Jonathan Edwards
““When God is here spoken of as hardening some of the children of men, it is not to be understood that God by any positive efficiency hardens any man's heart. There is no positive act in God, as though he put forth any power to harden the heart. To suppose any such thing would be to make God the immediate author of sin. God is said to harden men in two ways: by withholding the powerful influences of his Spirit, without which their hearts will remain hardened, and grow harder and harder; in this sense he hardens them, as he leaves them to hardness. And again, by ordering those things in his providence which, through the abuse of their corruption, become the occasion of their hardening. Thus God sends his word and ordinances to men which, by their abuse, prove an occasion of their hardening.””
About This Quote
Source Sermon: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, 1741
God’s hardening of hearts is passive, caused by withholding divine influence and allowing sinful choices to deepen hardness.
In simple terms: God doesn’t actively harden; He removes help and lets sin grow.
Key Takeaway
Recognize reliance on divine guidance and avoid sinful abuse.
Themes
theology
free will
sin
divine providence
Mood
reflective
serious
contemplative
Type
theological
explanatory
didactic
When to use this quote
- personal moral decisions
- spiritual counseling
- religious education
- church preaching
Key Concepts
hardening
spiritual neglect
abuse of grace
Questions to Reflect On
- How does personal choice interact with divine influence?
- Can we attribute moral failures solely to God?
A Different Perspective
It may overlook human agency and the complexity of moral responsibility.
![“But it is doubtless true, and evident from [the] Scriptures, that the essence of all true religion lies in holy love; and that in this divine affection, and an habitual disposition to it, and that light which is the foundation of it, and those things which are the fruits of it, consists the whole…” quote by Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2fd/jonathan-edwards-770_affection_but-it-is-doubtless-true-and-evident-fro_82879.jpg)
