March 10, 2023 Show with Jake Griesel on “Retaining the Old Episcopal Divinity”

The Program Introduction and Iron Sharpens Iron’s Purpose

Live from historic downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home of founding father James Wilson, 19th century hymn writer George Duffield, 19th century gospel minister George Norcross, and sports legend Jim Thorpe, it's Iron Sharpens Iron.

This is a radio platform in which pastors, Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today. Proverbs, chapter 27, verse 17, tells us iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Matthew Henry said that in this passage, we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse and directed to have in view in conversation to make one another wiser and better. It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours, and we hope to hear from you, the listener, with your own questions.

And now, here's your host, Chris Arnzen.

Good afternoon, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and those listening internationally over the internet at ironsharpensironradio .com. This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Friday on this 10th day of March, 2023, and I want our listeners to know this is one of those very rare instances on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio where our program today is prerecorded.

We have already made advance announcements for our listeners to submit questions for my guest, and those questions have come in, and they are continuing to come in, and as long as they come in while I am still recording this interview with my guest, as long as we have time, we will read them all and have Jake answer them all to the best of his ability.

But I'm absolutely thrilled to have a first-time guest on today. I just slipped there and gave you his first name. His name is Jake Griesel, and I will find out in a moment if I'm mispronouncing that.

He is a South African historian of Christian theology living in Cape Town, where he serves at George Whitfield College as lecturer in church history and Anglican studies, and is also a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a research associate at Northwest University's Faculty of Theology.

Today we are going to be addressing his latest book, Retaining the Old Episcopal Divinity, John Edwards of Cambridge and Reformed Orthodoxy in the Later Stuart Church. It's my honor and privilege to welcome you for the very first time ever to Iron Sherpa's Iron Radio, Jake Griesel.

Thank you very much, Chris. It's a pleasure to be with you.

And was that a correct pronunciation of your last name?

Perfectly. On the money.

Oh, really? Great. Well, you have come to us by the popular demand of a number of Anglicans who listen to this program. I am a Reformed Baptist, a confessional Reformed Baptist, adhering to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, but have, over the years, have made a number of good, solid friends who happen to be confessional Anglicans, historically faithful Anglicans, Reformed Anglicans, Anglicans that are also confessional, adhering to the 39 Articles of Religion.

And the audience of Anglicans who listen to this program has been steadily growing, as is reflected by the kinds of emails I get from listeners. And I am always happy to address this issue. And one of the reasons that I love the whole study of Anglicanism, especially that which is biblically faithful and Reformed, is that I was raised Roman Catholic before coming to Christ.

My father's side of the family is Episcopalian. My dad, before his passing, was Episcopalian until I was in my mid-teens. He converted to Roman Catholicism. And I got to know some of his family, and one of his brothers, my Uncle Don, in the state of Washington, Duval, Washington, he was becoming increasingly disturbed by the encroachment of increasing liberalism and leftism and apostasy in the Episcopal Church.

And he was dabbling with the idea of converting to Roman Catholicism. And I was trying to prevent that as best I could by doing some research in his area, trying to find a faithful Reformed Anglican church where he might find a home.

But unfortunately that did not happen, and he converted to Roman Catholicism. And so, therefore, I have had a special place in my heart for seeking out, discovering, and promoting those Anglicans that are biblically faithful.

And Jake, if you could, we have a custom here, a tradition on Iron Trip and Zion Radio, whenever we have a first-time guest, we have that guest give a summary of their salvation testimony by explaining what kind of religious atmosphere, if any, in which they were raised, what kind of providential circumstances our Lord raised up in their lives that drew them to himself and saved them.

And so I'm not even sure if you were raised in Anglicanism or the specific form of Anglicanism you now embrace, but tell us your story.

Jake Griesel’s Conversion and Call to Theology

Yeah, thanks, Chris. So I was born in the city of Durban on the east coast of South Africa in a Christian family. I grew up in a Dutch Reformed church, so I haven't come up in an Anglican context. I was only exposed to that later in life in my university years.

So I grew up in a Dutch Reformed household with godly, faithful parents, but during my teenage years I became rebellious. I went to boarding school, so I was a bit away from my parents' oversight, you might say, and got involved with the wrong friends during high school.

I suppose I myself was the wrong kind of friend. There were others dragging me away. I was also dragging others away into, let's say, less than wholesome activities. And that continued throughout my high school years.

I was a metalhead. I loved heavy metal music.

So did I.

And punk rock as well.

At the end of my high school years I went to university. This was at the city of Bloemfontein, which is in the Free State Province in central South Africa. I suppose it's the equivalent of what you in America would call flyover country.

But I went to university to study commerce initially. I didn't do well at school, not because of a lack of ability, but because of just a lack of desire, lack of ambition and general rebelliousness. And I went to university more out of a sense of duty to do something, I suppose, an expectation for my parents than anything else.

But while I was at university studying commerce, or I would rather say enrolled for commerce because I didn't really study, I was partying away my life, I was involved in a car accident towards the end of my first year studying a Bachelor's of Commerce.

And that car accident, the Lord used to change my life. I was never an atheist, even though I rebelled and didn't want to have anything to do with the church during my teenage and early university times.

I was never an atheist. I believe that God existed. I believe that the Christian faith was true. I just didn't want it to be true for me right then and there. I first wanted to live my life and enjoy my sin.

And one day on my deathbed, take out my Bible, say the sinner's prayer and receive fire insurance. But of course, that's not how it works, right? What is our life? Our life is like a vapor that's here for a little while and then vanishes away.

And that car accident, that potentially fatal car accident in which I was involved towards the end of my first year at university, the Lord used to just shake that notion out of me that I would one day have time to repent on my deathbed.

There might not be time, right? We might not be given decades of life on this earth. We could be taken away at any second. And that realization just shocked, well, figuratively, the hell out of me. And all the seedlings of the gospel that my parents had sown into me as a young child, as all the sermons I had heard, all the Bible stories I had heard, those seedlings that were sowed into my heart as a young boy now became germinated.

So after the car accident, I didn't have a blank slate, you might say. Many years of gospel witness were lying there dormant, you might say, in my heart, but now became germinated by the Spirit. And so I became a Christian at the age of 19 in my first year at university.

What next? Well, one day as I came back into my dormitory, because I was living at a men's residence on campus, my roommate was a Christian, and he had a Bible that was lying on his desk as I entered our room.

And it's almost like a magnetic pull overcame me to, I don't want to say it was like Augustine hearing take up and read, but it was something like that, where I just felt like, take that Bible and start reading.

That same Bible, I've always had a Bible since childhood. But all of a sudden, there was a desire to go and read this book. And as I read it, it gradually started transforming me. And that old, seemingly dusty and boring book all of a sudden became alive, because I now read it as someone who's regenerate.

It's not a dull and dead book, it's a lively and transformative book. And so within a few months after my conversion, from having, you might say, an adverse disposition to the Bible and to Christianity, all of a sudden, I actually wanted to explore theology and the prospect of becoming a pastor.

And that all happened within six months after my conversion. I spoke to my parents about it and said, listen, yeah, I want to change disciplines. I want to leave behind my Bachelor of Commerce and to explore theology and the possible calling of entering the ministry.

But because I was doing very poorly at my commerce degree, my parents were reluctant. Even though they are Christians and supportive in many respects, they were reluctant of allowing me to study theology.

And they were also under the impression, of course, that many young people come to faith and they have a zeal for the Lord, like an early zeal that often passes over. And they come to their senses, as it were, and go do something else with their lives instead of going into ministry or pursuing theology.

But long story short, my father said, okay, we'll give you six months, a semester, to pursue theology. And I was able to pursue that, and I never looked back after that. And I've been studying theology and involved in that ever since.

Well, praise God. And by the way, you are speaking to us right now from Cape Town, are you not? South Africa?

That's correct, yes.

Yes, the connection is excellent, thank God. And well, I am going to now delve into the very topic at hand, your book, Retaining the Old Episcopal Divinity, John Edwards of Cambridge and Reformed Orthodoxy in the Later Stuart.

Church.

The Meaning of “Old Episcopal Divinity” and Anglican Orthodoxy

Now, if you could explain, keeping in mind that our audience is not predominantly comprised of scholarly Anglicans, there would be a broad spectrum of theological mindsets that listen to this program, although, as I said earlier, there are scholarly Anglicans that do listen to this broadcast as well.

But if you could explain what you mean by the Old Episcopal Divinity, and I'm assuming you may be referring to the polity, the Episcopalian polity, as for the reason that you have not chosen to use the term Anglican, but if you could explain.

Sure.

So, the title of my book, Retaining the Old Episcopal Divinity, is taken directly from one of the works of John Edwards himself. As he was explaining to some of his Armenian contemporaries, or reminding them that there were still many conforming churchmen, you might call them Anglicans, I prefer in this particular period to speak of conformists rather than Anglicans, which we might, the reasons for that we might touch on later, but he was using this term to remind his contemporaries that there were still many churchmen in the Church of England at the time, this is talking about the late 17th and early 18th centuries, who retained what he referred to as the Old Episcopal Divinity.

And by Episcopal here, he's not so much referring to the polity necessarily as to refer to those in the Church of England throughout the 17th century who were Episcopalian in their polity, yes, but who adhered to what most Episcopalians or conforming churchmen in the 16th and 17th centuries would have regarded as their orthodoxy, which was reformed in character.

So basically referring to the reformed theology that as enshrined in the Thirteen and Articles and in the homilies of the Church of England, which Edwards, this John Edwards, considered to be essentially the same as articulated in other reformed confessions, such as the Belgic Confession, the Scots Confession, the Gallic or French Confession, and so on.

So essentially, by referring to the Old Episcopal Divinity, he's really saying the old reformed theology that Episcopalians, or you might say Anglicans, used to embrace. But in his particular time, in the later 17th and early 18th century, not everyone did so anymore.

So the phrase Episcopalian is, when you are describing a group of Christians that have its roots in Anglicanism, is not a uniquely American phenomenon then. I was under the impression that Anglicans began calling themselves Episcopalian after the beginning of the Revolutionary War here in the United States.

Yes, of course, in the American context, there's a specific reason why they preferred Episcopalian to Anglican or Church of England, right? Because of the war, as you rightly say. But in the English context, because of the internal battles in the Church of England during the 17th century concerning Church polity, the phrase or the term Episcopal, Episcopalian, came to be used to refer to those who held onto an Episcopal polity or Episcopal government, in other words, Church government by bishops, rather than by presbyters or even independency, or you might call it congregationalism.

So yes, in the 17th century, even in the English context, the term Episcopalian is used to refer to those who held an Episcopal polity.

And, well, it would be obviously, perhaps I should have asked you this first, it would be a good idea to set some background as to who John Edwards of Cambridge was, the specific era in which he lived and ministered, and what kind of legacy he has left for us.

John Edwards of Cambridge: Life, Ministry, and Legacy

Sure, so one of the big troubles I've had ever since I chose to work on John Edwards was to constantly remind people who I speak to that I'm not referring to Jonathan Edwards, the famous American, yes, I'm referring to, well, who's today a lesser known Edwards, but in his own time, he was quite well known, at least in the English context, but also the broader British context and in the American colonies, which we'll touch on in a second.

So to give a brief biographical sketch of John Edwards, he was born in the town of Hertford, or city of Hertford in England, in 1637. Hertford is a little bit north of London. He was the son of the well-known Presbyterian polemicist Thomas Edwards, who was quite a notorious heresiographer who wrote against various heresies during the Civil War period.

That means the 1640s in England. His father died, however, when he was 10, but his mother inherited a large fortune, which enabled her to provide her son with a first-class education. So John Edwards then attended Merchant Taylor School in London before going to St John's College in Cambridge, where he matriculated in 1653 at the age of 16, matriculated meaning he began his studies at Cambridge at St John's College in 1653.

And there at St John's College in Cambridge, he took his BA and MA. This was all during the interregnum, by the way. For those listeners who might not be familiar with the English history of the 17th century, this is the decade or so, just over a decade, in between the death of King Charles I, when he was put to death during the English Civil War, and the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660.

So this is the period under Oliver Cromwell, under the rule of Oliver Cromwell, when there was no king in England. And this is the period in which Edwards was studying at Cambridge and receiving his education.

The master of St John's College at Cambridge at this time was a man named Anthony Tuckney, who was a prominent member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines in the 1640s. And he was impressed with Edwards' academic abilities.

In 1659, the year before Charles II was restored to the English monarchy, Edwards became a fellow of St John's College, meaning he joined the academic staff of the college. And then after the restoration of 1660, in 1662, Edwards was made a deacon and then ordained priest by Robert Sanderson, the Bishop of Lincoln.

And it's quite remarkable that he was made a deacon and then became a priest within only 10 days. Normally you would have to be, at least in the Anglican or Church of England setup, you would have to be a deacon at least a year before you could become ordained as a priest.

But he was made a deacon and then ordained priest within the span of only 10 days. And on top of that, he was given the honour of preaching the sermon at his own ordination. Now, part of it, this was probably the reason why he was a priest or ordained in such a short span of time, was probably because of 1662, this was just after the so-called Black Bartholomew's Day, or the Great Ejection, when numerous Puritans were ejected from the Church of England for refusing to conform to the Act of Uniformity of 1662, which required them to receive episcopal ordination and conform to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

So there might have been reasons for his quick succession of ordination, because the Church of England suddenly lost well over a thousand ministers at that point in time. Well, after the Restoration and after his ordination, his first incumbency as a minister of the Gospel was to serve as director of Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge during the 1660s.

And so he was preaching regularly to an audience, or you might say congregation, consisting of both town and gown, both regular folks in Cambridge, as well as university students and lecturers, professors, and so on.

And there he became well regarded as a so-called practical preacher, someone who not only preached up in the air and ivory tower kind of preaching, but was what you might call a heart surgeon, someone who preached to the conscience and hearts of his congregation in order to evoke them to good works and faithful Christian living.

There's actually a juicy anecdote about Edwards at this point in time,.

Where—yeah, sure.

I definitely want to hear some juicy anecdotes.

Well, he, as you might recall, he was a fellow of St. John's College. Now, at another college in Cambridge was—Clare Hall, or Clare College as it is now known, had a fellow named John Tillotson, who later actually in the 1690s would become the Archbishop of Canterbury.

But there's this juicy anecdote about how Tillotson, who was an Armenian divine, how his audience, how his students would sometimes leave him behind to go and listen to Edwards' preaching and teaching instead at St. John's College.

Yeah, yes, and that legend kind of endured into the—well into the 18th—actually into the early 19th century. So, yeah, so that's just a sign or a symbol, you might say, a token of Edwards' popularity in Cambridge at this point in time.

Well, in 1688 to 1669, he spent a year ministering at St. James Church in Bury St. Edmunds—that's in Suffolk, east of Cambridge—and ultimately he had to leave his position at St. John's College in Cambridge because of personal differences with the masters of the college, firstly with Peter Gunning and with Francis Turner.

Some scholars surmise that it was due to reformed and Armenian differences, but there's no clear evidence. It might just have been temperamental differences between him and the masters of the college, and eventually he decided to leave St. John's College or resign his fellowship, and he moved to another Cambridge college called Trinity Hall to take up the study of civil law.

Yes, so he left theology for a few years to pursue a potential career in civil law, but ultimately, in 1676, he returned to the ministry as the rector of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Cambridge, more commonly known as the Round Church in Cambridge.

And it was quite an honor for me, while doing my PhD and writing this book, to write much of it while sitting in that church, the Round Church in Cambridge, which now no longer has a congregation. It's now kind of used as a study center.

And so I actually wrote much of this book while sitting in the church where Edwards ministered for seven years in the 1670s and early 1680s. The final three years of his career, of his clerical career at least, was spent in Colchester at St. Peter's Church in Colchester, which is in Essex in the east of England.

And then he retired in 1686 at the age of 49, being able to do so because of his personal wealth. He inherited a very large estate. In fact, he possessed five different estates in Cambridgeshire, so he was quite a wealthy man.

And the rest of his life, he would spend in Cambridge writing and occasionally preaching, but mostly writing. And in fact, he published more than 40 works. From the age of 49 to his death, I think he died, if I remember correctly, when he was 76, he spent that whole time writing and publishing 40 works, which was amazing.

So that's Edwards. He died in 1714 at the age of 76.

Reformed Orthodoxy in the Later Stuart Church

Well, we are going to our first commercial break right now. And I am so glad that our audience heard about the pre-recording of this interview and responded early with questions, very impressed by the audience questions that they've already submitted in advance of the airing of this program.

And we will get to those questions as soon as possible. And we will get to as many of them as time will allow. But we are going to our first commercial break. And I am looking forward to resuming this discussion when we return after this break.

So please do not go away. I'm Brian McLaughlin, president of the Secure Comm Group and an.

Enthusiastic supporter of Chris Arnson's Iron Sharpens Iron radio program. The Secure Comm Group provides the highest level of security, close circuit television, access control, and communication systems for Manhattan's top residential buildings, as well as churches, commercial properties, municipalities, and more.

We custom install exactly what you need to protect yourself, including digital recording, offsite viewing, and connectivity from most smart devices. From simple code activated systems to the latest technology using facial recognition, the Secure Comm Group has it.

We also provide the latest in intercom and IP telephone systems. In addition, we provide superior networking platforms. We'll create, maintain, and secure your local network. Whether it's a Wi-Fi or hardwire network, we'll implement the latest secured firewall, endpoint solutions, and cloud backup.

I would love to have the honor and privilege of helping protect the lives and property of Iron Sharpens Iron radio listeners and their associates. For more details on how the Secure Comm Group may be of service to you with the very latest in security innovations, call 718 -353 -3355.

That's 718 -353 -3355. Or visit securecommgroup .com. That's securecommgroup .com. This is Brian McLaughlin of the Secure Comm Group, joining Chris Arnzen's family of advertisers to keep Iron Sharpens Iron radio on the air.

James White of Alpha Omega Ministries here. I'm very excited to announce that my longtime friend Chris Arnzen of Iron Sharpens Iron radio and I are heading down to Atlanta, Georgia again for the G3 National Conference.

That's Thursday, September 21st through Saturday the 23rd on a theme that I have been preaching, teaching, writing about, and defending in live public debates for most of my life, the sovereignty of God.

I'll be joined on the speaking roster by Steve Lawson, Voti Baucom, Paul Washer, Virgil Walker, Scott Anuel, and Josh Bice, founder of G3 Ministries. And there's more great news. Chris Arnzen of Iron Sharpens Iron radio can get you a 30 discount off the registration fee.

Go to g3min .org, that's g3min .org, and enter promo code G3ISIR. That's G3ISIR for the 30 discount. Chris Arnzen, I look forward to seeing you all Thursday, September 21st through Saturday the 23rd for the G3 National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on the sovereignty of God.

Make sure you stop by the Iron Sharpens Iron radio exhibitor booth and say hi to Chris Arnzen while you're there. Go to g3min .org and enter promo code G3ISIR for your 30 discount off the registration fee.

Puritan Reformed is a Bible-believing, kingdom-building, devil-fighting church. We're devoted to upholding the apostolic doctrine and practice preserved in Scripture alone. Puritan Reformed teaches men to rule and lead as image-bearing prophets, priests, and kings.

We teach families to worship together as families. Puritan is committed to teaching the whole counsel of God so that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. We sing the Psalms, teach the law, proclaim the gospel, make disciples, maintain discipline, and exalt Christ.

This is Pastor David Reis of Puritan Reformed in Phoenix, Arizona. Join us in the glorious cause of advancing Christ's crown and covenant over the kings of the earth. Puritan Reformed Church. Believe.

Build. Fight. PuritanPHX .com.

The Prince of Preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, once said, growing a beard is a habit most natural, scriptural, manly, and beneficial. Grace and peace to all the Iron Sharpens Iron listeners. This is Tony with thestandardbeardcare .com.

Thestandardbeardcare .com is a Christ-exalting, better-known, and simple name in beard care. So if you have a beard, know a guy with a beard, or ladies, if you're married to a man with a beard, head over to thestandardbeardcare .com.

Check out the vast array of all-natural, handcrafted products to make that beard scriptural, manly, and beneficial. And when you do so, you will help to support Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. When you use the promo code IRON at checkout, you will receive free shipping to anywhere in the lower 48, and 10 of your donations will go back to Chris Arntzen and Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

So head over to thestandardbeardcare .com,.

Where the standard is the standard. I'm Dr. Joseph Piper, President Emeritus.

And Professor of Systematic and Applied Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Every Christian who's serious about the Deformed Faith and the Westminster Standards should have and use the eight-volume commentary on the theology and ethics of the Westminster Larger Catechism, titled Authentic Christianity, by Dr. Joseph Morecraft.

It is much more than an exposition of the Larger Catechism. It is a thoroughly researched work that utilizes biblical exegesis as well as historical and systematic theology. Dr. Morecraft is pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, and I urge everyone looking for a biblically faithful church in that area to visit that fine congregation.

For details on the eight-volume commentary, go to westminstercommentary .com, westminstercommentary .com. For details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, visit heritagepresbyterianchurch .com, heritagepresbyterianchurch .com.

Please tell Dr. Morecraft and the saints at Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, that Dr. Joseph Piper of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary sent you.

If you love Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio, one of the best ways you can help keep the show on the air is by supporting our advertisers. One such faithful advertiser who really believes in what Chris Arnton is doing is Daniel P. Patafuoco, serious injury lawyer and Christian apologist.

Dan is the president and founder of the Historical Bible Society. Their mission? To foster belief in the credibility of scripture as the written word of God. They go to various churches, schools, and institutions to publicly display a rare collection of biblical texts, along with a fascinating presentation by Mr. Patafuoco demonstrating the reliability of scripture.

To advance the cause of the gospel, they created a beautiful, perfect facsimile of the genealogy of Jesus Christ from the original engravings contained in a 1st edition 1611 King James Bible. This 17th century hand-engraved chart shows the family tree of Jesus Christ going back to Adam and Eve.

This book is complete with gorgeous full-size illustrations of Noah's Ark and the Tower of Babel, and an explanation of why the genealogy of Jesus is so important for his claims to the throne of the universe.

Originals of this work are in museums and nobody has ever made it accessible to the public in a large book form before. You can have your own copy of this 44-page genealogy book for a donation of $35 or more.

Visit historicalbiblesociety .org. That's historicalbiblesociety .org. Thanks for helping to keep Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio on the air. Here at Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio, praise God for the generous monthly financial support of Royal Diadem Jewelers, educated by and affiliated with the American Gem Society, Jewelers of America, and the Gemological Institute of America.

For the perfect custom-designed engagement ring, or any one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry created exactly according to your imagination and specifications, Royal Diadem Jewelers has you covered. No matter where you live in the world, Royal Diadem will walk you step by step through every stage of the process, and even hold a high tech internet virtual visit using state-of-the-art jewelry design technology to serve you.

They start by listening carefully to determine your needs. They're interested in making what you want, not what they want to sell you. From rough design to digital model, to photorealistic image, to wax prototype model, to the finished product, they're continually listening to your input, likes and dislikes, making any changes necessary along the way.

This will ensure that your custom jewelry will turn out exactly as you dreamed, and well beyond your expectations. Visit royaldiadem .com. That's royaldiadem .com today. Sterling Vanderwercker, owner of Royal Diadem Jewelers, his wife Bronnie, his business partner and manager Brian Wilson, and the entire family thank you all for listening to, praying for, and supporting the work of Iron Sharpens Iron.

Radio. And please don't forget folks that royaldiadem .com is still offering Iron Sharpens Iron Radio this absolutely amazing offer. Anyone in our audience who purchases jewelry from royaldiadem .com and mentions Iron Sharpens Iron Radio will actually be the reason that we receive 100 of the profits from that sale.

Royal Diadem Jewelers loves Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. They want us to remain on the air for a very long time, so they are trying to help us as best as they can. Not only do they support this program every month financially, but they also want to give this extra blessing to us by giving 100 of the profits from any sale to a listener in our audience, whether they are purchasing a piece of jewelry already in stock at royaldiadem .com, valued at $100 or more, or if you're having a custom design piece of jewelry created, such as an engagement ring or turning your church logo, your parachurch ministry logo, your denomination logo, your seminary logo, or anything else your imagination and creativity can conjure up, they will take what's in your brain and they will create a physical piece of jewelry from your instructions.

And I have seen their work firsthand. As I've said before, one of the sons of the woman who led me to Christ has a cross pendant for a necklace that was custom designed according to his specifications by royaldiadem .com, and it's mind-blowing how absolutely breathtaking and beautiful and stunning this cross pendant is with a crown of thorns on it.

And you could be the recipient of a gorgeous custom design piece of jewelry, too, and you will also, at the same time, help to benefit Iron Trump and Zion Radio. Go to royaldiadem .com, royaldiadem .com, and make sure you mention Chris Arnzen of Iron Trump and Zion Radio.

We are now back with Jake Griesel, author of Retaining the Old Episcopal Divinity, John Edwards of Cambridge, and Reformed Orthodoxy in the Later Stuart Church. And before I go to our listener questions, Jake, I just wanted to ask you, how has your study of John Edwards changed or impacted or blessed your own walk with Christ and your understanding of the Scriptures?

Edwards, Reformed Theology, and the Later Stuart Church

That's a good question, Chris. I came to this study as someone who was not that familiar with the English context and was interested in historical theology in general and in early modern Reformed theology more particular, but I grew in my appreciation not only for Reformed theology in general, but specifically its expression as found in the Church of England, or you might say in the long term in Anglicanism more specifically.

From Edwards, I learned to appreciate the Reformed heritage when it comes to doctrines of grace and pre-estimation, justification, and various other doctrines. I saw in this person someone who deeply loved the Lord and wanted to defend the Christian faith to the best of his ability in a difficult time.

He lived in a time, late 17th and early 18th century, where he perceived the Christian faith to be being undermined by new developments in philosophy. This was the time of the early Enlightenment, with the rise of rationalism and things like deism that reject the idea of the revelation, the possibility of divine revelation, and various other things like the rise of Arminianism in the Church of England, and he sought to defend what he perceived to be the Reformed faith of the Church of England in his own time.

So in these many respects, I learned from him and grew in my appreciation for this.

Particular tradition. Yeah. Now obviously your book would be one way where our listeners could discover more about John Edwards and be blessed by his theological insights as you were, but has he written other things that are available in print for our audience that you are aware of?

I wish Chris had someone who would be willing to take up some of his books and reprint them through modern publications, for example. In our times, many people are familiar with the works of people like John Owen or Thomas Goodwin or Richard Baxter and other Puritans, for example, but none of Edwards's works have been republished in the last few centuries.

So most of his works are freely available on Google Books, but they are all published in the late 17th and early 18th centuries and haven't been republished since. Well, I'm going to have to approach my friend who.

Actually is or was my very first pastor after my rebirth, Mike Gaydosh, the founder and CEO of Solid Ground Christian Books. I have to approach him about that possibility because he does, he is a Reformed Baptist as I am, but he has a number of Anglican works that he has brought back into print and even a couple of new ones by contemporary Anglican authors.

So I will definitely approach him. And let's see here, I'm going to go to our listener questions or at least begin to. I am so thrilled that a listener who is one of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio's biggest cheerleaders has submitted a question.

I hope he doesn't mind being referred to as a cheerleader, but he is a biblically faithful Anglican who always promotes this program not only when I'm interviewing an Anglican, but even when I am interviewing another Reformed individual of different denominational backgrounds.

He is just a blessing to me and to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. His name is Donald Philip Veatch, and he runs the Facebook page known as Twiss House Reformed Theology, Reformed Prayer Book Churchmanship.

And of course, Twiss House is named after William Twiss, who was both a 16th century and 17th century prominent English theologian. And he has a couple of things to say, and I'm looking for those questions right now, here it is.

Dr. Griesel, can you sketch an outline, I have to expand this email, can you sketch an outline and outline the strength of Reformed theology in the late Stuart period? Was it eclipsed by Laudian Arminianism?