The memorial service for Charlie Kirk was likely the largest evangelistic event in history. Over 70,000 people crowded into the stadium, and an estimated 100 to 130 million more watched the service on television and online. Afterwards, on social media posts, people described returning to church, attending for the first time, recommitting their lives to follow Christ, or declaring a long-concealed faith.
Many people are describing the memorial and its aftermaths as an indication of revival. That makes sense, given that church attendance is on the rise, especially among younger Americans. That number has spiked again in recent weeks, rising another 15% since Kirk’s memorial. There is also the “Quiet Revival” in the U.K., public baptisms at colleges and universities (some of which, most notably at Ohio State University, are hosted by the football team), the awakening at Asbury University, and the much-discussed “vibe shift” across various aspects of American culture. Is “revival” the correct word for what we are witnessing? If so, what should we be doing? How now shall we live?
Perhaps no figure in history is better suited to advise on these matters than Jonathan Edwards, perhaps America’s greatest intellect and someone who played a critical role in America’s First Great Awakening. Even more, he studied the awakening, sought to understand and describe it, and to discern between revival and its excesses.
As a New England colonial preacher, Edwards was grieved by the spiritual deadness he sensed around him. In response, he spent much time praying and working in expectation that God would eventually bring revival. In 1731, Edwards preached a series of sermons that turned dozens and eventually hundreds to the Lord. He was both witness to this awakening and its most important chronicler, hoping to help the Church recognize signs of the Holy Spirit moving among a people.
In The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, Edwards identified five marks of true revival, which can also help us evaluate this current moment. First, Edwards wrote, a true revival is focused on the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Spirit always glorifies Christ, rather than human leaders or emotional experiences. “If the Spirit’s work in the hearts and lives of people brings about greater reverence for Jesus Christ,” wrote Edwards, “then we can rightly say that it is from the Spirit of God.”
Second, Edwards noted that “[t]he man who has an awakened conscience is the least likely to be deceived of any man in the world.” In other words, true revival always opposes evil, allowing the once blind to recognize Satan’s work more clearly. People are led away from sin and toward righteousness, humility, and godliness. This requires that there is a clear call to repentance.
Third, true revival is grounded in the Bible. In an awakening, people are led to study, believe, and obey Scripture above subjective experiences. As Edwards put it, the Spirit is at work when “God’s Word is highly regarded.”
The fourth mark of revival involves the proclaiming and promotion of sound doctrine and theological depth. According to Edwards, “[I]f people who cared nothing for sound doctrine now begin to prize it, then we can safely suppose the Spirit of God is responsible for the change.” In other words, strong emotion was not a sufficient sign of revival for Edwards. Interest in doctrine and a willingness to be challenged by it is a mark that the Spirit is leading people to truth.
Finally, Edwards believed that true revival would produce love, humility, and unity among believers, rather than self-aggrandizement or division. In a remarkably timely sentence written centuries ago, Edwards distinguished between self-love (which he also called counterfeit love) and true love “that arises from the wonderful riches of the free grace and sovereignty of God’s love to us in Jesus Christ.”
Many of these marks were evident in the events of the last several weeks, especially at the memorial service. Christ was proclaimed, repentance encouraged, evil was opposed, interest in the Bible and doctrine renewed. For this, we can thank God.
Another interesting parallel with Edwards’ time, as he detailed in his Faithful Narrative, is the burden he felt for young people to embrace and follow Christ. Edwards told of two untimely deaths that shocked and stirred the youth in his community. In the aftermath, young people began to turn to God in droves. This echoed earlier revivals under Edwards’ grandfather, Solomon Stoddard. Today, we can thank God for moving among high school and college-aged students, through the life and death of Charlie Kirk.
Charles Colson wrote about Jonathan Edwards, “The Western church, much of it drifting, enculturated, and infected with cheap grace, desperately needs to hear Jonathan Edwards’s challenge.” We certainly do have much to learn from Edwards, not only how to recognize the hand of God moving in the world around us, but to expect the hand of God to move, and to pray and work to that end. We cannot manufacture revival, but that should not keep us from hoping, praying, and working for it.
We can also learn from Edwards to be on guard against excess and ungrounded emotionalism, but also to not succumb to cynicism. We should expect God to bring awakening. What a shame it would be to miss a movement of God because it came in a form we didn’t recognize, expect, or even worse, want.
Jesus had something to say about those unable to see God at work. He also said that “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24 ESV). We should pray for fruit, work for it, and expect it.
Originally published at BreakPoint.
John Stonestreet serves as president of the Colson Center, equipping Christians to live with clarity, confidence, and courage in today’s cultural moment. A sought-after speaker and author on faith, culture, theology, worldview, education, and apologetics, he has co-authored five books, including A Practical Guide to Culture, A Student’s Guide to Culture, and Restoring All Things. John hosts Breakpoint, the nationally syndicated commentary founded by Chuck Colson, and The Point, a daily one-minute feature on worldview and cultural issues. Previously, he held leadership roles at Summit Ministries and taught biblical studies at Bryan College (TN). He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his wife, Sarah, and their four children.
