Gilbert Tennent sermons 7, "De inimicitia irrenatorum" (On the enmity of the not born-again), 1743

Gilbert Tennent sermons 7, "De inimicitia irrenatorum" (On the enmity of the not born-again), 1743

1743/1744

PHS.TennentSermons007

Gilbert Tennent (1703-1764) was an Irish-American Presbyterian clergyman, and one of the leaders of the Great Awakening.

The title of this sermon, which Tennent delivered first in 1743, then again in 1746 and 1747, translates to "On the enmity of the not born-again." In the sermon, Tennent argues that "unconverted sinners" actively choose to be strangers to God, and goes so far as to state they "have a possitive hatred against God."

Pennsylvania--Philadelphia

Second Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA

Presbyterian Historical Society

11 pages

tiff

http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

eng

Text

De inimicitia irrenatorum (On the hatred by those not born again) explores behaviors of indifference, sometimes scornful, sometimes too much based on self-reliance, of those who have not had a conversion experience. Tho to a later age it could be argued that encountering a minister with too much zeal for winning converts invites avoidance and indifference to him that are merely such, the Reverend sees these behaviors in a doctrinaire way as expressing hatred instilled in natural man, governed only by senses and appetites, and not only indifferent to, but hating the spiritual, a hatred instilled by Satan.

Sermon recalls some of the accusations in the Nottingham sermon of 1740, On the Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry  as directed toward pastors who had not had a personal  experience of God-- dead ministers preaching to dead congregations.  

Harks back to Freylinghuysen's "dividing the Word aright", promising destruction for the unrepentant, born into sin, but unwilling even to show gratitude to the God who created them and who granted them reason and the potential for shedding sin.

https://www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images/iiif.cfm/PHS.TennentSermons007/manifest