The Way

jonathan-edwards

5 min read

** Treasure Valley Fox - The Wicket Gate**

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God has become a classic example of evangelistic preaching from the Great Awakening period. Though it is sometimes misused or misunderstood today, its original purpose was to awaken spiritually dead people to their need for salvation.

Edwards did not preach this sermon to terrify people for the sake of terror. He preached it because he genuinely believed that eternal judgment is real, and that the only safe place for a sinner is in the hands of a merciful Savior.

Jonathan Edwards, Read by Max McLean, Introduced by R. C. Sproul

Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) was one of the most important theologians, philosophers, and preachers in American history. He is widely regarded as the greatest intellectual of colonial America and a central figure in the First Great Awakening (1730s–1740s).

Born in East Windsor, Connecticut, Edwards was a child prodigy who entered Yale College at just 13 years old. He graduated at 17 and later earned his master’s degree. Though he possessed one of the sharpest minds of his generation, Edwards was not merely an academic — he was deeply committed to heartfelt, biblical Christianity.

In 1727, he became the pastor of the church in Northampton, Massachusetts, succeeding his famous grandfather, Solomon Stoddard. Edwards was known for his careful, powerful preaching and his deep concern for true spiritual revival. He played a major role in the Great Awakening, a widespread movement of spiritual renewal that swept through the American colonies.

Edwards was a brilliant theologian and philosopher. Some of his most important works include:

  • A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (1746)
  • Freedom of the Will (1754)
  • The Nature of True Virtue
  • Original Sin

In 1750, Edwards was dismissed from his church in Northampton after a controversy over church membership and the Lord’s Supper. He then served as a missionary to Native Americans in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where he continued writing some of his most important theological works.

In 1758, Edwards was appointed president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He died later that same year at age 54 after receiving a smallpox inoculation, which was still experimental at the time.

Edwards is remembered today as a man who combined deep intellectual rigor with passionate devotion to God. He believed that true Christianity was not just intellectual assent or moral behavior, but a transformed heart that delights in God.

Introduction to the Sermon: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Preached: July 8, 1741 Location: Enfield, Connecticut

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is Jonathan Edwards’ most famous sermon — and one of the most well-known sermons in American history. It was delivered during the height of the First Great Awakening, a period of intense spiritual revival.

Contrary to popular belief, Edwards did not usually preach in a loud, emotional style. He typically read his sermons in a calm, measured tone. However, this particular sermon had a powerful effect. As Edwards preached, people in the congregation began to cry out, weep, and even faint under deep conviction of sin. One eyewitness wrote that the scene was like “the day of judgment.”

Purpose of the Sermon

The sermon’s main goal was to awaken people to the danger of their spiritual condition apart from Christ. Edwards wanted his hearers to understand that:

  • Every person outside of Christ is already under the righteous judgment of God.
  • Hell is real, and apart from God’s mercy, every sinner deserves it.
  • God’s patience with sinners is not because they deserve it, but because of His sovereign mercy.
  • The only hope is to flee to Christ in genuine repentance and faith.

Edwards used vivid, terrifying imagery (such as a spider dangling over a fire by a thin thread) to help people feel the weight of their danger. However, the sermon was never meant to be only about God’s wrath. Edwards’ goal was to drive people to Christ as their only hope of escape.

Key Themes

  • The justice and holiness of God
  • The misery and helplessness of sinful humanity
  • The sovereignty of God in salvation
  • The urgency of repentance
  • The mercy available only through Jesus Christ

While the sermon is often remembered for its terrifying descriptions of judgment, Edwards repeatedly emphasized that God’s mercy is available — but it must be received through faith in Christ before it is too late.

Historical Significance

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God has become a classic example of evangelistic preaching from the Great Awakening period. Though it is sometimes misused or misunderstood today, its original purpose was to awaken spiritually dead people to their need for salvation.

Edwards did not preach this sermon to terrify people for the sake of terror. He preached it because he genuinely believed that eternal judgment is real, and that the only safe place for a sinner is in the hands of a merciful Savior.

Jonathan Edwards, Read by Max McLean, Introduced by R. C. Sproul