“I go out to preach with two propositions in mind. First, everyone ought to give his life to Christ. Second, whether or not anyone gives Him his life, I will give Him mine.” –Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards makes extraordinarily bold claims in his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” He warns people of their condemnation, draws images of their bodies being held precariously over hell, and claims God will have no pity on them after it’s all over. This sermon is not a popular one among modern readers. Objections are cast from every direction in response to Edwards’ severe warnings. These objections make it difficult for one to read this sermon with an open mind, leaving Edwards with little credibility. To read this piece of literature dispassionately, these objections must be somewhat quieted. We must first consider Edwards’ audience and motives, and then look critically at the specific Scripture used by Edwards in order to evidence his points.

Edwards’ literal audience was formed of Puritans. He was not speaking to modern day agnostics or skeptics, but a congregation of people who left their home country in order to obtain religious freedom. Judging by this sermon, we can safely assume they were also moral and pious people who “reformed [their lives] in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in [their] families” (Edwards, “Sinners” 504). Christianity was a way of life to them; these doctrines were not new or shocking to them in any way. Predestination, eternal damnation, and God’s sovereign power were common theologies, accepted by most of Edwards’ congregants, if not all. Spiritually speaking, however, Edwards preached to two different audiences: those who needed to hear this sermon and those who did not. Breaking the audience into these categories is a little difficult. The congregation was made up of believers, but not all were true converts. “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 5.19). Still the separation is not necessarily between true converts and mere believers, either. Those who needed to hear this sermon were two kinds of people-- both they who were sleeping and backslidden believers, and they who that very morning were dangling “over the pit of hell” but would be rescued from damnation that day (Edwards, “Sinners” 504, 508). These are the people to whom this sermon was addressed. Those remaining congregants found the sermon did not apply to them. Perhaps some clung to the faith of genuine assurance in their hearts of their own salvation; perhaps others simply closed an ear “while they continue[d] to reject Christ” (Edwards 501). Neither of these groups needed to hear this sermon, particularly the latter who, Edwards would argue, were never a part of God’s elect and were therefore hardened (Rom. 11.7-8). Edwards understood these people were present when he admitted, “It may be they are now at ease, and hear all these things without much
disturbance” (Edwards, “Sinners” 507).

Many questions already arise. Yet before we go on, we must determine Edwards’ purpose in preaching this sermon. In his own words, “The use of this awful subject may be for awakening unconverted persons in this congregation” (Edwards, “Sinners” 502). Yet I will go so far as to say this was only Edwards’ secondary purpose. Edwards’ primary purpose was to proclaim the truth. We should not necessarily assume this was a very popular sermon with the people, simply because these sermons were prevalent; therefore, we must accept that Edwards did not use this sermon in order to gain personal power or fame within the church. This is a believable assertion when one looks at Edwards’ writings as a whole. A majority of Edwards’ sermons are not damnation sermons, but highly theological discussions of God’s sovereignty, predestination, and other difficult subject matter. His later treatises further indulge these ideas, and his personal writings enormously revolve around nature. According to the articles to which we now have access, we see clearly that damnation was not Edwards’ favorite topic. Instead, we may gather that Edwards’ favorite topic was truth. In his “Personal Narrative”, he explains how he once felt that the thought of God’s sovereignty leaving many to perish eternally seemed “like a horrible doctrine” to him. Evidently this theology was not one Edwards’ was quick to believe, but he explains in the same paragraph that gradually he came to accept these doctrines as true, even sweet (Edwards 467). This radical conversion in doctrinal beliefs assures us that Edwards’ primary concern was acquiring truth and teaching that truth, not manipulation or self-aggrandizement. Edwards’ subordinate though greatly significant purpose then was the possible conversion of lost souls among his congregation.

The first and most pressing question is that of the elect and predestination. Edwards begins his sermon by examining Deuteronomy 32.35: “Their foot shall slide in due time.” From this passage he asserts that it is evident,

That they were always exposed to destruction… sudden unexpected
destruction… liable to fall of themselves, without being thrown down
by the hand of another… [and] that the reason why they are not fallen
already and do not fall now is only that God’s appointed time is not
come” (Edwards, “Sinners” 498-499).

This sums up his entire stance on the issue of eternal damnation. These statements hardly coincide with the modern day doctrine of free will. We are full of objections, particularly to his claim that these sinners were always damned to hell. Yet as Edwards pursued truth before appearances, he always searched the Scripture before making such claims. In his sermon “God’s Sovereignty in the Salvation of Men”, he appeals to Romans 9.11-16, where the story of Jacob and Esau is retold. God told Rebekah, the mother of the twins, that Jacob, the younger, would serve Esau, the older. God told Rebekah this while her sons were “not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand… As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Clearly God made a decision regarding Esau’s fate before Esau even had the chance to sin, adhering to Edwards’ statement that some were always exposed to destruction (41-42).

So then what was the point in preaching to people about their uncontrollable damnation if there was no hope for them? Evidently Edwards believed there were members in the audience that were “asleep” (Edwards, “Sinners” 502, 508). Asleep implies that they are capable of becoming awake. He preached this sermon in hopes that some would awake from darkness and step into the light. Though according to this doctrine people are unable to awaken themselves, for it is “not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Rom. 9.16), there were possibly some whose predestined time had come to be saved. Edwards, in acting on faith and obedience, preached what was on his heart in hopes that God would use him as a vessel in leading some to Christ. He preached to everyone in his congregation to answer Romans 10.14: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” This may appear contradictory. If God chooses on whom he will have mercy, it hardly makes sense that one cannot believe without first hearing a preacher. The simplest explanation would be to infer that God predestined all activities, not just who shall be saved, but also what sermon is preached on Sunday morning or what kind word is spoken in time of need, and that God also foreknew who would be obedient to his commands.

However, it is troublesome still that he delivers this topic before those who have no chance, those who were at that moment and uncontrollably would remain “hanging over the pit of hell” (Edwards, “Sinners” 509). It appears awfully judgmental of him to declare their condemnation. Does not the Bible state, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged” (Luke 6.37)? As human beings, we cannot know who in particular will be damned and who will be saved; we can however appeal to the Bible’s authority. It tells us “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22.14). Edwards would not have felt he was judging. To judge would be to ascribe a fate to particular individuals. Instead he relies on the mere probability that many in his congregation hearing his sermon would spend eternity in hell (Edwards, “Sinners’ 507). Therefore, because he was unable to decipher the elect from the eternally damned, and because he chose to be obedient, he preached this terrible sermon in case some might “now awake and fly from the wrath to come” (Edwards, “Sinners” 509). Furthermore, this sermon insured that all present were “without excuse” before God on the Day of Judgment (Rom. 1.20). They had indeed heard the truth but turned away (2 Tim. 4.4).

Though Edwards invoked many scriptures into his argument on the wrath of God, some may yet question how a God who showed his love to us by sending his Son to die for us (Rom. 5.8) could angrily and without pity cast sinners into hell. Out of Ezekiel Edwards quotes, “Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them” (8.18; Edwards, “Sinners” 505-506). These words are harsh. They do not seem to come from the mouth of the very God who spoke through Zephaniah saying, “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (3.17). Somehow we must unite these prophesies with the same God. Romans 11.22 offers a way of doing so, declaring, “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” Edwards provides a good explanation as well in this sermon; he states that “Now God stands ready to pity you; this is the day of mercy; you may cry now with some encouragement of obtaining mercy. But when once the day of mercy is past… you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God” (Edwards, “Sinners” 506).

This has been only a surface attempt at quieting the objections to this sermon. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a highly controversial work of literature. It is unrealistic to expect the majority of modern readers to accept these difficult doctrines without individual exploration of the Scriptures on this subject. As already pointed out, Edwards acknowledged his own difficulty in their acceptance. However, it is necessary to give this sermon a fair read. Modern readers ought to carefully and objectively consider this work while keeping in mind Edwards target audience, his motives, and most importantly his extensive Biblical support.