Here then, are eight lessons from this sermon: 1. It emphasizes the great mercy of the Lord, explaining that only because of this mercy are people saved. In summary, the sermon is an appeal, through fear, shame, and terrifying imagery, for sinners to understand they will be judged by God and subject to his wrath and damnation to hell if they do not repent and turn to Jesus. The revival movement of the Great Awakening was a massive shift among colonialists to strive for salvation, resulting in upwards of 50,000 new converts. Raised a Puritan and the son and grandfather of preachers, Edwards is known for being one of the forerunners of the age of Protestant expansion in the 19th century, along with contemporaries John Wesley and George Whitefield. There at a church in Enfield, Connecticut, audience members reportedly moaned, cried out, wept, and even fainted in response.
The first time Jonathan Edwards preached this sermon, at his home church in Northampton, Massachusetts, it didn’t draw the sort of reaction it did the second time, on July 8, 1741. Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Lara Zanarini Here, then, are eight powerful lessons from Edwards’ famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”
And almost 300 years later, we can still draw much important wisdom from it. The fact remains that “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a powerful sermon that played a significant role in awakening - and securing - hearts to Christ. Or perhaps it’s the bold title that draws your attention - after all, concepts of “sinners” and an “angry God” strike terror in many a heart, or perhaps are reminiscent of the classic hellfire-and-brimstone-type preaching. Hugely influential in Christianity’s Great Awakening, a period in 18th-century American history when a massive amount of people came to Jesus, the sermon was penned by Jonathan Edwards, an American theologian and later president of what is today Princeton University, whose evocative descriptions of hell and wrath led many to the altar in repentance. Perhaps you’ve heard of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” thought to be one of the most famous sermons of all time.
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