On a summer day in Enfield, Connecticut, a preacher delivered a sermon by reading calmly from his notes without theatrics, gestures, power point, video, or anything other than the Word of God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The message so deeply touched people that they threw themselves on the floor, sobbing with repentance. The sermon’s title came from Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” The date was July 8, 1741, the preacher was Jonathan Edwards and the sermon was “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”
Not everyone appreciated Edwards’ message; the famous American lawyer Clarence Darrow said of Edwards, “Nothing but a distorted or diseased mind could have produced his ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.’ Nothing but the puritanical, cruel generation in which he lived could have tolerated it.”
Indeed, people today love to hear about heaven, but don’t want to consider hell. This Sunday you could go to many churches and hear about how to have a better marriage, family, career, bank account, or golf game. Many pastors will preach messages about God’s love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness, and those are all true. But, few will preach about the holiness and wrath of God or the need for repentance, without which it is impossible to understand or truly appreciate any of the others.
I don’t know how the message from Hebrews 10:25 to 39 will impact you this Sunday, but this passage shows us two kinds of people: those who shrink back and those who stand firm. Here’s my question for you: which one are you? Does it sound unloving, harsh, “distorted or diseased” to ask that question? No, it’s the most loving thing I could do. According to the Bible, the answer to that question will determine your eternal destiny.
Edwards said, “And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God…” Amazing Grace!
Many of us spoke with Annette Wyckoff this past Thursday morning at Women’s Bible Study; she was grateful for God’s grace and excited to tell others about it… including me! Soon afterward, she suffered a stroke and was rushed to Kaiser Hospital. Less then twenty-four hours later, she went to be with the Lord. Please pray for Annette’s family and loved ones. Please be ready for the day and the hour when you stand before the living God.
By grace through faith,
Kurt