I did you all a huge disservice by propagating the stereotype of Edwards as being all hellfire and brimstone when I drew so heavily from his imagery in Sinners in the Hands of and Angry God. Edwards talked about much more than wrath and hell, but becasue that is the only sermon most of us have read, that's all we think of when we think of Edwards...Edwards preached amazing sermons on God's love, heaven, charity, the beauty of Christ. In fact, he preached amazing sermons on all biblical truth, including God's wrath. Did he speak more about God's wrath and hell than we do? Yes. But that is no fault of his, it is a fault in contemporary evangelicalism. Edwards was balanced. We are the ones out of balance, neglecting these vital biblical truths.
What makes Edwards sermons so amazing, partly, is his use of vivid imagery. He paints incredible pictures using words. That makes his sermons on heaven and Christ wonderfully appealing, and it makes his sermons on God's wrath and hell terrifying.
Please read something by Edwards, something other than Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Here is a link to one of my favorites - The Excellency of Christ (ok, i couldn't get the link button to work, so I'll type it in and you can cut and paste: http://jonathanedwards.com/sermons/Doctrine/Five%20Discourses/Excellency.htm)
Enjoy!
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