David Lowe on Jonathan Edwards' Sermon

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Judge for yourself. Click on title to hear Sermon

I have a friend named David. Wet met online some 5 years ago, when I was very much into End Times theology, and waiting for the rapture to occur. I was doing a Google search for a Pastor named Perry Stone (who we both no longer listen to incidentally), and David's website came up. David and I remain friends till this day, but our friendship has become a little distant when we both adhered to opposite ends of the theological rope, so to speak. I became reformed in my understand of scripture, while David gravitated towards Arminian theology. The changed occurred this way:

David asked me once, "what will you say to a person who asks, 'why will I be judged by God if I was born with a condition that makes me love what God hates - speaking of sin - and born when I didn't ask to be born?'" I remember that the question had little effect on me, initially. I gave a flippant response; something like..."disregard the question, and tell him how he has broken God's laws to bring about an awareness of his sins." Yet, as time went on, the question began to strike me as one with weight. I couldn't shake the feeling that if such a question was posed, the questionnaire would have a great point. For months the question pressed on my mind and conscience, until I became angry with God. The question made God seem unfair and at fault for countless sinners going to hell's infinite torment. Yet, ironically enough, it was that question that lead me to a closer relationship with God. Needless to say, today Dave and I have some disagreements on how we see certain scriptures. This brings me to the point of my blog. Recently, while speaking about Jonathan Edward's famous Sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Dave said the following:

"I don't like the sermon because it is not biblical. It is not in the Spirit of Christ. It uses fear and manipulation to get people to repent. This is not how Jesus and the apostles preached. It leads to false conversions based on a fear of burning in hell forever. Rather, conversion should be based on the gospel: that Jesus Christ conquered death, died for our sins, and is exalted at the right hand of God. He commands all men everywhere to repent."

My aim in this blog isn't to defend Edward's work (I feel it does a good enough job on its own merit), but simply to address some of the comments and concerns that Dave brings up as his argument. With that being established, let us continue on in the endeavor at hand. First, on the issue of the sermon "using fear and manipulation to get people to repent." This statement assumes that Jesus or scripture for that matter, never uses fear as one of many motivators in leading someone to Christ. This simply isn't true. The scriptures clearly say..." by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil" (Proverb 16:6). And lest one would say, "but that is the Old Testament - Jesus never taught this," as if it were a valid argument, we would do well to remember Christ' words... "I will show you who to fear. Fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt 10:28). I trust that these scriptures will suffice in showing that the premise for David's conclusion is faulty. And since the premise is as such, the conclusion no doubt will be in error. Second, concerning Dave's feelings that the sermon will "leads to false conversions based on a fear of burning in hell forever."

I feel this to be a legitimate argument; partly because I know Dave's heart in evangelism, and because fear could be a potential stumbling block if it is used wrongly. I think if one uses fear of hell without first explaining man's guilt, and then explaining Christ' glory in saving us from such a place, a person could in fact get the wrong idea, and thus end up being a false convert. I myself had experience with this. Some time before my conversion, I heard about the rapture and the Great Tribulation, and so I reformed my life to ensure that I wouldn't be left behind. Yet, I was in no way born again. In fact, I didn't even understand why Jesus was so precious, or why God would call me - and otherwise good boy - an evil person. So with all that being said, I want to acknowledge David's concern. Nevertheless, this concern does still stem from a false assumption (one we already dealt with above), and therefore should not deter believers from using the fear that should arise from preaching the realities of God's wrath in Hell. Finally, I think it worthwhile to mention my conjecture on this issue. I believe that Dave's contention with such a classic sermon, derives from a livid disdain for Calvinism. And because this is so - if in fact this is the case - then nothing I say will change his mind.

Its cool though, Dave...you're still my dude!

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