Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: Made Easier to Read by Jonathan Edwards, John J. Fanella ISBN: 0-87552-213-0 Publisher: P & R Press Pub. Date: July, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $2.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.18 (17 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: what ever happened to law?
Comment: The danger in understanding Edwards is that all too few know anything about him except for this sermon. He spoke about the excellency of Christ more than any other topic.
The editor was wise in noting that Edwards gave this sermon to a church that was playing around with God. Jesus' example is that He was very harsh with the religious hypocrites, and He was gentle and sweet with the "sinners."
It should be noted that without law there can be no concept of grace. When the doctrines of grace were recovered in the Reformation, respect for God's law was likewise recovered. If someone is coming to Jesus not based on because they need forgiveness and atonement with a Holy God, they are coming on false grounds. That is why this sermon is needed today. There is too much felt-needs sermons. Come to Jesus because He will make you better. No, come to Jesus and escape the wrath of God. If you come on other grounds than that, you are endanger of not being a true disciple. That last sentence may sound weird. If it does, I would read "The Gospel According to Jesus" by John MacArthur.
Rating: 5
Summary: Contextually Relevant, but also timeless
Comment: This particular sermon from Edwards has been trumpeted by some as the greatest sermon given on American soil, while being vehemently attacked by others as puritanical fire and brimstone of a backwards age. Oddly enough, there are elements of truth in both sentiments, more the former than the latter however. While unquestionably hitting on many timeless truths that are relevant in any period of time, the genius of the sermon really comes out when one considers the historical context in which the sermon was given.
Contrary to many negative reflex and often revisionist reactions we tend to hear today about puritanism and Edwards, Edwards was not a constant fire and brimstone preacher. The writings of Edwards reveal a man who spoke much more on the grace and mercy of God then of His wrath. But really, the two go hand in hand. There's no need for God to be merciful if there's no eternal wrath to fear. There's no need for God to show grace to human beings if there's nothing bad enough in human beings to warrant divine punishment. It is impossible to adequately discuss God's mercy and grace without also dwelling very intently on the wretchedness of man and the divine justice that must be exacted if we believe that God is perfectly holy. This is the context in which this sermon by Edwards was given. He was invited to preach at a church that was spiritually dead and dominated by a spirit of skepticism and a deeply entrenched disbelief in the need for radical personal conversion. Such is the attitude that can be found in many churches today. Yet contrary to what happens each Sunday in these kind of churches all across America, the preacher at this particular church found such comfortable skepticism not to be a virtue of an enlightened congregation, but as a cancer that ensured that many in his church would go unsaved if things didn't change. Enter Jonathan Edwards, and his sermon to this church on that day changed the people in that church and made a lasting impact on American Christianity that is felt to this day.
The main purpose of the sermon, contextually speaking, was to abruptly dislodge and disrupt the culture of apathetic skepticism that reigned in this church. Edwards attempted to do this by drawing haunting imagery of God's mercy in all things, ensuring the congregation that the only reason they are even breathing is because of God's grace. He paints a picture of man dangling over an eternal fire, and stressing that this is where man finds himself right now, and that the only reason he doesn't fall in is because God (and a very angry God at that) has a hold of him and hasn't yet let go. For Edwards, it was clear that by holding on to sinful and unrepentant man and not allowing him to fall at any moment, God was being infinitely more merciful than we deserve, but that such mercy is not indefinite or inexhaustible, but instead serves either to keep an elect person alive long enough for him to reach a point of faith and repentence, or serves to harden the sinner's heart to the point where eternal damnation is a completely just punishment for having denied and defied the authority of their Maker for so long.
Some have commented that this kind of imagery is backwards because Christians shouldn't be in the business of trying to scare people into personal faith. While such a sentiment sounds good and tends to appeal to our modern sensitivities, such a view is decidedly unfaithful to the entire earthly ministry of Jesus Christ as recorded in the gospels. Jesus talked about hell and punishment more than anyone else, and certainly far more than Edwards. If one accepts that Jesus is God and can therefore be considered a pretty reliable authority on the supernatural and the afterlife, then one must conclude that Christ's continual warnings about eternal punishment are authoritative, accurate, and should be heeded with deep seriousness. I found this sermon by Edwards to be very faithful to the uncomfortable and even scary warnings given by Jesus throughout the four Gospels of the New Testament. Edwards is not scaring people for the sake of scaring people. He is doing exactly what Christ did 2,000 years ago - out of a spirit of deep love and concern, he is warning people of the very real and terrifying consequences of deliberately walking away from Jesus Christ.
In the end, the basic question one has to ask when reading either Edwards or Scripture is whether the eternal punishment described by both is truthful or not. If it is, then how can it possibly be an act of love not to tell people about it? Better to offend with the truth and call people to faith in the one true God and personal repentance than try to make people feel comfortable believing a lie and not seeing a need for people to change anything about their beliefs, wrong and negatively consequential though they may be. If someone believes that eternal punishment is false, then that person has bigger fish to fry then Edwards, they must also patently reject the sayings of Jesus and adopt completely by blind faith a different view of the afterlife. Many have taken this latter road, just as Christ predicted would happen. But truth does not depend on whether our ears are sufficiently tickled. Those who sincerely want to know the truth will give Edwards a fair hearing here and put his views to the test.
Rating: 2
Summary: Is this what God is like?
Comment: In a nutshell, Edwards writes about hell and that we are all destined and deserving to go there unless Jesus protects us from the Father. While the wrath of God and the existence of hell are obviously present in the Bible, something seems off with this piece of literature. I found myself wishing that the Father was more like Jesus, which doesn't make sense. I found it difficult to pray to my "Abba" in the heavens. I believe that, in the end, Jesus came to set us free from the sin that holds us as slaves, to lead us back to the arms of our loving Father, to heal and to renew, not just to protect us from the Father as Edwards seems to suggest here. One of the reasons that people are unable to trust God completely is because they don't believe that He is perfectly good, only powerful.
I do understand what many other reviewers have said in regards to the words of Jesus to the self righteous. It's true that he doesn't compromise, which we should be thankful for. Without the destruction of all that is evil, how could the perfect kingdom of God, the renewal of all that is good that is spoken of in the Bible, be realized? I don't want to challenge any doctrines, I am not qualified to do that. I only wish to encourage all who read this book to question the character of the God that Edwards presents. Jesus said to love our enemies, wouldn't he do the same? I have not read anything else by Jonathan Edwards (I really don't want to now), and I know that he is greatly respected by many people. Hopefully his other works are better than this one. If you read this book, I would suggest using this piece of advise from a favorite author of mine.
"The acid test for any theology is this: Is the God presented one that can be loved, heart, soul, mind, and strength? If the thoughtful, honest answer is; "Not really," then we need to look elsewhere or deeper. It does not really matter how sophisticated intellectually or doctrinally our approach is. If it fails to set a lovable God - a radiant, happy, friendly, accessible, and totally competent being - before ordinary people, we have gone wrong." - Dallas Willard
 |
Title: Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards ISBN: 0851514855 Publisher: Banner of Truth Pub. Date: October, 1986 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
 |
Title: The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader by Jonathan Edwards, Wilson H. Kimnach, Kenneth P. Minkema, Douglas A. Sweeney ISBN: 0300077688 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
 |
Title: Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions: And Advice to Young Converts by Jonathan Edwards, Stephen J. Nichols ISBN: 0875521894 Publisher: P & R Press Pub. Date: July, 2001 List Price(USD): $2.99 |
 |
Title: The Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards ISBN: 1573580333 Publisher: Soli Deo Gloria Pubns Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
 |
Title: Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M. Marsden ISBN: 0300096933 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
