“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” – 1 John 3:1
One Halloween when I was a kid, I dressed up as a space alien. My mom took a ping pong ball and cut it in half and made eyeballs out of them by gluing each half to a black mask. She took a mop head and flipped it upside down to sit on top of my head to make it look like my face was nothing but tentacles. I wore a black cape over a red, one-piece body stocking, and some giant gum boots were made to look like military footwear. It was easily the most inventive costume I had ever worn.
The costume excited me so much, I began to practice my alien speech. I created a foreign accent and adapted how I moved to look more alien-like. I really got into the part. At school, everyone loved my costume and my performance. I was truly convincing as an alien.
But one truth stands out today as I think back to that Halloween. No matter how amazing my costume, no matter how convincing my performance, I was not an alien.
Let me come back to that a bit later.
In July of 1741, a 38-year-old preacher named Jonathan Edwards stood in front of his congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts and delivered a sermon that would prove impactful well beyond those in attendance. It was titled, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. While the term, “fire and brimstone” finds its origins in the Bible itself (see Revelation for example), Edwards and many of his contemporaries came to be known as fire-and-brimstone preachers, and Edwards' now-famous sermon is often cited as the launch point of the First Great Awakening, a global revival in Christianity.
Edwards’ aim was to frighten sinners into the kingdom of God. Humanity is condemned and eternal damnation in spiritual hellfire is certain. Nothing can be done on the part of human beings to change that. Without surrender to Jesus, a horrible, tormented eternity awaits every single person who ever lived. It is only the hands of an angry, wrathful God that keep us all from experiencing this torment already. To prevent this outcome, we must pledge ourselves to Jesus, whose sacrifice on the cross can save us from the wrath of God.
When I first read through the entire sermon, I felt like someone had sucker-punched me. I thought immediately about the word gospel (good news) and tried to marry Edwards’ sermon to it. I found them incompatible for marriage. The characterization of God as an angry, vengeful deity left me with the feeling that spending eternity with such a Person would itself be intolerable.
Yet, hundreds of tens of thousands of people from all over the world heard sermons just like Edwards’ and converted to Christianity. Some of the most famous hymns we sing today would likely have never been written or popularized had the Great Awakening not occurred. Some of the most effective ministries may never have seen the light of day without Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.
And let’s face it; setting aside for the moment the characterization of Edwards’ God, nothing in his sermon is theologically inaccurate. And even the characterization of God as angry and vengeful cannot be written off as wrong, either. God is described often as having anger toward sinful humanity and His judgment against it is also frequently described. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Nahum 1:2 also says, “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.” There are many other passages that describe God in this fashion. So, if Edwards is completely accurate in his handling of Scripture, why am I so troubled?
That brings me back to the alien costume. Putting on alien clothes, wearing a mop on my head, and developing a fake accent didn’t make me an alien. And calling oneself a Christian for the specific purpose of trying to avoid eternal damnation doesn’t make one a Christian. Don’t get me wrong; Edwards doesn’t ever say that acting like a Christian leads to salvation. He is very clear that total faith in Jesus—that He is the only way to a joy-filled eternal life—is how the so-called fires of hell are avoided.
But how many people changed their lives, started going to church every Sunday, started singing the songs, started giving money to the church on a regular basis, started serving in orphanages and soup kitchens all because they were frightened about burning in hell? And changing the way you live your life out of fear of burning in hell doesn’t make you a Christian. In only makes you a fear-filled church person.
Furthermore, if you know nothing about God, Jesus, or Christianity and you happen to stroll into a church for the first time and hear some version of the Sinners sermon, you might convert to Christianity, but what would your understanding of God be? Angry, vengeful, and punishing. In this understanding, Jesus literally becomes your bodyguard protecting you from the Big Guy.
And that is the danger of Edwards’ sermon. If your introduction to God the Father is the one you read about in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, you may forever feel fear and dread toward Him. And the reason I have a huge problem with that is because I don’t believe that God ever wanted us to imagine Him as a furious tyrant.
There is a reason He refers to Himself as God the Father. First and foremost, He wants us to understand Him as our loving Parent. He wants us to think of ourselves as His privileged children. He wants us to think about His hands as comforting and soothing, not punishing.
We were NOT made for judgment. We were made for relationship.
This truth matters so much. Many of you reading this spend a great deal of time worried that you have upset God. You made some terrible mistake, or you’re stuck in some habitual behaviour that you’re certain is making God angry and disappointed in you. I cannot stress how wrong that thinking is. There is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) and nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8:38, 39).
Of course, Edwards’ sermon was not intended for Christians. It was intended for those who had not declared their faith in Christ. But it’s amazing how many Christians today still live in fear of the hands of an angry God.
What do you expect from a great father? I ask this because some of you have or had great fathers, but also, some of you did not have great fathers. That makes everyone qualified to answer the question. Would you expect him to be angry all the time? Or would you expect him to always have your best interests in mind? Would you expect him to protect you from great harm? Would he correct you with loving hands or punish you with furious hands?
And yes, correction is often unpleasant. Occasionally it’s severe. But proper correction always seeks to correct for the purpose of improvement. The desire is that you will become better than you were before being corrected.
Therefore, if this article were to be called a follow-up to the Edwards sermon (and I realize how presumptuous that must sound), it should be titled Children in the Hands of a Loving Father. Yes, it is possible to be frightened into the family of God, but once you’re there, you really ought to know that your heavenly Father is loving, not angry.
The evidence of this comes in the life that Jesus lived. He did everything to point His followers to the Father. Jesus laid down the privileges of deity during His time on earth so that He might show humanity what a life surrendered to the Father looks like. And He famously said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Since we frequently refer to Jesus as a highly loving and compassionate Lord, we have in His life our best demonstration of who the Father also is.
Edwards and the Sinners sermon are not wrong. It is completely accurate. But I do feel that Edwards chose to start the conversation about God poorly. To introduce the Creator of the Universe as a rigid and demanding Judge and nothing else actually misrepresents Him to humanity. The same could be said of a preacher who represents God ONLY as a compassionate, forgiving Father with no mention of His justice and His wrath.
Your heavenly Father is loving. And that love includes being just. It includes correction. And yes, it includes the truth that one day, He will make the decision to separate those who deny Him. But just because the Father will administer judgment on the unrepentant does not mean that His primary nature is one of anger and wrath. Rather, it is love through and through.
If your only vision of God has been one of wrath, then let me start the vision over by introducing you to your loving Father. His mercies endure forever and are new every morning. His love is vast beyond all measure. He created you for His own good pleasure and chose to call you His son or daughter. He sent to earth His Son, Jesus, to die on your behalf so that you might spend forever together with Him.
This amazing, eternal relationship has a starting point. Jesus wants you to surrender your whole self to Him. He doesn’t expect perfect obedience; only a willing heart. He is the only way into the hands of a loving Father.