Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

“Of all the knowledge that we can ever obtain, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves, are the most important.”
                Jonathan Edwards

     A focal point of the First Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards was a puritan minister in the New England Colonies around the 1730s. It could be argued that the First Great Awakening was one of the pinnacle moments in American development, and, because Jonathan Edwards played such a large part in it, he also is worthy of some praise for carving out a part of the American identity.
    Throughout the early years of the 1700s, a spiritual deadness had crept into the American colonies. The Age of Reason had affected the collective belief system across the colonies. Deism, the idea that God had made the world but didn't interfere with it after, had become a popular way of thinking among the elites, and even many ministers were unconverted. Materialism had infected the American youth, and they cared more for the pursuance of opportunity than for spiritual matters. This is the context in which Jonathan Edwards begins his ministry.
   Jonathan Edwards was the only son in a family of thirteen. Something of an intellectual prodigy in his youth, the young Edwards was rigorously taught by his father and sisters at home until he was thirteen at which point he was accepted into the University of Yale. It was during this period that Jonathan had his conversion. The young scholar had always had trouble accepting the sovereignty of God, and he often wrestled periods of spiritual coolness and doubt. During this period, Jonathan felt convicted of his sins, and he made the decision to believe in Christ and be saved. This conversion would be the first act of a long plan.
   Graduating Valedictorian of his class, the fervent Edwards continued theological studies to complete his masters degree in three years. After the completion of his schooling,Jonathan took some time to study the Bible, and he wrote multiple treatises and sermons on varying subjects. Seeing the intellectuals and theologians of his day drifting towards the heresy of Deism caused a deep disturbance in the recently graduated theologian. He considered the beauty of nature and the orderliness of its laws as proof of God's greatness, and it alarmed him that others would raise the created above the creator.
   Eventually, Jonathan Edwards was made minister to the church at Northampton, one of the largest churches in Massachusetts, and assistant-pastor to his maternal grandfather. Edwards was shocked at the spiritual deadness he found in his parish. He was particularly dismayed at the hypocrisy that had crept into the these large institutions. Seeking to revive the zeal of his church and combat immoral practices he saw, Jonathan Edwards preached fiery sermons and lived what he preached in the community. It was common practice that he would visit those that he saw wandering to help them. His most famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" was preached in this environment. Stressing the absolute depravity and lost state of man, the sermon showed the mercy of God in extending his saving grace to sinners deserving of Hell. The concise, soft-spoken, and intellectual preaching of Jonathan Edwards touched the hearts of his parishioners. 
  Beyond simply preaching, the life of this devoted minister reflected his preoccupation with the eternal. He often rose very early in the morning and studying for thirteen hours a day. Believing in submitting his whole being to his service for God, Jonathan attempted to harness every moment of the day towards the use of his ministry and testimony.This dual action of both preaching God in Church and following him in life sparked a great revival in Edward's Church, and this revival spread throughout much of New England. These are the beginnings of what is now known as the First Great Awakening.
   Stressing personal salvation over institutional membership, it has been speculated that the Great Awakening completed what was started by Luther and nurtured by Calvin. This movement also stressed the equality of all men before God and the need for Christians to dwell in the scriptures. The logical conclusion to these ideas gave American Christianity more of an emphasis on an individual's standing before God and his equality with his fellow man. The promotion of these qualities led to the developing idea of religious individual liberty, a concept central to the foundations of the American Bill of Rights. It wouldn't be long after this time that Americans would begin to ask themselves, "if all are equal before God, should they not be equal before Government?" The results of these teachings were of great importance to the future American ideal which would be heavily influenced as a Christian nation.     
   Unfortunately, the central role in the Awakening would be carried on by Jonathan Edward's fellow revivalist, George Whitfield. The successful and prestigious Puritan minister had became a leader of the "new light" Calvinists, and his many connections gave him a wide voice. While this voice led to great gains, this voice also meant that any criticism of his would have far reaching consequences. One such criticism that had become embarrassing for the Northampton Church was  Edward's disagreement with his Grandfather. This conflict came about the nature of the Lord's Supper, which Edward's father believed was partially saving and open for everyone. Eventually, Johnathan's grandfather sent him out the church for refusing to give the Communion to known sinners. The still popular Johnathan didn't fight this edict, but instead he went quietly to a small congregation in the border wilderness. There, he acted as a missionary to the Indians and devoted himself to sending out correspondence and drafting treatises. During this period, Edwards drafted what is considered his greatest writing, The Freedom of Will. While his successor George Whitfield continued the message throughout the colonies, Edwards persevered in absentee, and continued a fruitful ministry in margins of society.  
   Edwards may have been banished, but his determined work for the Lord did not pass unnoticed. He was offered the Presidency of Princeton University. Two months after he accepted, he died of the fever.
   From child prodigy, to minister of a revival, to faithful missionary. Johnathan Edwards had incalculable influence on his own age, but also that of the future Christian influenced nation of America. Freedom of Religion is a concept that can be traced directly back to the fruits of the Great Awakening. The independent churches of the American frontier were descendants of the "New Light" Calvinists, and many great doctrine of the Christian faith were reaffirmed for all to see through Edwards' works. But, it is worth noting that the greatest achievement that we can award Edwards is that he was used by God to spark something great.

P.S: Here is the first of hopefully many more posts over this week. I am trying to be ambitious.