Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Sometimes, the truth is not all rosy.

The Great Day of His Wrath - John Martin - 1853

Introduction

Isn’t it interesting how much of Christian content is sweet and pleasant?

You would think God was nothing but Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny all wrapped up into one momentous Hallmark card.

Every Christian bookstore oozes with cute coffee cups and glorious musical CDs.

Every pulpit rings with songs of joy and assurances of your best life now.

But, it’s as if they’re hiding something.

No one is that nice. Indeed, no one is that perfect.

Except God is perfect.

So much so that He can’t stand sin, and the only thing holding back the avalanche of His wrath is His mercy.

Perhaps, we should take note.

In fact, that’s exactly what Jonathan Edwards did in 1741.

Maybe more should do so.

The Historic Moment

On July 8, 1741, Jonathan Edwards stood before his congregation in Enfield, Connecticut, delivering what would become the most haunting sermon of the Great Awakening. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was not merely a sermon; it was God’s thunderous warning to souls dangling over the pit of hell.

The Biblical Foundation

Edwards’ message, anchored in two solemn passages of Scripture, revealed the terrifying reality of God’s holy wrath against sin:

Deuteronomy 32:35 "Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly."

Revelation 20:11-15 "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it... And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened... And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done... and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire..."

The Terrifying Reality

Edwards’ exposition pierced hearts with this sobering truth: nothing but the mere pleasure of a sovereign God prevents sinners from plunging into eternal torment at this very moment.

His central declaration still echoes through time: “There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God.”

The False Securities of Man

With relentless clarity, Edwards dismantled every false security:

God needs no greater power than He already possesses to cast sinners into hell instantly

Unregenerate men already stand condemned, fully deserving of eternal punishment

The very same divine wrath displayed in hell burns against sinners even now

Health, resolve, and religious efforts provide no shelter from God’s impending judgment

All human schemes of self-preservation are but shadows—worthless against divine justice

The terrifying truth remains: apart from saving faith in Christ, no amount of seeking, knocking, or religious performance places God under any obligation to withhold eternal destruction for even one more heartbeat.

Our Precarious Position

Deuteronomy 32:35 “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.”

Consider where you stand this very moment, dear friend. The ground beneath your feet is not solid rock but a trap door, held shut only by the unmerited restraint of a God you have grievously offended. Your every heartbeat continues solely by His sovereign decision to withhold, for this very instant, the judgment you have already earned.

The Imminent Judgment

The fires of divine wrath already burn beneath you. The bow of God’s justice is bent, and the arrow of His holy vengeance is pointed directly at your heart. Nothing but the mere pleasure of Him whom you have made your enemy prevents that arrow from being loosed.

Can you not feel the heat rising from that bottomless pit? Can you not hear the shrieks of those who once stood where you stand now, who once reasoned as you reason now, who once rejected Christ as you reject Him now?

Romans 2:5 “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”

The Call to Salvation

This day, this hour, is the time of God’s patience and mercy. The Spirit will not always strive with man. The door of grace stands open but will soon be shut forever.

Christ extends His nail-scarred hands to you now, but the day approaches when those same hands will cast you into outer darkness.

Flee, then, from the wrath to come!

Cast yourself upon the mercy of Christ, whose blood alone can wash away the stain of sin. For there is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved, and no other shelter from the storm of God’s righteous judgment that even now gathers overhead.

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart—for tomorrow may find you beyond the reach of mercy, forever fixed in the agonies of those who rejected the Son of God and trampled underfoot the precious blood of the covenant.

You can read Edward’s whole sermon here.