The Wrath of Almighty God

This past summer, I taught a five-week Sunday school class on the Biblical doctrine of hell. It was a rather daunting task considering what the Bible has to say on the subject. But my task of instructing the class on the justice of God and His eternal punishment of unrepentant sinners became significantly more intimidating when, on the first Sunday, I asked whether anyone had ever heard a sermon on hell—and everyone responded negatively.

Our culture has tried to convince us that the traditional Christian view of God is old-fashioned and obsolete. Even within many churches, pastors declare that God is a tolerant God who exhibits neither wrath nor judgment.

However, rather than disregard the character of God as He has revealed it, we would do well to follow in the steps of Jonathan Edwards, who so vividly proclaimed the wrath of almighty God against sinners. This collection of Edwards’ sermons and writings, edited by Dr. Don Kistler and published by Soli Deo Gloria Publications, presents Biblical descriptions of God’s attributes as they pertain to His wrath and judgment. It includes several of Edwards’ more notable sermons, including “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” making this something of a systematic theology.

Edwards’ foremost interest in these sermons was the defense of the character and actions of God. The defense he sets forth, however, is not based upon his own presuppositions of the character of God; instead, it is founded upon God’s own definition and defense of Himself.

Edwards is regarded as the greatest theologian America has ever produced. This collection represents the tenor of Edwards’ ministry, for he was a church-man and a theologian, and his voice was greatly used by God during the First Great Awakening. Perhaps God will use these sermons to awaken many people in a new generation to the realization that He is almighty and His wrath is unrelenting upon those who are unrepentant.