Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards

Considered by many to be the greatest theologian America has ever produced, Jonathan

Edwards stands at the head, along with Owens, of the Puritan divines. He was a theologian and

pastor and a profound philosopher that is read extensively to present day. His great sermon,

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, is still read and discussed in America’s public schools as

a hallmark of early colonial literature. His Resolutions which he penned at age 20, are still

considered and applied today. His brilliance was lauded, his spirituality admired and imitated.

He was the champion of the Great Awakening in the British colonies.

Born on October 5, 1703, Edwards was raised in a highly Christian and academic

environment. He attributed his success to the influence of Godly parents who descended from a line of pastors and educators. He was trained at Yale College and pastored a Presbyterian

church in New York City for a short time after graduation. He returned to Connecticut at the

persuasion of his father and completed a master’s degree from Yale in 1723. He eventually

matriculated to his grandfather’s Church at Northampton, Massachusetts and was installed as

senior pastor at the elder’s death. “Here he spent his next twenty-three years in what was the largest and most influential church outside Boston, preaching two sermons every Sunday in an

academic gown and powdered periwig...” .

Far from a life of ease, Edward’s life was beset with a series of difficulties. He suffered

periods of exhaustion, depression, and at times, chronic indecision, along with the routine issues arising from the pulpit. Like any faithful minister, he was desirous to see vitality in the life of his Church, yet often saw them react to his messages with indifference. For that reason, Edwards would sometimes focus his message on specific sins. He was always remedial in his preaching, relating that the Gospel was the only solution to this depravity.

Regarding his theology of preaching, Edwards was adamant that religion should manifest

itself with the believer seeing the beauty of holiness. “Since aesthetic perception goes beyond

acceptance of doctrine or morality, preaching must make what is true become real in the

perception of hearers or readers.” He was zealous to see his congregants move from orthodoxy to experience, from idealism to reality. The seedbed for such a pathos was fertile. It was time for revival in the colonies. In some ways, religion was becoming more doctrinal and less experiential at this time in American history, which tended to lend itself to a spiritual malaise. Church attendance was waning, and many believers were experiencing complacency with their methods of worship. Some were frustrated and disillusioned with how materialism and rationalism were infiltrating culture. Many began to crave a return to religious piety and spiritual fulfillment. The time was ripe for God’s movement through a man like Jonathan Edwards as his preaching embodied such ideals.

Edwards influence during these years was profound. It perhaps reached its zenith with his preaching of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God in July of 1741. He used as his text, Deuteronomy 32: 35. In it, he proclaimed the wrath of a holy God against unrighteous sinners.

In a subsequent and perhaps sequel message, he preached a message, Men Naturally God’s

Enemy, or as R.C. Sproul renamed it, “God in the Hands of Angry Sinners.” What we observe in Edwards’ preaching is an emphasis on relationships. The relationship between the august God and natural man and the need to be reconciled to Him. Here we might see the roots of early American evangelism.

His Calvinism is apparent in his teaching. Edwards knew that the catalyst for man’s

salvation was the Gospel, so he preached accordingly as he trusted the Holy Spirit to enlighten

the elect. This Puritan will be remembered for his godly manner, keen intellect, and pursuit of

God’s glory in all matters.