I am writing a chapter this week on Jonathan Edwards and hell.  Edwards preached perhaps the most famous American sermon--"Sinners in the hands of angry God"--which actually focused more on God's mercy holding us up out of hell than the nature of hell itself.

 

It makes me think about the contention of many Christians  that we should never talk--much less preach--about hell, for that would be too frightening and it would communicate law and wrath not grace.

 

Edwards believed he had to preach about hell if he was to be a loving preacher.  Loving?  yes, that's right.  Here's his reasoning: if hell is real and means utmost misery, and there is a chance that people coming to church might wind up there, a loving preacher would do everything in his power to prevent anyone from going there.

 

By the way, Edwards did not believe a person can be scared out of hell or into heaven.  But he did believe that preaching about hell can scare people out of complacency and get them to consider seriously, for perhaps the first time, their eternal destiny.

 

Pastor Gerry