Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Themes
The main themes in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" include the danger of damnation, the justice of God's wrath, and the opportunity for redemption.
- The danger of damnation: Edwards warns his audience of the ever-present possibility that they will of sin and be sentenced to damnation.
- The justice of God's wrath: Edwards asserts that God's choice to condemn humans to damnation is always warranted.
- The opportunity for redemption: Edwards emphasizes that, despite God's anger, there is hope for redemption through the teachings of Christ.
Themes: All Themes
Themes: The Immediate Danger of Damnation
Edwards begins by saying that the text he has chosen to expound upon in his sermon is Deuteronomy 32.35:
Their Foot shall slide in due Time.
This relates to God’s punishment of the wicked. The wicked are in constant danger of destruction, as “he that walks in slippery Places is every Moment liable to fall”—and when he does fall, he does so without warning. The only reason that Edwards’s hearers have not fallen and are not in hell already is that it...
(Read more)Themes: The Justice of God’s Wrath
Edwards’s sermon continually emphasizes that everyone deserves damnation. If God were not so infinitely merciful, they would be cast instantly into hell in any given case. Divine Justice (which Edwards personifies) makes no objection to all of Edwards’s listeners being cast into hell immediately. In fact, they are already sentenced to such a fate. Edwards quotes John 3.8:
He that believeth not is condemned already.
God is under no obligation to...
(Read more)Themes: The Opportunity for Redemption
The vital possibility of redemption is only emphasized in the final few paragraphs, when the hearts and minds of the congregation should have been opened to receive the message. Edwards talks about the damned in hell and asks rhetorically what those poor hopeless souls would not give for such an opportunity to be saved as his listeners now have. He says,
Christ has flung the Door of Mercy wide open, and stands in the Door calling and crying with a...(Read more)
Expert Q&A
What themes do the images and analogies used by Edwards in the sermon communicate?
Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, uses vivid images and analogies to convey themes of divine wrath and human helplessness. He employs imagery of fire and water to depict God's anger towards unrepentant sinners, emphasizing that only God's mercy prevents immediate damnation. Edwards likens God's wrath to dammed waters ready to unleash destruction, and describes sinners as being held over hell's fires, illustrating the precariousness of their situation without Christ's mediation.
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