In 1741, one of America’s greatest intellectuals, Jonathan Edwards, preached a sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”  It was so effective, people ran down the church aisle to be saved before the invitation was even given. If only we could see that again today!

A reporter once visited his church to determine the secret to Edwards’ success. He met the janitor and asked him if he by chance knew. The janitor told him to follow him. He led the reporter to Edwards’ study and found the door opened. Edwards was on his knees in prayer. The janitor said, “That is the secret.”

Jonathan Edwards was a great preacher. He preached the love of God but also the judgment of God. He never bowed to political pressure or anyone’s whims. He preached truth straight from God’s Word. He vividly described the flames and tortures of hell so that everyone could clearly understand them. The people were so frightened that they readily responded without the hesitation so prevalent in today’s congregations.

Today our society would reject such preaching and consider it repulsive and unacceptable. That is because Satan has deceived most people into disbelief. Many no longer even believe in God, though a lot of people will never admit it. However the truth simply must be preached, even today. The Gospel is badly needed today, more so than probably any other time in our history.  We all see the results of a decadent, unbelieving society. We cringe at the selfishness, the violence, and the sin, but we are now reaping what liberals have sown over the years as they put into practice what man thinks. Man does not know what he needs. God does. He has told us what we need in His Word, the Holy Bible, but man has rejected the Bible as well as God.  

Jesus spoke of hell as a place of torture, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Edwards described the flames of the Lake of Fire vividly enough to make people want to avoid going there. He also told people how simple it is to avoid by simply repenting and trusting Christ with their souls.  

The Italian Dante wrote a poem called Inferno. Dante passes through the gate of Hell, which bears an inscription ending with the famous phrase, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” Dante and his guide hear the anguished screams of lost souls.  

Edwards preached in a similar manner using vivid description of the reality of hell. My constant prayer is for more people to realize that hell is real and that it is their destiny if they don’t know Christ as Savior. And the amazing thing is that gaining heaven is not hard. All one has to do, according to God’s Word, is believe on the Lord Jesus (Acts 16:31). Satan has too many preachers deceived into preaching that one must be “good.” No one on earth is good.