I'll be honest with you. I do not like these hell, fire and brimstone preachers, who use scare tactics in an effort to "turn people to Christ".
They shouldn't be in the pulpit, preaching "doom". All that does is turn people away from Christ....believing the devil's lies, that Christ wants to throw people into hell, and nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus came to seek and save the lost from the condemnation that sin placed on us...not throw us into hell! Our blessed hope is in Jesus Christ and His resurrection, witnessed by over 500 people.
We're already aware that sin separates us from Christ, but it doesn't end there. The good news is that we can repent of our sins and ask Jesus to be our Savior.
One does not need to be yelled at or threatened to stay vigilant. Daily prayer, bible reading, gaining an understanding of what is read through study, church going, fellowship with other Christians, obedience to the Word, and because of people's great love for God, will keep one vigilant.
Jesus showed us how much He loves us, from the cross. He gave us the Good News of the Gospel, that by His grace and resurrection.... Our future is also full of HOPE and salvation for tomorrow! That we too, after death, shall rise to be in the presence of the Lord forever, if that is what we choose to do. He turns no one away!
Christ sends the message of the Good News of Salvation to show us there IS a way to escape hell. That HE is the answer.
That means ANY who wish to have salvation, are more than welcome to come to Jesus and be saved! Not one person has to suffer hell. Jesus said, "Come to Me and I will save your soul and that is a promise He will keep![/b]
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@Thinkerbell What a horrible, radical tyrant Jonathan Edwards was. He may have motivated the First Great Awakening, but most of the Jonathan Edwards' sermons consisted of the following lies:
1. God may cast wicked men into Hell at any given moment.
If that's not using fear/scare tactics, I don't know what is and it's also a lie. God doesn't want, nor is He willing, to cast people into hell "at any given moment". That's a horrible thing to tell people. He came to save, not to throw people into hellat any moment. Oh sure... he could, He has the power, no doubt about that, but he would never! What a terrible picture to paint of God. As if he can't wait to send people to hell. Yep...that would sure motivate me to want to go to Jesus to be saved. 😖🙄 What a radical, awful man.
2. The wicked deserve to be cast into Hell. Divine justice does not prevent God from destroying the wicked at any moment.
Yes. I can see why people were scared to death and turned to Christ right away. That's still no way to witness for Christ.
3. The wicked, at this moment, suffer under God's condemnation to Hell. The wicked, on earth—at this very moment—suffer a sample of the torments of Hell.
No...they don't. I have heard people say, "Oh this is hell!" They have no idea what they're talking about. The torments of hell make earth like a picnic. There's no comparison. They don't really understand what hell is and why Christ doesn't want them to go there! They don't understand the true meaning of hell.
4. The wicked must not think, simply because they are not physically in Hell, that God (in whose hand the wicked now reside) is not—at this very moment—as angry with [b]them as he is with those he is now tormenting in Hell[/b], and who—at this very moment—feel and bear the fierceness of his wrath.
This type preaching is not only outrageous, it's terribly abusive. If this so-called minister knew God, he never would have made such a statement. God doesn't like what people do or that they sin, but he doesn't hate them. He does not hate people....He hates SIN. It is SIN that condemns, not God! Jesus came to rescue us and save us from the condemnation that SIN placed on us. Not God.
John 3:17, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world, through Him, might be saved."
Here's a breakdown of the verse and its meaning:
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world...": This emphasizes that God's primary intention in sending Jesus was not to punish or judge humanity, but to offer a path to salvation.
"...but that the world through him might be saved.": This highlights the purpose of Jesus's mission: to bring salvation and reconciliation to the world through his sacrifice and teachings.
John 3:18 further emphasizes this, stating "He that believeth on him is not condemned BY SIN: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God." In other words, they rejected the only person that could have, and wanted, to save them.
John 12:47 states "And if any man hear my words, and believeth not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world."
5. Edwards says, "At any moment God shall permit him, Satan stands ready to fall upon the wicked and seize them as his own. If it were not for God's restraints, there are, in the souls of wicked men, hellish principles reigning which, presently, would kindle and flame out into hellfire."
God have mercy on his soul, for how many hundreds of people he turned against and away from Christ, with this type radical, hellish preaching! As if God it's just dying to throw people into hell. Unbelievable! Edwards will answer to God for this type preaching.
6. Edwards says, "Simply because there are not visible means of death before them at any given moment, the wicked should not feel secure. Simply because it is natural to care for oneself or to think that others may care for them, men should not think themselves safe from God's wrath."
This is so sad. This was a sick man, I don't care who says what. I don't believe for one Split Second that God is proud of this type preaching. Back in the day he preached, people were very superstitious and very scared of God because they didn't know their Bible and we didn't have traveling ministers, and then this radical religious nut came on the scene and scared people to death. Sure, many listened, but out of fear, not out of wanting to turn to a loving, merciful, and full of grace, God! I wonder how many out of all those people, stayed with God, still falsely believing that He was out to judge and kill them at any moment. I still think he was a disgrace and this is what gave true loving ministers today, even Christians, a bad name.
There IS no fear in perfect love and God's love is perfect!
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18
And yet, Edwards' horiffic preaching did not stop William Billings (who lived a generation later) from writing this beautiful anthem, one of my very favorites:
@Thinkerbell Oh wow... that immediately gave me goosebumps it's so beautiful haha. I cannot get over it. Thank you for sharing it. I've never heard that before and that is just so amazing I don't even have words for it.
