by J. Mark Jordan
Most of us have heard of the iconic American preacher, Jonathan Edwards, who delivered the now famous address in colonial days, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” He thundered out his rhetoric with such ferocity that people nearly died of heart attacks. One excerpt from this sermon serves as an example of the entire message:
“The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God’s hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.”
It is said that “The people in Enfield ‘yelled and shrieked, they rolled in the aisles, they crowded up into the pulpit and begged him to stop,’ forcing Edwards at one point to ‘speak to the people and desire silence, that he might be heard’. There was ‘great moaning & crying out through ye whole House…ye shrieks & crys were piercing & Amazing…’” (www.brattleborohistory.com)
But I want to leverage this ancient illustration into something more relevant to today’s ministry. I am equally disturbed by saints falling into the hands of an angry preacher. Other than preaching outright lies, I can think of few things more egregious than a man of God mounting the pulpit and preaching God’s Word motivated by anger. It is misguided, hurtful and a distortion of the purpose of preaching. When we preach in anger, we suffer two failures. First, we fail because we abuse the privilege of preaching God’s grace, and, second, we fail because we never accomplish the goal we were aiming for in the first place. Let me explain.
Never confuse the sinner with the sin. A saint is a sinner only in absolute terms in which none of us is without fault. Whenever the preacher focuses on the person instead of the person’s wrong behavior, he triggers a whole range of emotional responses within himself that are inappropriate. Keep in mind that we are all sinners saved by grace. If we cannot extend grace to a misbehaving saint, then we cannot ask for grace to cover our own foibles. It doesn’t mean to let people get by with sinning, but it does mean to love the person while correcting their wrong doing.
Never let personal animosity infect your message. As a little leaven leavens the whole lump, so also expressed anger at some individual in the congregation injects a bitter flavor into your entire message. Remember, a preacher does not approach the pulpit as his own person. He basically loses his identity and stands before the people as an ambassador of good will, a representative of Jesus Christ. “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20 (KJV). No one should ever be able to tell that you are under pressure or that you are at odds with any person in the church.
Never calibrate the intensity of your message with the response of the congregation. Let me state this rather crudely. If you want people to shout, give them something to shout about! Just walking to the pulpit or making a statement or two is not enough to make people the run the aisles. We are not rock stars. Preach about the glory of God, the power of Christ, the victorious life of living for God—anything that calls attention to Jesus Christ. If you get angry over what you perceive as a lack of response, you end up suppressing the very reaction you desire.
Never think that “one size fits all.” All saints are different. So are preachers, for that matter. What brings one person out of his seat may not register with another. Some jump. Some weep. Some run. Some wail. If you expect the same response out of every person, you are not only going to be disappointed, you are going to be biased and offensive. On the other hand, when you make it your business to preach the Word with anointing and love, you will almost always get a positive response.
Never allow your facial expressions, gestures or volume convey anger. If you don’t know what you look like when you preach, have someone take a video of you. That will let you see what your people see. A look of rage, scorn, sarcasm or disrespect will almost always produce a negative response. I’m not talking about a fake smile, but a sincere, concerned expression that will be correct in every context. If you raise your voice from time to time, it’s not necessarily a problem. (Screaming from start to stop does get a little tedious. My English teacher from long ago said, “If you emphasize everything [with exclamation points], you emphasize nothing.”) If you raise your voice in anger, however, you destroy whatever edification, exhortation or comfort you are trying to establish.
Always preach persuasively. The Apostle Paul said, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” 2 Corinthians 5:11 (KJV). Despite the fact that the Mossberg 500 Persuader Shotgun bears the name of “Persuader,” preaching with persuasion is not browbeating, blasting or threatening people. It may sometimes be passionate, sometimes pitiful, sometimes with reasoning, sometimes with skillful verbiage, but persuasion is always gentle and received as an honest attempt to help. Some synonyms are “coax, convince and win over.” The preacher’s job is not like driving cattle, but leading sheep.
Always use a generous helping of the Word when you preach a message abrasive to the flesh. All preachers must preach against sin and carnality, even though it rubs the flesh the wrong way. It will be opposed, and human reasoning can always be countered with adverse human reasoning. A preacher’s best caisson of munitions is the Bible. Human reasoning can never stand up to a clear and abundant exposition of the Word of God. If all you have is “because I said so,” or even “because this is what God wants!” then you are venturing ill equipped into dangerous territory. Let the Word do the talking.
Always remember that “Vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord.” People who do not comply with your wishes, or do not respond to your preaching may incite feelings of anger within you. You may be tempted to retaliate. Of course, outright sin in the camp must be addressed, but if you try to punish people for wrong attitudes or non-compliance, then you are doing God’s job. If there is nothing concrete to confront, continue to be sweet and preach the Word. Trust that God will ferret out men’s secrets and will impose His justice on them.
Always use plenty of honey and grace as you nudge people towards righteousness. The gospel should never be a bitter pill to swallow. Preaching against sin and evil must always be counterbalanced with the joy and freedom of salvation. We do not live against something; we live for something. People need continual encouragement that living the saved life is worth giving up the lost life. “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:17-19 (NKJV). When love ceases to be the preacher’s incentive, his message becomes a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.
Invariably, saints in the hands of an angry preacher lose their incentive to come to church, to get involved and to respond positively to the preacher. There is infinite wisdom in the admonition of Jesus to Peter when He said, “Feed my sheep.” Sheep are affectionate, loving, loyal creatures who gravitate towards their shepherd. Also, Paul wrote to Timothy, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2 (KJV). If we are going to reprove, rebuke and exhort, we must do it with ALL longsuffering and doctrine. One without the other results leads to spiritual abuse.