What made Jonathan Edwards such an effective preacher that caused the Great Awakening and Revival in America?

1. Edwards understood the Wrath of God

"They must be sensible that they are the children of wrath; that the law is against them, and that they are exposed to the curse of it: that the wrath of God abideth on them; and that he is angry with them every day while they are under the guilty of sin. They must be sensible that it is a very dreadful thing to be the object of the wrath of God; that it is a very awful thing to have him for their enemy; and that they cannot bear his wrath." (268)

2. Edwards understood the Justice of God

"The holiness of God will not suffer him to give the least countenance of sin, but inclines him to give proper testimonies of his hatred of it."

3. Edwards understood the free Grace of God

"But Christ having satisifed for sin, God can now love the sinner, and give no countenance at all to sin, however great a sinner he may have been...The whole contrivance of the way of salvation is for this end, to glorify the free grace of God." (271)

Before one can taste the beauty of Christ, he must see that he is in a miserable condition. That God's wrath is upon him unless he repents and puts his faith in the finished work of Christ. God's Holiness demands justice and payment of sins, which was done at Calvary. Once a sinner sees his miserable condition, acknowledges his helplessness, turns from his sins, and looks to Christ for pardon, then he receives forgiveness and magnifies the free grace of God on his behalf. Christ sacrifice was sufficient to cleanse the foulest of all sinners (Hebrews 10:13-14).