The first thing that needs to be realized by humanity is the nature of the Almighty God. Edwards writes, �He is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight.� God created the heavens and the earth, including humans, from nothing. He is eternally perfect in holiness and is the very origin of good. This is supported by Isaiah 6:3-5 in the Bible, where Isaiah sees the angels proclaiming God�s holiness and he realizes how dirty he is in the presence of God�s purity. Throughout the entire sermon, Edwards speaks of God�s anger. God is angry because He created us to be in His perfect image and we rebelled against Him. Every time we do something sinful, we are rejecting God�s infinite perfection. In God�s justice, a rebellion against infinity deserves eternal punishment.
The next change is in the realization that God�s anger and wrath is against you. Edwards says that we are the ones to whom His anger is directed at. His wrath is not toward people in the past, but instead, is also to current humanity. The Bible says, �For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).� God is angry at our iniquities and sins. Through these, we rebelled against him. Our individual lies, deceit, and malice are what have rejected his image that we were created in. God�s anger is very real, very dangerous, and directed at us.
Luckily, there is hope by accepting Christ as your Lord and putting your faith in Him. Edwards writes, �And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners.� Edwards is affirming the Bible, Romans 6:23: �For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.� He is telling all of mankind that there is hope for their situation. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect human life, to die as a penalty for our sins and then rise again on the third day to seal it. Edwards writes, �Many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to Him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in His own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God (emphasis added).� It is interesting that God, who has been described as angry throughout the entire sermon, is also said to be loving. This is shown because, although He has every right to eternally punish us for rebelling against Him, God gave us a plan to reconcile ourselves with him through Jesus. Edwards was teaching about the greatest and most important decision and change in your life.
Jonathan Edwards� famous sermon warns everyone of what lies in store for us if we do not repent of our sins and believe that Jesus died and rose again to pay the debt for our rebellion. The three changes that Edwards preaches are the only changes that a person can make to better himself.