Knowledge of God and knowledge of self are preconditions of spiritual life because revival involves awakening. It is perception of one's own sin (measured by the holiness of God, not by common human estimation) that opens one's heart to the need for justification by faith. However, the 2nd Great Awakening rationalist religion began to stress the goodness of humanity and the benevolence of the Deity, among both evangelicals and liberals. For example, DL Moody centered his message on the truth that "God is Love" and greatly toned down the mention of hell and the wrath of God.
It is important to understand that the American Puritans did overstress "hellfire and damnation." At the same time they interjected the mysteries of God's sovereignty into the foreground of their preaching in a way that was not only paralyzingly inappropriate but without precedent in Augustine, Luther and Calvin. It is only through the cross that we can begin to understand both God's overwhelming love and mercy for sinners and his wrath against sin. The tension cannot be removed by attempting to change God's character.
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