Charles Hadden Spurgeon [1834 -1892], is called the “Prince of Preachers” because of his God-honoring, life-transforming preaching. In a day that lacked the electronic amplification we have, he preached to “standing room only” congregations of over 6000 people. His impact upon preaching and preachers continues to this day. He once said, “I beseech you to not only live for this age, but to live for the next also, I would fling my shadow through the eternal ages if I could.” His shadow has been cast and by God’s grace falls upon us in the 21st century. Through his sermons and teachings, preserved in numerous books and devotionals, his passion for the glory of Christ and his love for his Word is still building faith in the lives of Christian believers today. Here are his words:
On the power of the Scriptures: A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t. The key to victory is, “It is written.”
The certainty of Bible truth: There is something told me in the Bible- told me for certain- not put before me with a “but” and a “perhaps” and an “if” and a “maybe,” and fifty thousand suspicions behind it, so that the long and short of it is that it may not be so at all; but revealed to me as infallible fact, which must be believed, the opposite of which is deadly error and comes from the father of lies.
God will keep his promises: He who makes the promise will find out the ways and means of keeping it. It is mine to obey His commands; it is not mine to direct His counsels. I am a servant, not His solicitor. I call upon Him, and he will deliver me.
Peace is easier than worry: It is safer for a believer to lie down in peace than to sit up and worry.
God will go with us: If I go upon the Lord’s errand with a simple reliance upon his power and a single eye to his glory, it is certain that he will be with me. His sending me binds Him to back me up. Is it not enough? What more can I want? If all the angels and arch angels were with me, I might fail but if He is with me, I must succeed.
On preaching only to the elect: Someone once asked Spurgeon, “Why don’t you just preach to the elect? He answered, “Well, if you’ll run around and pull up everybody’s shirttails so I can see if they have an “E” stamped on their back, I will.”
God’s surprising choice of Spurgeon: “It’s a good thing that God chose me before I was born, because he surely would not have afterwards!”
On “deep” preaching: If you look down into a well, if it be empty it will appear very deep, but if there be water in it you will see its brightness. I believe that many “deep” preachers are simply so because they are like dry wells with nothing whatever in them, except decaying leaves, a few stones, and perhaps a dead cat or two. If there be living water in your preaching it may be very deep, but the light of truth will give clearness to it.
You pay off the debt: Spurgeon was once invited by a rich man to come to his country church to help raise funds to pay off the church’s debts. The man told Spurgeon that he could stay at one of his country estates. Spurgeon responded, “Sell one of the places and pay off the debt yourself.”
On the freedom of integrity: Spurgeon once received an extortion note that told him to place money at a certain place at a certain time or they would publish in the newspaper what would publicly defame him and ruin his ministry. He took to that place a note, which said, “You and your like are requested to publish all you know about me across the heavens.” He knew his life and knew they could not impugn his God shaped character.
Blessed Assurance: Spurgeon once expressed his assurance of salvation in this way. He said that he could grab on to a cornstalk and swing out over the fires of hell, look down into the face of the devil, and sing, “Blessed assurance Jesus is mine!”
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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Dr. Gary Rieben. © Give Me That Book. Email: Grieben@aol.com. Website: www.GiveMeThatBook.org. Postal: GMTB | P.O. Box 1045| La Quinta, CA 92247 USA | 619.829.2390
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