The Indispensable Work of the Spirit

Listen to Spurgeon on the absolutely crucial role that the Holy Spirit plays in our redemption.  The Son accomplishes our redemption, but the Spirit applies it.  And without His application, the work of the Son would be of no benefit to us.

Let us ever remember that Christ on the cross is of no value to us, apart from the Holy Spirit in us.

In vain that blood is flowing, unless the finger of the Spirit applies the blood to our conscience; in vain is that garment of righteousness wrought out, unless the Holy Spirit wraps it around us and arrays us in its costly folds.

The river of the water of life cannot quench our thirst, till the Spirit presents the goblet and lifts it to our lips.

All the things which are in the paradise of God could never be blissful to us, so long as we are dead souls — and dead we are, until that heavenly wind comes and breathes upon us, that we may live.

We do not hesitate to say that we owe as much to God the Holy Spirit as we do to God the Son.

--Charles Spurgeon

HT: Of First Importance

Shepherds Feeding the Sheep or Clowns Entertaining the Goats?

Charles Spurgeon spoke these prophetic words in the 1800s.  It's sad how true they have become in our own day.

A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats.

A Whole Church Aroused to Sacred Energy

"Great things are done by the Holy Spirit when a whole church is aroused to sacred energy."

--Charles Spurgeon

A Rap about Charles Spurgeon

Some of you may have already seen and heard this track by Shai Linne, but it's a combination of poetry and the story of God's grace seen in Charles Spurgeon. I had several friends send it to me, so I thought I'd post it here for others to view.

Cling to the Cross

"Cling to the cross, sinner. If the earth sink beneath thee, cling on; if storms should rage, and all the floods be out, and even God himself seem to be against thee, cling to the cross. There is thy hope. Thou canst not perish there."

--Charles Spurgeon

Fearing Our Sinful Selves

"The well-instructed believer is very much afraid of himself. He dares not go into temptation, for he feels that a man who carries a bomb within him ought to mind that he keeps away from the sparks - and that he who has a powder keg in his heart ought not to play with fire."

--Charles Spurgeon

The Perpetual Monotony of the Cross

Let us never tire of preaching (or hearing) the perpetual monotony of the cross:

Saintly ones find here, in the perpetual monotony of the cross, a greater variety than in all other doctrines put together. Preach you Christ, and Christ, and Christ, and Christ, and nothing else but Christ, and opened ears shall find in your ministry a wondrous harmony of linked sweetnesses, a charming perfectness of all manner of delicious voices. All good things lie within the compass of the cross; its outstretched arms overshadow the whole world of thought; from the east even unto the west it sheds a hallowed influence; meanwhile, its foot is planted deep in the eternal mysteries, and its top pierces all earth-born clouds, and rises to the throne of the Most High. Christ is lifted up upon the cross, that he may draw all men unto him; and if we desire to draw them, this must be our magnet.

--Charles Spurgeon, Majesty in Misery (Volume 1)

A Sober Warning to Churches

"The moment the Church of God shall despise the pulpit, God will despise her."

--Charles Spurgeon

Don't Think Lightly of Sin

These remarks by Spurgeon in 1897 are just as true today:

Too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the Savior. He who has stood before his God, convicted and condemned, with the rope about his neck, is the man to weep for joy when he is pardoned, to hate the evil which has been forgiven him, and to live to the honor of the Redeemer by whose blood he has been cleansed.

--Charles Spurgeon, C.H. Spurgeon Autobiography, Volume 1

Crying from the Depths

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! (Psalm 130:1)

"It little matters where we are if we can pray; but prayer is never more real and acceptable than when it rises out of the worst places. Deep places beget deep devotion. Depths of earnestness are stirred by depths of tribulation. Diamonds sparkle most amid the darkness. Prayer de profundis gives to God gloria in excelsis."

--Charles Spureon, The Treasury of David

Spurgeon on the Necessity of Preaching with Power from on High

"I shall not attempt to teach a tiger the virtues of vegetarianism; but I shall as hopefully attempt that task as I would try to convince an unregenerate man of the truths revealed by God concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment to come. These spiritual truths are repugnant to carnal men, and the carnal mind cannot receive the things of God. Gospel truth is diametrically opposed to fallen nature; and if I have not a power much stronger than that which lies in moral suasion, or in my own explanations and arguments, I have undertaken a task in which I am sure of defeat. . . Except the Lord endow us with power from on high, our labor must be in vain, and our hopes must end in disappointment."

--Charles Spurgeon, An All-Round Ministry: Addresses to Ministers and Students

All Music Becomes Wearisome But That of Heaven

Here is a reminder from "The Prince of Preachers" that Jesus Christ is the only soul-sustaining subject of preaching:

Brethren, there is an abiding fullness of truth in Christ; after you have heard it for fifty years, you see more of its fullness than you did at first. Other truths weary the ear. I will defy any man to hold together a large congregation, year after year, with any other subject but Christ Jesus. He might do it for a time; he might charm the ear with the discoveries of science, or with the beauties of poetry, and his oratory might be of so high an order that he might attract the multitudes who have itching ears, but they would in time turn away and say, “This is no longer to be endured. We know it all.”

All music becomes wearisome but that of heaven; but oh! if the minstrel doth but strike this celestial harp, though he keepeth his fingers always among its golden strings, and be but poor and unskilled upon an instrument so divine, yet the melody of Jesus’ name, and the sweet harmony of all his acts and attributes, will hold his listeners by the ears and thrill their hearts as nought beside can do. The theme of Jesus’ love is inexhaustible, though preachers may have dwelt upon it century after century, a freshness and fullness still remain.

--Charles Spurgeon

HT: The Daily Spurgeon

Why Spurgeon Believed in the Doctrine of Election (and I Do Too)

"I believe in the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love."

--Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Spurgeon on Christless Preaching

Tony Reinke, in a recent blog post, provided six excellent quotes from Charles Spurgeon on the utter necessity of preaching Christ. Here is the first:

The motto of all true servants of God must be, “We preach Christ; and him crucified.” A sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.

Read them all here.

Called to be Saints

From Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening, July 5 (Morning):

"Called to be saints" (Romans 1:7)

We tend to regard the apostolic saints as if they were saints in a more special manner than the other children of God. All are saints whom God has called by His grace and sanctified by His Spirit. The nearer a man lives to God, the more intensely he mourns over his own evil heart. The more his Master honors him in His service, the more also does his evil flesh tease him daily. The fact is, if we had seen the apostle Paul, we would have thought him remarkably like the rest of the chosen family. If we had talked with him, we would have said, "We find that his experience and ours are much the same. He is more faithful, more holy, and more deeply taught than we are, but he has the same trials to endure."

Do not look on the ancient saints as being exempt from infirmities or sins. Do not regard them with that mystic reverence which will almost make us idolaters. Their holiness is attainable even by us. We are called to be saints by that same voice which constrained them to their high vocation. It is a Christian's duty to force his way into the inner circle of saintship. We have the same light that they had, and the same grace is accessible to us. Why should we rest satisfied until we have equaled them in heavenly character? They lived with Jesus and for Jesus . Therefore, they grew like Jesus. Let us live by the same Spirit as they did, "looking unto Jesus," and our saintship will soon be apparent.

Great Deal on New Park Street Pulpit 3 Volume Set

Reformation Heritage Books is offering Spurgeon's New Park Street Pulpit (3 Volumes) at an incredibly low price of $35 (80% off).

A dynamic collection of classic sermons from the Prince of Preachers! Written in 1854 just five years after his conversion, these memorable messages reflect Spurgeon's considerable gifts: word pictures, pointed applications, concern for people, and a heart for God. Preachers will value these early messages as excellent models, and laypeople will enjoy them as devotional reading.