Skip to main content

More Thoughts From Charles Spurgeon

Dear Friends,

It’s been a while since I sent you a quote from Charles Spurgeon, so I thought I would remedy that! He was such a gifted communicator of Scriptural truth. This particular quote has to do with God's glorious grace in bringing people to salvation. Read them, ponder them, wrestle with them, and then go and compare them to Scripture. Or think back on your own pre-conversion and conversion experience. I trust they will edify and bless your hearts as much as they have mine. Enjoy.


 
"I hear someone murmur, 'God will not give grace to those who do not repent.' I reply, ‘God gives people grace to repent and no person ever repents until grace is first given to them to lead them to repentance.’ 'But God will not give his grace to those who won't believe,' says another. I reply, ‘God gives grace to men by which they are moved to believe. It is through the grace of God that they are brought to faith.’”

 

Or as he says elsewhere:

“I must confess I never would have been saved if I could have helped it. As long as I could, I rebelled and revolted and struggled against God. When he would have me pray, I would not pray. When he would have me listen to the sound of the ministry (preaching), I would not. And when I heard, and the tear rolled down my cheek, I wiped it away and defied him to melt my heart. Then he gave me the effectual blow of grace, and there was no resisting that irresistible effort. It conquered my depraved will and made me bow before the scepter of His grace. And so it is in every case. Man revolts against his Savior, but where God determines to save, save he will. God never was thwarted yet, in any one of his purposes. Man does resist with all his might, but all the might of man, tremendous though it be for sin, is not equal to the majestic might of the Most High."



And for those who struggle with this concept of our utter dependence upon the grace of God for the change that changes us, or even makes us willing to change, Spurgeon adds this:

"A man is not saved against his will, but he is made willing by the operation of the Holy Ghost. A mighty grace which he does not wish to resist enters into the man, disarms him, makes a new creature of him, and he is saved...”

“I believe that Christ came into the world NOT to put men into a savable state, but into a saved state. Not to put them into a state where they could save themselves, but to do the work in them and for them, from first to last. If I did not believe that there was divine might going forth with the Word of Jesus, which makes men willing, and which turns them from the error of their ways by the mighty, overwhelming, constraining force of a divine influence, I should cease to glory in the cross of Christ."  



Spurgeon’s words are a good and necessary reminder for us who frequently (yet mistakenly) can be led to believe that salvation is a mere choice we make (like simply casting our vote on a ballot at a political election). For Scripture makes it clear that salvation requires a mighty work of supernatural grace upon the heart, whereby God cleanses us from our impurities and idols, turns our hearts of stone into hearts of “flesh,” and puts His Spirit into us (Ezek. 36:24-28). God must first work in us to give us new birth (John 3:1-8) before we can see or enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus also makes this clear in Matthew 11:25-30, Matthew 16:13-17, and John 6:44 & 6:65. Paul speaks of it as well in Acts 13:46-48, Acts 16:13-15, Ephesians 2:1-10 and elsewhere.



How Blessed We Are! Pastor Jeff

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts From John Scudder

Dear Friends, Warmest regards to all on this day before the start of Lent, in the year of our Lord 2026! I hope your day is going well and you are (like me) counting down the days – 47 to be exact – until we get to celebrate Easter, or Resurrection Sunday. Lent is a longstanding tradition in Christian circles, and one that is useful if observed with a desire to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Today’s entry is not specifically about Lent, although it points in that direction. It is the testimony of one man’s journey to faith in Jesus. A man who worked as a medical missionary in Madras, India, from 1836 until his death in 1855. I am sending it to you because when I walked into my office this morning, moved one book, and found a very small book hidden behind it! It is literally 2 inches wide by 3 inches high and 5/8 of an inch thick, with 214 pages! It’s an embossed leather-bound book, published by “The American Tract Society” in 1846. Its title is: “Provision for Passing ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thoughts on Easter

Dear Friends, I trust Easter was for you a day of hope, rejoicing, re-visiting the empty tomb, and worshipping God for His redeeming grace. I know that in our culture “moving on to the next thing” as soon as a particular day or celebration has passed, is normal. Yet, today (before too much time passes) I wanted to share some true and beautiful thoughts on the resurrection. Easter has passed, but in the Christian faith the Lord’s Day (each and every Sunday, being the first day of the week, or the day Jesus rose) is a mini celebration of the resurrection. With that in mind, I offer you these thoughts. I trust you will find some of them encouraging. Enjoy “Resurrection means endless hope. No resurrection means a hopeless end.”  David Garland “If you don’t believe in the Resurrection, you can go on living your life while perhaps admiring Jesus the man, appreciating his example, and even putting into practice some of his teachings. But if you believe that Jesus rose from the dea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thoughts From Dolores Curran

Dear Friends, There is much going on in our world that has many alarmed, saddened, conflicted, angry, and unsure what to think. Some posts I’ve seen online from prominent Christian leaders are speaking about this being the “end” leading to Christ’s return. Yet, as I was thinking about all that, I spotted a handout I use in premarital counselling on a pile on my desk. The heading is: “The 14 Traits of A Healthy Family.” It’s not a deflection from addressing all that’s going on, but a plea to remember that despite all that’s happening, there are still marriages or families that need help. There are families going through difficult times. There are children who still need direction. Children need to feel safe, see healthy relationships, and be taught healthy ways of responding or living in such stressful times – maybe even more so in these stressful times.   Therefore, I offer you these helpful insights to improve family health. They are the result of compiling a survey sent...
Post a Comment
Read more