Spurgeon’s Sermons

I often tell that the tentacles of Spurgeon are so far-and-wide reaching, that one could cover an endless history and education simply by following the breadcrumbs dropped along the way. The following will detail a fascinatingly arbitrary example.

Amos Ives (A.I.) Root, 1839-1923, was an Ohio businessman who became well-known during his day for developing beekeeping innovations,…

David Brainerd’s diary includes a striking hyphenated word, “gospel-temper.” His journal records,

“Wednesday, Dec. 15. Enjoyed something of God to-day, both in secret and social prayer; but was sensible of much barrenness, and defect in duty, as well as my inability to help myself for the time to come, or to perform the work and business I have to do. Afterwards, felt much of the sweetness of religion, and the tenderness of the gospel-temper…”

I Will Pour Water

[St. Peter’s, July 1, 1838]

“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.” [Isa. xliv. 3,4.]

“The Son of God, in mighty love,

Came down to Bethlehem for me,

Forsook His throne of light above,

An infant upon earth to be.

In love, the Father's sinless Child

Sojourned at Nazareth for me;

With sinners dwelt the Undefiled,

The Holy One in Galilee.”

This passage is very relevant to our whole subject of evangelism because here we have one of the greatest evangelists who ever lived giving instructions to one who was told to “. . . do the work of an evangelist. . .” (II Tim. 4:5). Surely these two facts demand our careful and sober consideration. If we are serious about being biblical in our evangelism, we cannot ignore these instructions.

There are several things in these few verses that would correct much of the error in man-centered evangelism, not only in the expected responses, but in the message and methods of evangelism. Let us carefully examine this passage, which contains instructions to one who was given the apostolic command to do the work of an evangelist. In this passage (II Tim. 2:24-26), we have some excellent instructions for the evangelist, preacher, and personal worker, and some necessary evangelistic principles if our evangelism is to be God-centered.

Two learned doctors are angrily discussing the nature of food, and allowing their meal to lie untasted, while a simple countryman is eating as heartily as he can of that which is set before him. The religious world is full of quibblers, critics, and sceptics, who, like the doctors, fight over Christianity without profit either to themselves or others; those are far happier who imitate the farmer and feed upon the Word of God, which is the true food of the soul. Luther’s prayer was, “From nice questions the Lord deliver us.” Questioning with honesty and candour is not to be condemned, when the object is to “prove all things, and hold fast that which is good;” but to treat revelation as if it were a football to be kicked from man to man is irreverence, if not worse. Seek the true faith, by all manner of means, but do not spend a whole life in finding it, lest you be like a workman who wastes the whole day looking for his tools. Hear the true Word of God; lay hold upon it, and spend your days not in raising hard questions, but in feasting upon precious truth.