From the Heart of Spurgeon

The Upper Hand (S901) Rom 6:14

Our preacher’s theological convictions and pastoral compassions are on display once more. He opens his text first as a test of our profession of faith. Are we genuinely free of the dominion of sin—we know sin is remaining, but is it reigning? Spurgeon calls us to a stern and searching self-examination in this respect. Next he takes the text as a promise. Again there is both honesty and sensitivity, rooting our freedom from the power of sin in the divine plan and purpose, especially in that God’s people are not under law but under grace. Spurgeon takes pains to explain that the law cannot promote and secure holiness because of the sinfulness of the human heart, but that grace has a power that sweetly constrains to holy obedience. Finally, he takes his text as an encouragement, directing it toward various different characters in his congregation—the careless, the weak, the embattled, the immature, the backslider, and the unconverted. So he takes in more or less all his hearers in a great sweep, pointing these truths particularly at those in particular need.

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A Word With Those Who Wait for Signs and Wonders (S898)

Spurgeon is the kind of man who—not least because of the volume of material he produced, as well as the range of issues he addressed in various contexts—can be easily claimed by any number of different people and groups, each of whom are able to find something he said which (more or less, in some way) might appear to support their own distinctive opinions. Certainly he has been claimed by Charismatic Christians, and certainly he is a man conscious of his dependence on the Holy Spirit and often immediately responsive to the operations of the Spirit in a way that can make some Christians uncomfortable. Nevertheless, to take some of those occasions and comments and to turn Spurgeon into something he was not is neither just nor honest. We do not know if there were a specific occasion for this sermon, but it sets forth a robust concern for and critique of those who set ‘signs and wonders’ against the clear revelation of God’s Word. It may be that most of us might take some issue with some of what Spurgeon says, but what is clear is his insistence upon the supremacy of Scripture, and the folly of putting something else in the place of or even alongside the Word of the living God as the source of truth and the guide for a life that pleases the Lord.

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Serving the Lord (S885)

Our preacher has a talent for developing a particular phrase, not necessarily ripping it out of context, but developing a theme or issue from its context. He does that here with the matter of ‘servantising’ (as he calls it), waiting upon the Most High as his servants. So he lays down the foundations of service, then the modes of our service, then he commends such service, and finally he exhorts us to such service. As ever, there is a holy boldness in Spurgeon’s address. We might legitimately suggest that Spurgeon can speak very directly to a very large congregation without necessarily pointing his finger at one or two people, as might happen when dealing with something like inactivity or laxity in a smaller congregation. The flip side of such an assertion is that he is speaking very directly to thousands of people, and he does not pull his punches. As hearers and readers, we feel the force of Spurgeon’s challenge about our service for the Lord; as preachers, we might be reminded of the kind of fortitude that is required to look any number of men and women in the eye, and—with compassion and integrity—point out where they fall short and exhort them to greater endeavour in the Lord’s work.

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A Well-Ordered Life (S878)

The structure of this sermon is particularly interesting, being slightly more developed than Spurgeon’s norm. He begins by unpacking the detail of his text, then focuses on the matter of sanctification, which he then teases out under three headings: the order of a holy life, the rule of that order, and the great Director of that order. There is something typically Puritanical in the identification of the doctrine and then its development and application. That impression is only heightened in the opening point, where Spurgeon really digs down into what elements of order there are in a holy life. He almost exhausts his time, and certainly skews his structure, by spending so much time here, but does then press home the Scriptures as the rule of such a life, emphasising the way in which the Word of God is obeyed with constant reference to God himself (you can almost read the headings in his notes as he rattles through the material!), before some final conclusions and applications. It reminds us that Spurgeon is alive as he preaches, and that the sermon itself is a bridled stallion which sometimes runs away with the best of preachers; nevertheless, there is no waste here, for the preacher responds to the liveliness of his steed, and still manages to finish his course, setting before us particularly something of the beauty of a life of godliness.

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The Unwearied Runner (S876)

Originally preached for the Young Men’s Association in aid of the Baptist Missionary Society, this sermon has particular reference to and relevance for the young. Of course, Spurgeon is well aware that spiritual vigour has no necessary connection to physical condition, but he points out that older saints may need to be incited to zeal, whereas energy is natural to the young, and young Christians often have a flush of early excitement which it is well to encourage. Fundamentally, then, the preacher urges God’s people to pick up their pace and keep up their pace. He sets forth running as a positive metaphor for Christian life and service. Then, taking account of the challenges, he sets out the runner’s girdle (that he waits upon the Lord) and the runner’s staff (that he shall not grow weary). The result is a sermon that both calls and comforts, that provides its particular precept to the eager soul, its particular probe to the lazy soul, and its particular peace to the weary soul. I hope it will do the same for each one of us in these days, whether we are young or old.

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Tearful Sowing and Joyful Reaping (S867)

In a sermon directed to every Christian worker (but in which he wrestles not to sound as if he is speaking primarily to ministers of the gospel) Spurgeon sets out the character and labour of the truly successful worker, the reward that he obtains, and the certainty which he says binds together “the weeping service and the rejoicing success.” It is a good reminder to us that it is not just the work itself, mechanically considered, buts its motives and spirit also which must be considered. It is a great encouragement to us that the one who goes forth humbly and earnestly, from God and for God, will obtain a blessing upon the work. It reminds us that the connection is not of man’s effort but of God’s gift. Perhaps we have yet to go—this will help us on our way. Perhaps we have gone with the wrong attitude—this will correct any coldness of heart. Perhaps we have seen little blessing—this will keep us serving. Perhaps we have mourned over scant fruit—this will give us hope that a harvest will yet come.

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The Fulness of Jesus the Treasury of the Saints (S858)

This is a homiletical gem, showing a simple, clear and compelling progression through the sermon: one glorious person, two precious doctrines, three experiences, and four duties. Not every sermon can be so neat, but it is a good example of a memorable and striking organisation, upon which hangs much sweet substance. The preacher’s aim is to set before us the Lord Jesus in the whole of his character and work, and so to behold his glory in such a way that, out of it, we may receive out of his personal fulness the superabundant grace upon which we rely and in which we rejoice. It gives Spurgeon the opportunity to cover a vast amount of territory (some of which he does at a fair gallop) to provide a broad vista, pressing home the truth, drawing experimental lessons, and pressing home Christian responsibilities in relation to the Christ in all his glory. It displays something of Spurgeon’s genius for the setting forth of Christ, both for adoration and for obligation, as we consider him in his majesty, the blessings he brings, and the duties we owe.

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Fire—The Want of the Times (S854)

Here is an incandescent sermon in which Spurgeon attempts to show how Christ came to bring fire on the earth. With this image in his mind, he first of all surveys the history of the gospel, beginning with the book of God, then the preacher taken up with the truth, the hearer who feels the heat and light of the good news, and the opposition that is provoked and how the fiery gospel even catches hold in those who oppose. Then he likens the gospel to fire more directly, thinking of how it advances, and comforts, and consumes, and purifies. Finally, he asks what ought to be the effects in us if we have truly caught this flame in our souls? A holy fearlessness, a holy impatience of mere forms and religious proprieties, a holy appetite for prayer, and a holy commitment to Christ’s service. It is the sort of sermon that grieves the reader, for you can only hear the distant rumble of the preacher’s thunder—what must it have been like to hear a man preaching in the power of God’s Spirit, with the storm all full of lightning flashing around you! May the Lord give us something of that same light and heat as we read and hear it still.

Justification by Faith—Illustrated by Abram’s Righteousness (S844)

Spurgeon is known, even renowned, for preaching from individual texts, often very short ones, even phrases. While some sermons or addresses are linked by their time or place of preaching (think of the lectures to his students), and while it is possible to arrange collections of sermons under certain themes (as many have done, both Spurgeon himself and others since) most of the sermons stand alone by design. This sermon, then, is unusual in that it constitutes part of what seems to be one of the closest things Spurgeon preaches to a series of sermons. This sermon on justification is preceded by one on effectual calling, then followed the next Lord’s day by one on consecration, and the theme deliberately picked up again in a sermon the following year on mature faith, each illustrated by an episode in the life of Abram. So this sermon is notable both in terms of its distinctive relation to other sermons, and the way in which Spurgeon interprets and applies the experience of the patriarch to the believers of his own day. He is unashamed to make clear the commonality between Abram’s faith and life, and ours, and so to make Abram a model for every true believer—to hold him up as, indeed, the father of those who believe.

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Sins of Omission (S838)

This interesting sermon approaches the matter of human sin from an atypical angle: that of our sins of omission (sins of commission are things we do which God commands us not to do, while sins of omission are our failure to do those things which we are commanded or obliged to do). Point by point, Spurgeon peels back layer after layer. He begins with how common they are, rooted in our falling short of the requirement to love God with all our hearts and our fellow men as ourselves. Next he digs down to the causes of these things, showing how we evade or excuse ourselves. Then he presses home the sinfulness of these sins, that they are not to be in any way diminished. Finally, he wants us to understand how sins of omission are damning, not only in themselves, but because they involve the neglect of the very remedy for all our sins which God has provided in Christ. When the gap between the church and the world is growing wider and more distinct, and with the risk of self-satisfaction growing in that space, it is good for God’s people to be humbled by the awareness that—even in the proper pursuit of our duties and obediences—there is something lacking in our best efforts which leaves us in constant dependence upon the mercies of God Christ Jesus.

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