A man known by many to be “the prince of preachers” lived his life after conversion for the sake of the gospel. Without reservation, C. H. Spurgeon bid men and women to come to Christ alone for salvation from sin and death into the joy of heaven, and he did so with a theological robust framework bent to the doctrines of grace that he found in the Scriptures. Apart from the theological underpinnings of man’s utter depravity, unconditional election, particular redemption, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints, Spurgeon saw attempts at evangelism and discipleship not only to be hampered, but futile. While many may question how one can preach these doctrines otherwise known as the “Five Points of Calvinism” and still be centered on the conversion of the heathen, the inconsistency of one’s belief as it relates to one’s practice is laid on the side of those holding to the ultimate self-determination of man. And this fact is argued cogently by Spurgeon.
The nineteenth century English preacher preached eloquently. The voice and pen of Spurgeon was unrivaled in his day. To be sure, if anyone could draw a crowd, it was this man. After humble beginnings, thousands attended his sermons every week by the time of his death, and many more read his published works. Yet for all of his artistic metaphors, all of his logical arguments, all of his articulate, fluid speech, Spurgeon was confident that he could not persuade the unbeliever to believe. He was convinced that he could only be the instrument in God’s bringing many persons to faith. Winning souls to faith is a miracle that cannot be wrought by the most lucid sermon, or the most fervent study of anyone. One’s intellectual capacity, background, geographic location, or propensities cannot bring about trust in the Redeemer, either. The trees of missions and evangelism find their nutrients from the roots of the sovereignty of God, not the abilities of man. Far from being an isolated ideological construction, Spurgeon saw that thinking properly about God and man encourages the fainthearted, humbles the proud, and glorifies Jesus. For this end he toiled, to bring about the obedience of faith for the unbeliever, and to bring about confidence and motivation for the believer.
Man's Depravity
Throughout his sermons and writings, Spurgeon opined that man’s natural state inhibits him from seeking Christ and believing the gospel. Because of man’s original sin of falling in Adam it is not only difficult to believe, it is impossible apart from the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Man is totally depraved—that is, all of his capacities, the will included, have been aversely affected by the Fall—and is subject to condemnation. The preacher saw in the Scriptures language like men being “dead in their trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) and having “hearts of stone” (Ezekiel 36:26) needed to be replaced by hearts of flesh. These hearts of stone cannot come to Christ, “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8 [emphasis mine]).
Indeed, Paul’s language of sinners being “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1, 5) is consistent with the words of Jesus: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44). This reality, far from discouraging Spurgeon, propelled him into gospel ministry and soul-winning:
“Our object is to turn the world upside down; or, in other words, that where sin abounded grace may much more abound. We are aiming at a miracle: it is well to settle that at the commencement. Some brethren think that they ought to lower their note to the spiritual ability of the hearer; but this is a mistake…I command men in the name of Jesus to repent and believe the gospel, though I know they can do nothing of the kind apart from the grace of God; for I am not sent to work according to what my private reason might suggest, but according to the orders of my Lord and Master. Ours is the miraculous method which comes of the endowment of the Spirit of God, who bids His ministers perform wonders in the name of the holy child Jesus. We are sent to say to blind eyes, ‘See,’ to deaf ears, ‘Hear,’ to dead hearts, ‘Live,’ and even to Lazarus rotting in that grave, wherein, by this time, he stinketh—‘Lazarus, come forth.’ Dare we do this? We shall be wise to begin with the conviction that we are utterly powerless for this unless our Master has sent us, and is with us. But if He that sent us is with us, all things are possible to him that believeth.”[1]
The command of Jesus to go forth and preach the gospel was enough for Spurgeon to desire to evangelize, believing that God would be with him to the very end (Matthew 28:20). Although “they can do nothing of the kind apart from the grace of God,” the words spoken by him in sharing the gospel he saw to be the means that would fulfill the end of salvation of those whom God has chosen. It is for this reason that he speaks of the “miraculous method which comes of the endowment of the Spirit of God.” In speaking specifically to his students, Spurgeon makes this manifest as well, saying that we should take great care in communicating the gospel well.[2] Even though men are powerless to believe, the Spirit has infinite power to raise both the physically dead and the spiritually dead.
“We cannot raise the dead…It is true that we by ourselves cannot bring the dead hearts of our scholars to palpitate with spiritual life, but a Paul or an Apollos would have been equally as powerless. Need this fact discourage us? Does it not rather direct us to our true power by shutting us out from our own fancied might?”[3]
The preacher or evangelist or missionary, then, has a task which is not dependent on eloquence or the intelligence or the will-power of the unbeliever, but rather on the Almighty hand of God, who works through means to accomplish His ends.
[1]C. H. Spurgeon., The Soul-Winner: Or, How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour (Fleming H. Revell Company: New York, NY), 160-161.
[2]C. H. Spurgeon., Lectures to my Students (Christian Focus Publications, Ltd.), 242.
[3]C. H. Spurgeon., The Soul-Winner; Or, How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour (Fleming H. Revell Company: New York, NY), 141-142.
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