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the Foolishness of Preaching

Living in a day such as ours, preaching seems like such a silly thing to do when there are far more winsome ways (in our eyes) to win souls. Will the word of God be changed for us? May it not be so.

“Dear brethren, if we are going to win souls, we must go in for downright labor and hard work. And, first we must work at our preaching. You are not getting distrustful of the use of preaching, are you? (“No.”) I hope you do not weary of it, though you certainly sometimes must weary in it. Go on with your preaching… preacher, stick to your preaching. In the great day, when the [master-roll] be read, of all those who are converted through fine music, and church decoration, and religious exhibitions and entertainments, they will amount to the tenth part of nothing; but it will always please God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Keep to your preaching; and if you do anything beside, do not let it throw your preaching into the background. In the first place preach, and in the second place preach, and in the third place preach…

…Why, there is no end after all to the power of the tongue! Look at the power of fire, a single spark might give a city to the flames; even so, the Spirit of God being with us, we need not calculate how much, or what we can do: there is no calculating the potentialities of a flame, and there is no end to the possibilities of divine truth spoken with the enthusiasm which is born of the Spirit of God. Have great hope yet, brothers, have great hope yet, despite yon shameless midnight streets, despite yon flaming gin-palaces at the corner of every street, despite the wickedness of the rich, despite the ignorance of the poor. Go on; go on; go on; in God’s name go on, for if the preaching of the gospel does not save men, nothing will. If the Lord’s own way of mercy fails, then hang the skies in mourning, and blot out the sun in everlasting midnight, for there remaineth nothing before our race but the blackness of darkness. Salvation by the sacrifice of Jesus is the ultimatum of God. Rejoice that it cannot fail. Let us believe without reserve, and then go straight ahead with the preaching of the Word.” Charles Spurgeon (the Soul Winner; p. 94-95)

 

Two For The Price Of One

As I continue my read through “the Soul Winner” by Charles Spurgeon I found this ‘two for the price of one’ nugget in the middle of chapter four. This has been a most helpful chapter for me and one that I highly recommend to all my preaching friends. But don’t miss the other value here.

While I didn’t like everything that Spurgeon had to say about “the kind of sermons that are most likely to convert people” I have taken to heart what I think he was saying with interest.

He broke this chapter down into

  • Firstly, they are those sermons which are distinctly aimed at the conversion of the hearers.
  • Secondly, if the people are to be saved, it must be by sermons that interest them.
  • The third thing in a sermon that is likely to win souls to Christ is, it must be instructive.
  • Fourthly, the people must be impressed by our sermons, if they are to be converted.
  • Fifthly, I think that we should try to take out of our sermons everything that is likely to divert the hearer’s mind from the object we have in view.
  • Sixthly, I believe that those sermons which are fullest of Christ are the most likely to be blessed to the conversion of the hearers.
  • Seventhly, brethren, it is my firm conviction that those sermons are most likely to convert men that really appeal to their hearts, not those that are fired over their heads, or that are aimed only at their intellects.
  • Lastly, brethren, I think that those sermons which have been prayed over are the most likely to convert people.

Now, as you read over the matters of interest in this chapter, make sure to discipline yourself to not interpret what Spurgeon had to say on each of these topics for soul winning sermons. He was not suggesting a formula. He was not suggesting seeker sensitivity. He  was not suggesting emotionalism. Read the chapter in it’s fullness and be encouraged and challenged.

Now, back to the “two for the price of one” thought or the “one-two punch.” On the fifth matter of interest, and one that was most important for me to read because of how easy it is for me to distract myself and the hearer, there was this additional jewel of insight. Like most of the book has been.

“The best style of preaching in the world, like the best style of dressing, is that which nobody notices.”

That was a stunning way to start this section out, but the illustration of what he meant by this was priceless. He went on to talk about a conversation of a husband and wife. The wife was unable to attend a particular event that the husband attended, upon his returning home the wife asked about how another woman was dressed. His answer was, “I did not notice at all how she was dressed; anyway, there was nothing particularly noticeable in her dress, she was herself the object of interest.”

Then Spurgeon went on to bring this conversation between husband and wife back to the topic of interest, the way the sermon should work…

“That is the way that a true lady is dressed, so that we notice her, and not her garments; she is so well dressed that we do not know how she is dressed, and that is the best way of dressing a sermon. Let it never be said of you, as it is sometimes said of certain popular preachers, “He did the thing so majestically, he spoke with such lofty diction, etc., etc., etc.” (the Soul Winner; p.51)

This was a grand way of stating this. It is true, isn’t it? Women, do you not know this about the way you dress? Preacher, do you not know this about the way you preach?

Women, don’t you know that your skin tight clothing may likely distract most men in your presence from you to your body? Preacher, don’t you know that your clever joke you heard at the last conference you attended that everyone laughed at may likely distract most hearers from your sermon this coming Lord’s Day?

Women, don’t you know that your low cut blouse may likely distract most men in your presence from seeing the glory of God and only the glory of you? Preacher, don’t you know that your fancy-talking ways may likely distract most hearers from hearing of the glory of God and be impressed with the glory of your intellect?

Women, don’t you know that your jeans with the strategically ripped holes may likely distract most men in your presence, period? Preacher, don’t you know that your trendy use of technology may likely prove to the hearers that you only know how to use technology, period?

Well, there you have it. The best “two for the price of one” deal I have found today. Women, be careful how you cloth your body. Or do you not know this? Or do you know this and you do it anyway? Preacher [and by preacher, I mean me] be careful how you clothe your sermon this week.

 

Charles Spurgeon and Social Media

From “The Soul Winner” (p.23-24)

“There are two sorts of proud people, and it is difficult sometimes to say which of the two is the worse. There is, first of all, the kind that is full of that vanity which talks about itself, and invites other people to talk about it, too, and to pat it on the back, and stroke its feathers the right way. It is all full of its little morsel of a self, and goes strutting about, and saying, “Praise me, please, praise me, I want it,” like a little child who goes to each one in the room, and says, “See my new dress; isn’t it a beauty?” You may have seen some of these pretty dears; I have met many of them. The other kind of pride is too big for that sort of thing. It does not care for it; it despises people so much that it does not condescend to wish for their praises. It is so supremely satisfied with itself that it does not stoop to consider what others think of it. I have sometimes thought it is the more dangerous kind of pride spiritually, but it is much the more respectable of the two. There is, after all, something very noble in being too proud to be proud. Suppose those great donkeys did bray at you, do not be such a donkey as to notice them. But this other poor little soul says, “Well, everybody’s praise is worth something,” and so he baits his mousetraps, and tries to catch little mice of praise, that he may cook them for his breakfast. He has a mighty appetite for such things. Brethren, get rid of both kinds of pride if you have anything of either of them about you.”

The Soul Winner

I have set my mind to work on the topic of soul winning, the kind of soul winning that Charles Spurgeon says “should be the main pursuit of every true believer.”

It is my first goal to settle in my mind why all attempts to train my mind with methodology is followed so quickly with the feeling of manipulation because the system is built upon a series of assumed conditions and apologetic polemics.

Trying to do spiritual work with carnal tools is like trying to use a wrench as a hammer. It’s not a pretty sight to see. Sometimes accomplishment is achieved, but usually it is unsightly thing to witness.

If the goal is to accomplish an increased church-roll then the methodology can change without conflict. The methodology has a shelf life of a gallon of milk. At some point nobody will buy it.

So rather than start with the need of the unconverted, I thought I needed to settle the role of the soul-winner first. There is an eternal seriousness that must be considered for the unconverted soul, but to set the soul-winner out to ‘fishing’ he must understand who he is and who he is not. I’m on the search. I’ve recently reread Joseph Alleine’s classic collection of sermons directed to the unconverted. (Alarm to the Unconverted.) His work is among the best I’ve ever read and recommend it for your consideration. But somehow Charles Spurgeon’s work The Soul Winner has escaped my reading, until now.

I’m committed to putting my mind to work as I read through Spurgeon’s masterpiece on soul winning. I’ve printed off the 170 page book (collection of lectures) on this important topic and will share my findings and thoughts along the way. Feel free to join me in the examination. Your thoughts are welcome as I journey along.

Chapter titles:

  • What Is It To Win A Soul?
  • Qualifications for Soul-Winning – Godward
  • Qualifications for Soul-Winning – Manward
  • Sermons Likely to Win Souls
  • Obstacles to Soul-Winning
  • How to Induce Our People to Win Souls
  • How to Raise the Dead
  • How to Win Souls for Christ
  • The Cost of Being a Soul-Winner
  • The Soul-Winners Reward
  • The Soul-Winners Life and Work
  • Soul-Winning Explained
  • Soul-Saving Our One Business
  • Instruction in Soul-Winning
  • Encouragement to Soul-Winners

Happy reading for the glory of God…

 

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