


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." This means no one is beyond the saving power of God: God's sovereign call, Spurgeon affirmed, is far more powerful than any man's resistance: "A man is not saved against his will, but he is made willing by the operation of the Holy Ghost. Such a nebulous belief, he insisted, grossly dishonors God, especially His justice, and distorts the saving purpose of Christ in His substitutionary death. > "A redemption which pays a price, but does not ensure that which is purchased-a redemption which calls Christ a substitute for the sinner, but yet which allows the person to suffer-is altogether unworthy of our apprehensions of Almighty God." -Charles Spurgeon Spurgeon adamantly rejected this vague position: Such a definite redemption stands in contrast to the Arminian view, which claims that Christ did not actually save anyone in particular by His death, but merely made salvation possible for everyone. This truth teaches that Christ died exclusively for those chosen by the Father and, thus, actually secured the salvation of all those for whom He died. > "Whatever may be said about the doctrine of election, it is written in the Word of God as with an iron pen, and there is no getting rid of it." -Charles SpurgeonĬharles Spurgeon strongly affirmed the doctrine of definite atonement. Like all the doctrines that Spurgeon held, he believed this truth because he was convinced it is rooted and grounded in the Bible: Spurgeon contended that were it not for God's choice of His elect, none would be saved. Before the foundation of the world, He determined whom He would save. Out of the mass of fallen humanity, God made an eternal, distinguishing choice. Because the will of man is utterly dead and cannot choose God, God must exercise His sovereign will to save. It is either a slave of sin or a slave of Christ, but never free.īy necessity, unconditional election flows from belief in human depravity. Simply put, Spurgeon believed that no human will is entirely free. > "If God requires of the sinner, dead in sin, that he should take the first step, then he requires just that which renders salvation as impossible under the gospel as it was under the law, since man is as unable to believe as he is to obey." -Charles Spurgeon He could not be more hopeless and helpless. He is spiritually dead and unable to save himself. The saving message of grace starts with total depravity.

#Charles spurgeon download#
Lawson's The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon is a free download in November.įor Spurgeon, total depravity was where the message of the gospel begins. We've compiled several adapted excerpts from The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon to outline Spurgeon's beliefs concerning the sovereignty of God in salvation. Lawson argues that not only was Spurgeon a Calvinist, but his fervent commitment to the doctrines of grace actually "sharpened" his "gospel focus." Steven Lawson's book, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon, Dr. I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines, that are called by nickname Calvinism, but which are surely and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus." -Charles Spurgeon > "It is no novelty, then, that I am preaching no new doctrine. Was Charles Spurgeon a Calvinist? The Prince of Preachers himself answers this question in the affirmative:
