Fully Surrendered to Christ

Mini-Biography Part 3

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

This brute orator was born in 1850. Unlike Bunyan, at a young age it was Spurgeon's self-righteousness that kept him from Christ. "I really thought I was quite a respectable lad, and might have been half inclined to boast that I was not like other boys, untruthful, dishonest, disobedient, swearing."

But around the age of 16, he rushed into a small church to avoid the snow storm that halted his journey. The snow had kept the preacher from coming that day, so instead, an unlearned layman spoke from the Bible. For Spurgeon, this church service was impromptu, but for God it was set in stone from before creation. That night he gave his life to Christ. Only a few months later he dipped his toes into preaching, and it snowballed quickly from there. He became a pastor at 17 and by the time he was into his 20's, he was preaching to crowds of up to 10,000.

If you have ever read any of his sermons you know how gifted this man was. He had an uncanny capacity for serving God. He published weekly sermons, monthly newspapers, traveled extensively preaching the gospel, started an orphanage, shepherded his people, and ran a pastors college. I believe God blessed him mightily because he was so surrendered to being used by God. At about the time of his conversion to Christ he wrote, "I gave Him my body, my soul, my spirit; I gave him all I had, and all I shall have for time and eternity. I gave him all my talents, my powers, my faculties, my eyes, my ears, my limbs, my emotions, my judgment, my whole manhood, and all that came of it, whatever fresh capacity or new capability I might be endowed with".

May we be this surrendered to Christ, and may Christ use us so.

-G

A Taste of Spurgeon's writings from a sermon on Colossians 3:11 "...Christ is all..":

The way to be saved is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. "But what is it to believe?" you say. I have heard of a captain who had a little son, and this little boy was very fond of climbing aloft. One day he climbed to the mast-head, and the father saw that, if the boy attempted to return, he would be dashed to pieces; he, therefore, shouted to him not to look down, but to drop into the sea. The poor boy kept fast hold of the mast; but the father saw it was his only chance of safety, and he shouted once more, "Boy, the next time the ship lurches, drop, or I will shoot you." The boy is gone; he drops into the sea, and is saved. Had he not dropped, he must have perished. This is just your condition: so long as you cling to works and ceremonies, you are in the utmost peril; but when you give yourselves up entirely to the mercy of Christ, you are safe. Try it, sinner; try it, that is all. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved," is Christ's promise, and it shall never fail you. The invitation is to all who thirst.

Read more Spurgeon here : http://www.spurgeon.org/spsrmns.htm