C.H. Spurgeon Helps Me Teach

Tomorrow brings my turn again, in our 13 week cycle at church, to teach the New Member class. My task is to teach these new members/converts about their Spiritual Gifts.

Every time I teach this subject, I wonder about my abilities to get across God's message to the class. I suppose all teachers have this problem. Seldom do students indicate understanding and because of the nature of the class questions from them are few and far between.

So, to prepare I try to read some of the old lessons and sermons from the giants of the faith in the past. This time I found two of Spurgeon's sermons that were of great help to me. Both deal with faith and the reliance on Christ alone for the affect of my teaching. Here are some excerpts from his sermons.

Spurgeon preached this sermon in 1864, at Metropolitan Tabernacle, London. His words echo through time to inform us today, that saving faith is from God and not our doing.

Now, that which is obtained by us must be given to us; and well are we taught in Scripture that "faith is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God." Although faith is the act of man, yet it is the work of God. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness;" but that heart must, first of all, have been renewed by divine grace before it ever can be capable of the act of saving faith. Faith, we say, is man's act, for we are commanded to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," and we shall be saved. At the same time, faith is God's gift, and wherever we find it, we may know that it did not come there from the force of nature, but from a work of divine grace.[...]

You shall never find true faith unattended by true godliness; on the other hand, you shall never discover a truly holy life which has not for its root and foundation a living faith upon the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Woe unto those who seek after the one without the other! There be some who cultivate faith and forget holiness; these may be very high in orthodoxy, but they shall be very deep in damnation, in that day when God shall condemn those who hold the truth in unrighteousness, and make the doctrine of Christ to pander to their lusts.[...]

Are we conscious that we have been operated upon by the Holy Spirit? Is there a vital principle in us which was not there originally? Do we know today the folly of carnal confidence? Have we a hope that we have been enabled through divine grace to cast away all our own righteousness and every dependence, and are we now, whether we sink or swim, resting entirely upon the person, the righteousness, the blood, the intercession, the precious merit of our Lord Jesus Christ? If not, we have cause enough to tremble; but if we have, the while the apostle writes, "Unto them that have obtained like precious faith," he writes to us, and across the interval of centuries his benediction comes as full and fresh as ever, "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you."[...]

And then he said this in his sermon on Fruitless Faith preached in 1861:

The faith that saves is not a historical faith, not a faith that simply believes a creed and certain facts: I have no doubt devils are very orthodox; I do not know which church they belong to, though there are some in all churches; there was one in Christ's Church when he was on earth, for he said one was filled with devils; and there are some in all churches. Devils believe all the facts of revelation. I do not believe they have a doubt; they have suffered too much from the hand of God to doubt his existence! They have felt too much the terror of his wrath to doubt the righteousness of his government. They are stern believers, but they are not saved; and such a faith, if it be in us, will not, cannot, save us, but will remain to all intents and purposes a dead, inoperative faith. It is a faith which produces works which saves us; the works do not save us; but a faith which does not produce works is a faith that will only deceive, and cannot lead us into heaven.[...]

Slowly I am coming to understand the full impact that my salvation is a result of Jesus Christ and His work on the Cross on my behalf. I am learning that the only assurance I have is the change he has made in my life and my almost obsessive desire to serve Him. What I have to learn now, is that when I teach/disciple others the only thing I can be sure of is that the Holy Spirit has to work in them for them to understand. I can't convince anyone of what I know to be true. Only God can do that.

Note: Spurgeon's sermons are on line at Spurgeon's Sermons.