Sermons of the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, Series 8

In the preceding verse our Lord Jesus Christ gives us some little insight into the natural character of the apostles whom he selected to be the first ministers of the “Word. They were evidently men of like passions with us, and needed to be rebuked even as we do. On the occasion when our Lord sent forth the eleven to preach the gospel to every creature, he “appeared unto them as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen;” from which we may surely gather, that, to preach the Word, the Lord was pleased to choose imperfect men; men, too, who of themselves were very weak in the grace of faith in which it was most important that they should excel. Faith is the conquering grace, and is of all things the main requisite in the preacher of the “Word; and yet the honored men who were chosen to be the leaders of the divine crusade needed a rebuke concerning their unbelief. Why was this? Why, my brethren, because the Lord has ordained evermore that we should have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. If you should find a perfect minister, then might the praise and honor of his usefulness accrue to man; but God is frequently pleased to select for eminent usefulness men evidently Ijpnest and sincere, but who have some manifest infirmity by which all the glory is cast off from them and laid upon himself, and upon himself alone. Let it never be supposed that we who are God’s ministers either excuse our faults or pretend to perfection. We labor to walk in holiness, but we cannot claim to be all that we wish to be. “We do not base the claims of God’s truth upon the spotlessness of our characters, but upon the fact that it comes from him. You have believed in spite of our infirmities, and not because of our virtues. If, indeed, you had believed our word because of our supposed perfection, your faith would stand in the excellency of man and not in the power of God. “We come unto you often with much trembling, sorrowing over our follies and weaknesses; but we deliver to you God’s “Word as God’s Word, and we beseech you to receive it, not as coming from us, poor, sinful mortals, but as proceeding from the eternal and thrice-holy God; and if you so receive it, and by its own vital force are moved and stirred up towards God and his ways, then is the work of the Word sure work, which it could not and would not be if it rested in any way upon man.

Our Lord having thus given us an insight into the character of the persons whom he has chosen to proclaim his truth, then goes on to deliver to the chosen champions their commission for the holy war. I pray you mark the words with solemn care. He sums up in a few words the whole of their work, and at the same time foretells the result of it, telling them that some would doubtless believe and so be saved, and some on the other hand would not believe and would most certainly, therefore, be damned; that is, condemned forever to the penalties of God’s wrath. The lines containing the commission of our ascended Lord are certainly of the utmost importance, and demand devout attention and implicit obedience, not only from all who aspire to the work of the ministry, but also from all who hear the message of mercy. A clear understanding of these words is absolutely necessary to our success in the Master’s work; for if we do not understand the commission, it is not at all likely that we shall discharge it aright. To alter these words were more than impertinence: it

BAPTISaiAL REGENERATION. 13

would involve the crime of treason against the authority of Christ and the best interests of the souls of men. Oh for grace to be very jealous here!

Wherever the apostles went they met with obstacles to the preaching of the gospel, and the more open and effectual was the door of utterance, the more numerous were the adversaries. These brave men so wielded the sword of the Spirit as to put to flight all their foes; and this they did not by craft and guile, but by making a direct cut at the error which impeded them. Never did they dream for a moment of adapting the gospel to the unhallowed tastes or prejudices of the people, but at once directly and boldly they brought down with both their hands the mighty sword of the Spirit upon the crown of the opposing error. This morning, in the name of the Lord of Hosts, my helper and defence, I shall attempt to do the same; and if I should provoke some hostility — if I should through speaking what I believe to be the truth lose the friendship of some and stir up the enmity of more — I cannot help it. The burden of the Lord is upon me, and I must deliver my soul. I have been loath enough to undertake the work, but I am forced to it by an awful and overwhelming sense of solemn duty. As I am soon to appear before my Master’s bar I will this day, if ever in my life, bear my testimony for truth, and run all risks. I am content to be cast out as evil if it must be so; but I cannot, I dare not, hold my peace. The Lord knoweth I have nothing in my heart but the purest love to the souls of those whom I feel imperatively called to rebuke sternly in the Lord’s name. Among my hearers and readers, a considerable number will censure if not condemn me; but I cannot help it. If I forfeit your love for truth’s sake I am grieved for you; but I cannot, I dare not, do otherwise. It is as much as my soul is worth to hold my peace any longer; and, whether you approve or not, I must speak out. Did I ever court your approbation? It is sweet to every one to be applauded; but if for the sake of the comforts of respectability and the smiles of men any Christian minister shall keep back a part of his testimony, his Master at the last shall require it at his hands. Thia day, standing in the immediate presence of God, I shall speak honestly what I feel, as the Holy Spirit shall enable me; and I shall leave the matter with you to judge concerning it, as you will answer for that judgment at the last, great day.

I find that the great error which we have to contend with throughout England (and it is growing more and more), is one in direct opposition to my text, well known to you as the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. We will confront this dogma with the assertion that baptism without faith saves no one. The text says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;” but whether a man be baptized or no, it asserts that “he that believeth not shall be damned:” so that baptism does not «ave the unbeliever; nay, it does not in any degree exempt him from the common doom of all the ungodly. He may have baptism, or he may not have baptism; but if he believeth not, he shall be in any case most surely damned. Let him be baptized by immersion or sprinkhng, in his infancy or in his adult age: if he be not led to put his trust in Jesus Christ — if he remaineth an unbeliever — then this terrible doom is pronounced upon him, “He that believeth not shall be damned.” I am not aware that any Protestant church in England teaches the doctrine of baptismal regeneration, except one, and that happens to be the corporation which with none too much humility calls itself the Church of England. This very powerful sect does not teach this doctrine merely through a section of its ministers, who might charitably be considered as evil branches of the vine, but it openly, boldly, and plainly declares this doctrine in her own appointed standard, the Book of Common Prayer, and that in words so express, that, while language is the channel of conveying intelligible sense, no process short of violent wresting from their plain meaning can ever make them say anything else.

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