Spurgeon on counting numbers

Jan 28 | Pastor J.D. | 3 Comments |

I found these thoughts from Charles Spurgeon’s book on preaching evangelistically, The Soul Winner, to be particularly helpful and remarkably relevant to contemporary discussions. Spurgeon had the rare combination of being one of the most evangelistically successful, as well as doctrinally rich, preachers of his day. How we need more who can do both!

“We would bring men to Christ, and not to our own peculiar views of Christianity. Our first care must be that the sheep should be gathered to the great Shepherd; there will be time enough afterward to secure them for our various folds. To make proselytes is a suitable labor for Pharisees; to beget men unto God is the honorable aim of ministers of Christ… There is such a thing as selfishness in our eagerness for the aggrandizement of our own party and from this evil spirit may grace deliver us!” (14–15)

“Do not, therefore, consider that soul winning is or can be secured by the multiplication of baptisms and the swelling of the size of your church. What mean these dispatches from the battlefield? ‘Last night… fifteen souls were justified…’ I am weary of this public bragging, this counting of unhatched chickens, this exhibition of doubtful spoils. Lay aside such numberings of the people, such idle pretense of certifying in half a minute that which will need the testing of a lifetime. Hope for the best, but in your highest excitements be reasonable… if [a harvesting of responses] leads to idle boastings they will grieve the Holy Spirit, and work abounding evil.” (16)

(About the passion that comes from emotional, hyped services) “Give me the godliness which flourishes upon Calvary rather than upon Vesuvius.” (16)

“To win a soul, it is necessary not only to instruct our hearer and to make him know the truth, but to impress him so that he may feel it.” (19)

“The unequal legs of some ministries cripple them.” (19)

“It is a horrible thing for a man to be so doctrinal that he can speak coolly of the doom of the wicked, so that, if he does not actually praise God for it, it costs him no anguish of heart to think of the ruin of millions of our race.” (19)

“No minister living can save a soul; nor can all of us together, nor all the saints on earth or in heaven, work regeneration in a single person. The whole business on our part is the height of absurdity unless we regard ourselves as used by the Holy Ghost and filled with His power.” (22)

(About repentance) “Instead of saying, ‘It is only a change of mind,’ it seems to me more truthful to say it is a great and deep change—even a change of the mind itself.” (23)

“If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows his Lord’s will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Has the Lord said, ‘And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and cometh after me, cannot be my disciple?’ Mistakes as to what the Lord’s will may be are to be tenderly corrected, but anything like willful disobedience is fatal; to tolerate it would be treason to Him that sent us.” (24)

“Remember our Saviour’s words, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.’ Do not number your fishes before they are broiled, nor count your converts before you have tested and tried them. This process may make your work somewhat slow, but then, brethren, it will be sure. Do your work steadily and well, so that those who come after you may not have to say that it was far more trouble to them to clear the church of those who ought never to have been admitted than it was to you to admit them.” (25)

3 Responses to “Spurgeon on counting numbers”

1. Worth a Look 1.30.11 – Trevin Wax says:

   January 30, 2012 at 3:07 am

   [...] Spurgeon on counting numbers: I found these thoughts from Charles Spurgeon’s book on preaching evangelistically, The Soul Winner, to be particularly helpful and remarkably relevant to contemporary discussions. Spurgeon had the rare combination of being one of the most evangelistically successful, as well as doctrinally rich, preachers of his day. How we need more who can do both! [...]
2. Tim McKnight says:

   January 31, 2012 at 11:11 am

   Another good quote from “The Soul Winner” regarding the issue:

   I am not among those who decry statistics, nor do I consider that they
   are productive of all matter of evil; for they do much good if they are
   accurate, and if men use them lawfully. It is a good thing for people to
   see the nakedness of the land through statistics of decrease, that they
   may be driven to their knees before the Lord to seek prosperity; and, on
   the other hand, it is by no means an evil thing for workers to be
   encouraged by having some account of results set before them. I
   should be very sorry if the practice of adding up, and deducting, and
   giving in the net result were to be abandoned, for it must be right to
   know our numerical condition. It has been noticed that those who
   object to the process are often brethren whose unsatisfactory reports
   should somewhat humiliate them: this is not always so, but is
   suspiciously frequent.(17)

   Thanks for bringing our attention to this great work of Spurgeon. May it inspire us to be about seeking true converts for the glory of God.

   Tim McKnight
3. Treading Grain » Post Topic » Around the Horn: 2.2.12 says:

   February 2, 2012 at 4:40 am

   [...] Spurgeon on Counting Numbers I found these thoughts from Charles Spurgeon’s book on preaching evangelistically, The Soul Winner, to be particularly helpful and remarkably relevant to contemporary discussions. Spurgeon had the rare combination of being one of the most evangelistically successful, as well as doctrinally rich, preachers of his day. How we need more who can do both! [...]