Spurgeon on About Everything

Welcome to No Compromise Radio Ministry. Mike Abendroth here. You can write me, mike, at nocompromiseradio .com. You can follow us on Twitter, on X, at NoCoRadio, Facebook. I don't really do too much on Instagram.

There are two new books that will be out by the time you hear this, Lord willing. Lord willing, the book should be out by now. And if you are going to hear this, first one is Cancer is Not Your Shepherd, a 31-Day Guide to Suffering.

I wrote the first 16 days, the last 13, 14 days, 15 days are Thomas Watson, Thomas Brooks, other folks that have written general chapters on suffering. So the first 15 are about cancer, but applies to really any physical ailment.

And then the updated and revised Sexual Fidelity, a 31-Day Guide to Purity. So we've got 31-Day Guide to Assurance. So that's the three 31-Day Guides. I'm working on a 31-Day Guide for Parenting and a 31-Day Guide on, I don't know what to call it yet, but Understanding God as Your Father.

If you understand God as your father, you pretty much get Christianity and then the implications for that. So if I ever get those done, that would be great. If I don't, well, you get what you shoot for.

And I guess if you don't shoot for things, you just don't get them. There's a better slogan for that, a better phrase of that. What do we have on tap today? Am I allowed to say that? I guess you could tap root beer, right?

I have a book in front of me that I've had for a long, long time. Most of my Christian life, I've had this book. And it is 1988 Baker Book Houses, Spurgeon at his best. And a man named Tom Carter compiled these 2200 striking quotations from the world's most exhaustive and widely read sermon series, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who lived between 1834 and 1892.

I always think it was interesting if you say to yourself, civil war going on here, Spurgeon preaching over there. That's fascinating to me how they kind of overlap and you forget about them. The foreword is written by J. Adams, Westminster Theological Seminary, Escondido, California, 1988.

I forgot that he was there. And what we have is we have topics, justification, unbelief, confessing sin. That's the first part of the book. The second part of the book is a kind of quotes for particular Bible passages.

So from Genesis to Revelation, if you're preaching through a passage in Matthew 6, it'll give you one of his quotes with Matthew 6, 26 there. So quotes from Spurgeon while he was preaching, both topically arranged and biblically arranged.

So today I'm going to just read some of these quotes and then talk about them. That will be our show for today. I've done this in the past where I read something from a book and then talk. I haven't done Beza briefing for a while.

I know I need to get back to that. But anyway, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, humans, nature, humans, as my brother would say, I make my living doing public speaking. Human nature's way of salvation is do, do, do.

But God's way of salvation is done, done. It is all done. But you have to rely by faith on the atonement, which Christ accomplished on the cross. That's right down NoCo's alley, is it not? It's right down NoCo's alley, thinking about law and gospel, law being do, gospel being done.

And then how do you receive the work that's done by the Lord Jesus? Well, it has to be by faith. That's the response to the gospel. I was playing around the other day online, and there's the Microsoft AI app called Copilot.

And for fun, I said, I don't like to get into this too much, but I just thought I'd play around with a couple things. I said, please summarize Mike Abendroth's theology. And then it just pulled it up.

Here's what it says. You tell me if you think it's right or not. Mike Abendroth's theology emphasizes the distinction between law and gospel, a key tenet of Reformed theology. He critiques the Lordship Salvation Doctrine, which he believes conflates faith with works, arguing that it requires believers to submit to Jesus' authority as part of salvation.

Abendroth advocates for a clear separation between the law, which reveals sin and God's requirements, and the gospel, which offers salvation through Christ's work. He is concerned with how works are often smuggled into the definition of faith within the evangelical church, potentially obscuring the grace of the gospel.

His approach is to maintain the purity of the gospel message, ensuring that it remains good news of free salvation in Christ, distinct from the obligations of the law. That is crazy. That is crazy. What do you think?

I don't know. I did also say, please write a romantic poem to my wife who loves children, Santa Cruz, and surfing. And it did. I told her it was A-I, of course, she would realize that I can't rhyme words with H-U-E, an ally, A-L-L-Y.

Okay, I'll give you one more. I asked, what's the comparison between the covenant of works and long-distance bicycle riding? All right, what do you think it said? The covenant of works and long-distance bicycle riding share a common principle of reward based on performance.

In the covenant of works, God promised Adam and Eve blessedness contingent upon their obedience to his command. Similarly, in long-distance bicycling, the rewards of improved health, strength, and endurance are contingent upon the cyclist's consistent effort and perseverance.

Both require a commitment to a set of rules or guidelines to achieve a desired outcome. In the covenant of works, it's adherence to God's command. And in long-distance cycling, it's the discipline of regular training and riding.

Both also involve a journey with a goal in mind. For Adam and Eve, it was the maintenance of their blessed state. And for cyclists, it's reaching the destination or achieving personal fitness goals. In essence, both the covenant of works and long-distance bicycling can be seen as journeys where the outcome is directly related to the effort and adherence to a set of standards.

And it said it got its information from LigonierGirlBikeLove .com. It looks like monergism. That's pretty scary. I want to go on the record right now to say that I am never going to use AI for sermon prep, not even finding some background information or anything like that.

I don't want to do it. For me, it's just something to fill airtime and laugh a little bit and see how well they do things. But it's going to be crazy. You know, I was working on a couple of these books that I talked about, 31 Day Guides, and Amazon, Kindle Direct Press, asked you, have you used AI for any of this book, whatever the question is.

And of course, I said no, because I don't want to do that. For me, it's just kind of joking around until the joke's on me. Spurgeon's book, that just sent me off on a little rabbit trail, but it seemed like it was a good rabbit trail.

Spurgeon, it is admitted by all evangelical Christians that the standing or falling in the church is that of justification by faith. So he's hearkening back to some famous reformers who said that very thing.

What else? Prayer, neglect of. Live and die without prayer, and you will pray long enough when you get to hell. Ow. Live and die without prayer, and you will pray long enough when you get to hell. Power of prayer.

Luther, when Melanchthon was dying, went to his deathbed and said, Melanchthon, you shall not die. Oh, said Melanchthon, I must die. It is a world of toil and trouble. Melanchthon said, I have need of you, and God's cause has need of you.

And as my name is Luther, you shall not die. The physician said he would. Well, down went Luther on his knees and began to tug at death. Drop him, said Luther. Drop him. I want him. No, said death. He is my prey.

I will take him. Down with him, said Luther. Down with him. Death, or I will wrestle with you. And he seemed to take hold of the grim monster and hurled him to the ground, and he came off victorious, up from the very shades of death.

He had delivered Melanchthon from death by prayer. Do you believe it? I'm just kind of making no comments on that. I didn't know what it was going to say before I read it, and that's the fun of spontaneous combustion radio.

I know. I know. How can we do this? This is amazing. Spurgeon, may I beg you carefully to judge every preacher, not by his gifts, not by his elocutionary powers, not by his status in society, not by the respectability of his congregation, not by the prettiness of his church, but this.

Does he preach the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation? If he does, you're sitting under his ministry, and it may prove to you to be the means of beginning faith in you. But if he does not, you cannot expect God's blessing.

Charles Chuck Spurgeon. All right, what else? The Pope, of all the dreams that ever deluded men, and probably of all the blasphemies that have ever been uttered, there has never been one which is more absurd and which is more fruitful in all the manner of mischief than the idea that the Bishop of Rome can be the head of the church of Jesus Christ.

No, these popes die, and how could the church live if its head were dead? The true head lives forever, and the church ever lives in him. Mike Avendroth, No Compromise Radio Ministry, looking at these collection of Spurgeon quotes to just spur you on a little bit.

Whitfield and Wesley might preach the gospel better than I do, but they could not preach a better gospel. Never lose heart in the power of the gospel. Do not believe that there exists any man, much less any race of men, for whom the gospel is not fitted.

It reminds me of Matthew chapter 27, and the veil is torn when Jesus dies from top to bottom, and now there's access to all. Not just the high priest once a year who goes into the Holy of Holies, but access to everyone, including Gentiles, and we see that right there in the text because the centurion responds with faith.

Truly, this is the Son of God, and we see even Gentiles immediately getting saved and having God's work in them. Do I hear it said, Love Jesus, dear children? That is not the gospel. It is, trust Him, believe.

Not love, but faith is the saving grace. Now, of course, he would say more to that, but it's not the gospel loving Jesus because that's the law, one of the two main laws, right? Love God, love neighbor, and the response to God's work in Christ, the gospel is to believe.

It's not love, but faith in the object is very, very important. Okay, Lord's Day, I believe that Sunday should be spent in recreation. You are dreadfully shocked, and well, you may be, but what do I mean by recreation?

It means creating us new. Oh, that everybody who talks about spending Sunday in recreation would come to be recreated, regenerated, renewed, refreshed, revived, and made to rejoice in God. He's talking about Lord's Day worship there.

Is he not? Of course. All right, this is a big one, and you've heard it quoted many times, and of course, in our circles, in No Compromise Radio and Law Gospel, you have certainly been exposed to this quote about the law.

There is no point on which men make greater mistakes than on the relation that exists between the law and the gospel. Some men put the law instead of the gospel. Others put the gospel instead of the law.

A certain class maintains that the law and the gospel are mixed, and that partly by observance of the law and partly by God's grace, men are saved. These men understand not the true and are false teachers.

They don't get what's true and are false teachers if you do that. Wow. If we could hear the wailings of the pit of hell for a moment, we should earnestly entreat that we might never hear them again. When men talk little of hell, it is because they think they only have a little sin, and they believe in a little Savior.

But when you get a great sense of sin, and you want a great Savior, and feel that if you do not have Him, you will fall into great destruction and suffer a great punishment at the hands of the great God.

Mike Ebenroth, No Compromise Radio Ministry. What else do we have here about election, unconditional election, how people don't believe in it? Spurgeon. Can you, O rejecter, cast election out of the Bible?

Would you be like the woman at the feet of Solomon and have the child rent in halves that you might have your half? Is it not here in Scripture that is the doctrine of election? He goes on to talk about how do you preach election or should you?

Some of you have never preached on election since you were ordained. These things you say are offensive, and you would rather offend God than offend man. But you reply, these things will not be practical.

I do think that the climax of all man's blasphemy is centered in that utterance. Tell me that God put a thing in the Bible that I am not to preach. You are finding fault with my God. But you say it will be dangerous.

What? God's truth dangerous? I should not like to stand in your shoes when you have to face your maker on the day of judgment after such an utterance as that. God gave me this great book to preach from, and if he has put anything in it you think is not fit, go and complain to him, not to me.

I'm simply a servant, and if his errand that I am to tell is objectionable, I cannot help it. Let me tell you, the reason why many of our churches are declining is just because this doctrine has not been preached.

Charles Spurgeon, here quoted on No Compromise Radio Ministry. Now that was from the first section of the book that is organized topically. Then to help you, if you're a preacher and you're thinking, I'm going to be preaching from Psalm 23, I just opened it up randomly and came to Psalm 23, there are Spurgeon quotes that you could use for Psalm 23.

Probably these are taken from his sermons, or could it be maybe they found their way into the treasury of Spurgeon with the Psalms that he worked through. The sweetest of the Psalms sings of many mercies which the happy soul of the believer receives, and it traces all those benefits to one source, the good shepherd himself.

I shall not want, why? Because the Lord is my shepherd, I lie down in delicious repose in green pastures, why? Because he maketh me, I march onward making holy progress beside the still waters, why? Because he leadeth me, in the prospect of death I am calm and free from fear, why?

Because he is with me, his rod and staff comfort me. Psalm 31, my times are in thy hand, the Bible says, if our times are in God's hand, here is a great argument for future blessedness, he that takes care of our times will take care of our eternity.

Isn't that good? I don't know why this, I keep looking at the clock and we're only 18 minutes in. We've been getting a lot of truth in this show, am I right? I think so. What else? Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.

Mark 9. Spurgeon, it is very noticeable that he does not say, Lord, I believe, help thou my child. Nor does he say, Lord, I believe, now cast the devil out of my boy. Not at all. He perceives that his own unbelief was harder to overcome than the devil, and that to heal him of his spiritual disease was a more needful work than even to heal his child of the sad malady under which he labored.

Now, let's go ahead and see if we find some epistolatory quotes from Spurgeon. Ephesians 2 .10, we are his workmanship. You have seen a painter with his palette on his finger, and he has ugly little dobs of paint on the palette.

What can he do with those spots? Go in and see the picture. What splendid painting. In an even wiser way does Jesus act toward us. He takes us, pours smudges of paint, and he makes the blessed pictures of his grace out of us.

It is neither the brush nor the painter he uses, but it is the skill of his own hand which does it all. I don't know about you, but that's pretty encouraging to me. Ephesians 4 .32, forgiving one another.

Spurgeon, does he say forgiving another? No, that is not the text. It is forgiving one another. That means that if you have to forgive today, it is very likely that you yourself will need to be forgiven tomorrow, for it is forgiving one another.

Now that, as we say, is convicting and will preach. Forgiving one another. Mike Ebendroth, No Compromise Radio Ministry. We have mice upstairs, workers upstairs. I try to figure out times to come into the studio when there's no one here, but there's always people here, and that's just the way it goes.

Philippians 4 .11, I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therefore to be content. Spurgeon, there was another lesson which Paul had learned, but he does not tell us so. I have no doubt he had learned in whatsoever state he was, therewithout to be content, which is a good deal more.

What about Jude 24? Not a hymn who is able to keep us from falling. He who can keep the saint from stumbling can bring the sinner into the right way. The same grace that can preserve the child of God from falling into sin can bring you out of sin.

And as we have to look holy to Christ, certainly you must do so. There's no doxology in scripture which I enjoy more than the one at the end of the epistle of Jude. Mike Ebendroth, No Compromise Radio Ministry.

I think I'm about out of breath. That's what I think. Jude 13, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever, reserved seats in hell. Did you ever think of that? Oh, these seats are reserved. This is pretty intense.

I think it is, at least. I don't know if you do on No Compromise Radio, but to me, pretty intense. All right, we have time just for a few more. Titus 3 .5, according to his mercy, he saved us. Spurgeon, if salvation be of mercy only, it is clear that our sin is by no means an impediment to our salvation.

If it were of justice, our transgression of the law would render our salvation utterly impossible. Therefore, it is according to his mercy. Titus 1 .9, who has saved us and called us according to his own purpose.

Spurgeon, it is a strange thing that men should be so angry against the purpose of God. We ourselves have a purpose. We permit our fellow creatures to have some will of their own, and especially in giving away their own goods.

But my God is to be bound and fettered by men and not permitted to do as he wills with his own? I regularly talk about that when I'm discussing choices and God choosing. God's purpose, God's calling, God's decree.

God chooses. He's a choosing God. That's part of who he is. That's part of his nature. If you look at Exodus 33 and 34, what passed Moses when Moses was put in the cleft of the rock? I'll have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I'll have compassion on whom I'll have compassion.

At the essence of God's goodness, that's what it is. You can read that for yourself in Exodus chapter 33 especially. And why are we so mad at God for choosing when that's what we do? We choose what restaurants we like, what teams we want to root for.

Many of us in the Western world, we choose our spouses. Some are arranged, that's certainly true. But even there, then it's the parents that are involved in choosing. And so we're choosing people. But what we like in ourselves, we don't like in God.

One of the reasons why I think we choose is because God wants us to have a mandate, a dominion mandate, and subdue the earth type of thing. And we are reflections of who God is with certain kinds of attributes that we might call communicable attributes.

While I can't be omnipresent, I could strive to be holy, right? So those kinds of things, even though maybe holy is not the good one, I could strive to be good. Holy, talking more about transcendence and purity, but also, of course, purity is put in there.

So you know what I mean. See, once you begin talking, then you have to theologically auto-correct. My name's Mike Ebendroth. This is No Compromise Radio Ministry. I've been looking at a book today, Spurgeon at His Best, compiled by a man named Carter, Tom Carter, and it is Baker Bookhouse.

And I don't know why, but I took the cover off and I cut it up a little bit and then glued it into the inside of the book with a picture of Spurgeon and a couple of Puff's endorsements, one by John MacArthur, one by J. Adams.

This is a good tool if you want some Spurgeon quotes, and by the way, if you have a podcast and you don't know how to fill the time, you just say, I'm just going to open it up and start talking, and then before you know it, 25, 30 minutes will go, and then I have a show.

And then the next day I can come in and talk about my sermon for Easter Sunday, and then I've got 3 ,900 shows instead of 3 ,893. Last quote, Erskine, in speaking of his own conversion, says he ran to Christ with full consent against his will, by which he meant it was against his old will, against his will as it was till Christ came.

But when Christ came, then he came to Christ with full consent and was willing to be saved, as pleased to receive Christ as if grace had not constrained him. Spurgeon goes on, a man is not saved against his will, but he is made willing by the operation of the Holy Ghost.

A mighty grace, which he does not wish to resist, enters into man, disarms him, makes him a new creature of him, and he is saved. Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio Ministry. You can go to Amazon .com and pick up Cancer Is Not Your Shepherd, a 31-day guide to suffering.

It does talk about cancer, yes, but it expands into all kinds of different suffering. And then the updated, renewed, more law gospel, more duplex gratia, sexual fidelity, a 31-day guide to sexual purity, or to purity, added in an extra chapter, a little bit different intro, and I think that might be beneficial to some of you out there listening.

And if you want to order bulk copies, you can do that through Mike at NoCompromiseRadio .com.