Abhor all idea of being saved by good works, but O, be as full of good works as if you were to be saved by them!
Interpretation
True salvation is not earned through good deeds, but one should still embrace doing good works abundantly.
Charles Spurgeon's quote emphasizes the balance between faith and actions. While he encourages rejecting the notion that good works could earn salvation, he also advocates for a life filled with good deeds, suggesting that such actions should stem from genuine belief and love, reflecting the transformative power of faith in one's life.
In practice
During a sermon, one might use this quote to encourage congregation members to engage in community service.
Amusement should be used to do us good “like a medicine”: it must never be used as the food of the man...Many have had all holy thoughts and gracious resolutions stamped out by perpetual trifling. Pleasure so called is the murderer of thought. This is the age of excessive amusement: everybody craves for it, like a babe for its rattle.
When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honor to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle.
It is far easier to fight with sin in public than to pray against it in private.
You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself.
After faith comes repentance, or, rather, repentance is faith's twin brother and is born at the same time.
["All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant."] The original Hebrew word that has been translated "paths" means "well-worn roads' or "wheel tracks," such ruts as wagons make when they go down our green roads in wet weather and sink in up to the axles. God's ways are at times like heavy wagon tracks that cut deep into our souls, yet all of them are merciful.
When I was little there was a picture in one of our books, a dark place into which a single weak ray of light came slanting upon two faces lifted out of the shadow.
Look wise, say nothing, and grunt. Speech was given to conceal thought.
Correcting oneself is correcting the whole world. The Sun is simply bright. It does not correct anyone. Because it shines, the whole world is full of light. Transforming yourself is a means of giving light to the whole world.
Hell's waking up every goddamn day and not even knowing why you're here.
I was hugely impressed... was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn't know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn't want to leave until he understood. That's heroic to me. I wish every grad student had that attitude.
It's Hard to Stay Mad When There's So Much Beauty in the World
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