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 the man, disarms him, makes a new creature of him, and he is saved.
Interpretation
Salvation requires a person's willingness, which is influenced by divine grace.
This quote by Charles Spurgeon emphasizes the idea that while an individual's salvation is ultimately a choice, it is divine grace that works within a person to foster that willingness. The transformative power of the Holy Spirit is described as a profound force that disarms the individual, enabling a complete renewal of spirit and purpose that leads to salvation.
In practice
This quote could be used in a sermon to illustrate the importance of divine intervention in personal transformation.
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.
Religion was instituted to make us happy in this life and in the other. What must we do to be happy in the life to come? Be just.
Human rights will be a powerful force for the transformation of reality when they are not simply understood as externally defined norms of behavior but are lived as the spontaneous manifestation of internalized values.
All freed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses, his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.
One is a member of a country, a profession, a civilization, a religion. One is not just a man.
Upon the glazen shelves kept watch Matthew and Waldo, guardians of the faith The army of unalterable law.
Thoughtfulness for others, generosity, modesty, and self-respect are the qualities which make a real gentleman or lady.
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