Cited in sermons
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
9 sermons · All people cited
2LCF Chapter 31 - Of the State of Man After Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead
The doctrine of the intermediate state — the condition of the soul between death and the final resurrection — is examined through 2LCF Chapter 31 and the key Scripture passages that ground it. The confession teaches a sharp dichotomy: at death, the body returns to dust while the immortal soul either goes immediately to be with Christ in paradise or is cast into hell, with no third option such as purgatory or soul sleep. The resurrection of both the just and the unjust on the last day is treated in paragraphs 2 and 3, with 1 Corinthians 15 providing the clearest statement that Christ's coming is followed immediately by the end — a structure that complicates dispensational premillennialism. The lesson closes with a call to find comfort and ethical urgency in the simplicity of biblical eschatology rather than in elaborate prophetic systems.
The Command to Remember the Prisoners
Hebrews 13:3 commands believers to 'remember the prisoners as if chained with them' — not as a vague awareness, but as an active, continual concern that issues in prayer, correspondence, advocacy, and tangible aid. The sermon traces the biblical pattern of righteous suffering from Joseph and Jeremiah through the apostolic era, demonstrating that enmity against the people of God is not an anomaly but an expectation rooted in Genesis 3:15. The command is grounded in the solidarity of the one body: those who enjoy liberty share membership with those who suffer chains, and to forget the persecuted church is a failure of brotherly love. Believers are called to cultivate a global, intercessory prayer-life that refuses to confine concern to the local congregation, and to find in Christ's worth the courage to rejoice if they themselves are called to suffer.
Free Grace Baptist Church - October 15, 2017 AM
Matthew 27:32–38 presents the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as the central event in redemptive history, the long-anticipated fulfillment of Old Testament promise from Genesis 3:15 through Isaiah 53. The sermon traces two movements: the way to the cross — bearing, location, and the bitter drink — and the act of crucifixion itself, attending to the division of garments, the watching guards, the charge above his head, and the company of criminals. Throughout, the visible shame of the Son of God is shown to be the appointed means by which he crushes the serpent's head, satisfies divine justice, and secures justification for all whom the Father gave him. Hearers are called to abandon every notion of contributing to their own salvation and to look in faith to the crucified Christ alone.
1 Kings 14:1-20
1 Kings 14:1–20 records the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite delivered to Jeroboam's wife in disguise — a passage that functions as a programmatic text for the entire Northern Kingdom. The sermon traces three movements: the occasion of the prophecy (the sick child prompting a hypocritical resort to God's prophet), the content of the prophecy (divine provision scorned, royal rebellion catalogued, and sweeping judgment announced on Jeroboam's house and the northern tribes), and the fulfillment of the prophecy in 1 Kings 15 and 2 Kings 17. A recurring application runs throughout: like Jeroboam, men seek God's word only in crisis while rejecting its rule over the whole of life, and no disguise — literal or spiritual — can hide a soul from the searching power of God's word.
The Thief on the Cross
Luke 23:39–43 presents the conversion of the thief on the cross as one of the most remarkable examples of sovereign grace in all of Scripture. Examined under two broad headings — the conversion of the thief and the response of the Savior — the sermon traces five marks of genuine conversion in the criminal's transformation from blasphemer to confessor, and then turns to Christ as willing, able, and glorious Savior. The passage is shown to demolish both works-righteousness and sacramentalism, grounding salvation entirely in grace through faith in Christ alone. Hearers are urged not to defer repentance, to call upon Christ while He may be found, and to come to the Lord's Table with eyes fixed not on their own obedience but on the excellence of the Savior.
A Summary of Paul's Task
Acts 26:19–23 presents Paul's compressed account of his apostolic commission and ministry as a model for understanding how God's sovereign plan is carried out through human obedience, opposition, and divine provision. The sermon traces four observations from the text: Paul's obedience to the heavenly vision, the severe unbelieving reaction his preaching provoked, the divine aid that sustained him, and the glorious message he proclaimed — a message continuous with Moses and the prophets, centered on a suffering and risen Christ who brings light to Jew and Gentile alike. The trans-covenantal unity of Scripture is shown to rest not on cold theological systematizing but on the living reality that Jesus Christ is the sum and substance of both Testaments. Hearers are pressed to make the cross of Christ the chief constellation of their lives, and the unbelieving are called to repent and come to him.
Two Types of Theological Speech, Part 2
Malachi 3:16–18 sets two kinds of speech in direct contrast: the harsh, blasphemous words of those who call it useless to serve God, and the reverent, theologically grounded conversation of those who fear the Lord. This sermon examines three marks of the God-fearers — their identity as the covenant remnant, their godly discourse affirming that the Lord listens and hears, and their covenant renewal before God — and grounds each in the broader Pentateuchal and prophetic witness. The exposition closes by calling believers to live as God's special treasure, redeemed by Christ and cared for by a perfect heavenly Father, with the privilege of that standing producing zealous obedience.
The Blessing of Christian Baptism
Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament instituted by Jesus Christ, and this sermon examines what it means, who its proper subjects are, and why it is necessary. Working from Matthew 28:18-20 and the 1689 London Baptist Confession chapter 29, the sermon argues that baptism is a nonverbal proclamation of the gospel, signifying union with Christ in his death and resurrection, the forgiveness of sins through his blood, and the believer's public consecration to walk in newness of life. Against both baptismal regeneration and indiscriminate administration, the sermon grounds believers' baptism in the New Covenant community described in Jeremiah 31 and demonstrated throughout the book of Acts, where profession of faith consistently precedes the ordinance. The sermon closes by urging baptized believers to recall their baptism as a summons to holiness, and by calling the unbaptized to trust in Christ alone, in whom every spiritual blessing is secured.
The Exceeding Riches of God's Grace
Ephesians 2:8–10 sets forth the full plan of salvation — its origin in God's grace alone, its recipients as sinners who are spiritually dead and helpless, its instrument of faith as itself a divine gift, and its character as entirely excluding human merit. Preached on Reformation Day 2010, this exposition traces the theological convictions recovered by Luther and Calvin back to their Pauline roots: that salvation is not a cooperative enterprise between God and man but the sovereign, unilateral act of divine grace. The sermon closes by showing that good works are the necessary fruit, not the ground, of justification, and calls the unconverted to believe on Christ without delay.