Preacher Power
February 2, 2010The following quote first subdues my pride (‘my preaching cannot save a single soul’) but then lifts me from despair (‘God’s Spirit can’!):
“The gospel is preached in the ears of all men; it only comes with power to some. The power that is in the gospel does not lie in the eloquence of the preacher otherwise men would be converters of souls. Nor does it lie in the preacher’s learning; otherwise it could consists of the wisdom of men. We might preach till our tongues rotted, till we should exhaust our lungs and die, but never a soul would be converted unless there were mysterious power going with it – the Holy Ghost changing the will of man. O Sirs! We might as well preach to stone walls as preach to humanity unless the Holy Ghost be with the word, to give it power to convert the soul.” (Charles Spurgeon, quoted in Stott, I Believe in Preaching, 335)
Or as Paul put it:
“…our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” (1 Thessalonians 1:5)
unashamed 
[…] Preacher Power Colin Adams shares this about a preacher’s […]
Great quote(s). I plan to use them both.
Is there a typo in this: “otherwise it could consists of the wisdom of men.” (I don’t have Stott’s book or the original Spurgeon quote to check.)
Pastor Colin,
Hey brother! I love this website and have gained so much from visiting it on a daily basis!
Anyway I remember a while back you preached through the book of Mark and commented on how “fast” the series was going.
I am looking into preaching through Mark in the near future and was wondering if you could share a little more with me about how you broke down the chapter(s)and weeks in which you preached through it.
Also was there a particular theme that permeated throughout the series that you kept coming back too?
I am just trying to glean as much as I can from other godly men as I prepare (Approved Workmen right!).
Any help would be much appreciated. Of course all info (if any) will be taken in with integrity and without plagarism.
Here is my email address if you would like to respond.
aaron@sunergeo.org
Thanks bro and believe me if this is something you would not like to respond to then by all means don’t feel any pressure.
Just trying to get as much info as possible as I tackle the book of Mark! 🙂
Pastor Aaron
[…] a Soul Converted Unless . . . By B Treece The Unashamed Workman quotes CH Spurgeon on the source of the gospel’s power: We might preach till our tongues rotted, till we should […]
Thanks for this. Like you, it brought me humility and relief.