LECTURES TO MY STUDENTS, by C. H. Spurgeon

A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance

by Steve West

 

Note: There are numerous editions available of Lectures to My Students, and it is also public domain and readily available online. The following summary is not exhaustive but a sampling of eleven of Spurgeon’s lectures.

 

Summary

 

1. The Minister’s Self-Watch

Craftsmen and artists know the necessity of keeping their tools in good condition; soldiers know the imperative of weapons kept in working order. Although God can work supernaturally and directly, he normally uses means and instruments. As a minister, you are an instrument of God, and you must keep yourself in condition for service. Godly M’Cheyne rightly said that “A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.” Battles can be lost because of poor gun powder, and a train can derail because of a lost spike. A careless or evil man in the pulpit does great harm. It is terrible for an unregenerate man to be a preacher: Make sure you are saved! Make it your first order of business to know that you have eternal life in Christ Jesus. The unsaved minister is completely unfit for his work, and he leads his congregation into the confirmation of an unregenerate state. Those who seek to persuade others must be persuaded themselves. How terrible it will be for those who are lost behind the pulpit and judged thereafter.

Ministers must be vigorous in their spirituality and morals—God does not want failing Christians to enter the pastorate. Everything a minister does will be affected by the vitality of his piety, and thus, his piety affects the entire parish. Preachers are assaulted more than others, and the enemy aims for their ruin. One of the greatest dangers is to fall into ministerialism, where our engagement with Scripture and religion is always a matter of official duty and work. A fruitful ministry requires a pious, vigorous minister. Ensure that you are consistent in your life and preaching, not being one thing in the pulpit and something else outside of it. Avoid sins of commission and be on guard against sins of omission. Many are those who fail to live out the messages they deliver. A minister needs to be holy to represent the holy God. People should be attracted to God through the minister, as he radiates the aroma of Christ. Ministers are watched carefully, and we must be scrupulously true to our word, avoiding gossip and everything that can mar our witness. We must always live with integrity and honesty; we are never off duty. . . .

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