Spurgeon, Charles, H. - The Object of Christ's Death

Excerpt:
Intended for Reading on Lord's-Day, September 20th, 1896, Delivered by C. H. SPURGEON,
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. On Lord's-day Evening, August 15th, 1886.

    "Who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."—Galatians 1:4-5.

THE APOSTLE PAUL, in his writings, is notable for the fact that he scarcely ever mentions the name of the Lord Jesus Christ without pausing to praise and bless him. There are many benedictions and hallelujahs in Paul's Epistles, which might have been omitted so far as the run of the sense is concerned, but not one of them could be omitted because his heart was so aglow with love to his Divine Master that he only needed to mention that dear name, and out burst his praises in a moment. Brethren, let us all try to keep a heart like the apostle's, so full of love to Christ that we have only to come across his track, and we shall at once fall down, and worship and adore him, or upon the wings of holy love mount up nearer to his throne.
I am quite sure that, when Paul was writing the Epistle to the Galatians, he was eager to get at his task. The Galatians had turned aside from the gospel of God's grace, and Paul was in dead earnest to bring them back to the grand truth of the doctrine of salvation and justification by faith in Christ. He was burning to get at his work of trying to win them back to the old paths; but it seemed needful and courteous to begin with a salutation. In that salutation occurred the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, so off went the apostle directly. Earnest as he was to get to the special subject on which he was about to write, he felt that he must tarry a while, and write a little to the honor of his Divine Master. So we read, "Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

About the Author:

Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was a British Baptist preacher, still known as the "Prince of Preachers". In his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000 people, often up to 10 times a week at different places. His sermons have been translated into many languages. Today, there are more writings and books by Spurgeon than by any other Christian writer.

Spurgeon was the pastor of the New Park Street Chapel in London for 38 years. He was part of several controversies with the Baptist Union of Great Britain, and later had to leave that denomination. Throughout his life, Spurgeon suffered from depression and other mental illnesses. In 1857, he started a charity organisation called Spurgeon's which now works globally. He also founded Spurgeon's College, which was named after him after his death.

Born in Kelvedon, Essex, Spurgeon's conversion to Christianity came on January 6, 1850, at the age of fifteen. On his way to a scheduled appointment, a snow storm forced him to cut short his intended journey and to turn into a Primitive Methodist chapel in Colchester where, in his own words: "God opened his heart to the salvation message." The text that moved him was Isaiah 45:22 - "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else."

Later that year, on April 4, 1850, he was admitted to the church at Newmarket. His baptism followed on May 3 in the river Lark, at Isleham. Later that same year he moved to Cambridge. He preached his first sermon in the winter of 1850 / 1851 in a cottage at Teversham, Cambridge; from the beginning of his ministry his style and ability were considered to be far above average. In the same year, he was installed as pastor of the small Baptist church at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, where he published his first literary work: a Gospel tract written in 1853.