The Soul of Religion
A church that loses its soul becomes a mere formality, characterized by outward ordinances without inward zeal, and is no longer effective in saving the lost.
C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes the critical importance of the soul of religion within the church, warning against the dangers of spiritual apathy and indifference. He laments the state of churches that lack fervor and zeal, where members are more concerned with maintaining outward appearances than actively engaging in the mission of saving souls. Spurgeon calls for a revival of divine life and energy within the church, urging believers to be vigilant against spiritual sloth and to passionately pursue God's glory. He expresses concern that without genuine spiritual vitality, the church risks becoming ineffective and disconnected from its community, ultimately failing to fulfill its purpose. Spurgeon's passionate plea is for a living church that actively reaches out to the lost and embodies the transformative power of Christ.
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What wretched communities some churches are, where the soul of religion is absent. There is a company of people called a Christian church, and a man called a minister who gives them a pious essay every Sunday morning, and they go in and out, and go home, and there is an end of the whole thing: meanwhile their neighbors are perishing for lack of knowledge, but they care nothing, the heathen are dying without Christ, but they heed it not. So much is given to the cause of God as must be paid out of sheer necessity for the maintenance of outward ordinances, but there is no zeal, no consecration, no fervor of love. May we never come down to this.
O my beloved, I long to see among us yet more and more abundantly the spirit of divine life, energetic life, fervent, self-denying life, life which consumes everything to achieve God's glory. Beloved, ye have this and may have more of it, but ye may also lose it. Life and power may soon depart; pastor and people may alike sleep in spiritual sloth, and then at such times, the power having gone from the church, its energy is no longer felt among the unconverted. A living church grasps with a hundred hands all that comes near to it; it is a mighty soul-saving institution, which with its far-reaching nets draws thousands from the sea of death. A living church attracts even the Sabbath-breaker, and arouses the infidel. It startles those whom it does not save. When the church is in this state her converts are plenteous; then her teaching and preaching are with power, and truth pushes down its adversaries....
I tremble lest we should go to sleep, and do nothing: I am alarmed lest there should be no conversions, and nobody caring that there should be any, and yet everything seeming to be prosperous. I know that people may be growing more respectable, and appearing to be more pious than ever they were, and yet everything may be going back. God forbid that the dry rot of indifference should seize upon the heart of the church while she yet appears to be sound and strong. Before that occurs may God be pleased to take me home.
From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "And Why Not?," delivered November 12, 1876.
Sermon Outline
- The Absence of the Soul of Religion
- The Consequences of a Dead Church
- The Power of a Living Church
- A church that grasps the world with the gospel
- A mighty soul-saving institution
- A church that attracts and converts the lost
Key Quotes
“A living church grasps with a hundred hands all that comes near to it; it is a mighty soul-saving institution, which with its far-reaching nets draws thousands from the sea of death.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“A church that is asleep spiritually is a church that is no longer effective in saving the lost.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“May we never come down to this.” — C.H. Spurgeon
Application Points
- A church must prioritize inward zeal and fervor in order to be effective in saving the lost.
- A church that becomes complacent and spiritually dead is no longer effective in spreading the gospel.
- A church must seek a deeper relationship with God in order to regain its soul and become a mighty soul-saving institution.