Category Archives: Around the Wicket Gate

Chapter 3 : Around the Wicket Gate – Faith in the Person of the Lord Jesus

Around the Wicket Gate – Almost Saved, But Altogether Lost
Chapter 3 – Faith in the Person of the Lord Jesus

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In Chapter 3, Spurgeon explores the necessity of personal faith in Jesus for salvation, stressing that it’s not enough to acknowledge Christ’s sufficiency without actively seeking refuge in Him. Through vivid analogies, Spurgeon illustrates how faith involves running to Christ, much like a pursued sinner fleeing to a sanctuary. He urges readers to fully trust in Christ’s ability to save, regardless of the depth of their sinfulness. Spurgeon closes by reinforcing the idea that true faith places the entirety of one’s hope in Christ, who alone can protect and deliver from judgment.

Chapter 2 : Around the Wicket Gate – Jesus Only

~ Around the Wicket Gate ~
Almost Saved, But Altogether Lost


Here in Chapter 2, Spurgeon underscores the centrality of Jesus Christ as the sole means of salvation. He argues against the notion that human efforts or righteousness can contribute to one’s salvation, highlighting that only Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient. Through metaphors and analogies, he illustrates the folly of depending on anything other than Christ, urging readers to trust in him entirely for forgiveness and eternal life. Spurgeon concludes by emphasizing that faith unites believers with God and guarantees salvation, encouraging readers to cling to Christ as their only hope.


The following are select quotes from this chapter.
Please use the comment section below to share your own thoughts regarding this book!

It stands to reason that the darling of heaven would not have died to save us if we could have been rescued at less expense. Infinite grace provided the great sacrifice; infinite love submitted to death for our sake.  How can we dream that there can be another way than the way which God has provided at such cost  and set forth in Holy Scripture so simply and so urgently? Surely it is true that “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

When a person believes, there is a point of union between them and God, and that union guarantees blessing. Faith saves us because it makes us cling to Christ Jesus, who is one with God, and thus brings us into connection with God.
I am told that, years ago, above Niagara Falls, a boat was flipped over, and two men were being carried down by the current. People on the shore managed to float a rope out to them, and both men seized the rope. One of them held fast to it and was safely drawn to the bank; but the other, seeing a sizeable log floating by, unwisely let go of the rope and clung to the large piece of timber, for it was bigger and apparently better to cling to. Alas! The timber, with the man on it, went right over the vast abyss because there was no union between the wood and the shore. The size of the log was no benefit to him who grasped it; it needed a connection with the shore to produce safety.
Similarly, when a person trusts in their works, or in their prayers, or almsgivings, or in sacraments, or in anything of that sort, they will not be saved because there is no junction between them and God through Christ Jesus. But faith, though it may seem to be like a slender cord, is in the hand of the great God on the shore side; infinite power pulls in the connecting line, and thus pulls the person from destruction. Oh, the blessedness of faith, because it unites us to God by the Savior, whom he has appointed, even Jesus Christ!  O reader, is there not common sense in this matter? Think it over, and may there soon be a rope of union between you and God through your faith in Christ Jesus!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon


Chapter 1 : Around the Wicket Gate – Awakening

~ Around the Wicket Gate ~
Almost Saved, But Altogether Lost


Here in chapter 1, Spurgeon addresses the widespread apathy toward eternal matters, highlighting the importance of being awakened to one’s spiritual condition. He stresses that such awakening is often the first step toward salvation but warns against the danger of returning to spiritual slumber. Spurgeon emphasizes that true salvation requires moving beyond mere awareness of sin to actively seeking Christ’s redemption. Through various analogies, he illustrates the folly of remaining in a state of conviction without progressing to faith, urging readers to seize the opportunity for salvation immediately.


The following is a select quote from this chapter.
Please use the comment section below to share your own thoughts regarding this book!

Great numbers of people have no concern about eternal things. They care more about their cats and dogs than about their souls. It is a great mercy to be made to think about ourselves and how we stand in relation to God and the eternal world. This is often a sign that salvation is coming to us. By nature, we do not like the anxiety that spiritual concern causes us, and we try, like sluggards, to sleep again. This is great foolishness; for it is at our peril that we trifle when death is so near and judgment is so sure. If the Lord has chosen us to eternal life, he will not let us return to our slumber. If we are sensible, we will pray that our anxiety about our souls may never come to an end until we are really and truly saved.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon


Preface : Around the Wicket Gate

~ Around the Wicket Gate ~
Almost Saved, But Altogether Lost


“Enter by the narrow gate.”—Matthew 7:13

In this preface, Charles Spurgeon addresses those who are close to entering the path of salvation but hesitate at the threshold. Drawing inspiration from John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” Spurgeon uses the metaphor of the “wicket gate” to represent the entrance to the way of life. He highlights the peril of being “almost saved, but altogether lost,” and expresses his earnest hope that this book will guide many to faith in Christ.


The following is a selected quote from this chapter.
Please use the comment section below to share your own thoughts regarding this book!

It will be an awful thing to die just outside the gate of life. Almost saved, but altogether lost! This is the most terrible of positions. A person just outside Noah’s ark would have been drowned; a manslayer close to the wall of the city of refuge, but still outside, would be slain; and the person who is within a yard of Christ, and yet has not trusted in him, will be lost. Therefore, I am deeply earnest to get my hesitating friends over the threshold.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon