~ Around the Wicket Gate ~ Almost Saved, But Altogether Lost
Here in Chapter 8, Spurgeon addresses a real obstacle to saving faith: the unwillingness to part with sin. He illustrates how even a hidden or cherished sin can keep a person from truly trusting Christ, likening it to ivy choking a tree or poison in a patient’s hand. Spurgeon insists that salvation cannot coexist with a love for evil—Christ must be received as both Savior and Deliverer from sin. He pleads with readers to choose between sin and Christ, warning that delay is itself a decision.
The following are select quotes from this chapter. Please use the comment section below to share your own thoughts regarding this book!
Harboring a sweet sin in the heart will prevent a soul from laying hold of Christ by faith. The Lord Jesus has come to save us from sinning, and if we are resolved to keep on sinning, Christ and our souls will never agree. If a person drinks poison, and a doctor is called in to save their life, the doctor may have a sure antidote ready, but if the patient persists in keeping the bottle of poison at their lips and continues to swallow the deadly drops, how can the doctor save them? Salvation consists largely in parting the sinner from their sin, and the very nature of salvation would have to be changed before we could speak of a person being saved while they are loving sin and willfully living in it. A person cannot be made clean while they continue in filth; they cannot be healed and yet remain sick; neither can anyone be saved and still be a lover of evil.
If you win Christ, it will matter little what you lose.
In the name of God, I ask you, which will it be—Christ and salvation, or your favorite sin and damnation? There is no middle road.
