1. BEING IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A PROVEN CHRISTIAN BELIEVER CHARACTER<br />Romans 5:3-4 Charles e. Whisnant, 45.63 02 06 11<br />Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; (4) and patience, experience; and experience hope; (5) and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.<br />CHARLES H. SPURGEON<br />June 19,1834 in Kelvedon, Essex, England<br />January 31, 1892 at 57 in Menton, Alpes-Martimes, France<br />Spurgeon continued to preach there several times per week until his death 31 years later. He never gave altar calls at the conclusion of his sermons, but he always extended the invitation that if anyone was moved to seek an interest in Christ by his preaching on a Sunday, they could meet with him at his vestry on Monday morning. Without fail, there was always someone at his door the next day. He wrote his sermons out fully before he preached, but what he carried up to the pulpit was a note card with an outline sketch. Stenographers would take down the sermon as it was delivered; Spurgeon would then have opportunity to make revisions to the transcripts the following day for immediate publication. His weekly sermons, which sold for a penny each, were widely circulated and still remain one of the all-time best selling series of writings published in history.<br />THE PRESENT PHILOSOPHY OF MANY PASTORS AND MEMBERS OF CHURCHES<br />The church needs men like Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon was a man that was not afraid to boldly stand for the truth. Preaching the Word of God was his sole passion. He believed the church’s tolerance of real preaching was beginning to decline. He looked around at other pastors and saw they were already beginning to experiment with shorter sermons and looking for different approaches such as shorter messages to be more applicable or relevant. And to draw bigger crowds. He saw that preachers were beginning to compromise truth and doctrine by preaching less and doing other things more and more.<br />But Spurgeon saw the danger of that, and he spent a great deal of time holding on to the truth. And doing so led the Baptists of his time to censor him. And while at one time he was the most respected preacher now he was not. It took such a toll on him that it lead to his death.<br />This idea of whether you should stick to this straight forward God’s ordained method of preaching or move on to a more relevant kind of entertaining method led to a negative effect on his health and then his life.<br />As you know, since his death in 1865, some have kept the faith of faithful preaching. Others have of course questioned that.<br />The prevailing opinion of the day, please log on to our website and vote. <br />“Waste less time listening to long sermons and spend more time preparing short ones. People, I’ve discovered, will forgive even poor theology as long as they get out before noon,” a preacher wrote.<br />Do you understand the heart of the quote? It is better for the preacher to keep the congregation comfortable, entertained and interested; even if what he is preaching is not completely biblical. And that I am afraid does sum up the average attitude of preachers and people in Christian ministry today.<br />Bad doctrine is okay, but a long sermon most certainly is not. The length of the sermon is far more of concern to the average churchgoer. The length of the sermon is of more concern to the average church goers than the content of the sermon. <br />Where you are going to eat lunch, or what, has more impact than the nourishment of the spiritual soul. Today long sermons are considered a greater sin than heresy. We are willing to put personal comfort over the very important virtues: like truth and doctrine and God’s glory. And that kind of thinking is the attitude that could destroy the church. John MacArthur http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgFiFVlpwvM<br />WE DESIRE this evening not to preach upon this text as a mere matter of doctrine. You all believe and understand the gospel of justification by faith, but we want to preach upon it tonight as a matter of experience, as a thing realized, felt, enjoyed, and understood in the soul. I trust there are many here who not only know that men may be saved and justified by faith, but who can say in their own experience, quot;
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ,quot;
and who are now at the present moment walking and living in the actual enjoyment of that peace.<br />Wishing to speak of the text, then, in this sense, I shall ask you to accompany me, not only with your ears, and with the attention which you usually give so generously, but also with the eye of your self-examination, asking yourselves, as we proceed step by step, quot;
Do I know that? Have I received that? Have I been taught of God in this matter? Have I been led into that truth?quot;
And our hope will be that some person to whom these things have hitherto been merely external, and therefore valueless, may be led by God to get hold of them, so that they may be matters of soul, and heart, and conscience, so that they may enjoy them, and find themselves where once they feared they would never be, namely, in a state of reconciliation with God, happily enjoying peace with the Most High. Charles Spurgeon said April 28th 1867<br />