All of Grace is Charles Spurgeon’s best-selling book. It is a clear and
simple gospel presentation seeking to introduce man to God, his Creator.
An Earnest Word with Those
Who Are Seeking Salvation
by the Lord Jesus Christ
By
C. H. Spurgeon
Charles H. Spurgeon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834
– 31 January 1892) was a British Particular Baptist preacher who remains highly
influential among Christians of different denominations. He is still known as
the "Prince of Preachers".
Spurgeon never attended theological
school. By the age of twenty-one he was the most popular preacher in London.
He was a strong figure in the
Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689
London Baptist Confession of Faith understanding, and opposing the liberal and
pragmatic theological tendencies in the Church of his day,
Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000
people, often up to 10 times each week at different places.
Spurgeon was the pastor of the
congregation of the New Park Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle)
in London for 38 years, despite the fact he was part of several controversies
with the Baptist Union of Great Britain and later had to leave the
denomination.
In 1857, he started a charity
organization called Spurgeon's which now works globally, and he also founded
Spurgeon's College, which was named after him posthumously.
Spurgeon was a prolific author of
many types of works, including sermons, an autobiography, commentaries, books
on prayer, devotionals, magazines, poetry, hymns and more.
All of Grace
"It is not the object of this book to ask anything of you, but to tell you
that salvation is ALL OF GRACE, which means, free, gratis, for nothing."
Charles
Spurgeon
All of Grace by Charles Spurgeon is a
classic. It’s
plain gospel presentation has been used to lead many people to Christ over the
years since it’s publication, and has inspired generations of soulwinners.
All of Graceis a simple and eloquent presentation of basic
salvation through grace alone. Spurgeon wants readers only to consume his work
and ponder it, he asks nothing in return because he believes in the power of
God to bring unbelievers to Him.
This short and easy read is both a
perfect introduction to salvation and an assurance of it for unbelievers and
the saved alike. In the last line, Spurgeon beseeches readers to accept
salvation now and "Meet me in heaven."
You can read it in an evening, and every Christian
ought to do so at least once. It’s also a great book to give to a friend or
loved one that you’ve been witnessing to.
According to Eric Metaxas, North American writer, he
was a pastor, martyr, prophet and spy.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, born in February 4, 1906, was a
German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti Nazi dissident, and key founding
member of the Confession Church.
His writings on Christianity’s role in the secular
world have become widely influential, and his book “The Cost of Discipleship”
is a modern classic.
Bonhoeffer was also known for his staunch resistance
to Nazi dictatorship. He vocally opposed Hitler’s euthanasia program and
genocidal persecution of the Jews.
For these reasons, and for his participation in an
attempt against Hitler’s life, he was sent to a Nazi concentration camp and
executed by hanging on April 9, 1945.
Bonhoeffer was arrested in April 1943 by Gestapo and
imprisioned at Tegel prison for one and a half year. During this time his
family and friends could visit him and he kept in contact with them, and his fiancé,
through correspondence.
From there he was transferred to Gestapo’s prison and
after being associated with the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, he was
quickly tried and executed. His death happened on the verge of the collapse of
the Nazi regime.
Bonhoeffer’s legacy
Bonhoeffer lived and breathed his theology.
According to him a Christian could not worship God and
accept the truths of Old and New Testament, of Israel being the chosen people
of God, and support an anti-Jew regime that souk the death and destruction of
God’s own people.
During his life Bonhoeffer had many opportunities to
stay quiet and to quiet accept what was happening in his country. He also had
opportunities to stay outside of Germany. He was offered a job as theology
teacher in United States just before the start of the war.
His friends in ecumenical movement around the world
actively tried to find a way for him to avoid the fate they saw happening to
him for certain in Germany. The death that finally did come to him.
Bonhoeffer himself felt he couldn’t abandon his
country and his fellow citizens at such a critical moment. He said it would be
against his principals, his theology and his God, not to help the Jews in
Germany. And not to fight against the evil incarnate – Hitler and Nazi
ideology.
His place was in Germany, with his people and his
church.
Bonhoeffer – Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
Eric Metaxas takes the different strands of Bonhoeffer’s
life and draws them together to tell a searing story of incredible moral
courage in the face of monstrous evil.
Metaxas uses previously unavailable documents,
including personal letters, detailed journal entries, and firsthand personal
accounts, to reveal dimensions of Bonhoeffer’s life and theology never before
seen.
Metaxas presents the fullest accounting this far of
Bonhoeffer’s heart-wrenching 1939 decision to leave the safe haven of America for
Hitler’s Germany. He uses extended excerpts from love letters and coded
messages written to and from Bonhoeffer’s Cell 92 to tell, for the first time,
the full story of Bonhoeffer’s passionate and tragic romance.
The book offers fresh insight and revelations about
life-changing months at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. And about
Bonhoeffer’s radical position on why Christians are obliged to stand up for the
Jews.
The reader will find new information on Bonhoeffer’s
reaction to Kristallnach, his involvement in the famous Valkyrie plot and in “Operation
7”, the effort to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland.
This is a witness to one man’s extraordinary faith and
to the tortured faith of the nation Bonhoeffer sought to deliver from the curse
of Nazism.
On reading the book you will be brought face to face
with a man determined to do the will of God. A man who is prepared to follow
his faith joyfully, no matter how radical the track and how much courage it requires.
Bonhoeffer calls us to find passion for truth and a
commitment to justice on behalf of those who face implacable evil. For him,
that is what Christian faith is about.
By loving forces... (Original in German by Dietrich
Bonhoeffer)
By loving forces silently surrounded,
I feel quite soothed, secure, and filled with grace.
“In
other words, offending God is the essential consideration, not killing man or
imperiling a nation. That is what made Wilberforce tick. He was not a political
pragmatist. He was a radically God-centered Christian who was a politician. And
his true affections for God based on the ‘peculiar doctrines’ of Christianity
were the roots of his endurance in the cause of justice”
John
Piper: The Amazing Grace In The Life Of William Wilberforce
Life of William Wilberforce (1757-1833)
Against
great obstacles William Wilberforce, an evangelical Christian and a member of
Parliament, fought for the abolition of the African slave trade and against
slavery itself until they were both illegal in the British Empire.
William Wilberforce was an English politician who
became the voice of the abolition movement in Parliament. He was a
slightly built man, about five foot three in height,
and suffered from bouts of bad health.
At the
age of 21, Wilberforce was elected to Parliament. He was well suited to
politics, as he was an extremely eloquent speaker and very witty. In 1783, he
met James Ramsay and, for the first time, discussed slavery.
Around 1784-86, he underwent a gradual but 'intense
religious conversion' whilst travelling with a friend. He considered leaving
Parliament but his friend and mentor, John Newton, advised him againt this; so,
instead, he decided to serve God in public life.
After
his conversion to evangelical Christianity, he gave up his racehorse, gambling
and attendance at clubs. His new beliefs affected his public life. Before, he
had usually voted with Pitt but now he was guided by his conscience.
He and his evangelical friends were nicknamed
"the Saints" by upper class circles but he won widespread respect. He championed many
causes but it was the fight against the Slave Trade and slavery that
he worked most tirelessly for. His interest was rekindled by a letter from Sir
Charles Middleton, suggesting he should represent the cause in Parliament. William
Pitt also encouraged him to take up the cause.
From
1789, Wilberforce regularly introduced bills in Parliament to ban the Slave
Trade. He was fiercely opposed by those making fortunes from the trade, who
used all kinds of delaying tactics.
The first time a bill was introduced, Wilberforce lost
the debate by 163 votes to 88 but he never gave up. A bill to cease the
trade was passed by the House of Commons in 1792 .
In his
late 30's, Wilberforce married Barbara Spooner (also an evangelical
Christian). He remained devoted to her throughout his
life.
Finally on 25th March, 1807, the Abolition of the
Slave Trade Act abolished the Slave Trade in the British colonies. It was carried
by 267 votes. The house rose to its feet and cheered wildly.
However,
this was not a vote to abolish slavery as a whole throughout the Empire, just
the trade in enslaved people. William Wilberforce continued to work for the
abolition of all slavery within the British Colonies.
On the
26th July, 1833, the Abolition of Slavery bill passed its third reading in the
House of Commons. A messenger rushed to Wilberforce's house. They told him that
slavery in British colonies would finally be abolished. Just three days later,
on 29th July, William Wilberforce died.
About the book
John Piper concentrates in his book “The Amazing Grace
In The Life Of William Wilberforce” on the essence of Wilberforce, in the cornerstone
of his being and the truth that guided his personal and political life, his
faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior.
The actual events of his life are glanced through but
what is found truly interesting are the reasons behind his actions.
For a person wanting to familiarize themselves with
the historical events of Wilberforce’s life, his career in British Parliament
or his role in the abolishment of slave trade and slavery in Britain this is not
the book to do it.
This is the book for the person who wants to learn
about the most important thing in Wilberforce’s life, his faith in God.
Many
are aware of Wilberforce's role in bringing an end to slavery in Great Britain,
but few have taken the time to examine the beliefs and motivations that spurred
him on for decades.
In this
concise volume, John Piper tells the story of how Wilberforce was transformed
from an unbelieving, young politician into a radically God-centered Christian,
and how his deep spirituality helped to change the moral outlook of a nation.
John Piper also tells us about the convictions that
made Wilberforce the foremost opponent of slavery and slave trade at a moment
when it was an unpopular choice and he was going against everyone else.
Even when it seemed impossible to ever happen.
In the
book, Piper provides countless reports from both friends and enemies who
received great encouragement from Wilberforce's company, and how his testimony
of Christ was immediately evident even on his countenance.
As one of his political detractors once quipped,
"His mirth is contagious, regularly transforming the devious and
manipulative nature of the political environment."
Behind all his work was Wilberforce’s firm belief that
God had put him into a special place in the society to be able to change it and
its morals.
As he
writes in his diary on Oct. 28, 1787,"God Almighty has placed before me
two great objects, the Suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of
Manners [morals]."
Wilberforce had the responsibility to fight for this
change and follow the mandate God had given him.
Through his faithfulness thousands’ of people’s life
was changed for better and huge injustice corrected.
"Therefore, in all our zeal today for racial
harmony, or the sanctity of human life, or the building of a moral culture, let
us not forget these lessons: Never minimize the central place of God-centered,
Christ-exalting doctrine; labor to be indomitably joyful in all that God is for
us in Christ by trusting his great finished work; and never be idle in doing
good--that men may see our good deeds and give glory to our Father who is in
heaven (Matt. 5:16)."
John Piper in last paragraph of “The Amazing Grace In
The Life Of William Wilberforce”
