War! War! War!

Using the backdrop of European war in 1859, Spurgeon calls every Christian to a far more important spiritual conflict — not the battles of nations or sects or personal reputations, but the Lord's battles against sin in one's own heart, against sin in the world through holy example and direct witness, against doctrinal error including the specific warnings about Roman Catholicism and Puseyism, and against the strife between human beings through the active work of peacemaking. He defines the Lord's true soldiers as those who have been washed in Christ's blood, clothed in his righteousness, and fully consecrated so that nothing is held back from his service — and he sharply rebukes the majority of church members who pay others to fight while they look on, insisting that Christ never enlisted proxy soldiers and that personal service is required from every believer. He closes with a memorable "drill" of spiritual postures — prayer on both knees, patient standing still, courageous forward march, shutting eyes and heart to temptation, sword-in-hand readiness for every opportunity, open-handed generosity to fellow believers, and above all patient watching for the return of Christ — and ends with a dual appeal: to Christians to do something today, and to sinners to leave the debt-producing service of Satan and enlist under the banner of Christ who accepts the most broken recruits.Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on May 1st, 1859.