From John Bunyan’s “A Few Sighs from Hell“:
How many souls have blind priests been the means of destroying by their ignorance? Preaching that was no better for their souls than ratsbane to the body. Many of them, it is to be feared, have whole towns to answer for. Ah! friend, I tell thee, thou has taken in hand to preach to the people, it may be thou has taken in hand what thou canst not tell what. Will it not grieve thee to see the whole parish come bellowing after thee into hell? crying out, “This we have to thank thee for, thou wast afraid to tell us of our sins, lest we should not put meat fast enough into thy mouth. O cursed wretch, thou wast not content, blind guide as thou wast, to fall into the ditch thyself, but hast also led us thither with thee.”
Charles Spurgeon quotes this section from Bunyan in his sermon, “The Minister’s Self-Watch.” His point: How disastrous is an unregenerate minister failing to preach the gospel to a people blindly and deafly led to hell. We rightly lament the demonic terror Hitler unleashed on the world. Who can count the number of souls condemned to hell because unfaithful and unregenerate preachers refused to proclaim the only news that saves? Brothers, let us search ourselves for evidence of God’s saving grace then preach the whole counsel of God!
HT: Thabiti
