After years of reflection and input from others, whether directly or indirectly, I’ve come to the conclusion that reading, or binging rather, on the sermons of great evangelistic preachers from the past is the best way to fan into flame the gift of God, and do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 1:6; 4:5). This doesn’t mean that all of their sermons are useful, but only the ones that deal with the following themes:

– REPENTANCE.

– PENAL SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT.

– JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE.

– REGENERATION.

– SANCTIFICATION.

– ETERNAL PUNISHMENT.

The following names will be familiar to followers of Living Waters, readers of Bridge-Logos books, or Southern Baptist pastors. I put my priority on these sermon collections, in this order…

1. CHARLES H. SPURGEON LIBRARY (BAKER BOOK HOUSE, 1970s).

2. THE CHARLES G. FINNEY MEMORIAL LIBRARY (KREGEL, 1960s).

3. THE WORKS OF JOHN WESLEY (BAKER, 1996), vols. 1-3.

4. THE SERMONS OF JONATHAN EDWARDS (HENDRICKSON, 2005).

5. SERMONS OF GEORGE WHITEFIELD (HENDRICKSON, 2013).

It might be good to refer to all of the works of John Bunyan as well, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, who had a definite influence on Spurgeon’s preaching. But in terms of gospel preaching material in particular, I put the priority on the Spurgeon, Finney, Wesley, Edwards, Whitefield order. And my reason for this is pretty simple. It’s their SERMONS I’m interested in, not their other writings so much in this consideration. Because it’s in their SERMONS that you really find them PREACHING THE GOSPEL, not merely teaching or talking about stuff. It is within their SERMONS that you find them actually PREACHING. It’s in their sermons that they act on that urging, “SPIT IT OUT MAN!” And so in their evangelistically themed sermons, they find a way to spit the soteriology out and make it spiritually palatable for their listeners. Of course when it comes to theological correctness and accuracy, I’m always going to side with Wesley’s soteriology as my filter, as expressed in Harald Lindstrom’s Wesley and Sanctification (Zondervan, 1984). This means I would have to sometimes reject the eternal security in Spurgeon and Whitefield, the occasional Pelagianism in Finney, and the predestinarian determinism in Edwards. Anywhere that the Calvinist TULIP finds expression would need to be rejected and anywhere that cessationist thoughts are expressed by Edwards or anyone else. So long as conditional security remains in the backdrop of the keeping power of God, so long as the continuation of miraculous gifts are understood as presently possible, so long as the sinful nature is openly admitted and the need for the blood of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit are constantly pressed, and so long as salvation from eternal punishment and freedom from all sinful addictions are preached thoroughly, then I think we have a healthy theological structure for preaching the Gospel. –J.B.