New Park Street Pulpit · Sermon No. 345
Delivered on Sabbath Morning, November 11, 1860, by the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, at Exeter Hall, Strand
“Without Me you cam do nothing.” John 15:5. CONSCIOUS of this Truth of God in my own case, I would earnestly seek the help of God’s Spirit in preaching as in every other spiritual exercise, for, without Him, I can do nothing! It is a remarkable fact that all the heresies which have arisen in the Christian Church have had a decided tendency to dishonor God, and to flatter man. They have always had for their covert, if not for their open aim, the exaltation of human nature, and the casting down of the Sovereignty of Divine Grace. Robbing God of the Glory which is due unto His name, these false prophets would shed a counterfeit luster upon the head of the rebellious and depraved creature! On the other hand, the Doctrines of the Gospel, commonly known as the Doctrines of Grace, are distinguished for this peculiarity above every other, namely, that they sink the creature very low, and present the Lord Jehovah before us as sitting upon a Throne, high and lifted up! So true is this, that the most uneducated Christian may, even if he is incapable of refuting an erroneous discourse, always be able to discover its untruthfulness, if it glorifies man at the expense of God. The merest babe in Grace may carry this test with him—in the midst of the diversities of opinion with which he is surrounded, he may always judge, and judge infallibly, too, of the truth or falsehood of a doctrine by testing it thus—“Does it glorify God?”If it is so, it is true! “Does it exalt man?” Then it must be false! On the other hand, does it lay man very low and speak of him in terms which tend to make him feel his degradation? Then doubtless it is full of the Truth of God! And does it put the crown upon the head of God, and not upon the head of man’s free will, or free agency, or good works? Then assuredly it is a doctrine according to godliness, for it is the very Truth of the Lord our God! My text—the very words of Christ, contains in it a Doctrine which belongs to the class of those which speak against the vaunting of humanity, casting down its high hopes—and scorning its proud looks; and to the same degree this sentence honors Christ and lifts Him up in the estimation of all His people. This morning I shall speak of my text thus—Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing.” First, this is true of His saints in matters relating to themselves. Secondly, this is even more manifestly true of unconverted and unregenerate men. Thirdly it will be found by experience to be equally a fact if we look at saints in relation to sinners—without Christ the most earnest saint can do nothing whatever for the conversion of the sinner! I. To begin, then, with THE SAINT IN RELATION TO HIMSELF. Jesus said to the Apostles and if to them, certainly as strongly, if not more so, to us, “Without Me you can do nothing.” Let us explain this. Then try to support it. And then draw the practical lessons from it. 1. Child of God—Jesus Christ speaks to you personally this morning, and He says to you, “Without Me you can do nothing.” Do you understand this? Mark how decisively it speaks! I borrow from Augustine much of the exposition which follows. He observes that this sentence seems to have been written to put an end to the impudent impostures of the Pelagians, for the text does not say, “Without Me you can hardly do anything;it will be with extreme difficulty that you will be able to accomplish a good work or to achieve a holy purpose.” No, it lays the axe far more decisively to the root! It says, “Without Me you can do nothing”—absolutely, positively nothing at all! What? Even if I seek and strive; if I bring all my energies to a single point—concentrate all my faculties to the purpose—can I not, then, do it? If I am extremely watchful; if I am intensely earnest; if I am sincerely prayerful—can I not then accomplish something, even if the Spirit’s influence is withheld? It may be it shall cost me much difficulty; it may be hard rowing against the stream; but may I not, with my own unaided power, if I strain it to the utmost—may I not speed at least a little in the things of God? “No,” says the Lord Jesus, “No. Without Me you can do nothing.” Strive as you might—struggle as you might— your striving and your struggling would be misapplied strength! They would not speed you towards the goal—they would but sink you deeper into the mire of desperation or of presumption. Mark, further, the text does not say, “Without Me you can not do somegreat things—some special acts of piety, some high and supernatural deeds of daring—of self-denial and self-sacrifice.” No, “Without Me you can do nothing.”” Including in the sentence, as you will clearly perceive, those little acts of Divine Grace—those little deeds of piety—for which, perhaps, in our proud self-conceit, we think ourselves to be already sufficiently equipped. You can do nothing;not only is the higher duty beyond your power, but the lesser duty, too. You are not capable of performing the lowest act of the Divine Life, except as you receive strength from God the Holy Spirit! And surely, my Brothers and Sisters, it is generally in these little things that we find out most of all our weaknesses! Peter can walk the waves of the sea, but he cannot bear the jest of a little maid! Job can endure the loss of all things, but the upbraiding words of his false friends, though they are but words, and break no bones—make him speak far more bitterly than all the sore boils, and pains which were in his very skin! Jonah said he did well to be angry, even unto death, about a gourd! Have you not often heard that mighty men who have outlived hundreds of battles have been slain at last by the most trivial accident? And has it not been so with professed Christians? They stood uprightly in the midst of the greatest trials—they have outlived the most arduous struggles, and yet, in an evil hour, trusting to themselves, their foot has slipped under some slight temptation, or because of some small difficulty! John Newton said—“The Grace of God is as necessary to create a right temper in Christians on the breaking of a china plate, as on the death of an only son.” These little leaks need the most careful stopping; the plague of flies is no more easy to be stayed than that of the destroying angel! In little, as well as in great things, the just must live by faith. In trifles as well as in nobler exercises, the Believer should be conscious of his own inability—should never say of any act, “Now I am strong enough to perform this; I need not go to God in prayer about this! This is so little a thing, it is beneath the dignity of God, and I am quite sufficient for it of myself.” No, Believer, you are sufficient for nothing at all! Without Christ you can do nothing that is good; nothing that is right! “We have not sufficiency of ourselves to think anything of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.” “We know not what to pray for as we ought.” “We do feel each day that to will is present with us, but how to perform that which we would, we find not.” Our strength is not only weakness, but perfect weakness—weakness even for little things—weakness for ounces as truly as for tons; weakness in drops of grief as well as of seas of sorrow; weakness for splinters of trial as well as for the terrible darts of the Evil One. In everything, Christian, you are powerless apart from the Lord who is your Strength and your Salvation. Learn, then, the meaning of this text, “Without Me you can do nothing.”