All of grace - Spurgeon - VIII - Chapter 12 and 13

Required reading
All of grace by C. H. Spurgeon (available from Amazon or free on the internet, here for example) - Read Chapters 12 and 13.

My summary

In Chapter 12 Spurgeon provides helps for those who want to believe but cannot:

(i) The shortest way to believe is to believe;

(ii) Take your difficulty before God in prayer;

(iii) Listen often to what you are commanded to believe (a good reason for the gospel to be regularly preached from the pulpit!);

(iv) Consider the testimony of others;

(v) Note the authority upon which you are commanded to believe;

(vi) Think over what it is you have to believe;

(vii) Think about the person of Jesus Christ;

(viii) Submit yourself to God.

In Chapter 13 Spurgeon deals with the difficult subject of the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man in salvation.  Spurgeon points out that the new birth is supernatural AND by the faith of man.  John 3 contains both truths alongside one another.

What grabbed me

I liked how Spurgeon's confronted the reader to not hide behind mysteries as an excuse for not believing: 'If you will not believe till you can understand all mysteries, you will never be saved at all.  If you allow self-invented difficulties to keep you from accepting pardon through your Lord and Savior, you will perish in a condemnation which will be richly deserved.  Do not commit spiritual suicide through a passion for discussing metaphysical subtleties.'

If we waited until we understood everything to believe in Jesus, we would never do so.  I always like to remind myself that if I understood everything, then I would be God.  It makes sense that a finite creature with an infinite God will eventually come across certain mysteries he cannot comprehend.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.