Prince of Preachers

One of the most inspiring incidents from the life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, often called the Prince of Preachers, occurred when he was just fifteen years old. On a snowy January morning in 1850, Spurgeon was struggling deeply with guilt and a sense of spiritual hopelessness. While walking to attend a church service, he was forced by the snowstorm to turn into a small Primitive Methodist Chapel in Colchester. The regular preacher could not make it that day, and a simple, untrained man stood in the pulpit to deliver a message.

The substitute preacher read Isaiah 45:22 — “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” He urged the small congregation to simply “look” to Christ for0 salvation. Turning directly to Spurgeon, the man said, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! You have nothing to do but to look and live.”

In that moment, the young Spurgeon understood the simplicity and power of the gospel. He later wrote that he saw “the sufficiency of Christ,” and his burden of guilt was lifted. This encounter transformed his life, setting him on the path to become one of the greatest preachers in Christian history.

Spurgeon’s conversion story reminds believers that God often uses humble means and ordinary people to bring about extraordinary change. His experience echoes the promise of Romans 10:13 — “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

From that snowy day onward, Spurgeon’s life became a living testimony to the grace of God and the power of a simple message: salvation is found by looking to Jesus alone.

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