The Spurgeon Series 1857 & 1858. Charles H. Spurgeon

think I love you, for they often hear me talk about you.” But you could not say, “Lord, you know that I love you”; your own heart is witness that your secret works betray your confession, for you are without prayer in secret; and you can preach a twenty minutes’ prayer in public. You are niggardly and parsimonious in giving to the cause of Christ; but you can sport your name to be seen. You are an angry, petulant creature; but when you come to the house of God, you have a pious whine, and talk like a fanatically religious hypocrite, as if you were a very gentlemanly man, and never seemed angry. You can take your Maker’s name in vain; but if you hear another do it you would be very hard on him. You pretend to be very pious, and yet if men knew of that widow’s house that is sticking in your throat, and of that orphan’s patrimony which you have taken from him, you would stop trumpeting your good deeds. Your own heart tells you that you are a liar before God. But you, oh sincere Christian, you can welcome your Lord’s question, and answer it with holy fear and gracious confidence. Yes, you may welcome the question. Such a question was never put to Judas. The Lord loved Peter so much that he was jealous over him, or he never would have thus challenged his affection. And in this way he often appeals to the affections of those whom he dearly loves. The response likewise is recorded for you, “Lord, you know all things.” Can you not look up, though scorned by men, though even rejected by your minister, though kept back by the deacons, and looked down upon by some — can you not look up, and say, “Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you?” Do not do it in brag and bravado; but if you can do it sincerely, be happy, bless God that he has given you a sincere love for the Saviour, and ask him to increase it from a spark to a flame, and from a grain to a mountain. “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

      14. III. And now here is a DEMONSTRATION REQUIRED — “Feed my lambs: feed my sheep.” That was Peter’s demonstration. It is not necessary that it should be our way of showing our love. There are different ways for different disciples. There are some who are not qualified to feed lambs, for they are only little lambs themselves. There are some that could not feed sheep, for they cannot at present see afar off; they are weak in the faith, and not qualified to teach at all. They have other means, however, of showing their love to the Saviour. Let us offer a few words upon this matter.

      15. “Do you love me?” Then one of the best evidences you can give is to feed my lambs. Have I two or three little children that love and fear my name? If you want to do a deed, which shall show that you are a true lover, and not a proud pretender; go and feed them. Are there a few little ones whom I have purchased with my blood in an infant class? Do you want to do something which shall be evidence that you are indeed mine? Then sit not down with the elders, dispute not in the temple; I did that myself; but go, and sit down with the young orphans, and teach them the way to the kingdom. “Feed my lambs.” Dearly beloved, I have been of late perplexing myself with one thought: that our church government is not scriptural. It is scriptural as far as it goes; but it is not according to the whole of Scripture; neither do we practise many excellent things that ought to be practised in our churches. We have received into our midst a large number of young people; in the ancient churches there was what was called the catechism class — I believe there ought to be such a class now. The Sunday School, I believe, is in the Scripture; and I think there ought to be on the Sunday afternoon, a class of the young people of this church, who are members already, to be taught by some of the older members. Nowadays, when we get the lambs, we just turn them adrift in the meadow, and there we leave them. There are more than a hundred young people in this church who positively, though they are members, ought not to be left alone; but some of our elders, if we have elders, and some who ought to be ordained elders, should make it their business to teach them further, to instruct them in the faith, and so keep them hard and fast by the truth of Jesus Christ. If we had elders, as they had in all the apostolic churches, this might in some degree be attended to. But now the hands of our deacons are full, they do much of the work of the eldership, but they cannot do any more than they are doing, for they are toiling hard already. I wish that some here whom God has gifted, and who have time, would spend their afternoons in taking a class of those who live around them, of their younger brethren, asking them to their houses for prayer and pious instruction, so that the lambs of the flock may be fed. By God’s help I will take care of the sheep; I will endeavour under God to feed them, as well as I can, and preach the gospel to them. You who are older in the faith and stronger in it, do not need that careful cautious feeding which is required by the lambs. But there are many in our midst, good pious souls who love the Saviour as much as the sheep do; but one of their complaints which I have often heard is, “Oh! sir, I joined your church, I thought they would be all brothers and sisters to me, and that I could speak to them, and they would teach me and be kind to me. Oh! sir, I came, and no one spoke to me.” I say, “Why did not you speak to them first?” “Oh!” they reply, “I did not like to.” Well, they should have liked to, I am well aware; but if we had some means of feeding the lambs, it would be a good way of proving to our Saviour and to the world, that we really do endeavour to follow him. I hope some of my friends will take that hint; and if, in concert with me, my brethren in office will endeavour to do something in that way, I think it will be no small proof of their love to Christ. “Feed my lambs,” is a great duty; let us try to practise it as we are able.

      16. But, beloved, we cannot all do that; the lambs cannot feed the lambs; the sheep cannot feed the sheep exactly. There must be some appointed to these offices. And therefore, in the Saviour’s name, allow me to say to some of you, that there are different kinds of proof you must give. “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me? He says to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Then preserve that prayer meeting; attend to it; see that it is kept going on, and that it does not fall to the ground. “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?” See to your employees; see that they go to the house of God, and instruct them in the faith. There is a sister: Do you love you Christ? “Yes, Lord.” Perhaps it is as much as you can do — perhaps it is as much as you ought to do — to train up your children in the fear of the Lord. It is of no use to trouble yourselves about duties that God never meant you to do, and leave your own vineyard at home to itself. Just take care of your own children; perhaps that is as good a proof as Christ wants from you that you are feeding his lambs. You have your own office, to which Christ has appointed you: do not seek to run away from it, but endeavour to do what you can to serve your Master in it. But, I beseech you, do something to prove your love; do not be sitting down doing nothing. Do not be folding your hands and arms, for such people perplex a minister most, and bring the most ruin on a church — such as do nothing. You are always the readiest to find fault. I have noted it here, that the very people who are quarrelling with everything are the people that are doing nothing, or are good for nothing. They are sure to quarrel with everything else, because they are doing nothing themselves; and therefore they have time to find fault with other people. Do not oh Christian, say that you love Christ, and yet do nothing for him. Doing is a good sign of living; and he can scarcely be alive to God who does nothing for God. We must let our works evidence the sincerity of our love to our Master. “Oh!” you say, “but we are doing a little.” Can you do any more? If you can, then do it. If you cannot do more, then God requires no more from you; doing to the utmost of your ability is your best proof; but if you can do more, inasmuch as you keep back any part of what you can do, in that degree you give cause to yourselves to distrust your love to Christ. Do all you can to your very utmost; serve him abundantly; indeed, and superabundantly: seek to magnify his name; and if ever you do too much for Christ, come and tell me about it; if you ever do too much for Christ, tell the angels about it — but you will never do that. He gave himself for you; give yourselves to him.

      17. You see, my friends, how I have been directing you to search your own hearts, and I am almost afraid that some of you will mistake my intention. Have I a poor soul here who really deplores the languor of her affections? Perhaps you have determined to ask yourself as many questions as you can with a view of reviving the languid sparks of love. Let me tell you then that the pure flame of love must be always nourished where it was first kindled. When I admonished you to examine yourself it was only to detect the evil; do you want to find the remedy, you must direct your eyes, not to your own heart, but to the blessed heart of Jesus — to the Beloved One — to my gracious Lord and Master. And do you want to be conscious of