I came across this today…
“Lord, I thank thee I am not like those poor presumptuous Calvinists Lord, I was born with a glorious free-will; I was born with power by which I can turn to thee of myself; I have improved my grace. If everybody had done the same with their grace that I have, they might all have been saved. Lord, I know thou dost not make us willing if we are not willing ourselves. Thou givest grace to everybody; some do not improve it, but I do. There are many that will go to hell as much bought with the blood of Christ as I was; they had as much of the Holy Ghost given to them; they had as good a chance, and were as much blessed as I am. It was not thy grace that made us to differ; I know it did a great deal, still I turned the point; I made use of what was given me, and others did not-that is the difference between me and them.”
It really doesn’t sound that much like Spurgeon…but maybe it does.
Well, it is a quotation from a sermon. http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0052.htm
But the context is interesting: “An Arminian on his knees would pray desperately like a Calvinist. He cannot pray about free-will: there is no room for it. Fancy him praying, ‘Lord, I thank thee I am not like those poor presumptuous Calvinists. [...] I made use of what was given me, and others did not—that is the difference between me and them.’ That is a prayer for the devil, for nobody else would offer such a prayer as that.”
I read the first part of this sermon just now and they seem to be discussing contemporary issues that we don’t have any more. Maybe it’s just me.
Oh, the “Calvinism vs. Arminian” debate is very much alive and well. If you should suggest that perhaps God is the one who chooses…fur flies.