Charles Spurgeon preaches that salvation belongs completely to God from start to finish—God planned it, Jesus accomplished it through his death on the cross, and the Holy Spirit must apply it to people's hearts because humans are spiritually dead and cannot save themselves. He argues that this doctrine destroys both human pride (since we can't earn salvation) and despair (since God can save anyone), comparing the sinner to someone in a castle who first trusts in good works, then ceremonies, then their own ability to believe, until God tears down all these false hopes. Spurgeon ends by warning that while salvation comes entirely from God, damnation comes from rejecting God's offer, so people must cry out to God for mercy right now before it's too late.

Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on May 10, 1857.