Did Spurgeon Teach the Sinner’s Prayer? Spurgeon vs. Breaker

Charles Spurgeon (1834 to 1892), known as the Prince of Preachers, taught that confession with the mouth goes together with believing in the heart, and he told sinners to ask God to save them. Robert Breaker’s book needs Spurgeon to say the opposite, and it uses a fabricated quote to do it.

I used to call this view the Mandatory Vocalization Club. That was a joke, and I have retired the term.

Quick facts

Robert Breaker’s book The Unbroken Chain of Salvation by Faith in The Blood leans heavily on Charles Spurgeon.

Breaker admitted he used AI as a search engine for quotes, and it fabricated a lot of them.

One Spurgeon quote in the book, about faith in His blood making sins “white as snow,” has no traceable source.

In Sermon #3405, “Confession with the Mouth,” Spurgeon says outward confession is as much commanded as inward believing.

In Sermon #2193, Spurgeon tells sinners to ask God to save them.

Breaker claims Spurgeon taught mental assent.

What is the fake Charles Spurgeon quote in The Unbroken Chain?

Robert Breaker made a book named “The Unbroken Chain of Salvation by Faith in The Blood: The Biblical Doctrine of Putting Your Faith in the Blood Atonement of Jesus Christ to Receive the Forgiveness of Sins.”

In it, he used AI (which he admitted to) as a search engine for quotes. Well, it faked quotes, a lot of quotes. This is one of the many quotes fabricated. You can still buy the Kindle book, despite him promising to remove it.

Charles H. Spurgeon (“Prince of Preachers”): “If our sins outnumbered the hairs of our head, yet the merits of the death of Jesus Christ are infinitely greater, and faith in His blood shall make them white as snow.”

The book lists this at Book: 57 / Kindle: 64. Jeremiah 33’s Google document could not find where it comes from. The same line is attributed to C.S. Lewis, George Whitefield, David Pawson, and Charles Spurgeon, with no reference to any actual work by any of them.

Update: I do not associate with the creator of that document anymore.

What is the literal, two-step view of Romans 10:9-10?

I greatly appreciate his document. There is a view of Romans 10 that it is literal and a two-step formula.

Romans 10:9-10: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

That view teaches that the mouth in Romans 10:9 is a literal, physical one, and that you cannot be saved unless you vocally confess.

Did Charles Spurgeon teach confession with the mouth?

Yes. Here is Spurgeon in Sermon #3405, “Confession with the Mouth” (March 21, 1908):

Charles H. Spurgeon: “And there may be some, even in this congregation gathered here, who, having given Jesus Christ their hearts, have been slow to think of the next thing which He requires, and will, perhaps, feel as though I break their quiet all too roughly when I shall try to press upon them that they go a step further, and having believed with the heart, will remember that the promise is, ‘He that with his heart believeth, and with his mouth confesseth, shall be saved.’ ‘He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.’ The outward confession is as much commanded as the inward believing, the one the natural fruit and expression of the other.

We shall, therefore, first of all, consider what is the duty taught here, and secondly, why it is a duty, and then, thirdly, what are the sanctions of reward and penalty appended to the performance or neglect of this duty.”

Did Charles Spurgeon give a sinner’s prayer invitation?

Yes. In Sermon #2193, “A Poor Man’s Cry, And What Came of It” (March 8, 1891), Spurgeon tells sinners to pray for salvation:

Charles H. Spurgeon: “Prayer is dealing with God. The best prayer is that which comes to closest grips with the God of mercy. Prayer is to ask of God, as a child asks of its father, or as a friend makes request to his friend. O my hearer, you have forgotten God; you have lived without speaking to Him; this has been the case for years. Is not this a wrong state of things? You are now in need; come and spread your case before your God; ask Him to help you. You need to be saved; beg of Him to save you. Let your prayer reach from your heart to the throne of God, otherwise, however long it may be, it will not reach far enough to bless you.”

What did Spurgeon say about Romans 10:9 in his devotional?

Spurgeon wrote a devotional called “Mouth Confession; Heart Belief” on Romans 10:9:

Charles H. Spurgeon: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)

There must be confession with the mouth. Have I made it? Have I openly avowed my faith in Jesus as the Savior whom God has raised from the dead, and have I done it in God’s way? Let me honestly answer this question.

There must also be belief with the heart. Do I sincerely believe in the risen Lord Jesus? Do I trust in Him as my sole hope of salvation? Is this trust from my heart? Let me answer as before God.

If I can truly claim that I have both confessed Christ and believed in Him, then I am saved. The text does not say it may be so, but it is plain as a pikestaff and clear as the sun in the heavens: ‘Thou shalt be saved.’ As a believer and a confessor, I may lay my hand on this promise and plead it before the Lord God at this moment, and throughout life, and in the hour of death, and at the Day of Judgment.

I must be saved from the guilt of sin, the power of sin, the punishment of sin, and ultimately from the very being of sin. God hath said it — ‘Thou shalt be saved.’ I believe it. I shall be saved. I am saved. Glory be to God forever and ever!”

Why is Breaker’s use of Spurgeon ironic?

Later in the book, which Mr. Breaker wrote and Mr. Potthoff edited, they put so much emphasis on Spurgeon being the bastion of truth for Mr. Breaker’s peculiar gospel. They have overlooked the plethora of times Spurgeon gives sinners a prayer or says vocal confession is needed.

Robert Breaker claims Charles Spurgeon taught mental assent. Wrong, buddy. If we’re damning souls to hell for teaching that confession with the mouth is needed, then Charles Spurgeon is the prince of damnation, not the prince of preachers.
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