Dever, Spurgeon on Election and Evangelism

Mark Dever has a great post concerning sovereign election on the T4G blog. Here is a blurb:

"I understand that some worry that if we accept the Bible's teaching on election we will never evangelize. Should we not also be worried that if we reject the Bible's teaching on election we will never be humbled enough to make Christianity look like anything worth having? I love Spurgeon's humility. I love his boasting in God. I think it is attractive. I think it is motivating to evangelism. I think it displays God's love. A biblical doctrine of election highlights our poverty and Christ's riches, our weakness and Christ's strength, our need and God's supply."

Referring to Spurgeon, this is what he (Spurgeon) had to say about unconditional election:

"I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite sure that if God had not chosen me I should never have chosen him; and I am sure he chose me before I was born, or else he never would have chosen me afterwards; and he must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why he should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that doctrine," (Lectures, book 2, page 47).

I must say, my respect and admiration for Mark Dever is growing by the day. Last week, he took a courageous stand for the penal, substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ as well as spoke at SWBTS where Paige Patterson is president (Patterson not fond of Calvinists). Dever's courage, character, and conviction has certainly been a biblical model of leadership which I hope to emulate.