The Sinner's Friend: A Sermon

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Rebecca S. Perkins (Translator)

“You’re a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” the religious leaders mocked. They thought that surely Jesus,, if he is a prophet and holy man, would steer clear of the worst sinners! Tax collectors in ancient Israel were despised for working for Rome and even extorting more money than the Romans required. Sinners were the prostitutes, drunks and others whose obvious sin made them rejects of society. But no! Jesus shocked everyone by instead seeking, accepting, and loving them. And so the name that religious leaders gave to Jesus as an insult, “Friend of Sinners,” became a most beloved name.

Charles Spurgeon passionately explains that Jesus loves you no matter what you’ve "For sinners Christ lived, for sinners Christ died. His love for us is beyond compare." It is for you and me that Jesus lay down his life to forgive us of our sins. That is the good news of the gospel!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) endures as one of the most beloved Christian pastors and writers of all time. He pastored a Baptist church in London and many of his sermons were copied by stenographers and then distributed for a penny. But like all the great writings of the past, his sermons become harder for us to follow with each successive generation.This sermon has been carefully and thoughtfully updated so that you can read it without the distraction of obsolete words, strange spelling, and figures of speech that don't make sense to us today.

38 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2023

About the author

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the famous Baptist theologian, John Gill). The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues, Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000—all in the days before electronic amplification. In 1861, the congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed Metropolitan Tabernacle.