Preacher, Self-denial Necessary for a – Charles Spurgeon

THE minister of Christ must know how to take the scaling-ladder, and fix it against the wall of the conscience, and climb it sword in hand, to meet the man face to face in sacred duel, for the capture of his heart. He must not flinch to tell the faults he knows, or deal with the errors he perceives. There must be a consecrated self-denial about the preacher, so that it matters not to him, even though he should draw down the wrath of his hearer upon his head; one thing he must aim at, that he may persuade him to be a Christian, and for this he must strike home, coming to close quarters, if perhaps by God’s grace, he may prick the man in his heart, slay his enmity, and bring him into captivity to Jesus.