"A sinner can no more repent and believe without the Holy Spirit's aid than he can create a world"
About this Quote
The intent is pastoral and polemical at once. Pastoral, because it shifts the burden from anxious strivers to a God who acts first. Polemical, because it takes a clear stand in a 19th-century Protestant argument that never really cooled down: is salvation chiefly a human decision or a divine intervention? Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers,” is Reformed enough to insist grace isn’t a helpful boost but the engine itself. Human will isn’t denied; it’s demoted.
The subtext carries a warning aimed at both skeptics and the religiously self-assured. To the skeptic: you can’t scoff your way into belief any more than you can grit your teeth into it. To the churchgoer: stop treating repentance like a moral self-improvement project with religious branding. Spurgeon’s comparison also flatters God and humiliates spiritual pride, which is exactly the emotional geometry revival preaching often seeks: small human, big God, and a conversion that feels less like adopting an opinion and more like being remade.
Quote Details
| Topic | Faith |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Spurgeon, Charles. (n.d.). A sinner can no more repent and believe without the Holy Spirit's aid than he can create a world. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-sinner-can-no-more-repent-and-believe-without-14332/
Chicago Style
Spurgeon, Charles. "A sinner can no more repent and believe without the Holy Spirit's aid than he can create a world." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-sinner-can-no-more-repent-and-believe-without-14332/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"A sinner can no more repent and believe without the Holy Spirit's aid than he can create a world." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-sinner-can-no-more-repent-and-believe-without-14332/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.






