Around the Wicket Gate

Charles Spurgeon was never one to waste words on those already safe in the fold. This book targets the spiritually hesitant: men and women who have come right up to the threshold of faith but cannot bring themselves to cross it. With the urgency of a preacher who has looked into the face of death and the tenderness of a shepherd who hates to lose even one, Spurgeon examines what holds people back from the free gift of salvation. Using the wicket gate from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress as his central image, he paints a haunting picture of those who stand 'almost' saved while eternal life waits just beyond the threshold. The language is severe but never harsh: this is an open hand extended to the undecided, not a door slammed shut. For anyone who has ever felt drawn to Christ yet held back by doubt, fear, or the strange paralysis of near-belief, these pages offer both challenge and invitation.