It is frequently my fear lest I should fall into the habit of preaching about the gospel than directly preaching the gospel, and hence I labor to return to the first principle of our faith, and often take a text upon which it would not be possible to say anything new but which will compel me to recapitulate in your hearing those things which are vital, essential, and fundamental to the life of our souls. With such a text as this before me [1 Peter 1:19], if I do not preach the gospel, I shall do violence both to the sacred word and to my own conscience.”
C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, 1950), IV:366. Italics original.