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Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A Research Paper Submitted to

Fulfill the Partial Requirements of

CHHI 694 History of the Baptists

Dr. Almer Smith

By

Melissa L. Adams

Barnesville, GA

October 16, 2011


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Table of Contents

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Family Background and Early Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Conversion Experience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

First Pastorates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Metropolitan Tabernacle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Pastors College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Down-Grade Controversy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Writings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..17

Theology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20


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Introduction

Charles Spurgeon was a very influential Baptist preacher in London, England in the late

1800s. He is also known as the Prince of Preachers. He preached to thousands of people each

week. He led countless revivals, founded a college, an orphanage, a very famous charitable

organization that still exists today, and was an active member of the Baptist Union of Great

Britain. However, what made him the Prince of all Preachers? What character traits did he had to

have possessed to have achieved so much? James T. Allen, author ofThe Life Story of Charles

H. Spurgeon, describes the measure of a great man. We do not measure great men by their

specific opinions on this or that question, or by their adherence to this or that dogma. We rather

estimate them by their volume of moral and spiritualizing power, by the essential qualities of

their manhood, by the leavening influences for righteousness that emanate from their own

lives.1So what were the qualities of Charles H. Spurgeons manhood? What qualities drew so

many people to him? To determine this, we have to study his life closely. What have to study

what made him successful in his endeavors. Mac Brunson, author ofThe New Guidebook for

Pastors,speaks briefly on the success of Spurgeons church in London. It is easy to suppose

that the church was built on Spurgeons preaching. However, I personally believe Spurgeon

would tell us it was prayer that built it.2 So he was not just a great orator but a man of prayer.

However, there is more to Spurgeon that this. We will explore certain key aspects of his life and

from his actions; so that we deduce what the other qualities that made him such a success. First,

let us explore his family roots.

1James T. Allen, The Life Story of Charles Spurgeon (Albany, Oregon: The Ages Digital Library

Biography, 1997, 4.

2James W. Bryant & Mac Brunson, The New Guidebook for Pastors (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing

Group, 2007), p. 47.


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Family Background and Early Life

To begin with, Spurgeon came from a line of preachers. The Spurgeon line was one of

Puritan lineage and it is said that the founders of the family in Norfolk and Essex came from the

Low Countries to escape the persecution of the bloodthirsty Duke of Alva, in the sixteenth

century.3

It is also said that they were devout nonconformists. Spurgeon even had one famous

ancestor, Job Spurgeon, who, during the reign of Charles II., lay in Chelmsford gaol for fifteen

weeks, rather than be a traitor to his convictions.4Charles grandfather was the pastor of the

Independent Church of Stambourne for 50 years. He devoted his life to ministering to the village

folk that he loved so much. John, Charles father also pastored an Independent Church at

Cranbrook, Kent for over a decade. Charles received a rather profound Christian upbringing and

he was afforded this best education from his grandfather, whom he went to live with at an early

age.

Robert Schindler, author ofThe Life and Labors of Charles Spurgeon, describes his life

at Stambourne. Under the immediate oversight of the grandfather, he soon developed into a

thoughtful boy; commonly fonder of his books that of his play.5 He was rather like Jesus. He

regularly astounded the grave deacons and matrons, who met at his grandfathers house on

Sabbath evenings, by proposing subjects for conversation, and offering pertinent remarks about

them; and there were at that early period of his life palpable indications of that decision of

character and boldness of address for which he has become so remarkable. 6 Growing up at

3Allen, Spurgeon, 5.

4Ibid.

5Robert Schindler,From the Usher's Desk to the Tabernacle Pulpit: The Life and Labors of Charles

Haddon Spurgeon (New York: A.C. Armstrong and Son, 1936), 24.

6Ibid.


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Stambourne was a treat for young scholar because of his grandfathers ministry there. Most of

his time was spent studying scripture and Puritan theology. It is obvious that he was very curious

about the inner workings of his grandfathers church. So much so that an incident occurred in the

year of 1844, which had a considerable influence on him at the time, and would definitely have a

profound effect on him in his first few years as a pastor.

At the age of ten, he was at his grandfather's when Mr. Knill, then of Chester, now of

New Jerusalem, whose name is a household word, and whose memory is precious to thousands

at home and abroad, stayed at the ministers house on Friday, since he was to preach at

Stambourne for the London missionary Society on the following Sunday. He heard the boy read,

and commended him.7

Later, Rev. Knill took the young Charles for a walk and discussed the

Bible with him. Young Spurgeon had lots of questions with which Mr. Knill answered with

earnestness and wisdom. Later on the next day, Knill went and talked with Charles grandfather.

Here are his words:

I do not know how it is, but I feel a solemn presentiment that this child will preach the

gospel to thousands, and God will bless him to many souls. So sure am I of this, that

when my little man preaches in Rowland Hills chapel, as he will do one day, I should

like him to promise me that he will give out to hymn commencing- God moves in a

mysterious way, his wonders to perform.8

The prophetic word that Knill gave that day was fulfilled later when Spurgeon was 18. He

preached at Surrey Chapel (Rowlands Hills Chapel) and he made sure the hymn was sung. Mr.

Knill even heard about it and told all his peers that he knew the young Charles Spurgeon who

was making quite a name for himself. Schindler writes that to preach at Surrey Chapel was a

high honor for any young or old preacher for it was the largest nonconformists place of worship

7Schindler,Labors of Spurgeon, 27.

8Ibid., 28.


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in London, at least south of the Thames.9

In the next few years after he preached there, he saw

his church at New Park Street grow in the thousands. However, this part of his life will be

discussed later on in more depth. Now let us return to his early years as a youth in Stambourne

and see the type of education he received. From what we have already seen, several habits

marked the character of the young Charles Spurgeon for future greatness in the ministry. For

example, he had a great love of truth, a love for the house of God, of worship, and most of all,

prayer. His father says that Charles was often found in the hay-rick, or the manger, praying, or

reading aloud, and sometimes talking and preaching to his brothers and sisters.10

The young Spurgeon stayed with his grandfather for six consecutive years and received

his elementary education locally. John D. Woodbridge, author of the bookGreat Leaders of the

Christian Church, describes his time there. Charles spent many delightful holidays there,

precociously exploring the library of Puritan works that had once belonged to the first

Independent minister of the village in the seventeenth century.11

Spurgeon received his

elementary education at Mr. Walkers School at Colchester, and afterwards spent four years in

the same town at a school conducted by Mr. Henry Lewis.12 He attended an Agricultural College

at Maidstone for one year; and afterwards he went to Newmarket (Suffolk) to be a student

school-teacher in the school of a Mr. Swindell. There he pursued his studies with remarkable

diligence. His faith in the Lord and his sense of self-humility grew by leaps and bounds. As you

can see from his family background and early life, it is obvious that he had great potential and


10Ibid., 37.

11John D. Woodbridge, Great Leaders of the Christian Church (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1988), 336.



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that his future looked bright. However, there was one thing still missing from his life. He had yet

to become a true Christian. Even though he grew up in church and was the son and grandson of

ministers, he had not yet accepted Christ. His conversion story is very interesting and gives a lot

of insight into how he perceived God even as a young man.

Conversion

Spurgeon wrestled with sin during his young life. He went from church to church

searching for answers. He wanted to know this one thing. How could he be forgiven? No

minister he had ever heard preach had taught him this simple answer to this huge dilemma all of

us face at one point in our lives. It was not until one snowy day that he got his answer. Below are

the details in his own words:

At last, one snowy day, -- it snowed so much I could not go to the place I had

determined to go to, and I was obliged to stop on the road, and it was a blessed stop to

me, -- I found rather an obscure street, and it turned down a court, and there was a little

chapel. It was the Primitive Methodist Chapel. I had heard of these people from many,

and how they sang so loudly that they made peoples heads ache; but that did not matter.

I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they made my head ache ever so much. I

did not care. So, sitting down, the service went on, but no minister came; at last a very

thin-looking man came into the pulpit, and opened his Bible, and read these words: Look

unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. Just setting his eyes upon me, as if he

knew all my heart, he said, Young man, you are in trouble. Well, I was, sure enough.

Says he, You will never get out of it unless you look to Christ. And then, lifting up his

hand, he cried out, has only a Primitive Methodists could do, Look, look, look! It is only

look, said he. I saw at once the way of salvation. Oh, how I did leap for joy at the

moment! I know not what else he said. I did not take much notice of it; I was so

possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, they only

looked and were healed. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard this word,

Look, what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh, I looked until I could almost havelooked my eyes away; and in heaven I will look on still in my joy unutterable!

13

What a funny and amazing story. However, as a man who grew up in a Christian home, it is a

wonder why he was not saved already. Surely his grandfather or father shared the gospel with

13Schindler,Labors of Spurgeon, 35-36.


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him? Maybe they just assumed he was saved since he studied the Bible with great fervor and

attended church throughout his childhood. This experience would impact his future minister.

Specifically, you can say that this unique experience enhanced his ministry. This is because it

taught him a valuable lesson. Spurgeon's conversion experience imprinted on his heart the

importance of preaching to sinners. He vowed that he will never preach a sermon without a

sinner present. Having this philosophy is probably one of the main reasons he was able to reach

so many thousands of the Lost in England. He learned from his own experiences early on and

applied them to his ministry. Several years after his conversion, on 11th October 1864, Mr.

Spurgeon preached in the Primitive Methodist Chapel at Colchester, and took for his text the

ever memorable words (Isa. Xlv.22), "look unto Me, and be ye saved," & c. That was the text,"

said he, "that I had heard from in this chapel when the Lord converted me.14 He also then he

pointed out the pew he was sitting in when he was converted. The last school stop for school was

new Cambridge. It was in Cambridge that he took his first church.

First Pastorates

The story of his first church is another interesting story. One night he went with a fellow

Cambridge student to a bible study thinking his friend was leading the study. He wished his

friend good luck with the sermon and his friend replied , Me preaching? No I have no idea

how.15

Ironically, there was no pastor to lead the gathering, so the young Charles took it upon

himself to bring the Word that night. This was his first public sermon. So he then became a

village minister, preaching in various churches and at in home gatherings much like the first one.

His reputation spread amazingly, and in a short time he was engaged in week-night

services in the pulpits of Cambridge, the first pulpit he occupied in that town was Water-beach.

14Schindler, Labors of Spurgeon, 37.

15Ibid., 50.


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The Baptists of Water-beach gave him a call to be the pastor of their church, promising he should

not be overburdened with an exorbitant stipend. Spurgeon at the age of 17, after much prayer and

meditation, accepted the call, and went to minister to the people in an old square building,

although many of its attendants looked upon it as sacred as the Ark of the Covenant.16 He

preached here for three years. He was very happy. However, God had bigger things in store for

Spurgeon. One day he received an important letter from London.

John D. Woodbridge, author of the bookGreat Leaders of the Christian Church,

describes Spurgeons call to New Park Street. His growing fame as a preacher brought him to

the attention of the New Park Baptist Church in south London, once the congregation, once the

congregation of John Gill, the greatest of eighteenth-century theologians among the Baptists, and

of John Rippon, their leading figure at the turn of the nineteenth century.17

It was on the last Sunday morning in November, 1853 when Charles received a letter of

appointment from the New Park Street Chapel in Southwark. At first he thought the letter was

for another pastor with the last name Spurgeon. However, deep down he knew that there was no

mistake. Although, he was surprised that people in London had heard about him in such a small

amount of time. This shows how humble he was even though he had just been offered a job at

one of the more well-known churches in London. He was becoming famous but he did not let it

go to his head. He was flabbergasted at this development. He immediately wrote the church back

accepting the position and notifying them when he would arrive. Here are his words upon his

arrival in Southwalk: At the site of the New Park Street Chapel I felt for a moment amazed at

my own temerity, for it seemed to my eyes to be a large, ornate and imposing structure,

suggesting an audience wealthy and critical, and far removed from the humble folk to whom I


17Woodbridge, Great Leaders, 336.


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ministry had been sweetness and light.18

He was not even twenty years old when he took the

pastorate. This is quite an accomplishment at such a young age! Most ministers of this modern

age have not even finished with their bachelors degree at twenty, never mind being a famous

pastor! Surely Gods hand was upon him. What was his secret? Was it just his charisma and call

of God on him that drew people?

People were drawn to him because he was a real man of God and because he was a

dynamic preacher. He was a man of prayer. The church at New Park Street was well-known but

it had been much diminished in its attendance of late and young Charles said that he prayed for a

period of prosperity for them during his time there.

19

His prayer was brought to fruition because

the numbers began to rise and rapidly at that! Spurgeon, having realized his immediate success,

went in to a depression of sorts. Here are his words on the subject:

My success appalled me; and the thought of the career which it seemed to open up, so

far from relating me, cast me into the lowest depth, out of which I uttered my misery and

found no room for a gloria en excelsis. Who was I that I should continue to lead so great

a multitude?20

Again, it is amazing to see his huge humility. He was worthy of the admiration and success

bestowed upon him. Woodbridge describes how much people loved and came from all over

England to hear his preaching: Elaborate sentences replete with poetic phraseology had become

fashionable in the London pulpit in recent years, but Spurgeon spoke with a pithy directedness

that started his audience.21

They say he was also funny and had a powerful but melodious voice.

18David Otis Fuller, C.H. Spurgeons Autobiography, Edited and Condensed from the 4 Original

Volumes, 1500 Pages (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1946), 68.

19Ibid., 69.

20Fuller, Spurgeons Autobiography, 73.



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Finally, he possessed a gift for the dramatic. Within twelve months Park Street Chapel had to be

enlarged.22 However, during this fruitful period, disease struck the community in 1854.

After his one year anniversary of being at New Park Street, the neighborhood around his

church was visited by cholera, and many families belonging to his congregation suffered greatly

and died. He was constantly giving funerals and standing in the graveyard mourning the loss of

yet another member of his beloved chapel. Later God gave him comfort by directing him to read

which had been placed in the window of a shoe makers shop. It bore these words: Because thou

hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil

befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

23

He was also comforted when he

was sent to attend a dying woman. This woman was not sickly looking but happy and she was

singing. She died with a smile on her face. These events helped Spurgeon through the heavy loss

his church had that year.

In the year 1856, Spurgeon married Susannah Thompson in London. His church

continued to grow so much so that Spurgeon and his congregation started raising money to build

a new church. By January, 1868, the amount in land was 6100 pounds, and within the next year it

reached 9639 pounds. 5000 words set aside for the purchase of the site.24 On Tuesday, 16th

August, 1859, the first stone of the Metropolitan Tabernacle was laid by Sir Morton Peto.25

Meanwhile services were held in the Exeter Hall and later, when it could no longer hold the

vastly growing church, at Surrey Gardens Music Hall. At the first service in the Music Hall,


23Fuller,Autobiography of Spurgeon, 75.




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there were 10,000 people who filled the hall to overflowing. Lets compare how the church as

grown my comparing the stats from one he started up to this point. Allen writes, When he first

preached in London he had 200 hearers, now they numbered 1,178 members. During that period

he had received into fellowship by baptism no less than 3,569 persons.26 None can deny he was

a Prince of Preachers.

Many ministers from other denomination and public figures ridiculed Spurgeon for his

inexperience and youth. Spurgeon was very aware of this and yet he did not waver in his

devotion to the chapel. Furthermore, even though his church in London increased to that of

thousands, Spurgeon remained humble. In fact, he till fought against this success. Here are his

words on the matter:

God gave me souls by hundreds, who were added to my church, and in one year it was

my happiness personally to see not less than 1000 who had been converted. I do not

expect that now. My name is somewhat esteemed, and the great ones of the earth think he

had no dishonor to set at my feet, but this makes me fear lest my God forsake me while

the world esteems me. I would rather be despised and slandered than aught else. This

assembly, that you think so grand and find, I would really part with, if by such a loss I

would gain a greater blessing. It is for us to reflect, in all times of popularity, that

Crucify Him! Crucify Him! follows fast upon the heels of Hosanna! 27

Metropolitan Tabernacle

Two years since the beginning for the construction of their new church started, in 1861,

the congregation moved to its permanent home, the Metropolitan Tabernacle.28

The first service

in the new tabernacle was a prayer- meeting. It was held at seven o'clock in the morning, on

Monday, March 18, in 1861. The first sermon was preached by Mr. Spurgeon on Monday

afternoon, 25th of March, 1861, from Acts: and daily in the temple, and in every house, they

26Ibid., 26.

27Fuller,Autobiography of Spurgeon, 78.



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ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.29

Allen describes the services at the Met: The

service at the Tabernacle was utterly devoid of such accessories of worship as good music and

imposing ritual, and yet Sabbath after Sabbath that great congregation of 6,000 souls assembled

for more than thirty years. Without undue exaggeration, we can affirm that his record as a

preacher is absolutely without parallel in the history of the world.30

It was said that the

Metropolitan Tabernacle sat 3,600 but that an additional 2,000 others were usually there on a

given Sunday and there was standing room only.

The Pastors College

After three months in the Tabernacle a young man, only four months younger than

Spurgeon was came to inquire on his salvation. He was a learned man and whose intellect

Charles found refreshing. The young man became a Christian soon after that and then began to

do ministry at the Tabernacle with Spurgeon. Schinder writes, At first Spurgeon mentored the

boy himself but as his duties with the Tabernacle grew, he put him under the tutelage of Rev.

C.H. Hosken, then pastor of the Baptist Church at Crayford Kent.31 This was really the

commencement of the Pastors College, and the young men above mentioned, Mr. Thomas

William Medhurst, was the first. The Rev. George Rogers, of the Albany Congregational

Chapel became the principal of the college and Mr. Camberwell its theological tutor. Other early

students of the college include Mr. Davies of Greenwich; Mr. Genders of Ifracombe; Mr.

Archibald Brown of the East London Tabernacle; Mr. Cuff of the Shoreditch Tabernacle; Mr.





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Burton; and professors Gracie and Marchant, who are now tutors of the college in which they

were former students.32 Spurgeon had three specific reasons for why he started the new school:

(1) No other college, at that time, appeared to him to be suitable for his students.(2) This was because they were mostly poor, and most of the colleges involved

necessarily a considerable outlay to the student; for even where the educationwas free, books, close, and other incidental expenses required a considerable

sum per annum.

(3) Moreover, it must be frankly admitted that my views on the gospel and of themode of training preachers were, and are, somewhat peculiar. These and other

considerations led me to take a few tried young men, and to put them under

some able minister, that he might train them in the Scriptures, and in other

knowledge helpful to the understanding and proclaiming of the truth.33

Woodbridge tells us that since the colleges foundation in the late 1850s, trained nearly 900 men

before his death.34

Spurgeon also wrote textbooks for the school,His Lectures to My Students,

was a classic for those at the school preparing for the ministry. He also published his own

monthly church magazine, The Swordand Trowel. Spurgeons life and ministry seemed to be

successful and must have brought great joy to the great preacher but the hardest battle he had

ever fought came in the 1880s.

Down-Grade Controversy

By 1830 all religious disabilities had been relaxed and Baptists enjoyed a period of great

religious freedom. Baptists like Henry Jessey, John Tombes, and John Bunyan, began to favor

the laxer practice of communing with all Christians.35 Also, The Particular Baptists formed a

Union in 1813. This union was established for six reasons. Two of the six were (1) to raise

money for missions and (2) provide religious education. The forming of the Union would no

32Ibid., 133.

33Ibid., 135.


35Henry Vedder,A Short History of the Baptists (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Judson Press, 1978), 181.


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doubt be beneficial to many Baptists but this type of external body existing outside of the local

assembly was something the Free Church movement had been against forming for hundreds of

years. The Baptists had always coveted their local autonomy. However, I guess they thought that

the advantages far outweighed old superstitions. At first, the Union was for formed for

ecumenical purposes but later it would become so much more but not in a good way.

Apparently the laxer practice of communing with all Christians influenced the Particular

Baptists so much that they sought to merge with the General Baptists. Their rational for this was

a misconstrued wanting to obtain unity within the national Baptist body. Their intentions were

pure but for the unification to commence, compromises were made. There was a disastrous side

effect to this compromise:

The Attempt to Unify the Two Groups necessitated the need to drop doctrines,

dropping these doctrines allowed the infiltration of liberalism and the infiltration of

liberalism became the biggest enemy Spurgeon every faced.

-Dr. Avril Caner, Professor of Church History, Liberty University

Essentially, the newly found religious freedom of the Baptists and the idea of open communion

opened the door for liberalism and a new type of theology (that was actually heresy), which

started to eat at the already shaky Baptist foundation.

Committed Biblicists in England began seeing that a new type of heresy was creeping

into the pulpits and leadership of Baptist churches.36 Spurgeon was among this group of

committed scholars. Darwinism (1859) emerged to challenge the biblical view of creation. The

establishment of Biblical criticism by D. F. Strauss and Julius Wellhausen paved the way for a

new and heretical theology. Biblical criticism attacked the validity of divine inspiration and

36Ergun Caner, The British BaptistsDecline and Downgrade 1845. Historyof the Baptists, Lecture18.

Lynchburg, VA: Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary: Lectures on DVD, 2001, 4.


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inerrancy of the Bible. Wellhausen insisted that Moses did not write the Pentateuch and Strauss

tried to deny the divine origin and significance of miracles in the New Testament.

These men were attacking one of the most important fundamental doctrines of the

Christian faith, a doctrine that not just the Baptists held to. Scripture is the divinely inspired

Word of God. It is the blueprint on which our entire faith is built. If we deny the authority of

Scripture, we also deny the deity of the Father and Jesus alike. The main leader of this heresy,

who insisted that the Bible was not of divine origin, was a man by the name of John Clifford.

Although the absurdity of the New Theology was more than obvious to anyone who had

actively studied scripture, many ofthe Unions members began to accept it.

At first, the acceptance of this theology by Baptist ministers was not tolerated but later on

those who had objected to its intrusion began to look the other way. However, there were still

many who were against it but those who did remained silent. So why did those rejected this view

not speak out against it? Iain Murray, author of the Forgotten Spurgeon, answers this question,

There were undoubtedly genuine evangelical Baptists who would have been glad to see the

spreading error arrested, but to achieve this at the cost of the disruption of the Union was a

possibility they could not bring themselves to face.37 The next big question is this: Was the

perpetuation of the Union more important that the cost of truth? Was it really worth

compromising all that they had ever stood for? The answer is yes because the great majority of

Baptists had come to regard a national organization of their churches as essential to their well-

being.38

Disrupting this great new enterprise was apparently not worth upholding the truth.

When no one else would make a stand, Charles Spurgeon took it upon himself to be antagonist of

the New Theology Movement.

37Iain H. Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon (London, England: London Banner of Truth Trust, 1973), 153.

38E. A. Payne, The Baptist Union: A Short History (London, England: Carey Kingsgate Press, 1959), 143.


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The first thing he did was encourage the Union to establish a new doctrinal statement

clearly outlining what they believed and did not believe in. This statement would help restrict the

influence of such heresies and keep them from spreading any further within the Union. However,

since Baptists are against creating creeds and such, they refused to do so. Furthermore, Spurgeon

was chided for giving material to Anglicans to strengthen their position.39

However, he was not

through. In 1887, Spurgeon wrote an article in The Swordand Trowel. In the article, he openly

condemned the New Theology. He called it the New Cult and said that it challenged the very

fundamentals of Christianity itself. He feared this controversy would be the end of the Baptist

Union because it was destroying it from the inside out. However, no one sided with him and

being severely wounded by his fellow brothers, he left the Union in October of 1887.40

Many in the Union wondered why he did not stay and fight it since he had some much

influence among them. Spurgeon did not stay because it went against his principles to do so. He

told this to an assembly of pastors in April of 88, I care for no man and for no newspaper, but

only for God.41 He was more loyal to God than to a denomination. We all can learn something

from this man and the fight he did not win. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is more

important than some made-up heresy that tries to be passed off as truth. As ministers of the

gospel, we must be able to recognize these heresies when we encounter them in our churches.

We also need to know when to let go of something. Spurgeon knew he could not win this fight,

so he withdrew. Plus, it had a negative effect on Spurgeons mental and physical state.

In the years following the Down-Grade Controversy, Spurgeon began to isolate himself.

His health also declined. Many thought he was heart sick because of his flight from the Union.

39Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon, 153.

40Ibid, 161.

41Ibid.


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Standing on the platform at Herne Hill station on October 26, 1891, before he went to Mentone

for the last time, his parting words to his friends were, The fight is killing me.42 He soon

developed a disease of the kidneys and he died on January 31, 1892. The last thing he said was,

My work is done.43 So in light of his last words, the age-old verse of Pauls, I have fought a

good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; was etched on his tombstone. Let us

now review Spurgeons literary work.

Writings

In addition to his textbook writings and his magazine The Swordand the Trowel, he

wrote a best-selling book entitledJohn Ploughmans Talkand Sermons in Candles. His most

substantial literary work was a six volume commentary on the Psalms, The Treasury of David

(1870-1885).44 Many compilations of his sermons were printed along with various other Biblical

commentaries. What about his theology?

Theology

Deeply rooted in the strong Puritan traditions of East Anglia, Spurgeon had a firm grasp

of what he believed and a remarkable ability to communicate his convictions. 45 The structure of

his theology was primarily Calvinistic in nature. However, he did change some of his original

views during the course of his ministry, especially during the Down-Grade Controversy. These

modifications consisted of a rejection of ordination, and he came to embrace the idea that funds

for Christian work should be sought primarily through prayer, unsuccessfully urging this faith

42Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon, 163.

43Ibid., 164.


45Ibid., 334.


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mission principle on the Baptist Missionary Society in 1863.46

He also urged evangelical clergy

members to break with the Anglican Church because it was morally corrupt. He was firm in his

belief in Calvinism but said this about it: I am a very bad Calvinist, quite a CalvinistI look on

to the time when the elect will be all the world.47 A historian by the name of J. C. Carlile admits

that illogical as it may seem, Spurgeons Calvinism was of such a character that while he

proclaimed the majesty of God he did not hesitate to ascribe freedom of will to man and to insist

that any man might find in Jesus Christ deliverance from the power of sin.48 Charles was surely

an interesting character. He was brutally honest about everything, unlike many other famous

reformers/leaders, while being a humble man of prayer. He was also very smart and fought for

what he believed in.

Conclusion

There was certainly no lack of moral stamina, or of unflinching courage for conscience

sake in these lowly refugees from the Netherlands, who came to settle in our eastern counties

and who were Spurgeons ancestors.49 This is obvious in the character of Spurgeon. He was of

strong, moral character and stood up for what he believed in. He showed his congregation this

character every time he stood behind the pulpit. Allen states, It is no doubt as a preacher that

Spurgeon is best known, and it is to his unrivaled power in the pulpit that he owes his renown. 50

However, his power in the pulpit may be what he is famous for but it is not what made him so

successful. It was having a strong character, much like that of Christ that made him the Prince


47Caner,Down-Grade Controversy, 6.

48Ibid.


50Ibid., 28.


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of Preachers. God worked through him because of the strength of his integrity, humility, and of

his prayer life. A truly great leader is one that follows God earnestly and emulates the character

of Christ in front of those who follow him. We must estimate Charles Haddon Spurgeon not by

how great an orator he was but by the essential qualities of his manhood, and by the leavening

influences for righteousness that emanated from his life. It is these characteristics that make a

leader. It was Spurgeons strength of character that most impacted the history of the Baptists.


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Bibliography

Allen, James T. The Life Story of Charles Spurgeon. Albany, Oregon: The Ages Digital Library

Biography, 1997.

Caner, Ergun. The Baptist BaptistsDecline and Downgrade 1845. Historyof the Baptists,Lecture18. Lynchburg, VA: Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary: Lectures on DVD,

2001.

Fuller, David Otis. C.H. Spurgeons Autobiography, Edited and Condensed from the 4 Original

Volumes, 1500 Pages. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1946.

Murray, Iain H. The Forgotten Spurgeon. London, England: London Banner of Truth Trust,1973.

Payne, E.A. The Baptist Union: A Short History. London, England: Carey Kingsgate Press, 1959.

Schindler, Robert. From the Usher's Desk to the Tabernacle Pulpit: The Life and Labors ofCharles Haddon Spurgeon.New York: A.C. Armstrong and Son, 1936.

Vedder, Henry.A Short History of the Baptists. Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Judson Press, 1978.

Woodbridge, John D. Great Leaders of the Christian Church. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press,1988.

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