Spurgeon Thursday - A Political Dissenter

Political engagement by Christians has been on my heart recently, I wrote a long blog post on political idolatry on my other blog and I went researching for a Spurgeon Thursday post and this came up. There are no coincidences, when you're researching for a topic to expound upon, and the same topic keeps popping up, it's probably a good idea to write on that topic, God is not sending, He's shooting hints at you. 

The highlights here are mine, they're just quotes that I like. As for the content of the article - I believe that the Prince Of The Run-On Sentence is telling us that as Christians our job in politics is to suck it up and Trust God.

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[The following is excerpted from an excerpt, C.H.  Spurgeon, The Sword and Trowel: 1873 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1873), 45-48.]

Among the charges hurled at us is one which our accusers evidently regard as a very serious one. They call us “a Political Dissenter,” and seem as if they had delivered themselves of a terrible epithet, whose very sound would annihilate us. It is a curious fact that neither the sound nor the sense of those awful words has impressed us with fear, or moved us to repentance.

Politics, if they are honest, are by no means sinful, or the office of a legislator would be fatal to the soul, and Dissenters, if they dissent from error, are commendable individuals: as, therefore, neither the “political” nor the “dissenter” is necessarily bad, the mixture of two good or indifferent things can scarcely be intolerably evil.

One would imagine from the mouthing which our opponents give to the words, that a political Dissenter must be a peculiarly ferocious kind of tiger, a specially venomous viper, or perhaps a griffin, dragon, or “monster dire, of shape most horrible;” but as far as we can make out the meaning of the words, he is only a Dissenter who demands his natural civil rights, a Nonconformist who longs for that religious equality before the law which impartial justice should award to every citizen.

Spurgeon Thursday - The Importance of Baptism

Sinner, believe on Jesus Christ; hear the whole gospel preached to thee. It is written in God’s Word, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Hear me translate it: He that believeth and is immersed shall be saved. Believe thou, trust thyself on the Savior, make a profession of thy faith in baptism, and then thou mayest rejoice in Jesus, that he hath saved thee. But remember not to make a profession till thou hast believed; remember, baptism is nothing until thou hast faith. Remember, it is a farce and a falsehood until thou hast first believed; and afterward it is nothing but the profession of thy faith. Oh, believe that; cast thyself upon Christ, and thou art saved for ever! The Lord add his blessing, for the Saviour's sake. Amen.

Spurgeon Thursday - 4 Reasons Spurgeon Died Poor

4 Reasons Spurgeon Died Poor

From: spurgeon.org

Charles Spurgeon could have been one of the richest millionaires in London.

Instead, he died poor.

Unlike his contemporary pastors in London, Spurgeon did not leave millions of pounds to his family after his death. Susannah told a Baptist newspaper her husband only left £2,000 (Nottingham Evening Post, March 31, 1892).

This number is staggering compared to how much money Spurgeon actually earned. In fact, one of the most overlooked aspects of Spurgeon’s ministry is his personal finances.

Let’s see where Spurgeon’s wallet takes us.

The numbers below have been converted from Great Britain Pound (GBP) in Spurgeon’s day to U.S. Dollar (USD) today. Inflation has been accounted for using a standardized consumer price index. As a general reference, one British pound (£) was worth the equivalent of $117.78 today.

25,000 sermons per week = $13,767,693.33

A small sampling of books sold up to 1885:

The Treasury of David = $5,225,472

Morning by Morning = $2,116,800

Evening by Evening = $1,481,760

Lectures to My Students, Vol. 1 = $453,600

Lectures to My Students, Vol. 2 = $226,800

Commenting on Commentaries = $151,200

John Ploughman’s Talk = $2,056,320

John Ploughman’s Pictures = $665,280

Total sales of books and sermons = $26,144,925.33

Remember, this is only a small slice of Spurgeon’s lifetime earnings. He wrote nearly 150 books, published a monthly magazine, and earned significant revenue from speaking engagements in the earlier, more mobile part of his ministry.

Have you ever wondered how much Spurgeon earned for his annual salary?

As a teenage pastor of Waterbeach Chapel, Spurgeon was paid meagerly, the equivalent of $5,443 per year, though $3,773 went to rent (69.3% of his salary):

“They gave me a salary of £45 a year, but as I had to pay 12 [shillings] a week for my two rooms which I occupied, my income was not sufficient to support me; but the people, though they had not money, had produce, and I do not think there was a pig being killed by any one of the congregation without my having some portion of it” (Autobiography 1:253).

After Spurgeon accepted the pastorate of New Park Street Chapel in 1854, his salary increased dramatically due to the money earned from seat rentals (a practice long since abandoned in evangelical churches).

Three months after moving to London, Spurgeon earned enough money to personally pay for his chapel’s maintenance and lighting (Autobiography 2:123). Shortly thereafter, he never again took a salary.

So where did all of Spurgeon’s money go? What were his attitudes towards finances?

Spurgeon Thursday - Is He Talking About Osteen?

Spurgeon Thursday: Christ's Sheep

Spurgeon Thursday - The Religion of Rome

The Religion of Rome

by C. H. Spurgeon
From the January 1873 Sword and Trowel

We welcome the publication of a volume entitled "The Religion of Rome." It consists of letters published in a Roman Journal, which have been translated from the Italian, by Mr. William Howitt. In these times, when liberality is the only popular virtue, and zeal for truth the cardinal sin, it is worth much to let the public know assuredly that Popery is not the angel of light it professes to be. "Distance lends enchantment to the view;" but, to the rightminded, to see Romanism is to abhor it. It is a system which is as dangerous to human society, as it is hostile to true religion. We would by no means abridge the civil rights of a Catholic, or a Mormonite, but whether in any community the confessional or polygamy ought to be endured is not a question with us. The system of confession to priests is the sum of all villanies. Murphy1 was martyred for speaking the truth about the confessional, and in his person the liberty of public speech received a serious blow.

The day will come in which that man's name and fate will be looked upon in a different light, and many will regret that he was given over as a victim to Romish bigotry, when they feel that bigotry burdening themselves. We have seen with our own eyes2 that which would make the blood of any decent man boil within him. In the confessional boxes in Germany and Italy, anybody may see for himself, exhibited in the compartment allotted to the priest, a list of the sins concerning which the confessor is to enquire; these include crimes which we will not pollute our paper by mentioning; he must be a hardened profligate who would dare allude to them in the presence of a young girl. Not in the pages of a folio reserved for studious eyes did we read the degrading memoranda of which we speak, but in the confessional itself, where every passer-by may see them if he will. True, the document is in Latin; but, unfortunately, such words as abortio, sodomia, and the like, need no translation. But we dare not trust our hand to write more,—the superstition of Rome is the worst of all the evils which have befallen our race; may the Lord arise, and sweep it down to the hell from whence it arose.

Spurgeon Thursday - Geese in their Hoods

Geese in Their Hoods

In the frequent quarrels between the priests and monks of the Church of Rome, the two parties of rogues were silly enough to expose each other's villainies. On the edifices belonging to monasteries, priests were caricatured in the stonework; and on the churches built by priests, the monks and friars were held up to ridicule. A great deal of real truth was thus brought out by their mutual recriminations. The ancient carving below [this is the actual illustration that Spurgeon used] is a specimen of a common caricature representing the clergy as foxes with geese in their hoods; a very admirable picture whether monks or priests were intended. Popery, with its secret confessional and priestly interference at dying beds, is essentially a fox. Puseyism, pretending to be Protestant, and gradually bringing in all the foolery of Rome, is a deep fox indeed. Yet there are geese silly enough to be deceived by priests in this nineteenth century; and so long as the supply of such geese is kept up, the foxes will never cease to prowl.

Reader, do you believe that men like yourself have priestly power? Do you think that they can regenerate infants by sprinkling them, and turn bread and wine into the very body and blood of Jesus Christ? Do you think that a bishop can bestow the Holy Ghost, and that a parish clergyman can forgive sins ? If so, your head can be seen in the picture peeping out from the cowl of the fox. You are the victim of crafty deceivers. Your soul will be their prey in life and in death. They cajole you with soft words, fine vestments, loud pretensions, and cunning smiles, but they will conduct you down to the chambers of death, and lead you to the gates of hell. Silly goose, may grace make thee wise!

Jesus Christ is the true Priest who can forgive all your sins; go to him at once, without the intervention of these pretenders. Make confession to him! Seek absolution from him! The Holy Ghost alone can cause you to be born again, and the grace of God alone can bring you to glory. Avoid Puseyite and Romish foxes, for they seek to make a gain of you, and lead you not to Jesus, but to their Church and all its mummeries. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and not in these deceivers.

No. 22. Sword and Trowel Tracts, by C. H. SPURGEON.
6d. per 100, Post free, 8 stamps.
Passmore & Alabaster, 23, Paternoster Row.

Spurgeon Thursday - He Will Come Back

Spurgeon Thursday - Our Field Of Battle

From Themes for the Common Pilgrim (Counsel in Living for Christ) by Charles Spurgeon

Spurgeon Thursday - Joyful Security

From Spurgeon's "Faith's Check Book"
039-Joyful Security

Spurgeon Thursday - Adjusting the Bible

Spurgeon Thursday - Thank You Charles

So much has been swirling around in my head lately, so much turmoil this year, and the year is not half done. Stepson #1's broken leg, Mom's passing, my health ups and downs, my sister's emotional trauma over mom's passing, my Stepson #2's problems, his wife and children's reaction to those problems, and my poor dear wife who can only stand firm and let the waves of adversity wash over her.

Have you ever had one of those Job days/weeks/months/years? We all have and yeah, it's tough. Sometime Proverbs 3:11-12 makes God's love bittersweet 

11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, 12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

Sometimes you just want to shout "SIR? Can you please spread the love around a little bit?" Proverbs is a great great book to follow when you're following God, and it doesn't soft pedal anything. Proverbs gives wisdom (not advice; wisdom) on matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and godliness. But sometimes you need God's word explained to you in just a different sort of way, a way that eases your soul like Milk of Magnesia eases the knots in your stomach. Charles Spurgeon had such a gift and here, 126 years from his passing, his words give me joy that God's plan will work out:

Spurgeon, Charles, Delmarva Publication, Inc. (2015). “The Complete Works of Charles Spurgeon, Volume 78”, p.92, Delmarva Publications, Inc.                                                 

Spurgeon Thursday - It Must Be Of Grace

Spurgeon Thursday - Infant Salvation

England used to be the centerpiece of civilization, yeah it had its problems, but compared to the rest of the world they rocked. And once upon a time "Old Blighty" was the epicenter of evangelism. Those days are over, and the way to tell is how well their socialist system cares for those that need care the most, like Alfie Evans.

'Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well' (2 Kings 4.26). 

The Shunammite woman was first asked by Gehazi, whether it was well with herself. She was mourning over a lost child, and yet she said, 'It is well.' She felt that the trial would surely be blessed.

Then Gehazi asked, 'Is it well with thy husband?' He was old and stricken in years, and was ripening for death, yet she said, 'Yes, it is well.' Then came the question about her child, which was dead at home, 'Is it well with the child?' Surely this enquiry would renew her grief. Yet she said, 'It is well,' perhaps so answering because she had faith that soon her child would be restored to her, or rather because she was persuaded that whatever might have become of its spirit, it was safe in the keeping of God, happy beneath the shadow of his wings. Therefore, not fearing that it was lost, and having no suspicion whatever that it was cast away from the place of bliss, she said, 'Yes, the child is dead, but it is well.'

Let every mother and father know assuredly that it is well with the child, if God has taken it away from you in its infant days. You never heard its declaration of faith; it was not capable of such a thing. It was not baptised into the Lord Jesus Christ. It was not capable of giving that ‘answer of a good conscience towards God'; nevertheless, you may rest assured that it is well with the child, well in a higher and a better sense than it is well with yourselves. The child is ‘well’ without limitation, without exception, infinitely and eternally.

From The Sword & Trowel 2007, issue 2 by C. H. Spurgeon

Spurgeon Thursday - Unworthy

Spurgeon Thursday - Preachers Are Servants, Not Celebrities

 Preachers Are Servants, Not Celebrities

What I Learned from Charles Spurgeon 

Article by Alistair Begg
Pastor, Chagrin Falls, Ohio

On Sunday morning, August 5, 1855, 21-year-old Charles Haddon Spurgeon stepped behind the pulpit of New Park Street Chapel to challenge

his congregation to follow the example of one of the saints who had inspired his ministry, the apostle Paul. “As a preacher of the word,” Spurgeon said of Paul, “he stands out pre-eminently as the prince of preachers and a preacher to kings.”

Young Spurgeon’s description of Paul was prophetic of his own future ministry. Within a few short years of that Sabbath morning, Spurgeon also earned the moniker “the prince of preachers” as he proclaimed God’s word to congregants from every stratum of society. The boy preacher from humble beginnings even became the “preacher to kings” as members of the British royal family filled his pews.


Lessons from the Prince of Preachers

I first heard the name “Spurgeon” as a young boy in Scotland. However, when I became a man, and began to read his sermons and writings, he endeared himself to me even more. Today, as a minister, I find in his work and life a wonderful example of what it means to be a preacher of the gospel.


1. Preach the Word

As Spurgeon stood before the congregation of New Park Street Chapel that same August Sunday to discuss what it means to preach the word, he pointed his listeners to the veracity and sufficiency of the Scriptures. “Am I to take God’s Bible and sever it and say, ‘This is husk and this is wheat?’” Spurgeon said, “Am I to cast away any one truth and say, ‘I dare not preach it’? No — God forbid!”

Throughout his ministry, Charles Spurgeon maintained an unwavering commitment to the word of God. Over time it became apparent that whether he was preaching in the Crystal Palace, before thousands in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, or with his students, Spurgeon was a man of integrity. His integrity, however, extended beyond his own personal life to encompass his concern for the gospel and theology. His preaching was forever crystal clear and Jesus-centered — qualities that have chased me down through the corridors of time to make me an unabashed fan of Spurgeon.

2. Cultivate the Heart of a Shepherd

Following the example of his Good Shepherd, Spurgeon was filled with compassion for sinners and longed to see them safely returned to the fold of God. Spurgeon firmly believed God loved saving the lost. It was a conviction that fueled his ministry. His tremendous longing to see men and women respond to the offer of the gospel was only matched by his intolerance for those who tainted the gospel of grace with the fallacy of good works.

Spurgeon Thursday - The Christian’s Life

The Christian’s life is no child’s play. All who have gone on pilgrimage to the celestial city have found a rough road, sloughs of despond and hills of difficulty, giants to fight and tempters to shun. Hence there are two perils to which Christians are exposed; the one is that under heavy pressure they should start away from the path which they ought to pursue - the other is lest they should grow fearful of failure, and so become faint-hearted in their holy course....

There is really nothing to be depressed about, there is no real danger, you are safe while God lives, and while Christ pleads, and while the Spirit of God dwells in you; therefore be not dismayed, nor even dream of fear. Be not timorous and unbelieving, but play the man; “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart.”

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "Brave Waiting," delivered August 26, 1877

Spurgeon Thursday - Charles Spurgeon's Evangelistic Fervor

CHARLES SPURGEON’S EVANGELISTIC FERVOR

From the book, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon by Steven J. Lawson

Throughout his prolific ministry, Charles Spurgeon sought to maintain the important balance the Scriptures give to divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Perhaps no preacher ever held these two truths more carefully in balance. Being committed to the full counsel of God, Spurgeon embraced both truths with equal allegiance. He clung tenaciously to God’s sovereignty in the salvation of His elect, but he was equally convinced of the mandate to extend the offer of the gospel to every person. Emphasizing one of these truths to the exclusion of the other, he believed, would result in an unbalanced ministry.

Spurgeon was once asked how he could reconcile the apparent contradiction between these two truths. He replied: “I never have to reconcile friends. Divine sovereignty and human responsibility have never had a falling out with each other. I do not need to reconcile what God has joined together.” He confessed: “Where these two truths meet I do not know, nor do I want to know. They do not puzzle me, since I have given up my mind to believing them both.” Spurgeon simply embraced both divine sovereignty and human responsibility as clearly taught in the pages of Scripture.

By maintaining this balance, Spurgeon avoided a grave danger to evangelism known as Hyper-Calvinism. This teaching holds firmly to the doctrines of grace, but it neglects any urgent appeal to lost sinners to be converted. Iain Murray explains: “Gospel preaching for Hyper-Calvinists means a declaration of the facts of the gospel but nothing should be said by way of encouraging individuals to believe that the promises of Christ are made to them particularly until there is evidence that the Spirit of God has begun a saving work in their hearts convicting them and making them ‘sensible’ of their need.” Thus, Hyper-Calvinism rejects a universal invitation for sinners to believe, but argues that the gospel is to be preached only to the elect. Only those who feel the full burden of their sin, Hyper-Calvinists suppose, should be encouraged to seek relief in the Lord.

Spurgeon Thursday - Predestination and Freewill

What is right - Freewill or Predestination? Ardent followers of either philosophy will find a myriad of bible quotes to back up their cause, but as with many other disagreements I find that the truth lies somewhere other than the two extreme ends. In this query I turned to Charles Haddon Spurgeon for guidance fully looking forward to his preaching to fall in the Predestination camp. His answer? It isn't what I was expecting -

The system of truth is not one straight line, but two. No man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once.

I am taught in one book to believe that what I sow I shall reap: I am taught in another place, that “it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.”

I see in one place, God presiding over all in providence; and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions to his own will, in a great measure.

Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act, that there was no presidence of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to Atheism; and if, on the other hand, I declare that God so overrules all things, as that man is not free enough to be responsible, I am driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism.

That God predestines, and that man is responsible, are two things that few can see. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory; but they are not. It is just the fault of our weak judgment. Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other.

If, then, I find taught in one place that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find in another place that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is my folly that leads me to imagine that two truths can ever contradict each other.

These two truths, I do not believe, can ever be welded into one upon any human anvil, but one they shall be in eternity: they are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the mind that shall pursue them farthest, will never discover that they converge; but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Charles Haddon Spurgeon's Thoughts on Christmas

Spurgeon on Christmas

December 8, 2015 by Ray Rhodes, Jr.

A few days before Christmas 1891, while recovering in Mentone, France, from poor health, Charles Spurgeon wrote a moving letter to the children of his orphanages. From the time Spurgeon moved to London in 1854, he was deeply concerned about the plight of the hundreds of orphans that lined the city’s streets. Between 1866 and 1876, he led his church to build two orphan’s homes.1

As long as Spurgeon’s health allowed him to remain in London during the cold winter months, he, along with Susannah, visited the orphans each Christmas Day. He led the children to remember generous benefactors who supplied funds for the orphanages, to be kind to their caretakers, and to give thanks to God for his provision. Affectionately, he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a coin for each child.2

As what would be Spurgeon’s last Christmas Day drew near, he wanted the orphans to know that he loved them. In his letter, Spurgeon wished them a “glorious,” “jolly,” and “merry” Christmas. When the children received his letter, they cheered. The children wrote back warmly telling him that they prayed for him every day “that God would make you well again, for what should we do without you?”3 Spurgeon’s care for his orphans each Christmas Day demonstrates his positive outlook on the holiday.

To assert that Spurgeon was a Scrooge, as some have suggested, is to misunderstand him. It is true that he opposed ecclesiastical enforcement of, and superstitious practices related to, Christmas.4 He also denounced excesses that were prevalent at Christmas, such as drunkenness and gluttony. However, he did not discourage Christians from celebrating the birth of Christ. Spurgeon valued Christmas Day and said, “I love it as a family institution.” He wished there were “20 Christmas Days.”5 He viewed Christmas as one of “England’s brightest days,” because laborers rested, families gathered, and joy was expressed.6