Charles Spurgeon has been rightly described as one of those preachers who appears once every 100 years, in whom are deposited all the powerful gifts that are useful for ministry. His life and work remain encouraging and encouraging today, more than 100 years after his death. stimulating the ministers of the gospel for the third millennium.
Any study of Spurgeon’s ministry immediately reveals a man obsessed with evangelism. From the moment of his conversion to the day of his death, Spurgeon maintains an intense concern for souls. Was he a fan of it, of all good manners?As pastor, he took the Apostolic Council very seriously to do “the work of an evangelist”. And he tried diligently to arouse evangelical concern among his church members and fellow preachers.
- This fact confuses some scholars of Spurgeon’s life.
- Because with this evangelical fervor (and.
- We might say.
- Despite contemporary claims to the contrary).
- He never abandoned his deep commitment to the doctrines of Grace.
- He personally believed and powerfully proclaimed what is known.
- In popular parlance.
- “Calvinism.
- ” He did not do it out of devotion to a man or a philosophical system.
- But because he was convinced that all the truths that historically have always been under this banner were none other than biblical Christianity.
- It is this understanding that has enabled him to preach Christ in such a simple and persuasive way.
Some who disagree with Spurgeon’s theology, but appreciate his evangelization, have trouble reconciling their beliefs and practice. These people generally refer more or less to the following: “Yes, Spurgeon was Calvinist; however, despite this, it was evangelical. “However, such an analysis is not correct. It would be better to say, “Of course, Spurgeon was a Calvinist and therefore an evangelist. “His dedication stems from his doctrine and his belief guided his practice.
It is at this stage, perhaps more than anywhere else, that the Prince of Preachers has much to teach today’s shepherds. Over the past 25 years, many have resorted to Spurgeon’s theology and this theological renewal is developing. But what we have not seen is a growth to the extent of the kind of evangelization practiced by Spurgeon, which should alarm all those who want to see an authentic and biblical renewal spread in our churches.
There is a generation of pastors who grew up with evangelism on the model of aftermarket art. Some of the modern evangelism textbooks differ very little from the book The Art of the Deal, written by Donald Trump (a millionaire today). Evangelism has done great damage to churches, filling them with irreversible people and ultimately confusing believers about the true nature of Christianity. Such evangelism is deadly and must be rejected. But, as Jesus warned, when an unclean spirit leaves a man, if that spirit is not replaced, he will soon return and bring with him seven other spirits worse than himself, . . . ? and the last state of this man gets worse than the first (Mt 12:45)? Go, then, and take seven other spirits, worse than him, and when you enter, they live there; and the last state of this man is worse than the first. Will this wicked generation also happen? False evangelism must be replaced by true evangelism, and Spurgeon can show us the way, especially in terms of inner attitudes and desires.
Spurgeon was Calvinist with? C? Shift and a Baptist with?B? In capital letters, but his CRISTIANISM was written entirely in capital letters. At a student conference at a pastoral school, he recognized that it was desirable to try to turn a paidobaptist into a Baptist and to help the Arminians see that salvation is entirely through grace. “But,” he says, “our great goal is not the change of opinions, but the regeneration of nature. We must bring men to Christ and not to our particular views on Christianity. belong to the Pharisees; Is the regeneration of men to God an honorable goal of Christ’s ministers?
It is almost impossible to find a printed Spurgeon Sermon that contains no appeal to the unconverse. They are full of allegations, arguments, warnings, and instructions for sinners, calling and inviting them to come unto Christ. Purgeon’s attitude is reflected in John Bunyan’s. In his first sermon at New Park Street Church, he used this scene to describe how the gospel minister should consider the souls of men and women:
John Bunyan offers us the portrait of a man whom God intended to guide to heaven; Have you noticed how beautiful this photo is? This man has a crown of life on his head, the earth is under his feet, he is as if he were pleading with men and with the best of books in his hands. Oh! How I want to be that kind of preacher for a moment; he could reason with men, as João Bunyan describes it. We are all ambassadors for Christ and, as such, we must plead with men, as if God were speaking to them through us. How I love to see a preacher cry! How I love to see a man capable of weeping for sinners, a man whose soul longs for the wicked, as if he could somehow lead them to the Lord Jesus Christ! I cannot understand a man who steps up to the pulpit and gives a cold, indifferent speech, as if he doesn’t care about the souls of his listeners. I believe that the true minister of the gospel is one who has a real desire for souls, demonstrated in an attitude similar to that of Rachel, when she shouted: “Give me children or I will die. ” This minister will also cry out to God to see the Lord’s elect born and brought to God. And, as I think, every true believer must be extremely jealous when praying for the souls of the wicked; And when they do, God blesses them abundantly and the church prospers. However, beloved ones, even if you see doomed souls, how few care about them! Sinners can sink into the mire of misfortune; yet few tears are shed for them! The whole world can be carried by a torrent to the precipice of damnation and yet how few really cry out to God on behalf of these people! How many men say: “Oh! May my head become water and my eyes a source of tears! Then the dead of the daughter of my people would cry day and night? We do not mourn before God the loss of the souls of men, as it would be good for Christians to do.
Spurgeon argued that not only certain types of preachers can be soul winners; in fact, every preacher must work seriously for his hearers to be saved.
“Unless conversions are constantly observed, a bitter cry to God must be raised in all our congregations. If our preaching never saves a soul (and this is not common), shouldn’t we better glorify God as farmers or merchants?Sir, receive useless preachers? The Holy Ghost is not with us, nor does God use us for its glorious purposes, unless souls awaken to eternal life. Brethren, can we bear to be useless?
For Spurgeon, this passion was inextinguishable. He saw, quite precisely, that the glory of God was at stake.
Once again, if we are to be covered by the power of the Lord, we must feel an intense desire for the glory of God and the salvation of the children of men. Even when we do better, we must strive for greater success. If God has given us many souls, we must aspire to what we have thousands of times, the satisfaction of the results will be the slow death of progress, it is not good for man to think that he cannot improve, he has no holiness, if he thinks it is useful enough. This fiery passion will inevitably determine how a man preaches. On the one hand, it will lead you to strive to be clear in your speech. You have to tell yourself:. No, no, no, no, I can’t use that difficult word, because that poor lady sitting there wouldn’t understand me, I can’t emphasize this dark difficulty, since this poor soul can be confused by such difficulty and not relieved by my explanation. like human beings, you’ll like difficult words less.
The purpose of seeing the souls gained in Christ through preaching will also lead the preacher to work hard to be interesting. “How, in the name of reason, can souls be converted by sermons that numb people?”a legitimate role in preaching. Spurgeon considered that “provoking a momentary laugh is a crime less serious than half an hour of deep sleep. “
It’s so categorical in this regard that it’s easy to misunderstand. Purgeon did not claim that the preacher was responsible for the evangelical success of his ministry; is responsible for being faithful to the task of evangelizing. God, in his sovereignty, will save those he wants, whenever and wherever he wants. Spurgeon never doubted it. However, he refused to allow us to forget that at the heart of a faithful ministry lies a deep passion for the souls of men and women. He said, “If sinners must be condemned, unless they jump into hell passing our bodies; if they perish, let them perish with our arms and hands by touching their knees, begging them to stay; if hell is to be filled, unless it fills up despite our efforts, and no one enters it. unnoticed and undisceded by that person?
If our doctrine does not lead to devotion, something is absolutely wrong; We will not finish our task until the head, the heart and the hands agree; that sanctified integration of our personality will only be achieved when we see the Lord face to face. But we must strive to achieve this goal, here and now; having received the gospel, we must get involved in evangelism; and the more clearly we have assimilated the gospel, the more passionate we are in giving ourselves to evangelism.
In The Evangelical Focus of Charles Spurgeon, fourth in the A Profile of Godly Men series, Steven Lawson presents to the reader the life and ministry of the great 19th-century Baptist preacher, known as the Prince of Preachers, who courageously taught the doctrines of grace. and, at the same time, presented the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. The purpose of this work and the entire series is to examine the profiles of pious men, such as John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, John Knox, and Spurgeon, who used their spiritual gifts and ministerial skills to promote the celestial kingdom.
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