Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon , Part I

[Reformed]

Steven J. Lawson puts in proper context The Reformed doctrine of predestination and the evangelical call of the gospel.

It was more than thirty years ago, as a young seminary student, when I was first confronted with the biblical truth of the sovereignty of God in salvation. to that point, I had viewed salvation as a joint venture between God and man. I assumed that God extends the offer of salvation, but man has the ability to accept or reject it. But unexpectedly, the sovereign grace of God toward those whom He chose in eternity past to save was made known to me. To my amazement, my eyes were opened to behold God as I had never seen Him before.

A thick fog lifted. Suddenly I could see those truths in the Bible known as the doctrines of grace. Astonishingly, they had been there all along. As my eyes raced through the Scriptures, I became absorbed with an endless number of verses teaching the predestining grace of God. For every one verse I saw, there were a hundred more virtually leaping from the pages of God's Word, screaming for my attention. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible was now declaring, "Salvation is of the Lord."

continued...

 

[Reformed]

Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon , Part II

This discovery was, at first, devastating. I was shaken to the core of my being. My whole orientation to the Bible was in upheaval. This biblical teaching was pride-crushing. I was laid low in the duct, my soul desolate. But at the same time, these doctrines were God glorifying and Christ exalting. They lifted me up with a sense of awe toward God and filled me with excitement. Joy flooded my being. These glorious truths ignited a great awakening with me, one from which I have not recovered.

This deeper understanding of God's grace, however, created an enormous dilemma for me. How would the doctrines of sovereign grace affect my preaching? If God is sovereign in salvation, why preach the gospel? If I am to do so, how do I preach the gospel? Why witness? Why pray for the lost? Why make sacrifices for the gospel? These questions haunted me, especially since I was called to preach. Perhaps they have challenged you.

continued...

 

[BobRyan]

How does Spurgeon's view of Calvinism show up in his "Baptist Confession of Faith" document?

 

[Reformed]

Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon , Part III

continued.....

As I wrestled through these issues, I walked into the seminary bookstore one day to browse among the books. On this occasion, I noticed several volumes of sermons by Charles Spurgeon. Curious, I pulled one off the shelf and began reading. Quite frankly, I was not prepared for what I found. As I pored over the pages, I found message after message dripping with the biblical truths of sovereign grace. But at the same time, each message was on fire with evangelistic fervor, as Spurgeon pleased with sinners to be saved. Never had I read anything like this. These sermons were like an electric current running through my soul. They shocked my senses and enlightened my mind.

Here is what captivated me. This gifted preacher, perhaps the greatest since the Apostle Paul, was, by his own admission, a Calvinist - Reformed to the core, deeply committed to the doctrines of grace. But at the same time, he was an evangelist. How could one be both staunchly Calvinistic and passionately evangelistic?

 

[Reformed]

Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon , Part IV

continued.....

Spurgeon showed me. In one had, he firmly held the sovereignty of God in man's salvation. With the other hand, he extended the free offer of the gospel to all. He preached straightforward Calvinistic doctrine, then, in the same sermon, fervently urged lost sinners to call on the name of the Lord. Having expounded the truths of predestination, he then warned his listeners that if they refused Christ, their blood would be on their own hands. In sermon after sermon, this prolific preacher expounded God's sovereign grace with unmistakable precision. Yet, he did it with a genuine passion for the lost.

In concluded that this was what it must look like to be consumed with the glory of God in salvation of His elect and, at the same time, be filled with flaming zeal in reaching sinners with the gospel. There was no cold, clinical Calvinism here - no dead orthodoxy, no "frozen chosen" religion, no empty rehearsing of Reformed doctrine for people to take or leave as they might choose. Neither was there any shallow evangelicalism that portrayed God as pacing in heaven, wringing His hands, desperate for someone to accept Him. Instead, here was what the Puritans described as a fire in the pulpit, yielding both the light of Calvinistic truth and the heat of evangelistic passion.

continued...

 

[Reformed]

Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon , Part V

continued.....

In Spurgeon, I saw a historical example of what God was calling me to be and do. I finally understood that my Reformed theology was not a hindrance but a launching pad for evangelism. Here was the best of both worlds. I already had come to see clearly how these twin truths meet in the Bible. Now I could see how they come together in preaching.

 

[Squire Robertsson]

To hear these thoughts in Spurgeon's own words, one can view Through the Eyes of Spurgeon at:

http://throughtheeyesofspurgeon.com

I look forward to a disscussion of the documentary here:

http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=97343

 

[Reformed]

To hear these thoughts in Spurgeon's own words, one can view Through the Eyes of Spurgeon at:

http://throughtheeyesofspurgeon.com

I look forward to a disscussion of the documentary here:

http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=97343

I have a lot going on this weekend but I was able to watch about 40 minutes of the documentary. I like what I saw.

 

[Reformed]

Spurgeon was unique in that he did not let his theological distinctives impede his gospel ministry mandate. What Spurgeon understood, and what Lawson brings out in his book, is that God ordains the means of His calling sinners to repentance and faith. How shall they hear without a preacher (Rom. 10:14)?

 

[Squire Robertsson]

I know what you mean. I watched it first in ten-fifteen minute segments.

I have a lot going on this weekend but I was able to watch about 40 minutes of the documentary. I like what I saw.

 

[Reformed]

How does Spurgeon's view of Calvinism show up in his "Baptist Confession of Faith" document?

A better question is "where does it show up?" for it surely does. Here is a portion of Spurgeon's 1855 revision of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (underlining mine):


10. Effectual Calling

1. Those whom God has predestinated to life, He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time to effectually call by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death which they are in by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. He enlightens their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God. He takes away their heart of stone and gives to them a heart of flesh. He renews their wills, and by His almighty power, causes them to desire and pursue that which is good. He effectually draws them to Jesus Christ, yet in such a way that they come absolutely freely, being made willing by His grace.

2. This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not on account of anything at all foreseen in man. It is not made because of any power or agency in the creature who is wholly passive in the matter. Man is dead in sins and trespasses until quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit. By this he is enabled to answer the call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed by it. This enabling power is no less power than that which raised up Christ from the dead.

3. Infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, Who works when, where, and how He pleases. So also are all elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.

4. Others are not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may experience some common operations of the Spirit, yet because they are not effectually drawn by the Father, they will not and cannot truly come to Christ and therefore cannot be saved. Much less can men who do not embrace the Christian religion be saved, however diligent they may be to frame their lives according to the light of nature and the requirements of the religion they profess.

 

[BobRyan]

This is a great highlight on Spurgeon's view of a key doctrine in Calvinism - as we find it in the "Baptist Confession of Faith"

4. Others are not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may experience some common operations of the Spirit, yet because they are not effectually drawn by the Father, they will not and cannot truly come to Christ and therefore cannot be saved. Much less can men who do not embrace the Christian religion be saved, however diligent they may be to frame their lives according to the light of nature and the requirements of the religion they profess.

Clearly the statement above identified without question what Calvinism considers to be the determining element in all cases where one person is lost and another saved.


But in so doing - Spurgeon is stuck at the point of making God the author of His own "lament".

[FONT=&quot]“He CAME to HIS OWN and [/FONT][FONT=&quot]His OWN received Him not[/FONT][FONT=&quot]” John 1[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Matt 23[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]38“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Luke 7[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]28 [/FONT][FONT=&quot]When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]29 [/FONT][FONT=&quot]But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Is 5:4[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Response: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Well the Calvinist would have an answer for God's question on that one. An answer contrived via “extreme inference” in places like Deut 5:29. Calvinism would inform the world – and God Himself of just what God did to cause the lamentable result that God is complaining about in t[FONT=&quot]he verse above[/FONT].

[FONT=&quot]I[FONT=&quot]n Calvinism i[/FONT][/FONT]f the result is wrong if it is to be lamented if the question [FONT=&quot]is to be asked "What more could have been done" w[FONT=&quot]ell [/FONT][/FONT]then Calvinism argues He [FONT=&quot]knows exactly what He failed to do [/FONT] - [FONT=&quot]in effect [/FONT] sabotaging His own plans - the cause of His own "lament" - or at the very least - being forgetful to "do the necessary" as the saying goes in India.

[FONT=&quot]================================

[FONT=&quot]God's "lament" does not ask "what more could the LOST have done that they have not done" because He knows[FONT=&quot] exactly wh[FONT=&quot]at THEY could h[FONT=&quot]av[FONT=&quot]e [FONT=&quot]done.

[FONT=&quot]Rather [FONT=&quot]G[FONT=&quot]od asks[FONT=&quot] 'What MOR[FONT=&quot]E could I HAVE done that I did not do?" -- the very ques[FONT=&quot]tion [FONT=&quot]all Calvinists claim to have the answer for.[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

=======================

You have claimed that this lament is impossible because only God controls that outcome and he cannot save the lost. He must first make them saved because in your own doctrine only the already saved saints - accept the gospel as if they were lost and needed it.

 

[Iconoclast]

This is a great highlight on Spurgeon's view of a key doctrine in Calvinism - as we find it in the "Baptist Confession of Faith"



Clearly the statement above identified without question what Calvinism considers to be the determining element in all cases where one person is lost and another saved.


But in so doing - Spurgeon is stuck at the point of making God the author of His own "lament".

Your unbiblical and foolish "lament post" just demonstrates you are struggling mightily with the biblical God....

You cutting and pasting your own post just makes people ignore it as it has been shot down over and over:thumbs::thumbs:

 

[BobRyan]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

Originally Posted by Reformed

4. Others are not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may experience some common operations of the Spirit, yet because they are not effectually drawn by the Father, they will not and cannot truly come to Christ and therefore cannot be saved. Much less can men who do not embrace the Christian religion be saved, however diligent they may be to frame their lives according to the light of nature and the requirements of the religion they profess.

[FONT=&quot]


“He CAME to HIS OWN and [/FONT][FONT=&quot]His OWN received Him not[/FONT][FONT=&quot]” John 1[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Matt 23[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]38“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Luke 7[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]28 [/FONT][FONT=&quot]When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]29 [/FONT][FONT=&quot]But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Is 5:4[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Response: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Well the Calvinist would have an answer for God's question on that one. An answer contrived via “extreme inference” in places like Deut 5:29. Calvinism would inform the world – and God Himself of just what God did to cause the lamentable result that God is complaining about in t[FONT=&quot]he verse above[/FONT].

[FONT=&quot]I[FONT=&quot]n Calvinism i[/FONT][/FONT]f the result is wrong if it is to be lamented if the question [FONT=&quot]is to be asked "What more could have been done" w[FONT=&quot]ell [/FONT][/FONT]then Calvinism argues He [FONT=&quot]knows exactly what He failed to do [/FONT] - [FONT=&quot]in effect [/FONT] sabotaging His own plans - the cause of His own "lament" - or at the very least - being forgetful to "do the necessary" as the saying goes in India.

[FONT=&quot]================================

[FONT=&quot]God's "lament" does not ask "what more could the LOST have done that they have not done" because He knows[FONT=&quot] exactly wh[FONT=&quot]at THEY could h[FONT=&quot]av[FONT=&quot]e [FONT=&quot]done.

[FONT=&quot]Rather [FONT=&quot]G[FONT=&quot]od asks[FONT=&quot] 'What MOR[FONT=&quot]E could I HAVE done that I did not do?" -- the very ques[FONT=&quot]tion [FONT=&quot]all Calvinists claim to have the answer for.[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

Your unbiblical and foolish "lament post" just demonstrates you are struggling <obligatory rant deleted here>

A mean spirited post is not the solution to the Bible texts exposing the problem for Calvinism that you may have at first imagined-- obviously.

in Christ,

Bob

 

[Iconoclast]

There is nothing mean spirited here.I am just the messenger.You asked a question ....you are given an answer and do nt like it
you are spamming the board with your reposting of error.

 

[BobRyan]

Originally Posted by Iconoclast
Your unbiblical and foolish "lament post" just demonstrates you are struggling <obligatory rant deleted here>

There is nothing mean spirited here.

If that were true and your argument had the "ability" to provide a substantive response to the texts given above - you would have done it. -- obviously

As it is -- "by their fruits you shall know them".

you are obviously stuck because Spurgeon made my point for me in his statement as compared to the actual Bible texts exposing the flaw in Calvinism. Obviously.

Do you really think that "more retreat tactics" by Calvinists on this board as they run away from the problem is going to be viewed as "compelling solution" by the unbiased objective readers?

really??

Seriously??

who goes for that??

Why not repent and seek for a Bible based answer instead??

in Christ,

Bob

 

[Iconoclast]

Reformed

Thanks for this helpful series of posts.
Pastor Lawson takes the time to walk though what happened in His life and experience.

Many who read it perhaps are reminded of how they also learned this way. Several have been taught however they were to begin with, but in time they had a desire to grow and learn of God's great work of redemption. It is always exciting to hear a solid testimony of God working in real time!

As we know however...what the scripture teaches is the sole authority for faith and practice. Those like Pastor Lawson have come full circle however and It would seem God will continue using him and others like him to stabilize many who bounce of the shallow end of the pool, the entertainment and gimmicks and seek to be grounded and settled in the word.

 

[Iconoclast]

Spurgeon was unique in that he did not let his theological distinctives impede his gospel ministry mandate. What Spurgeon understood, and what Lawson brings out in his book, is that God ordains the means of His calling sinners to repentance and faith. How shall they hear without a preacher (Rom. 10:14)?

yes that is very clear in this portion from post 5

Spurgeon showed me. In one had, he firmly held the sovereignty of God in man's salvation.


With the other hand, he extended the free offer of the gospel to all. He preached straightforward Calvinistic doctrine, then, in the same sermon, fervently urged lost sinners to call on the name of the Lord.

Having expounded the truths of predestination, he then warned his listeners that if they refused Christ, their blood would be on their own hands. In sermon after sermon, this prolific preacher expounded God's sovereign grace with unmistakable precision. Yet, he did it with a genuine passion for the lost.

In concluded that this was what it must look like to be consumed with the glory of God in salvation of His elect and, at the same time, be filled with flaming zeal in reaching sinners with the gospel. There was no cold, clinical Calvinism here - no dead orthodoxy, no "frozen chosen" religion, no empty rehearsing of Reformed doctrine for people to take or leave as they might choose.


Neither was there any shallow evangelicalism that portrayed God as pacing in heaven, wringing His hands, desperate for someone to accept Him. Instead, here was what the Puritans described as a fire in the pulpit, yielding both the light of Calvinistic truth and the heat of evangelistic passion.

it sounds as if he was reacting in his own experience to the caricatures that many offer ..instead of facing and discussing truth.

 

[Iconoclast]

BobRyan

If that were true and your argument had the "ability" to provide a substantive response to the texts given above - you would have done it. -- obviously

Until you can offer a real response to jn 12:32......no one is going to take you serious:thumbs:

Quoting romans 2 and trying to introduce Heb 8....is fantasyland.It has nothing to do with Jn 12.....The reason is...you do not understand any of those portions of scripture.
Do not blame that on Calvinists. You are following the teachings of a false teacher in Ellen G.White[ she claimed over 200 visions I am told:BangHead:

Anyone holding to the teaching of that Church has a different authority than the bible alone, in that if you allow her visions to enter in...you dilute truth of necessity......that leads to your completely missing Romans 2.

You are not going to give up her false teaching....so you at this point reject any sound teaching that comes your way.

I was speaking with a JW one time and he wanted to discuss eschatology in detail.....I told him there was not much point, because as long as he denied Jesus as God ...his future was the second death.....so His "view" of end times did not matter at all...He needed to be saved and be given a new heart by Divine enablement being born from above.
The natural man cannot understand the truths of the word of God.
If he is devoid of the Spirit.....he will get it wrong everytime. 1cor 2...

Have you ever seen what others say about this church..look what I found-


http://www.exadventist.com/home/intro/tabid/64/default.aspx


http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False Religions/Seventh-Day Adventist/sda_not_christian.htm

 

[BobRyan]

This is a great highlight on Spurgeon's view of a key doctrine in Calvinism - as we find it in the "Baptist Confession of Faith"

Quoting Spurgeon
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reformed

4. Others are not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may experience some common operations of the Spirit, yet because they are not effectually drawn by the Father, they will not and cannot truly come to Christ and therefore cannot be saved. Much less can men who do not embrace the Christian religion be saved, however diligent they may be to frame their lives according to the light of nature and the requirements of the religion they profess.

Clearly the statement above identified without question what Calvinism considers to be the determining element in all cases where one person is lost and another saved.


But in so doing - Spurgeon is stuck at the point of making God the author of His own "lament".

Quote:
Originally Posted by BobRyan


[FONT=&quot]“He CAME to HIS OWN and [/FONT][FONT=&quot]His OWN received Him not[/FONT][FONT=&quot]” John 1[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Matt 23[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]38“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Luke 7[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]28 [/FONT][FONT=&quot]When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]29 [/FONT][FONT=&quot]But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Is 5:4[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Response: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Well the Calvinist would have an answer for God's question on that one. An answer contrived via “extreme inference” in places like Deut 5:29. Calvinism would inform the world – and God Himself of just what God did to cause the lamentable result that God is complaining about in t[FONT=&quot]he verse above[/FONT].

[FONT=&quot]I[FONT=&quot]n Calvinism i[/FONT][/FONT]f the result is wrong if it is to be lamented if the question [FONT=&quot]is to be asked "What more could have been done" w[FONT=&quot]ell [/FONT][/FONT]then Calvinism argues He [FONT=&quot]knows exactly what He failed to do [/FONT] - [FONT=&quot]in effect [/FONT] sabotaging His own plans - the cause of His own "lament" - or at the very least - being forgetful to "do the necessary" as the saying goes in India.

[FONT=&quot]================================

[FONT=&quot]God's "lament" does not ask "what more could the LOST have done that they have not done" because He knows[FONT=&quot] exactly wh[FONT=&quot]at THEY could h[FONT=&quot]av[FONT=&quot]e [FONT=&quot]done.

[FONT=&quot]Rather [FONT=&quot]G[FONT=&quot]od asks[FONT=&quot] 'What MOR[FONT=&quot]E could I HAVE done that I did not do?" -- the very ques[FONT=&quot]tion [FONT=&quot]all Calvinists claim to have the answer for.[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

=======================

some on this board have claimed that this lament is impossible because only God controls that outcome and he cannot save the lost. He must first make them saved because in your own doctrine only the already saved saints - accept the gospel as if they were lost and needed it.

And it appears that Spurgeon endorsed that last sentence (regarding the sentiment in SavedByMercy's posts) at least to some degree in his comment above.

Reformed

Thanks for this helpful series of posts.

I agree with that part of Iconoclast's post.

And by way of example would add -- the information noted above - very "instructive".

in Christ,

Bob