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What Made Charles H. Spurgeon The Prince Of Preachers

salzer mtn

salzer mtn

Well-Known Member
I have asked some Calvinist about what they thought of Spurgeon and some say his messages became weaker in the doctrines of grace as he became older. I have a full set of the Spurgeon sermons and i have noticed the messages in the New Park Street Pulpit are higher calvinistic than the Metropolitan Pulpit. The Metropolitan Pulpit sermons seem to be more of practical preaching than doctrinal preaching. Do you think his success was based upon the fact he preached man's responsibility right along side of Gods sovereignty ? Was his preaching more well rounded than other grace preachers like John Gill. From what i have read John Gill was his predecessor at the New Park Street Church and when Spurgeon took the pastorship the church was in a decline in attendance. Had grace preacher of Spurgeons day took God's sovereignty to far to the extreem and did God use Spurgeon to tone it down some ? What do you think ?
 
SovereignMercy

SovereignMercy

Member
There were several pastors between Gill and Spurgeon. The decline was not during Gill's time. Not sure about the "change" in Spurgeon's preaching though.
 
I

Iconoclast

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Many pastors will go into a church and preach messages outlining and detailing the truths of God's grace.
Once the truth is established ,particularly in a church that uses a confession of faith,and cathechism for general teaching....the pastor is then freed up to speak on all the many other areas of teaching and preaching found in scripture.
Many of the themes would deal with sanctification and growth in grace....in doing what we are commanded to do, rather than just knowing about them .

Some like to pull quotes from Spurgeon as if he did not believe the 5 pts, but this is quite foolish. Once established he would "take liberties "with texts to prevent abuses to the core teaching as they would unfold in the congregation,and he would warn about such a narrow focus.
 
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Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
salzer mtn said:
I have asked some Calvinist about what they thought of Spurgeon and some say his messages became weaker in the doctrines of grace as he became older. I have a full set of the Spurgeon sermons and i have noticed the messages in the New Park Street Pulpit are higher calvinistic than the Metropolitan Pulpit. The Metropolitan Pulpit sermons seem to be more of practical preaching than doctrinal preaching. Do you think his success was based upon the fact he preached man's responsibility right along side of Gods sovereignty ? Was his preaching more well rounded than other grace preachers like John Gill. From what i have read John Gill was his predecessor at the New Park Street Church and when Spurgeon took the pastorship the church was in a decline in attendance. Had grace preacher of Spurgeons day took God's sovereignty to far to the extreem and did God use Spurgeon to tone it down some ? What do you think ?
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he was a gifted speaker/expositer of the word of god, and learned to submit to the lord, and to have the empowering of/from the HS to preach and teach Christ!

Thing is that ANY preacher/pastor/teacher can be used by God in a similiar way, its just do they want to go Gods way in doing their ministry or not?
 
SovereignMercy

SovereignMercy

Member
John R. Rice also edited a lot of Spurgeon material, taking out calvinistic references you may have read some of his editions. John Wesley dud the same thing to Augustus Toplady only he did it while Toplady was still live nd could expose him.
 
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Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
SovereignMercy said:
John R. Rice also edited a lot of Spurgeon material, taking out calvinistic references you may have read some of his editions. John Wesley dud the same thing to Augustus Toplady only he did it while Toplady was still live nd could expose him.
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he preached a high sovereign view regarding God and salvation, yet also said that all sinners going to hell have to drag themselves over the bodires of the saints urgently praying to God for their salvations!
 
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HeirofSalvation

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Not that I'm an authority on Spurgeon's work....but it wasn't his committment either way to Calvininism nor his passion for it.

Invariably.....Arminians/non-Calvinists are as likely to call Spurgeon the "Prince of Preachers"...as anyone else would.

Why don't you start looking at the OBVIOUS factoid...that he was preaching at the age of 19 (just for starters). He was VERY prolific at least. That's a HUGE starter in his favour.

Don't de-rail your own thread by thinking that it was his mastery of TULIP that rendered him so UNIVERSALLY respected....because I promise you...it wasn't.
When, for the last 50-ish years Arminians were nominally in un-challenged control of all Theological thought in the Western World...Spurgeon still maintained his status as "Prince of Preachers" not-withstanding. It was Arminians and not Calvinists who have preserved the historical respect he deserves....Don't kid yourself into thinking that it was his particular Soteriological views that made him such....it wasn't.

For as long as you insist on viewing Spurgeon's accomplishments through the lense of his "Calvinism"....you will NEVER know the answer to the question you ask. It had little or nothing to do with it.

Whatever was so amazingly unique about Spurgeon....he would have possessed that same unction whether he were a Calvinist or an Arminian.
His committment to TULIP wasn't the issue...any more than Wesley's committment to TULIP was.
 
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Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
HeirofSalvation said:
Not that I'm an authority on Spurgeon's work....but it wasn't his committment either way to Calvininism nor his passion for it.

Invariably.....Arminians/non-Calvinists are as likely to call Spurgeon the "Prince of Preachers"...as anyone else would.

Why don't you start looking at the OBVIOUS factoid...that he was preaching at the age of 19 (just for starters). He was VERY prolific at least. That's a HUGE starter in his favour.

Don't de-rail your own thread by thinking that it was his mastery of TULIP that rendered him so UNIVERSALLY respected....because I promise you...it wasn't.
When, for the last 50-ish years Arminians were nominally in un-challenged control of all Theological thought in the Western World...Spurgeon still maintained his status as "Prince of Preachers" not-withstanding. It was Arminians and not Calvinists who have preserved the historical respect he deserves....Don't kid yourself into thinking that it was his particular Soteriological views that made him such....it wasn't.

For as long as you insist on viewing Spurgeon's accomplishments through the lense of his "Calvinism"....you will NEVER know the answer to the question you ask. It had little or nothing to do with it.

Whatever was so amazingly unique about Spurgeon....he would have possessed that same unction whether he were a Calvinist or an Arminian.
His committment to TULIP wasn't the issue...any more than Wesley's committment to TULIP was.
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it was his commitment to jesus, and relying upon the Holy spirit to empower him to preach christ!

But his calvinism did give him the assurance/confidence to be bold and stand firm upon the Lord saving in the preaching/teaching of christ!
 
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HeirofSalvation

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Yeshua1 said:
it was his commitment to jesus, and relying upon the Holy spirit to empower him to preach christ!
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Yes........
But his calvinism did give him the assurance/confidence to be bold and stand firm upon the Lord saving in the preaching/teaching of christ!
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No........that's seriously missing the point....it wasn't.

Wesley may have been as much a "Prince of Preachers" as Spurgeon was....and I DEFY you to find a man more dedicated. You aren't getting it.

I think Calvinists are smart people in general....but any Calvie who actually would maintain that it was Spurgeon's committment to Calvinism which earned him that moniker...is TOTALLY missing the point.

This "assurance/confidence" <--as though confidence were a Scriptural term). Isn't the point...

Tell you what, I'll just watch you and some fellow Calvies self-implode in your frankly laughably ridiculous thinking that Spurgeon's legend was commensurate with his adherence to "TULIP". Yeah...sure it was.

Guess what, I'm actually Cindy Lauper...and your beloved puppy-dog ACTUALLY went to a "farm" where he could happily run freely. No, the vet didn't murder precious Fido... He's at a "FARM"...
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Luke2427

Active Member
SovereignMercy said:
John R. Rice also edited a lot of Spurgeon material, taking out calvinistic references you may have read some of his editions. John Wesley dud the same thing to Augustus Toplady only he did it while Toplady was still live nd could expose him.
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Right.

Sword of the Lord still does this today.

They love Spurgeon but are almost dishonest about what he REALLY preached.
 
L

Luke2427

Active Member
HeirofSalvation said:
Not that I'm an authority on Spurgeon's work....but it wasn't his committment either way to Calvininism nor his passion for it.

Invariably.....Arminians/non-Calvinists are as likely to call Spurgeon the "Prince of Preachers"...as anyone else would.

Why don't you start looking at the OBVIOUS factoid...that he was preaching at the age of 19 (just for starters). He was VERY prolific at least. That's a HUGE starter in his favour.

Don't de-rail your own thread by thinking that it was his mastery of TULIP that rendered him so UNIVERSALLY respected....because I promise you...it wasn't.
When, for the last 50-ish years Arminians were nominally in un-challenged control of all Theological thought in the Western World...Spurgeon still maintained his status as "Prince of Preachers" not-withstanding. It was Arminians and not Calvinists who have preserved the historical respect he deserves....Don't kid yourself into thinking that it was his particular Soteriological views that made him such....it wasn't.

For as long as you insist on viewing Spurgeon's accomplishments through the lense of his "Calvinism"....you will NEVER know the answer to the question you ask. It had little or nothing to do with it.

Whatever was so amazingly unique about Spurgeon....he would have possessed that same unction whether he were a Calvinist or an Arminian.
His committment to TULIP wasn't the issue...any more than Wesley's committment to TULIP was.
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I agree.

Tozer was an Arminian but he had similar impact and I'll tell you what they both had in common.

They preached a VERY BIG GOD.

As a teenager I was an avid reader of the sermons of the greats.

After years of reading them I asked, "What is it that these men had that enabled them to shake their world for Christ?" I learned they all had one thing in common. They always made a very big deal of Jesus Christ in their sermons. Whether they emphasized his power, his holiness, his love or whatever- they set out to make people sit in awe of the Christ.

As Spurgeon said, "Pick a text and make a bee line for Calvary."

That philosophy mingled with his God gifted unique communication talents is what made Spurgeon great.
 
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M

MB

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't call him the prince of preachers. I've read a small amount of his sermons and I wasn't impressed.
MB
 
salzer mtn

salzer mtn

Well-Known Member
MB said:
I wouldn't call him the prince of preachers. I've read a small amount of his sermons and I wasn't impressed.
MB
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When i came across this post i had just finished reading a sermon by Spurgeon on From Death To Life. I will copy one small paragraph of this great preacher that i have learned so much by. "If you look upon sickness and restoration as merely the products of natural causes, you will not feel humbled when you are stretched upon the bed, nor grateful when you walk out again and breath the fresh air; but if you see God's finger in touching your bones and your flesh, you will be humbled under the chastisement; and if you discern his hand, in restoring your youth, like the eagles, you will be able, like David, to say, Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benifits. Let other forget God if they will, that is the attribute of the wicked; but let his saints remember him, and let them speak well of his name, and have in it their mouths all the day long". Praise God for Spurgeon, he that is dead still speaketh.
 
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Luke2427

Active Member
MB said:
I wouldn't call him the prince of preachers. I've read a small amount of his sermons and I wasn't impressed.
MB
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Some people read Shakespeare and are not impressed. Some listen to Luciano Pavarotti and are not impressed.

That does not mean that Shakespeare and Pavarotti are not incredibly talented at what they do- it means that there are people who are not at a level where they can recognize and appreciate that talent.

As you grow in the faith and as you expand your reading of great Christian works you will learn to appreciate Spurgeon greatly.

You may not be yet at the level where you can now.
 
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Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Luke2427 said:
Some people read Shakespeare and are not impressed. Some listen to Luciano Pavarotti and are not impressed.

That does not mean that Shakespeare and Pavarotti are not incredibly talented at what they do- it means that there are people who are not at a level where they can recognize and appreciate that talent.

As you grow in the faith and as you expand your reading of great Christian works you will learn to appreciate Spurgeon greatly.

You may not be yet at the level where you can now.
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Think it was due to himbeing the 'prince of calvinists" in some peoples opinions why was not liked!
 
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