THIS
238-page book is a collection of Spurgeon’s sermons (unabridged and modernized
English) that cover all “five points” of the Doctrines of Grace. They were
carefully selected to present Spurgeon’s teaching accurately and succinctly so
there won’t be any misunderstanding or misrepresenting. We are deeply indebted
to Larry Pierce (the developer of the classic Bible software program, The
Online Bible) and his wife Marion for their diligent labor in modernizing
Spurgeon’s sermons, a task they began in 2008 and plan to complete in 2018.
They graciously granted permission to use these modernized versions for this
book. We have also added: more visible section headings and subheadings;
additional paragraph breaks to split unusually long paragraphs; Scripture
references in brackets so they can be listed in the “Scripture Index”; the
occasional footnote to add helpful information or explanation; a four-page
Publisher’s Preface; and an eleven-page biographical sketch of Spurgeon.
Following an Introduction using Spurgeon’s “A Defense of Calvinism,” this
collection includes 12 of his sermons: “The Unconquerable King,” “Divine
Sovereignty,” “Human Inability,” “Free Will a Slave,” “God’s Will and Man’s
Will,” “Election,” “The Death Of Christ,” “Particular Redemption,” “Effectual
Calling,” “The Security of Believers; or, Sheep Who Shall Never Perish,”
“Perseverance of the Saints;” and “High Doctrine” (the Conclusion). [1
Copy, $12.00; 2–3 copies, $11.00 ea.; 4–5 copies, $10.00; 6+, $9.00 ea. — Also
available on Amazon.com and for Kindle Reader.]
Contents
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Publisher’s Preface.................................................................
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7
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Introduction: “A Defense of Calvinism”....................................
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11
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Part I: The
Sovereignty of God
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1
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“The Unconquerable King”......................................................
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27
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2
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“Divine Sovereignty”..............................................................
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43
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Part II: Total
Depravity
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3
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“Human Inability”...................................................................
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57
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4
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“Free Will a Slave”.................................................................
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71
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5
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“God’s Will and Man’s Will”...................................................
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87
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Part III:
Unconditional Election
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6
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“Election”..............................................................................
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105
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Part IV: Limited
Atonement
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7
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“The Death Of Christ”............................................................
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127
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8
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“Particular Redemption”..........................................................
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141
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Part V:
Irresistible Grace
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9
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“Effectual Calling”..................................................................
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159
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Part VI:
Perseverance of the Saints
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10
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173
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11
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“Perseverance of the Saints”....................................................
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189
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Conclusion: “High Doctrine”....................................................
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205
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Appendix A: A Biographical Sketch of Charles
Spurgeon.............
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221
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Appendix B: Recommending Reading........................................
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233
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Scripture Index......................................................................
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235
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Other Books..........................................................................
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239
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Publisher’s Preface
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ON APRIL 11, 1861, upon
the opening of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892)
sponsored a Bible Conference on the theme “Exposition of the Doctrines of
Grace.” He and five other speakers expounded on “Election,” “Human Depravity,”
“Particular Redemption,” “Effectual Calling,” and “Final Perseverance of
Believers in Christ Jesus.”[1]
Spurgeon introduced the conference with these words:
It may happen this afternoon that the term “Calvinism” may be frequently used. Let it not be misunderstood, we only use the term for shortness. That doctrine which is called “Calvinism” did not spring from Calvin; we believe that it sprang from the great founder of all truth. . . . We use the term then, not because we impute any extraordinary importance to Calvin’s having taught these doctrines. We would be just as willing to call them by any other name, if we could find one which would be better understood, and which on the whole would be as consistent with fact.[2]
We sincerely believe that the term
“Doctrines of Grace” does just that. It makes the doctrines in question more
understandable and makes them easier to receive. So, although we still use the
term “Calvinism,” we, along with Spurgeon, use the term “Doctrines of Grace”
much more often.
Arminian evangelicals try to downplay
Spurgeon’s strong Calvinistic theology and preaching, but their attempts are
futile. Himself a Baptist, most all the Baptists of his day abandoned him for
his strong positions on grace as well as his stand against the pragmatism that
had developed (just like today).[3]
A quotation from one radical Arminian (much like the founder of SSP once was)
will illustrate:
Charles Haddon Spurgeon never preached one sermon a year on “the five points of Calvinism.” Although he claimed to be a pure Calvinist, Spurgeon had more sense than to emphasize publicly what Calvin professed to have believed about salvation. Anyone reading the set of sermons from the Metropolitan Tabernacle (printed in more than ten volumes, containing more than fifty sermons in a volume) knows where Spurgeon put his emphasis: out of a thousand sermons, Spurgeon never wasted ten of them on “the FIVE POINTS OF CALVINISM.” Those who mention “Sovereign Grace” (not a Bible expression) and a “Sovereign God” (not a Bible expression) every time they open their mouths are not kin to Edwards, Spurgeon . . . or Whitefield, although they may fancy themselves to be.[4]
This peroration is typical of the
misunderstanding and ignorance that exists among many. There are several
statements here that are historically inaccurate or simply inconsistent.
The statement, for example, that “Charles Haddon Spurgeon
never preached one sermon a year on ‘the five points of Calvinism’” is incredibly inaccurate. A quick review of
Spurgeon’s preaching proves this. The New
Park Street Pulpit is a six-volume work covering his first six years at
that church. After the completion of the new tabernacle, the series name was
then changed to The Metropolitan
Tabernacle Pulpit. The fact is that in his first year (Volume 1, 1855) Spurgeon
preached three sermons dedicated to sovereign grace subjects: “Election” (two
parts) and “Free-will¾a Slave.” In his second year, he preached four:
“Sovereignty in Salvation,” “Effectual Calling,” “Final Perseverance,” and
“Divine Sovereignty.” In his third year, he preached two: “Particular
Election,” and “Salvation is of the Lord.” In his fourth year, he preached
five: “The Death of Christ,” “Particular Redemption,” “Human Inability,”
“Providence,” and “Sovereign Grace and Man’s Responsibility.” In his fifth
year, he preached three: “Free Grace,” “Predestination and Calling,” and “Man’s
Ruin and God’s Remedy.” Finally, in his sixth year, Spurgeon preached three:
“The Treasure of Grace,” “Election and Holiness,” and “High Doctrine.” In the
very next year, he sponsored the aforementioned Bible Conference. If we may
also add, these sermons are merely the obvious
ones. The message of sovereign grace permeates all of Spurgeon’s preaching.
That author obviously downplays Spurgeon’s Calvinism in
order to “defend” Spurgeon, no doubt because of the great “soul winner”
Spurgeon was, and the author, like most Arminians, believes that Calvinists are
not evangelistic; Spurgeon, therefore, becomes somewhat of an enigma. If this
author were consistent, however, he would totally condemn Spurgeon, for the
author writes in another one of his books: “Keep Hyper-Calvinists OUT of your
assembly, and expose their teaching to all the members you keep.”[5]
It’s important to note that on the page preceding that statement, the author
incorrectly defines “Hyper-Calvinist,” saying it refers to anyone who accepts
the “five points,” which is patently false. He then tries to deny that Spurgeon
held the “five points” by saying that he only “professed to espouse them” (emphasis in the original). We have a
difficult time understanding how the author knows this, for the fact is that
Spurgeon was, by the author’s definition, a
“Hyper-Calvinist.”
That author also has little to say about John Calvin that is
not condemnatory, making such comments as, “[The first] four of Calvin’s points
are theological hot air,”[6]
when, of course, they were not Calvin’s “points” at all. He also writes, “The Remonstrance
presented a five point answer to Calvin’s five point TULIP system,”[7]
when, as is effortlessly proven, just the opposite was true. The five points of
the Remonstrance, which attacked the orthodox doctrines of sovereign grace that
had stood for centuries, were presented in 1618 but condemned at the Synod of
Dort. Of the 130 present at the Synod, in fact, only 13 defended the views of
James Arminius (who was already deceased) and his followers.
In his unrelenting vilification of Calvin, that author goes
on to add that Calvin was “a very shallow student of the Bible” and that “the
trouble with Calvin was pure egotism and
rejection of the truths of God due to willful
ignorance.”[8] How tragic
it is when prejudice blinds us to facts. Compare that author’s obviously
clouded opinion of Calvin with Spurgeon’s honest appraisal: Calvin “knew more
about the Gospel than almost any man who has ever lived, uninspired.”[9]
As for the terms “Sovereign Grace” and “Sovereign God” not
being “Bible expressions,” neither is “trinity,” but the author uses that term
in his writings. All these terms are as much biblical teachings as are “depravity
of man,” “eternal security,” and “indwelling Holy Spirit,” even though these
exact wordings do not appear. Also, concerning those who mention God’s
sovereignty “every time they open their mouths” not being “kin” to Whitefield,
Edwards, and Spurgeon (the correct order, by the way), not only was Spurgeon’s
theology rooted in the Doctrines of Grace, but the same was equally true of
George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards.
One other quotation from that author will sum up: “Now
[since] we don’t have time to go into the intricacies of this system . . . we
will be accused of misrepresenting the system (that is, an old Jesuit, Roman
Catholic procedure).”[10]
In this case, the author is quite correct; he is misrepresenting the system.
That brings us to the present volume. This
is a collection of Spurgeon’s sermons that cover all “five points” of the
Doctrines of Grace. They were carefully selected to present Spurgeon’s teaching
accurately and succinctly so there won’t be any misunderstanding or misrepresenting.
We are deeply indebted to Larry Pierce (the developer of the classic Bible
software program, The Online Bible) and his wife Marion for their
diligent labor in modernizing Spurgeon’s sermons, a task they began in 2008 and
plan to complete in 2018. They graciously granted permission to use these
modernized versions. Their labors made the following adjustments to these
priceless gems:
- The language was updated, including Bible verses (e.g., “thees and thous,” “eth” in verbs, etc.).
- Footnotes were added to explain allusions in sermons to things not commonly known.
- Obvious errors in the original sermons or the printed copies were corrected.
- The text was carefully proofed to ensure the highest quality. The reprint of the original sermons by Pilgrim Publications was the basis for proofing. For each sermon, the volume and page number were added to the Pilgrim Publications versions, making it easy to refer back to the original untouched sermon.
- Sermons that were once abridged were restored to their original fullness.
We have also taken the liberty of a few additional adjustments.
For ease of reading, more visible section headings and
subheadings have been added. Additional paragraph breaks were also inserted to
split unusually long paragraphs (we pray this offends no “Spurgeon purists”).
Scripture references for quoted verses have been inserted in brackets so they
can be listed in the “Scripture Index.” Finally, additional footnotes were
added to provide helpful information or explanation.
It is our sincere hope and fervent prayer that these classic
sermons from the Prince of Preachers will encourage the present generation to
passionately embrace our Historic Faith.
[2] The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol.
7, 298. Sermon #385–388.
[3] See Ian
Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon, for a
marvelous presentation of Spurgeon as he really was, not “a genial Victorian
pulpiteer, a kind of grandfather of modern evangelicalism” (back cover) rather
a strong, outspoken Calvinist who fought three great controversies in his
ministry: a diluted Gospel that was popular when he arrived in London in the
1850’s, the Baptismal Regeneration debate of 1864, and the Downgrade
Controversy of 1887–1891.
[4] Peter Ruckman, History
of the New Testament Church (Pensacola: Bible Baptist Bookstore, 1982,
1989), Vol. I, 403 (emphasis in the original).
[5] Peter S.
Ruckman, The Local Church (Pensacola:
Bible Baptist Bookstore, 1989), 37 (emphasis in the original).
[6] Ruckman, History of the New Testament Church,
Vol. I, 350.
[7] Ibid, Vol.
I, 401.
[8] Ibid, Vol.
I, 350, 352 (emphasis in the original).
[9] “Particular
Redemption,” Sermon #181.
[10] Ruckman, The Local Church, 36.
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