LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

TO PURSUE UNION AT THE EXPENSE OF TRUTH IS TREASON TO THE LORD JESUS THE DOWN-GRADE CONTROVERSY AND CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON

A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. A. J. SMITH IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE COURSE CHHI 694

LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

BY ELKE SPELIOPOULOS

DOWNINGTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2012

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON .............................................................................................. 1 THEOLOGICAL MOVEMENT AROUND SPURGEON ............................................................ 4 SPURGEONS REACTION TO HIGHER CRITICISM ............................................................... 5 THE DOWN-GRADE CONTROVERSY IN THE SWORD AND TROWEL ............................. 9 THE IMPACT OF THE DOWN GRADE CONTROVERSY ..................................................... 11 SPURGEONS WITHDRAWAL FROM THE BAPTIST UNION ......................................... 12 REACTIONS FROM PEERS ................................................................................................... 12 BAPTIST UNION CENSORSHIP ........................................................................................... 16 SPURGEONS FINAL YEARS ................................................................................................... 17 TODAYS DOWN-GRADE CONTROVERSIES ....................................................................... 19 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 19 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 21

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INTRODUCTION Charles Haddon Spurgeon, often referred to as the Prince of Preachers, serves as a role model of a great defender of truth. As the inspiration and absolute reliability of Scripture came under attack, in particular as Darwins theory of evolution began to take root, Spurgeon exhibited a great hunger and thirst for the truth of Gods Word to remain untainted and took a valiant stand for the truth of the Bible. Even though relatively few sided with him at the time, Spurgeons courage in withdrawing from the Baptist Union over this issue sets him apart as a defender of true biblical faith. From Spurgeons experience, several lessons can be taken away for dealing with the theological issues in todays world. The struggle for preserving the Word of God and safeguarding truths such as the Trinity and biblical inerrancy are never far from the body of Christ. The more believers can learn from the lessons of those who have gone before, the better equipped they will be to stand up when it is time for them to be counted among the faithful fighting for truth to be preserved. CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON In order to understand Spurgeons fervor in protecting the Gospel in later years, it is important to understand how he arrived at that point. Spurgeon was born on June 19, 1834 as the son of a Congregational minister, John Spurgeon, and his wife Eliza. While born into a succession of Congregationalists, his ancestral line actually included other denominations: Huguenots and Quakers.1 His unique middle name was given to him in appreciation of a friend of his paternal grandfather, who had owned a country shop before becoming a pastor. This friend had given Charles grandfather monies to buy cheese for his shop without interest, citing his
P. Toon, Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, in Who's Who in Christian History, ed. J.D. Douglas and Philip W. Comfort (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992), 636.
1

Christian integrity as sufficient reason to advance money for cheese purchases at a local cheese fair.2 Fourteen months after his birth, he was taken to his paternal grandparents home in a small, remote village of Stambourne, where he spent the following five years. This may be due to the fact that his mother was only nineteen years old when she gave birth to him, and another child followed the very next year.3 His grandfather Reverend James Spurgeon, a Congregational minister like his father, was the pastor of the Congregational church in Stambourne. Reverend Spurgeon was educated in London and held a deep knowledge of both Bible and Puritan writings, and young Charles got to spend much time with his grandfather.4 James Spurgeon would even keep Charles with him when parishioners called for advice and prayer. He also allowed the young boy to be part of meetings with other ministers in which theological topics were discussed, which young Charles listened to intently.5 Dallimore writes, Life in the Spurgeon home was built around the Scriptures. The Bible was not only read, but it was also believed with unquestioning assurance of its inerrancy. Likewise prayer was made in the full realization that God heard and would answer according to His sovereign will.6 Charles took an early interest in books, and his Aunt Ann taught him to read: Even at six years old, when some children have advanced no further in spelling than words of one syllable, he could read out with a point and emphasis marvelous in one so young.7 In the summer of 1844, the well-known preacher Richard Knill traveled through Spurgeons grandfathers town. Knill spent significant time with the young Spurgeon during this visit, and he eventually
2 3 4 5 6 7

Lewis A. Drummond, Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1992), 75. Arnold A. Dallimore, Spurgeon: A New Biography (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1985), 4. Drummond, Spurgeon, 5. Dallimore, Spurgeon: A New Biography, 5. Ibid., 6. Ibid.

pronounced a prophetic statement over Charles: This child will one day preach the Gospel, and he will preach it to great multitudes. Im persuaded that he will preach in the chapel of Rowland Hills where I am now the minister. Yet despite this promising upbringing, young Spurgeon experienced a crisis of faith at the age of fifteen. He had rarely heard a blasphemy, yet suddenly his mind engaged in cursing of God and man. He began to question his faith, even to the point of considering denying the existence of God.8 Spurgeons conversion story is well-known: in the December of 1849, he slipped into a Primitive Methodist Church in Colchester that he had never visited before. The pastor was prevented from coming to his own service due to a significant snow fall, and instead a layman was preaching rather poorly, as Spurgeon would later write to a small group of parishioners from Isaiah 45:22, which reads Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. (KJV) The words began to sink deeply into Spurgeons heart. At one point the lay preacher looked directly at Spurgeon in the back pew and said to him, Young man, you look very miserable. And you will always be miserable miserable in life and miserable in death if you dont obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved. It was in this moment that Spurgeon saw the way of salvation and trusted Christ.9 A discussion with a Church of England clergyman convinced Spurgeon of believers baptism, and so it was that on May 3, 1850, his mothers birthday, at almost 16 years of age and despite his parents slowness in consenting to his baptism, Charles Spurgeon was baptized by the nearest Baptist minister, Reverend. W. W. Cantlow.10
8 9

Ibid., 17. Ibid., 18-19. Ibid., 25-26.

10

Spurgeon very quickly proved to be a capable young preacher, and in the fall of 1851, he was asked to pastor a church in Waterbeach, which he continued to pastor until he was 19.11 A series of events led to Spurgeon being called to pastor New Park Street Baptist Church in London. Here he married Susannah on January 8, 1856, who had been at his first evening service in London.12 One interesting observation about their relationship comes from Dallimore: Susannah and Charles were very well suited. Though Spurgeon was militant and fearless in his stand for the truth of God, he was also a very tender and sensitive man, and he needed kindness and understanding in a wife.13 They had twin boys, Charles and Thomas, the following year. The same year, Spurgeon began to preach at Surrey Gardens Music Hall, where his congregation virtually exploded. Ultimately, the congregation built the Metropolitan Tabernacle, which would seat 3,600 and offered overflow capacity for 2,000 more.14 THEOLOGICAL MOVEMENT AROUND SPURGEON Patrick R. Leland summarizes the theological and ecclesiological landscape in England well when he describes it with the words, Nineteenth-century England was a caldron of ideological disturbance.15 New ideas had begun to infiltrate even the churches. These positions were centered primarily on the concepts of evolution, which in its outworking denied a creation of human life by God, and of higher criticism, which attempted to stab holes into the inerrancy of Scripture via such approaches as Wellhausens documentary hypothesis. Religion was impacted as these influences continued to grow and began being taught in schools and seminaries.
11 12 13 14 15

Ibid., 34-36. Ibid., 59. Ibid. Ibid., 93.

Patrick R. Leland, Anti-Creedalism in the Down Grade Controversy, Baptist History And Heritage 31, no. 2 (April 1996): 33.

While Evangelicalism acted as a moral anchor of English society in the nineteenth century, Drummond explains that paradoxically, as the nineteenth century progressed, a rational skepticism seemed to grow with it, at least in the more intellectual circles. This aggressive skepticism precipitated a serious challenge to the churches.16 Drummond continues that the writings of men like David Strauss and Julius Wellhausen shook the faith of many.17 In particular the English Baptists felt the strain introduced. Throughout a large part of their history, Baptists had traditionally refused to compose and deploy creeds of faith and to use them as tests of orthodoxy. One of the reasons for such a reluctance or unwillingness was the tie to the congregational polity within Baptist churches, which affirmed the autonomy of each local church. Baptists had been in a state of relative theological agreement, yet the influences of the 19th century on science and religion soon gave rise to new trends in theological thinking. While before the arrival of these new teachings there had been a somewhat homogenous spectrum of theological understanding, this was suddenly no longer true. The tensions created over a reluctance to put theological understanding into creedal statement coupled with seeming advances in scientific and religious thought, placed a great deal of stress in particular on English Baptists. The Down-Grade controversy of 1887-1888 (and really lingering until the time of Spurgeons death on January 31, 1892) was a direct outgrowth of this friction.18 SPURGEONS REACTION TO HIGHER CRITICISM Spurgeon had begun to preach in London in 1854 and experienced tremendous growth in his congregation. In the decade leading up to the Down-Grade controversy, there had been a what can only be described as period of theological decline, which David P. Kingdom
16 17 18

Drummond, Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers, 43. Ibid. Leland, Baptist History and Heritage.

describes as happening in an organization made up of a complex and confused ecclesiastical situation.19 The Baptist Union, of which Spurgeon was a member, was originally founded in 1813. At its reorganization in 1832, it was describing itself as a union made up of Baptist ministers and churches agreeing on the principles, which were typically summarized as evangelical in nature. However, by 1873, the Union no longer agreed on such a description, and the only qualification for membership, adopted in a statement of purpose, was deemed to be immersion of the believer as the only valid form of Christian baptism.20 At the 1873 meeting, Spurgeon argued that there was a clear need for staying true to the moorings of the faith during this contentious time and asked for the adoption of a doctrinal statement based on a declaration published by the Evangelical Alliance. The leadership rejected his proposal in what was viewed as an abandonment of the Baptist stance against creedal statements.21 It was at this juncture that Spurgeon for the first time raised a concern, as it was clear that the inroads of evolutionary thought and higher criticism were beginning to have an impact on British evangelical theology22. Spurgeon was especially concerned about the views of some younger men. In particular, Samuel Coxs views expressed in his book Salvator Mundi: Or, Is Christ the Savior of All Men? Cox served as the influential pastor of Mansfield Road Baptist Church in Nottingham. His book spoke of a larger hope and rejected eternal punishment. Cox further advocated universalism (hence the Latin name of the book, which translates to Savior of the World) and post-mortem salvation, a term which Spurgeon attached to it.23 Spurgeon
David P. Kingdom, C. H. Spurgeon and the Down Grade Controversy, in The Good Fight of Faith: 1971 Westminster Conference Papers (London: Westminster Chapel, 1971), 35. Dennis M. Swanson, The Down Grade Controversy and Evangelical Boundaries: Some Lessons from Spurgeons Battle for Evangelical Orthodoxy, Faith and Mission 20, no. 2 (2002): 18.
21 22 23 20 19

Ibid. Ibid., 18. Ibid., 19.

refused to review Coxs book in The Sword and Trowel, even though Cox was the editor of a theological magazine, The Expositor. By 1889, two years after the start of the Down-Grade controversy, many of those who had originally rejected Coxs book, published in 1877, had reversed course and declared it a remarkable book.24 In 1881, Spurgeon had encountered doubts regarding his relationship to the Baptist Union Assembly where he spoke and consequently warned the body assembled there sternly of the departure of some churches from Christ in matters of doctrine.25 He saw the clear infiltration of evolutionary thinking and higher criticism into the ranks of English evangelical Christianity. In 1883, a Unitarian minister, John Page-Hopps was allowed to speak at the annual Baptist Union meeting. Spurgeon himself was not at the meeting, but received a report regarding the contents of the speech from his friend, Archibald Brown. This was for Spurgeon the moment of realization that he would have to break with the Baptist Union, and he made this known to his brother-in-law, William Jackson. The Baptist Union Council received word on the impending decision by Spurgeon and sent a party of four, among them J. P. Chown, the president of the Baptist Union. This encounter, which Spurgeon would later describe as painful and a pathetic appeal26 in a letter to The Baptist magazine, did not change his mind. Another major incident leading up to Spurgeons resignation from the Baptist Union was the Elm Road Church decision to keep an associate pastor on staff after it became clear that he held a doctrinal position that was not aligned with the pastors understanding. The pastor was Samuel Harris Booth, a friend of Spurgeons, and at the time the general secretary of the Baptist Union. The associate pastor, W. E. Bloomfield, a graduate of Regents Park College, was
24 25 26

Ibid., 18. Drummond, Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers, 666. Swanson, The Down Grade Controversy and Evangelical Boundaries, 19.

dismissed by Booth after preaching messages, which seemed to promote Universalism27. However the church membership supported Bloomfield, and after an investigation by a board inquiry by three sympathetic pastors who concluded that Bloomfield was doctrinally sound,28 the young associate pastor was reinstated. Booth in turn resigned shortly thereafter and warned of dangerous theological shifts in his resignation letter: We stand against the attempt to bring into our churches what is known as the New Theology which teaches that such phrases as the Atonement, the Church or The Fall are only mental conceptions and not actual facts. As opposed to such nebulous theology, I have preached not about Christ, but Christ Himself.29 It was out of this incident that the Down-Grade controversy ultimately arose. In the aftermath of Booths resignation, Spurgeon wrote to him to encourage him, and Booth in turn shared what had happened in detail and added to it a litany of other serious theological issues and problems throughout the Baptist Union. It appears that Booth at this point pleaded with Spurgeon to not let this simply be glossed over, but to take a decisive stand. From what appears to have taken place (based on a later letter by D. H. G. Wood), Booth supplied names and facts to Spurgeon regarding those who he deemed to be teaching heretical doctrine deviating from orthodox Christianity.30 Spurgeon pledged in return not to reveal any names. Drummond lists three critical pieces of communication leading the way toward the Down-Grade controversy. The first, the letter from Spurgeon to Booth, the second, the letter from Wood to historian Ernest Payne, and the third, a letter written by Pearce Carey to Seymour Price in 1887 about theological teaching at Regents Park, which was not aligned with orthodoxy and which confirmed to Spurgeon what he had suspected, that young men were graduating from
27 28 29 30

Drummond, Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers, 670. Swanson, The Down Grade Controversy and Evangelical Boundaries, 19. Drummond, Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers, 670. Ibid., 671.

Baptist colleges, which had given up on the concept of eternal punishment. It is apparent from other writings from this time period that much more was on a theologically downward slope, which was reason for grave concern for Spurgeon.31 In an undated sermon preached at Metropolitan Tabernacle Church, Spurgeon warned solemnly of Gods judgment against an unfaithful church: If we, as a church, prove unfaithful; if we leave our first love; if we do not plead in prayer, and seek the conversion of souls, God may take away His presence from us as He has done from churches that were once His, but which are not so now. The traveller tells you that as he journeys through Asia Minor, he sees the ruins of those cities which once were the seven golden candlesticks, wherein the light of truth shone brightly. What will he now say of Thyatira? Where will he find Laodicea? These have passed away, and why may not this church? Look at Rome, once the glory of the Christian Church, her ministers many, and her power over the world enormous for good; and now she is the place where Satans seat is, and her synagogue is a synagogue of hell. How is this? Because she departed from her integrity, she left her first love, and the Lord cast her away. Thus will He deal with us also if we sin against Him.32 As was apparent, the lines were drawn. Most aligned themselves with those following the New Theology. Spurgeons followers were not as many as he would have hoped. THE DOWN-GRADE CONTROVERSY IN THE SWORD AND TROWEL The term, which coined the Down-Grade controversy, first appeared in an article in Spurgeons journal, The Sword and Trowel, which was published monthly and widely distributed. While the first two articles, written without a byline and firing a salvo against heterodoxy, were indeed not written by him, but rather Robert Shindler, a close friend of Spurgeons, Spurgeon apparently had approved them.33 Shindler, in his first article in the March 1887 edition, drew a historical foundation in the first article, outlining how nonconformist
31 32

Ibid., 671-72.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, C. H. Spurgeon's Autobiography (London: Fleming H Revell Company, 1898), 255.
33

Swanson, The Down Grade Controversy and Evangelical Boundaries, 20.

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churches had drifted away from scriptural truths after the Puritan era. He then concluded that by some means or other, first the ministers and then the churches, got on the down grade, and in some cases the descent was rapid, and in all was very disastrous.34 In a second article, Shindler highlighted what Baptist churches had lacked, e.g. that their ministers had not warded off theological errors sufficiently, that they had given up on the divine inspiration of the Bible, and that they had departed from Calvinistic doctrine. This last statement, while in and of itself was not intended to be a promotion of one theological system over another, was used to drive home the point of a need to abide by Christian orthodoxy, which Shindler felt was best addressed in Calvinistic teaching. Shindler expressed his concern over the origin of wrong teaching when he wrote, In the case of every errant course there is always a first wrong step. If we can trace that wrong step, we may be able to avoid it and its results. Where, then, is the point of divergence from the "King's highway of truth"? What is the first step astray? Is it doubting this doctrine, or questioning that sentiment, or being sceptical as to the other article of orthodox belief? We think not. These doubts and this scepticism are the outcome of something going before.35 A third article, published in June 1887, addressed the heresy trials at Andover Theological Seminary. Spurgeon himself wrote a first article entitled Another Word Concerning the Down-Grade Controversy in August of 1887. Swanson writes that Spurgeon was most certainly concerned about the purity of essential biblical doctrines, but he was equally concerned by what he saw as the immediate and practical result of the New Theology Above all, he saw the greatest danger in the fact that the gospel was being marginalized, ridiculed and obscured.36 Starting with the second article penned by Spurgeon himself, he began to react to those who were opposing his Down-Grade views, but also to those who supported him. While his
34 35 36

Ibid., 21. Charles Hadden Spurgeon, The Down-Grade Controversy (Charleston, SC: BiblioLife, 2008), 35. Swanson, The Down Grade Controversy and Evangelical Boundaries, 23.

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expectation seems to have been that the majority of English Baptists would support him as well as possibly those from other denominations, it appears that he overestimated the support he would find.37 The third article, written in October 1887 addressed the dangerous impact the New Theology was having. In it, Spurgeon also announced that he would resign from the Baptist Union. Finally, Spurgeon hinted at the wavering stance of his friend Samuel Harris Booth. Spurgeon had approached Booth to be allowed to disclose his source due to the increasing pressure by the Baptist Union council to provide names if Spurgeon would keep making accusations of heresy. Booth forbade Spurgeon from doing so, reminding Spurgeon of the confidential nature of his disclosure. When members of the council directly asked Booth later whether Spurgeon and he had ever had a conversation which included names, Booth denied that this communication had taken place. Spurgeons brother, James Spurgeon, was at the meeting in question and left it in anger, leaving an exasperated Spurgeon to write to his wife, For Dr. Booth to say I never complained, is amazing. God knows all about it, and He will see me righted.38 THE IMPACT OF THE DOWN GRADE CONTROVERSY Spurgeon took the only step that could be taken if one is to uphold the orthodoxy of the Christian faith: he parted ways with those who would not stand for Christ. In doing so, he spent the following years of his life, which would prove to be his final ones, defending the truth and inerrancy of Scripture and the sacredness of the Gospel. This resolve came at a high price as his health deteriorated. Through it all, he continued to write prolifically and to preach to his congregation. The first official step of separation and of taking an irrevocable and clear stance came with his withdrawal from the Baptist Union.
37 38

Ibid. Ibid., 26.

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SPURGEONS WITHDRAWAL FROM THE BAPTIST UNION On October 28, 1887, Spurgeon sent a letter to the general secretary of the Baptist Union, Samuel Booth, formally withdrawing from the Union: Dear Friend,I beg to intimate to you, as the secretary of the Baptist Union, that I must withdraw from that society. I do this with the utmost regret; but I have no choice. The reasons are set forth in The Sword and Trowel for November, and I trust you will excuse my repeating them here. I beg you not to send anyone to me to ask for reconsideration. I fear I have considered too long already; certainly every hour of the day impresses upon me the conviction that I am moving none too soon.39 Booth replied as if he had been caught off guard, expressing his pain over Spurgeons step taken and sharing with him that he had wounded the hearts of some of many who honour and love you more than you have any idea of, and whose counsel would have led to a far different result.40 Spurgeons step to separate from the Baptist Union de-facto became the true beginning of the Down-Grade controversy as now all of British Evangelicalism was discussing the strange happening. Spurgeons church responded to the withdrawal with sympathy and offered minutes by the deacons and elders, voicing their support of his action and commending his steadfast zeal.41 REACTIONS FROM PEERS The Rev. James Guinness Rogers, who for 35 years was a Congregational minister and pastor of Clapham Congregational Church in Grafton Square, London42, was concerned with the disruptions Spurgeon was causing and expressed them in his book Present-Day Religion and Theology, published in London in 1888:
39 40 41 42

Drummond, Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers, 687. Ibid. Ibid., 687.

W. H. Auden, Rev. James Guinness Rogers, http://www.stanford.edu/group/auden/cgibin/auden/individual.php?pid=I5208 (accessed March 5, 2012).

13 The impression which Mr. Spurgeon's procedure cannot fail to create, that there is some division of feeling between him and those who are spoken of as his "opponents," will do only harm to the common faith which, whatever Mr. Spurgeon's partisans may think, is as dear to his critics as to himself. There never was a time when Christianity could less afford such wrangles, the spoils of which will ultimately be divided between superstition and unbelief. 43 As can be seen in the further writings of Guinness Roberts, guilt was laid in Spurgeons corner for advancing the convictions of those who would deny the faith: The enemies of Dissent everywhere are jubilant, and so far as they care to notice the movements of the religious world at all, this feeling will be shared by the enemies of the gospel. Of course it was right that it should be done if there were evidence of such a falling away from the faith as is outlined in Mr. Spurgeon's terrible "down grade." But the proof ought to be very clear and convincing before statements so startling and so calculated to confirm the views and encourage the heart of aggressive unbelievers are given to the world. Unbelievers are continually telling us that Christianity is effete, that the intellect of the age has outgrown its superstitions, that its work is done, and that thinking men, while seeking to retain its moral and social influence, have quietly renounced its theology. Mr. Spurgeon can now be adduced a witness in support of their contention. He does not adopt their inference that the gospel is about to vanish away, but they could desire no stronger testimony as to the facts on which they rest their forecast than he supplies, and certainly they could not wish for a witness of more authority.44 In addition to voicing his concern over the impact of Spurgeons actions to those who denied a saving faith in God, or for that matter, God Himself, Guinness Roberts was appalled at the language being used in the discussions: Mr. Spurgeon is sufficiently outspoken, and he must not be surprised if others imitate his frankness. It is a very light thing to say that there is here a breach of Christian charity. Truth itself is outraged in this representation which nothing but respect for him prevents us from characterizing in very strong terms.... Mr. Spurgeon's criticism leaves us at a loss to understand what manner of men he can conceive those to be of whom he writes in such strong terms.45 Guinness Roberts also saw the discussion framed in quite different terms, when he wrote, The question is not between liberty and loyalty to the Master, but between two modes of
J. Guinness Rogers, Present-Day Religion and Theology: Including a Review of the Down Grade Controversy (London: T.Fisher Unwin, 1888), 2, hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89073388837 (accessed March 5, 2012).
44 45 43

Ibid., 8. Ibid., 16.

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showing that loyalty.46 At the same time, he validated that the Baptist Union had not reacted strongly enough in some cases, yet questioned whether Spurgeons response was not causing more harm than good to the body of believers represented in the Baptist Union. It is not suggested that the Baptist Union has taken any positive action by which its character is compromised. Its sin is a sin of omission. It has not excommunicated some who, in Mr. Spurgeon's view, are unfaithful to the gospel. It is true that they have not been convicted of the heresy, ... No doubt Mr. Spurgeon would be fully justified in saying that he cannot remain in a religious body which is so helpless in the matter of excommunication; but he is not only exceeding his right, he is transgressing the laws both of justice and courtesy, when he brands the fellowship itself as a confederacy of evil. It is to-day what it was yesterday, when he was one of its most trusted leaders. He has left in it men with a Christian reputation as stainless as his own, and whose long and honoured lives ought to have guarded them against the suggestion that they could remain in a confederacy which could properly be so described. May there not be sins against Christian charity as grave even as any departures from orthodoxy? 47 Guinness Roberts was clearly concerned with the tone the discussion had taken and how this was perceived by an England already impacted by the influences of evolutionary teaching and higher criticism. Likewise, church publications, such as the Congregational Review and The National Reformer printed letters from moderate and not-so-moderate readers. The Methodist Times printed that it can no longer be concealed that Mr. Spurgeon is out of touch with the new democracy and the younger generation of devout evangelicals. He is standing still, but the Church of God moves onold-fashioned Puritan formulae are driving him into a reactionary and vanquished camp.48 Yet, Spurgeon also had backers, some of whom wrote into publications to let their support be made known. Others, not wishing to make their sentiments known quite so publicly, shared their support with Spurgeon more directly instead. He cited one example:
46 47 48

Ibid., 17. Ibid., 19-20. Iain H. Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2009), 190.

15 A working-man, who is an intelligent deacon and preacher, giving us his name, and the name of the minister referred to, speaks of the old-fashioned orthodox teaching being held up to contempt from the pulpit. "The substitutionary sacrifice and the Trinity were quickly disposed of, and the penknife was set to work. Whole chapters were cut out of the Bible; we were told that certain books of it ought never to have been written. Verbal inspiration was utter rubbish, and ought never to be tolerated." As a consequence, the number of empty pews is appalling, and the people are told to console themselves with the fact that mere numbers are no test of prosperity. The prospect of the chapel being closed is by no means remote.49 The September 1887 edition of The Sword and Trowel included a nod to the editor of Word and Work for his support of Spurgeon. He had published an editorial that read: In The Sword and Trowel for the present month Mr. Spurgeon gives no uncertain sound concerning departures from the faith. His exposure of the dishonesty which, under the cover of orthodoxy, assails the very foundations of faith is opportune in the interests of truth. No doubt, like a faithful prophet in like evil times, he will be called a 'troubler of Israel,' and already we have noticed he has been spoken of as a pessimist; but any such attempts to lessen the weight of his testimony are only certain to make it more effective. When a strong sense of duty prompts public speech it will be no easy task to silence it.50 The 1887 annual volume of The Sword and Trowel exemplifies Spurgeons enragement with the theological discussions highlighted by the Down-Grade controversy: During the past year we have often had to look down from the royal road of the truth upon those craggy paths which others have chosen, which we fear will lead them to destruction. We have had enough of The Down-Grade for ourselves when we have looked down upon it. What havoc false doctrine is making no tongue can tell. Assuredly the New Theology can do no good towards God or man; it, has no adaptation for it. If it were preached for a thousand years by all the most earnest men of the school, it would never renew a soul, nor overcome pride in a single human heart. We look down into the abyss of error, and it almost makes our head swim to think of the perilous descent; but the road of the gospel, to which we hope to keep by divine grace, is a safe and happy way.51 Spurgeon himself, rather exasperatedly, responded in 1888 to fellow Baptist pastors who had accused him that his main driver was the promotion of Calvinism: I do not wish to impose
49 50 51

Charles Hadden Spurgeon, The Down-Grade Controversy, 101. Ibid., 41-42. Ibid., 9-10.

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any doctrine of my own, not even the grand old Calvinism; but it is not a question of Calvinism, but rather of the divinity of Christ.52 BAPTIST UNION CENSORSHIP On January 18, 1888, the Baptist Union censored Spurgeon. On January 13, 1888, five days prior, a meeting had taken place between Spurgeon and a deputation from the Baptist Union. This deputation was made up of Samuel Harris Booth, the general secretary of the Union, James Culross, its president, and John Clifford, the Union vice president. This tense meeting did not resolve the issues, and Spurgeon refused to rescind his resignation. However, he asked that the council would investigate and render an opinion whether the Unions constitution allowed the removal of heretics. He also asked them to revisit the adoption of an evangelical doctrinal statement. The council refused both requests.53 In the following months edition of The Sword and Trowel, Spurgeon reacted to this act of censorship with sharp words that seemed to hint at the anti-creedalism that he perceived: The censure passed upon me by the Council of the Baptist Union will be weighed by the faithful, and estimated at its true value. "Afterwards they have no more that they can do." I brought no charges before the members of the Council, because they could only judge by their constitution, and that document lays down no doctrinal basis except the belief that "the immersion of believers is the only Christian baptism." Even the mention of evangelical sentiments has been cut out from their printed program. No one can be heterodox under this constitution, unless he should forswear his baptism.54 In the same issue of The Sword and Trowel, he voiced his frustration over the misunderstanding on the side of the Baptist Union toward his desire for a stated form of belief: Nevertheless, I would like all Christendom to know that all I asked of the Union is that it be formed on a Scriptural basis; and that I never sought to intrude upon it any Calvinistic or other personal creed, but only that form of belief which has been accepted for many
52 53 54

Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon, 189. Swanson, The Down Grade Controversy and Evangelical Boundaries, 27. Charles Hadden Spurgeon, The Down-Grade Controversy, 77.

17 years by the Evangelical Alliance, which includes members of well-nigh all Christian communities. To this it was replied that there is an objection to any creed whatever. To say that "a creed comes between a man and his God," is to suppose that it is not true; for truth, however definitely stated, does not divide the believer from his Lord. I am unable to sympathize with a man who says he has no creed; because I believe him to be in the wrong by his own showing. He ought to have a creed. What is equally certain, he has a creedhe must have one, even though he repudiates the notion. His very unbelief is, in a sense, a creed.55 The Down-Grade controversy caused a clear rift between those who wanted to protect the inerrant truth of Gods Word and those who had adopted the new theories behind evolution and higher criticism. It was clear that there would be no winner, as the impact of this controversy split those who had appeared to have professed one faith at one point in time, yet now showed to be very deeply torn apart. Yet it was also abundantly apparent that without intervention false teachings would continue to infiltrate the church. SPURGEONS FINAL YEARS The Baptist Union council feared that Spurgeon would launch a new denomination after his withdrawal, but instead he never encouraged others to follow him. Together with other likeminded pastors he joined in a Fraternal Union. This group of men in 1891 published what became known as Mr. Spurgeons Confession of Faith or Manifesto.56 It is copied below in its entirety as it appears to be the closest Spurgeon came in his lifetime to a Baptist creedal statement. It also serves as a plain summary of what the battle was that Spurgeon fought during the latter years of his life. We, the undersigned, banded together in Fraternal Union, observing with growing pain and sorrow the loosening hold of many upon the Truths of Revelation, are constrained to avow our firmest belief in the Verbal Inspiration of all Holy Scripture as originally given. To us, the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but is the Word of God. From beginning to end, we accept it, believe it, and continue to preach it. To us, the Old Testament is no less inspired than the New. The Book is an organic whole. Reverence for
55 56

Ibid., 78-79. Ibid., 149.

18 the NEW Testament accompanied by scepticism as to the OLD appears to us absurd. The two must stand or fall together. We accept Christ's own verdict concerning "Moses and all the prophets" in preference to any of the supposed discoveries of so-called higher criticism. We hold and maintain the truths generally known as "the doctrines of grace." The Electing Love of God the Father, the Propitiatory and Substitutionary Sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ, Regeneration by the Holy Ghost, the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness, the Justification of the sinner (once for all) by faith, his walk in newness of life and growth in grace by the active indwelling of the Holy Ghost, and the Priestly Intercession of our Lord Jesus, as also the hopeless perdition of all who reject the Savior, according to the words of the Lord in Matthew 25:46, "These shall go away into eternal punishment,"are, in our judgment, revealed and fundamental truths. Our hope is the Personal Pre-millennial Return of the Lord Jesus in glory.57 This declaration was signed by thirty men; Spurgeon was one of the signers. Spurgeons health continued to decline, and despite frequent visits to his beloved Mentone on the French Riviera, there was no turning back of his progressively debilitation illness. Rheumatism and gout plagued Spurgeon, as did Brights disease. He also had been affected by the influenza epidemic. Yet even in his deteriorating state, he was not free from his critics. The New Zealand Baptist in September 1891 had reported about a dispute in Sydney regarding prayers offered on behalf of Spurgeons recovery. A reply received by one man was, How could they pray for this man, one who was living in a state of apostasy from the faith and schism from the Church?58 On January 31, 1892, after having been unconscious for some time, Charles Haddon Spurgeon died. His secretary wired a telegram back to the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, which read, Our beloved pastor entered Heaven 11:05 Sunday night.59 No less than 60,000 paid their last respect to Spurgeon at the Tabernacle, and 20,000 people attended his funeral
57 58 59

Ibid., 149-50. Drummond, Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers, 746. Ibid., 752.

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service. A plaque on Spurgeons coffins had St. Pauls words on it: I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.60 TODAYS DOWN-GRADE CONTROVERSIES As a legacy of what was first seen in England in the late 1800s, Christians today fight similar battles to protect the truth of the Gospel. Swanson lists just a few, such as the expansion of higher criticism in evangelical scholarship into not just the Old Testament, but now the New Testament as well. Discussions now center on a historical Adam, Pauline authorship of the Pastorals, theistic evolution, the expanse of the world-wide flood (was it really world-wide?), and creation as depicted in Genesis 1 in light of ostensible advances in evolutionary science. The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society in 1982 allowed an article to be published which declared that Spurgeons understanding of the nature and interpretation of the Bible does not adequately serve this generation of evangelical Christians who have come to accept the best of current Biblical scholarship while holding concurrently to the inspiration and authority of Scripture. As Swanson correctly points out, this opinion could very well have been penned by one of Spurgeons opponents during the Down-Grade controversy. As Swanson writes, Vigilance is neither easy nor popular. With the core of belief of Evangelicalism now open for discussion, one wonders if a book will be written in forty or so years which describes the current state of American Evangelicalism.61 CONCLUSION The Down-Grade controversy shows that creeping shifts in how biblical truth is perceived have to be identified, raised to an awareness level, and cannot be tolerated in the body
60 61

Ibid., 753-54. Swanson, The Down Grade Controversy and Evangelical Boundaries, 32.

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of Christ, if the message of the Gospel is to be protected and its holding to the inerrancy of Scripture is to be upheld. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, had a lot to lose when he stood up to protect the Word of God as the unalterable, infallible, and inerrant Word of God. He died without vindication, yet in his firm acting on behalf of the truth of Gods Word, he left a legacy of Christian faithfulness that is admired to this day. How right he was only became truly evident years after his death. The fight for biblical truth continues to this day, and many are the false teachers who want to detract from the good news of Jesus Christ. For Gods people to defend Scripture as the final and authoritative Word of God, it is critical that they are aware of theological errors creeping into the body of Christ. When these misguidances are not corrected early, e.g. when they are not caught at the educational level in the seminaries and Bible colleges, entire churches can be led astray as the graduates of these schools perpetuate the errors into their local bodies. For the truth to be made known, we need men and women who stand up when the key truths of the Christian faith are in danger of being falsified and altered. May God raise up new Charles Haddon Spurgeons in each generation to raise the banner high for His truth!

We have built up the wall of the city, and we have tried to smite the King's enemies. How could we help it? No loyal soldier could endure to see his Lord's cause so grievously wronged by traitors. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon62

62

Charles Hadden Spurgeon, The Down-Grade Controversy, 11.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Auden, W. H. Rev. James Guinness Rogers. http://www.stanford.edu/group/auden/cgibin/auden/individual.php?pid=I5208 (accessed March 5, 2012). Dallimore, Arnold A. Spurgeon: A New Biography. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1985. Drummond, Lewis A. Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1992. Kingdom, David P. C. H. Spurgeon and the Down Grade Controversy. In The Good Fight of Faith: 1971 Westminster Conference Papers. London: Westminster Chapel, 1971. Leland, Patrick R. Anti-Creedalism in the Down Grade Controversy. Baptist History And Heritage 31, no. 2 (April 1996). Murray, Iain H. The Forgotten Spurgeon. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2009. Rogers, J. Guinness. Present-Day Religion and Theology: Including a Review of the Down Grade Controversy. London: T.Fisher Unwin, 1888. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89073388837 (accessed March 5, 2012). Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. The Down-Grade Controversy. Charleston, SC: BiblioLife, 2008. Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. C. H. Spurgeon's Autobiography. London: Fleming H Revell Company, 1898. Swanson, Dennis M. The Down Grade Controversy and Evangelical Boundaries: Some Lessons from Spurgeons Battle for Evangelical Orthodoxy. Faith and Mission 20, no. 2 (2002): 12-23. Toon, P. Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. In Who's Who in Christian History, edited by J.D. Douglas and Philip W. Comfort. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992.