27 March 2010

Shall We Fraternize with Those Who Bury the Gospel under Wagon Loads of Trash?

Your weekly dose of Spurgeon
posted by Phil Johnson


The PyroManiacs devote some space each weekend to highlights from The Spurgeon Archive. The following excerpt is from "Under Constraint," a sermon preached Sunday morning 28 April 1878 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.



have not much patience with a certain class of Christians nowadays who will hear anybody preach so long as they can say, "He is very clever, a fine preacher, a man of genius, a born orator." Is cleverness to make false doctrine palatable? Why, sirs, to me the ability of a man who preaches error is my sorrow rather than my admiration.

I cannot endure false doctrine, however neatly it may be put before me. Would you have me eat poisoned meat because the dish is of the choicest ware? It makes me indignant when I hear another gospel put before the people with enticing words, by men who would fain make merchandise of souls; and I marvel at those who have soft words for such deceivers.

"That is your bigotry," says one. Call it so if you like, but it is the bigotry of the loving John who wrote—"If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."

I would to God we had all more of such decision, for the lack of it is depriving our religious life of its backbone and substituting for honest manliness a mass of the tremulous jelly of mutual flattery.

He who does not hate the false does not love the true; and he to whom it is all the same whether it be God's word or man's, is himself unrenewed at heart.
. . . substituting for honest manliness a mass of the tremulous jelly of mutual flattery.

Oh, if some of you were like your fathers you would not have tolerated in this age the wagon loads of trash under which the gospel has been of late buried by ministers of your own choosing. You would have hurled out of your pulpits the men who are enemies to the fundamental doctrines of your churches, and yet are crafty enough to become your pastors and undermine the faith of a fickle and superficial generation.

These men steal the pulpits of once orthodox churches, because otherwise they would have none at all. Their powerless theology cannot of itself arouse sufficient enthusiasm to enable them to build a mousetrap at the expense of their admirers, and therefore they profane the houses which your sires have built for the preaching of the gospel, and turn aside the organisations of once orthodox communities to help their infidelity: I call it by that name in plain English, for "modern thought" is not one whit better, and of the two evils I give infidelity the palm, for it is less deceptive.

I beg the Lord to give back to the churches such a love to his truth that they may discern the spirits, and cast out those which are not of God. I feel sometimes like John, of whom it is said that, though the most loving of all spirits, yet he was the most decided of all men for the truth; and when he went to the bath and found that the heretic, Cerinthus, was there, he hurried out of the building, and would not tarry in the same place with him.

There are some with whom we should have no fellowship, nay, not so much as to eat bread; for though this conduct looks stern and hard, it is after the mind of Christ, for the apostle spake by inspiration when he said, "If we or an angel from heaven preach to you any other gospel than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

According to modern efficiency he ought to have said, "Let him be kindly spoken with in private, but pray make no stir. No doubt the thought was original, and we must not question his liberty. Doubtless, he believes the same as we do, only there is some little difference as to terms."

This is treason to Christ, treachery to truth, and cruelty to souls. If we love our Lord we shall keep his words, and stand fast in the faith, coming out from among the false teachers; nor is this inconsistent with charity, for the truest love to those who err is not to fraternise with them in their error, but to be faithful to Jesus in all things.

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17 comments:

John Willis said...

132 years later and his words ring as true as the day he spoke them.

Anonymous said...

Spurgeon is right on! Reading what he preached got me thinking about all those preachers who invite heretics and questionable teachers to preach in their pulpits. But John exhorted us not to.

Ken Silva said...

Wow. This was so on-target.

DJP said...

That really is excellent and current.

"...a fickle and superficial generation."

Is it that we're parallel to his generation, or is that just every generation, like the fickle Israelites in the wilderness?

donsands said...

"He who does not hate the false does not love the true; and he to whom it is all the same whether it be God's word or man's, is himself unrenewed at heart."

The prince of preachers.

Thanks.

"Love...rejoices in the truth"

Now off to church on palm Sunday!

Doug McMasters said...

DJP "is that just every generation?"

I would say every generation has had their heresies and heretics. But not so many generations have lauded those men and counted them orthodox, all the while shushing any contrary voices as merely narrow, bigoted or jealous.

Spurgeon's saw in his generation in England what we seeing in ours in the US--the waning of evangelical commitment and gospel strength.

I pray there is repentance and revival in the US. I serve in London, and can attest that in many ways the faithful churches here in England are gasping for breath. No Elijah complex here, I am thankful for any and all who hold to the truth of God's Word. But the days of strength are long over, about a century now, and most gospel work has returned to planting and watering in the hope that in the Lord's mercy and patience, a future harvest will come.

Steve Loeffler said...

Thanks Phil,

I have been preaching on the preciousness of the gospel in light of the Manhattan Declaration. May the message be of encouragement to your audience. http://sermon.net/broadriver/sermonid/2375883

Toni Birdsong said...

Wow. So thrilled to find you blog. Stand up, stand firm, stand on the Rock. You are covered in prayer. :)

terriergal said...

Wow. Very good. So it's NOT a good idea to invite these types to preach at your conference. Excellent. Imagine that!

Anonymous said...

Wise Spurgeon. We are in for interesting times...if Drive by Theologians like Rick Warren can get to share a pulpit with John Piper, it wont be far off to see Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn and Creflo Dollar with Michael Horton or Paul Washer or John Macarthur at the next Shepherds Conference or Praise-a-thon on TBN.

Rachel said...

Excellent post. Wise words from Mr. Spurgeon, as always.

Kurt Michaelson said...

I love how Spurgeon's words are so relevant for us today! Oh that God would raise up more men that would preach like Spurgeon.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting Spurgeon.

Blessings!

Anonymous said...

Timeliness 132 years later is timeliness still.

Thank you for posting.

Juliankandy said...

I love it and I hate it. I love it for the truth that it brings, I just hate the fact that I know it is true. Not that I hate the truth, but that men (even as others have posted) continue to this day to preach the same heretical doctrines and happy errors, joyfully accepting those men who preach fallacy, all the while despising the men of God who actually speak the truth in the righteousness of God's light. Nothing new under the sun as the preacher would say...

Juliankandy said...

God, help us to be honest and forthright preachers, men with integrity, knowing that as teachers we shall be held accountable for what we teach.

Unknown said...

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