19 September 2010

On the Offense of the Cross

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 "Our Manifesto," a message given to an assembly of ministers of the gospel, on Friday Morning,
25 April 1890.




y dear Brethren, do not try to make the gospel tasteful to carnal minds. Hide not the offense of the cross, lest you make it of none effect.

The angles and corners of the gospel are its strength: to pare them off is to deprive it of power. Toning down is not the increase of strength, but the death of it. Why, even among the sects, you must have noticed that their distinguishing points are the horns of their power; and when these are practically omitted, the sect is effete. Learn, then, that if you take Christ out of Christianity, Christianity is dead. If you remove grace out of the gospel, the gospel is gone.

If the people do not like the doctrine of grace, give them all the more of it. Whenever its enemies rail at a certain kind of gun, a wise military power will provide more of such artillery.

A great general, going in before his king, stumbled over his own sword. "I see," said the king, "your sword in is the way."

The warrior answered, "Your majesty's enemies have often felt the same."

That our gospel offends the King's enemies is no regret to us.

C. H. Spurgeon


7 comments:

J♥Yce Burrows said...

AMEN!

donsands said...

Wonderful words of truth.
Thanks.

"Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!"
Phil­ip P. Bliss

CGrim said...

I've been involved in a frustrating email exchange with my brother-in-law, who thinks we need to "rework the timeless truths in order that they remain timeless."

As best I can tell, he thinks we should adjust our doctrines in order to keep them up-to-date with the tastes and preferences of current generations.

He also was upset at me for calling Islam a "soul-destroying worldview." He wanted me to admit that Muslims can be "enriched and enlarged" by their devout faith. By what measure? I asked.

What's more, he also thinks that "once God has come to play in our worldview" (his vague terminology, not mine), we don't need to study Scripture as deeply, and that it can be offensive for Christians to preach the gospel to each other, because it implies they don't think their brother is actually saved.

The most frustrating part is that he doesn't even come out and explicitly say these things, he just implies them through vague, watery language, almost as if he doesn't want to get pinned down to any one position.

He told me, "I have to remind myself that you're not trying to endlessly convert me from Christianity back to itself."

But that's exactly what I'm trying to do, since I get no indication from what he says that he understands or accepts the gospel. Instead, Christianity for him seems to be little more than a mystical tradition.

I think he could be a great blessing to the kingdom, if only he would reject this postmodern nonsense.

Mike Riccardi said...

...who thinks we need to "rework the timeless truths in order that they remain timeless."

That's the opposite of being timeless. Timeless things, by definition, do not need any help to remain through time.

Steve Drake said...

Citizen Grim,
"But that's exactly what I'm trying to do, since I get no indication from what he says that he understands or accepts the gospel. Instead, Christianity for him seems to be little more than a mystical tradition."

Keep up your efforts my brother, don't lose heart, as you are being a faithful witness to the unashamedness of the gospel.

Thomas Louw said...

May my sword always be in the way.

Patience said...

Brethren,
Let us not cease to pray for our brothers and sisters who face the same battle as Citizen Grim and the depraved souls they are wrestling with.


Citizen Grim,
I think I heard this on Wretched Radio:Throw a rock into a pack of dogs and the one who yelps is the one who has been hit.

It gets right up my nose how people have elevated "being inoffensive" above the Truth and everything that goes with it. Ironically, though they are inoffensive to the world they are, or should be, offensive to true Christians. Made me stop and think: Who am I trying to please?