posted by Phil Johnson
The PyroManiacs devote some space each weekend to highlights from The Spurgeon Archive. The following except is from "Mongrel Religion," a sermon preached on Sunday Morning, 2 October 1881, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London.
know of no surer way of a people's perishing than by being led by one who does not speak out straight, and honestly denounce evil.If the minister halts between two opinions, do you wonder that the congregation is undecided? If the preacher trims and twists to please all parties, can you expect his people to be honest? If I wink at your inconsistencies will you not soon be hardened in them?
Like priest, like people. A cowardly preacher suits hardened sinners. Those who are afraid to rebuke sin, or to probe the conscience, will have much to answer for. May God save you from being led into the ditch by a blind guide.
And yet is not a mingle-mangle of Christ and Belial the common religion of the day? Is not worldly piety, or pious worldliness, the current religion of England? They live among godly people, and God chastens them, and they therefore fear him, but not enough to give their hearts to him. They seek out a trimming teacher who is not too precise and plain-spoken, and they settle down comfortably to a mongrel faith, half truth, half error, and a mongrel worship half dead form, and half orthodoxy.
God have mercy upon men, and bring them out from the world; for he will not have a compound of world and grace. "Come ye out from among them," saith he, "be ye separate: touch not the unclean thing."
"If God be God, serve him: if Baal be God, serve him." There can be no alliance between the two. Jehovah and Baal can never be friends. "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." "No man can serve two masters." All attempts at compromise or comprehensiveness in matters of truth and purity are founded on falsehood, and falsehood is all that can come of them.
May God save us from such hateful doublemindedness.
6 comments:
Once again, "Though he is dead, yet he speaketh" . . . AS IF he were reading last weeks blogs!
Thanks, I was missing the weekend Spurgeon!
Kevin, you took the words out of my mouth...which is hard to do when you wear a helmet.
All I can add is "Amen".
Spurgeon continues to amaze and minister.
You know, years ago they used to have these paper masks of your favorite superhero that you could wear simply by punching out the eyes, mouth and held on by a thin elastic cord.
Reading this post and thinking back over the last few, I realize that there are several here wearing Spurgeon masks, but behind that mask aren't all that different from the ER 2 crowd. Just a matter of preference between one superhero and the other.
"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things."
@hi-liter Interesting that you would make such a blanket statement as " . . . but behind that mask aren't all that different from the ER 2 crowd . . ."; is there any evidence or argument for that assertion? What exactly do you mean by that?
I for one can think of a big difference . . . we don't (at least I would not, speaking for myself alone) invite false teachers in for a conversation . . . (Cf. Acts 20:29-30)
You might want to get John MacArthur's message from the 2010 Shepherd's Conference on 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 . . . but then you will say I'm just following my favorite "super-hero" . . . and in a way yes, as he follows Christ, yes.
Personally, and I hope my own preference is not interfering with my logic, I think this is why the "spoken word" stuff is so popular right now. Because it sounds really cool, but no one has any idea what's being said. It's full of cliches or a witty sounding retorts but lacking in clear theology.
I'm NOT saying all spoken word stuff is bad, I'm just saying people's love for it might be birthed from a fleshly heart rejecting clarity.
Another great one from the Prince.
Kevin,
The problem isn't in following them when they follow Christ, it's following them when they don't.
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