“Charles Spurgeon forgotten?!! Why, everybody quotes him!” True. But some of the most well known names, belong to some of the most forgotten people. Iain Murray contends this is true of Spurgeon: though a household name, he is a forgotten man. Murray’s makes it his ambition to spare Spurgeon from being the poster boy of such incongruous theologies and philosophies as Arminianism and Calvinism, compromise and integrity, ecumenism and separatism. He does a masterful job.

After portraying Spurgeon in his role as preacher¾his emphasis on prayer, his dependence on the Holy Spirit, his willingness to accept the slander of other men in the ministry¾Murray surveys three controversies that marked Spurgeon’s career.

The first controversy: Arminianism vs. Calvinism.

Spurgeon was unashamedly a Calvinist. But how did that shape his evangelism? Murray explains that Spurgeon never separated the need to believe from the need for regeneration, which was solely the work of God. Thus, while the sinner’s responsibility was impressed upon him, the sinner’s utter inability was equally magnified. Such preaching portrayed salvation to the sinner, not as “something I must do,” but as “something God must do to me.” The sinner is left unquestionably guilty, yet with no hope but to cry out for mercy to God.

Murray eloquently shows how Arminianism instructs the sinner that he must begin the work of conversion by becoming willing, and then God will finish the work. A sinner who has made a “firm and willing decision for Christ” is immediately exhorted, ipso facto, to believe that God has saved him. Murray opines, “A teaching which promises that God’s will must follow our will may have the effect of causing men to trust in a delusion¾an experience which is not salvation at all. ... But Arminianism, instead of cautioning men against this danger, inevitably encourages it, for it throws men, not upon God, but upon their own acts. ... On this basis a man may make a profession without ever having his confidence in his own ability shattered; he has been told absolutely nothing of his need of a change of nature which is not within his own power, and consequently, if he does not experience such a radical change, he is not dismayed” (104-05). This “lowered standard of conversion” results in a “lowered conception of the real nature of true Christian experience” (p. 106-07). This chapter is a much-needed antidote to the all-too-popular ideas that surround “evangelism” and “decisions” in our day.

The second controversy: compromise vs. integrity

What began as a sermon on “Baptismal Regeneration” soon grew into a debate over the legitimacy of a minister to be both a self-professed evangelical and a good Anglican clergyman. Spurgeon attacked the Anglican liturgy “which ignores the distinction between the regenerate and the unregenerate” (p. 133) and a church that paid and promoted men with “the mark of the beast in their foreheads.” “We wonder they are not ashamed of being connected with men who openly defy the law and preach the worst form of Popery,” Spurgeon said in his review of a book by J.C. Ryle. Speaking of Ryle, Spurgeon says, “He pleads hard for a comprehension which shall include believers in doctrines which are diametrically opposed to each other. Such is the sad influence of a false position... We wish Mr. Ryle could review his own position in the light of the Scriptures rather than in the darkness of ecclesiasticism; then would he come out from among them, and no more touch the unclean thing” (137).

The third controversy: ecumenism vs. separatism.

Spurgeon suffered more from personal, scathing attacks during the so-called “Down-Grade” controversy than any other. No one could deny that Spurgeon was at heart a Biblical separatist. The problem was that most people didn’t like it. “It is our solemn conviction,” said Spurgeon, “that where there can be no real spiritual communion there should be no pretence of fellowship” (p. 144). Spurgeon’s conviction was that “nothing has ever more largely promoted the union of the true than the break with the false” (p. 159).

Murray states, “The tragedy of the Down-Grade was that there were many who could not see that scripture spoke definitely on the existing situation” (p. 158). The same is true today. If you’re someone left with a bad taste for separatism in your mouth, read about Spurgeon in the Down-Grade. You’ll love him, feel for him, and want to be like him.

Those who have a sentimental, maudlin perception of Spurgeon--and want to keep it--should not read this book. This is not the “popular Spurgeon.” This is the “Forgotten Spurgeon.” Murray says it best, “Spurgeon’s legacy is neither his oratory nor his personality--these things have gone the way of all flesh--but his testimony to the whole counsel of God and his utterance of the great Reformation principle that the Lord alone must be before our eyes and His honour the ultimate motive in all our actions” (p. 17). ( )

This is easily my favorite biography of Spurgeon. Iain Murray covers the passion and beauty of Spurgeon's preaching which is so marvelous to read. He has a way of lifting you up and shaking you around, providing amazing illustrations, and then sending you off with encouragement.

But this aspect of Spurgeon's preaching is what everybody talks about. What nobody talks about, the Forgotten Spurgeon, is his passion for not only preaching, but also for doctrine. This book highlights Spurgeon's battles with Arminians, Hyper-Calvinists, baptismal regenerationists, and modernists. Spurgeon was a devoted Calvinist, and this book shows how centrally Spurgeon viewed Calvinism to his preaching. It was so important to him that he would fight tooth and nail over it, not giving in until confident of doctrinal purity. Spurgeon's doctrine is the forgotten Spurgeon. And this biography is noteworthy for pointing that out.

Recommended reading for learning more about Spurgeon, as well as for learning more about the doctrines of grace. ( )

This is truly a great work on Spurgeon.

It is by no means trying to give a complete look at his life, but rather is focused at highlighting a few key controversies and aspects of his life that are often obscured in modern analysis of Spurgeon. That is the stated goal of the book, and it suceeds at this.

Even though it is limited in scope, as I have mentioned, it still does a pretty good job at painting a picture of Spurgeon as a whole.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the man named Charles Haddon Spurgeon. It is fairly short and is an enjoyable read with many quotes from Spurgeon's sermons. ( )