Tethered to the Cross: The Life and Preaching of C. H. Spurgeon. By Thomas Breimaier. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020. 271 pp. Hardcover, $24.64.
Thomas Breimaier is a professor at Spurgeon’s College in London. In this work, he analyzes Spurgeon’s approach to hermeneutics. C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) was perhaps the most famous preacher of his day, ministering in London. He viewed all of the Bible through the cross of Christ and sought the spiritual conversion of his hearers. His desire was that his preaching would also lead those that were already converted to have a deeper knowledge of the Bible and more effectively engage in evangelism (pp. 3-4).
Spurgeon was extraordinarily successful. He was the pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle and often preached to thousands. When he died, over fifty-six million copies of his sermons had been sold. He published a widely read magazine, The Sword and the Trowel, and ran a pastor’s college to train men to follow in his model of ministry. In addition, he established two orphanages and reached out to the poor of his day to meet their physical needs. He would also on occasion comment on political and social ills (pp. 119-21, 182).
There are chapters which address Spurgeon’s theological education, his early and later years, and how he trained the pastors in his college. Chapters 3 and 4, which deal with how Spurgeon used both the Old and New Testaments to point people to the cross, will probably be of most interest to the readers of the JOTGES.
Spurgeon credits a sermon on Isa 45:22 as leading to his own conversion at the age of 15, when he heard a preacher in a Methodist church expound on it. Even though the death of Christ is not found in the passage, the preacher said that it pointed to the cross. This would later provide the pattern of Spurgeon’s ministry, when he would take a single verse and concentrate on the crucifixion of the Lord (p. 23). The immediate context was not important (p. 79). He would preach out of all types of OT literature and point his hearers to Christ’s substitutionary atonement (pp. 105, 109). Breimaier says Spurgeon often engaged in “creative” interpretation in both the OT and NT (p. 168). As a result, Spurgeon rejected Biblical interpretation based upon a “plain, literal, sense” (p. 234).
Spurgeon did not obtain a formal theological education but was a voracious reader. He commented that a woman who was a cook taught him as a young believer more than a theological education could have. Interestingly, she was known as an antinomian, and he credits her with removing many “doubts” in his mind (p. 30). Breimaier does not mention in the book if this is when Spurgeon gained assurance of his eternal salvation, or if he ever did. In the book, the closest Spurgeon comes to a Free Grace gospel was when he asked a sinner if he would believe. The person was to believe that Christ died on the cross so that he might not die (p. 120).
It is difficult to determine exactly what Spurgeon thought the gospel of eternal life involved. Breimaier offers numerous quotes from Spurgeon, but none mention assurance, and eternal life or its equivalent is rarely mentioned. Faith for Spurgeon seems to mean looking at the death of Christ on the cross (p. 35). Spurgeon emphasized the suffering and death of Jesus and how the unbeliever would be convicted of sin as the result of the price Christ paid. On the cross, the Lord paid for the sins of the unbeliever (p. 99). The unsaved needed to hate their sin (p. 145).
Spurgeon seemed to have an eclectic theology. He claimed to have a vision of hell on one occasion, which led him to a particularly powerful sermon (p. 40). He drew inspiration from Puritans, Methodists, Anglicans, and Baptists (p. 42). He disagreed with strict Calvinists in that he said that Christ died for the whole world and that people have free will to be converted (pp. 52-53). Spurgeon was a strong believer in the inerrancy of Scriptures and was a critic of higher criticism (pp. 85-89). He would plead for sinners to “wholly” and “really” trust in Christ as their Redeemer (p. 112).
It will be of interest to the readers of the JOTGES that Spurgeon was a strong opponent of Dispensationalism and thought that trying to understand eschatology was mostly a waste of time (pp. 139, 161). He would also be comfortable with a Lordship Salvation understanding of the gospel. A person who claims he has repented of sin must prove it by his life. If he claims to be a Christian but does not have a sufficient amount of good works, he is a liar (p. 149).
There were controversies in the ministry of Spurgeon. In addition to his disagreements with Calvinists in some areas, the Downgrade Controversy (1887-88) put him in conflict with the Baptists of his day over the issues of the inspiration of the Scriptures, liberal views of the atonement, and the eternality of hell (pp. 93, 195). He would resign from the Baptist Union over the controversy and find himself aligned with many in the Church of England that agreed with him in these areas (p. 195), even though he previously had accused them of hypocrisy and disagreed with them in other areas, such as infant baptism. He would even use them as professors in his pastors’ college (p. 210). He could minister with those who pointed people to the cross and sought the conversion of sinners, regardless of other differences.
Charles Spurgeon died at the age of 57 after years of poor health. His physical difficulties did not prevent him from working hard in his various ministries. He became one of the most famous preachers in the history of Christendom. His life makes an excellent study. Breimaier has done an outstanding job of explaining what formed the basis of Spurgeon’s preaching. He pointed people to the cross and wanted them to be aware of the price for their sins that Jesus paid. Those who did the same were his partners in ministry. The issues of assurance or eternal security, as well as the role of works in spiritual salvation, were not paramount. Spurgeon could work with Arminians, Calvinists, and even those in the Church of England. While he was an avid reader and strong student of theology, his hermeneutic principles did not require that he exegete any passage on which he spoke. The cross of Christ was to be elevated, whether that passage spoke of it or not.
It cannot be denied that in his day Spurgeon was extremely popular and his writings and sermons have been studied ever since. However, it is fair to ask if his view of the gospel was Biblical and if his hermeneutics should be followed by students of the Bible today. I highly recommend this book.
Kenneth W. Yates
Editor
Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
