CH Spurgeon

One guy who I’ve always heard a lot about in theological discussion s but never really knew much about was Charles Spurgeon. I’ve never read any of Spurgeon’s writings but I thought I should at least do a little research and learn a bit about him, so as to be informed. Since information is so readily available these days on the old interweb I really have no excuse to not know at least a little bit about Spurgeon.

Spurgeon was 15 when he came to be a believer. He had a bit of a Damascus experience like the apostle Paul did. He was on his way to meet someone when a bad snowstorm hit. He went in to a Methodist church to get out of the cold, presumably, and that is where his heart was converted. Only 4 short years later, at the age of 19, Spurgeon was given his first pastorate in London at the famed New Park Street Chapel. It didn’t take long to see that preaching was Spurgeon’s gifting. His sermons were printed and published each week and his readership as well as his congregation quickly grew. Spurgeon wasn’t preaching anything new he just did it with passion and with an authority that he took from the Scriptures. It wasn’t long before the congregation outgrew their building and had to relocate. The congregation had grown so big in fact that the only place that would hold them was surrey music hall. Spurgeon was regularly preaching to 10,000 people every Sunday. The astounding thing about that to me is the fact that this was before sound amplification was invented. That means that Spurgeon was preaching to 10,000 people without a microphone and sound system. I’m assuming he had a pretty big voice and learned how to project it well. There were even a couple times in which he preached to over 20,000 people with no amplification. As a sound engineer and a person with ears that is amazing to me.



Spurgeon had an amazing preaching and teaching career. In his lifetime he preached over thirty six hundred sermons and published 49 volumes worth of commentaries and other writings. Spurgeon is highly regarded in the reformed theological world and many denominations as well. His churched is considered one of the first “mega churches”. However, his church in no way resembled many of the “mega churches” of today. People were not drawn to Spurgeon’s church because of a seeker sensitive watered down gospel. They came because Spurgeon preached the truth with authority and passion because he preached from the ultimate authority, which is God as revealed in his Word. Spurgeon didn’t succumb to the humanism of his day but rather held fast to the truth.

I think Spurgeon is a great example for today. We can still have a huge impact on culture without sacrificing the truth or diluting it to please people. Our culture, and sadly much of our church, has become so completely man centered. Everyone is so concerned about what people will think that they completely ignore what God thinks or says. We need more Spurgeon’s and others like him. We need people with integrity who will stand up for truth and fight for it. Ultimately we know God is sovereign and in control. He is raising up servants every day to glorify Himself. God used a simple snowstorm to bring Spurgeon to Him and through Spurgeon His kingdom was greatly multiplied. The fight for truth is long and hard but God assures us a victory. Spurgeon understood that and I hope I can fully hold to that too.