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Spurgeon v. Hyper-Calvinism: The Battle for Gospel Preaching

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While other readers have had negative opinions of Murray's work on the doctrinal battles between Charles Spurgeon and hyper-Calvinist, I enjoyed Murray's work and thought he did a masterful job of presenting an historical account of the debate. While sadly this debate no longer rages today (some would say that is good but in light of the seeker movement and the hyper-Rick Warren gospel I believe we need to return to Spurgeon), the book does give us insight into the life and struggles of Charles Spurgeon. As John Piper coined it, "Spurgeon knew how to preach through afflictions."

In this book, Murray gives us the historical account of the legendary prince of preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon against extreme Calvinist who saw no need to preach the gospel to all men since only the elect would be saved and that by God's sovereign choice. While Spurgeon agreed that God predestined men to salvation he also believed that the gospel was to be preached to all men, allowing the Holy Spirit to draw men to Christ, and that it was through the medium of preaching that men are saved (1 Cor. 1:18-25). Spurgeon himself was saved through the preaching of the Word through a Primitive Methodist laymen's preaching at the age of 15.

In our day we see the need for true, expository, biblical preaching to return. We need men hungry for Jesus as Spurgeon, Wesley, Fox, Bounds, Ravenhill, Tozer. We don't need new methods or new programs but we need the gospel to be preached with authority and power.

Hi, my name is David and I am a Calvinist (pause while the rest of the group says "Hi David.!")

Yes, I embraced the doctrines that have come to be known as "Calvinism" and it was not without a great struggle. I wrestled with the issues that many people wrestle with, God's sovereignty vs. man's freedom, sovereingty and the existence of evil, etc.. Some were thrilled when I embraced Calvinism and others were horrified. One of the most common complaints that I have heard about Calvinists is that we don't care about evangelism. There are some who aren't bothered by that charge, they figure that God is sovereign and he will bring in the elect with or without their help. There are others who are bothered by the charge and would strenuously object to it. But, many wrestle with the practical implications of Calvinism, specifically in the realm of evangelism. There are those who believe that to be passionate about evangelism is to compromise God's sovereignty.

This book shows that the two can and do go together. The only reason that a person should embrace what is called Calvinism is because they believe the Bible teaches it and if the Bible teaches it we must embrace it. And, if the Bible says that Christians have the responsibility to evangelize then we must embrace this as strongly as we embrace our Calvinism.

Spurgeon got in trouble with Calvinists because of his passion for evangelism and he got in trouble with Arminians because of his passion for God's sovereignty. But Spurgeon said that his goal wasn't to be a consistent Calvinist, his goal was to be consistent with the Scriptures. If the Scriptures teach God's sovereignty, we must affirm it. If the Scriptures teach that we must have a passion for evangelism, we must.

This book should be a challenge to complacent Calvinists who have rationalized away their obligation to evangelize by appealing to their views of God's sovereignty.

Another very satisfying and enlightening book by Murray on Spurgeon's battle for historic, evangelical, biblical Calvinism amidst the hypercalvinism prevelant among Baptists in his day. Murray shows the progression of the controversy between Spurgeon and James Wells, using myriads of quotes from periodicals like Earthen Vessel and Gospel Standard, as well as Spurgeon's sermons.

A helpful chapter develops Spurgeon's "fourfold appeal to Scripture" against the hyper's errors: 1. The universal invitations of the gospel, 2. The warrant of faith in the commands of Christ; 3. The responsibility of all men; and 4. The love and benevolence of God to all men.

Another chapter shows how hypercalvism began with John Hussey, was systematized by John Gill, and was popularized by William Huntington. There are also numerous extracts and quotes by such people as John Brown and T. C. Hammond on aspects of the controversy.

Many professed Calvinists would take great offence to the tone of this book and would level criticism at both Murray and Spurgeon. But I think the fruit of Spurgeon's ministry testifies God's blessing. Excellent book.

I also read the attmpted rebuttal of the book called Calvin v. Hyper-Spurgeonism edited by James North and Hugh Williams. It contained a good sermon on I Tim. 2:4 by Calvin (countering Spurgeon's interpretation of the text), but the rest of the pamphlet betrayed a caustic and annoying spirit.

This book should be required reading for all who would claim the title "calvinist." Murray shows Spurgeon's courage to stand and proclaim the message of the Scriptures without rationalizing them. It is clearly shown in this excellent book that both Arminianism and Hyper-Calvinism spring from the same rationalistic error.
One of the negative reviews of this book on this page suggests that one must understand supralapsarianism, infralapsarianism, and a host of other complicated issues in order to understand the "true" gospel. I'm sorry but he can't be more wrong. Compare his comments with the description given by the apostle Paul of his Gospel in I Cor. 15.

This book presents the complete messsage of the gospel from the works of Spurgeon. This book clearly shows how one can embrace the entirety of scripture, rather than falling into the trap of embracing a one-sided doctrinal scheme that cheapens the gospel from its full message: 1.of God's sovereign and electing grace & 2. man's responsibility and free will. Spurgeon preaches the gospel rather than a doctrine! In addition, this Spurgeon clarifies how one who belives in God's electing perposefully can (must) still call all people to repent.

- Spurgeon makes it clear that we as Christians are called to share the entirety of the gospel as it has been revealed to us through the Word of God, even when some things (i.e. election and responsibility) do not fit logically together in our finite minds. Great is the mystery of Godliness!

- After reading this book, CH Spurgeon became my new hero.

Any arminian (in spite of the fact that Spurgeon occasionally spoke out against arminianism) would easily side with stressing the importance of having passion for evangelism and to preach the gospel to every creature. Why shouldn't they? The more, the better, of course. After all, God needs a helping hand, doesn't He? And the talk about 'the love of God' wins the whole world! Who wants to be accused of being unloving? "Reaching out" to the point that we are downplaying or maybe even discarding regulated worship and fellowship, theology, history and...doctrine(?). Since we need to preach to the world, right? -Yes, we do! But it is within the costume of proper church government where preaching must be placed. If we are to take Spurgeon on his words on this matter, as presented by Murray in this book, I frankly have to wonder what would be left of calvinism with such an enthusiastic zeal for preaching as such. Maybe Murray would call any kind of calvinism of his dislike "hyper-calvinism", a term which in this book is represented by John Gill. For the evangelical-spurgeonite side he takes Brown and Crawford as his witnesses.

Hyper-calvinism, yet as small stream as it is today, is still the ghost that haunts some evangelical reformed. Especially those that are of the thinking that everyone has to have a dramatic conversion experience. Spurgeon's preaching (mind you, he was a preacher, not a theologian) is by itself always a source of much controversy and debate. Murray's opiniated work does not objectively present all that Spurgeon said on the matter(s) dealt with. For what reason is only a matter of speculation. Here we have yet another uncritical elevation of Spurgeon, this time being put forth as a guarantee against "unsound" types of calvinism. But if we were to use terms such as "low calvinist", "moderate" or maybe even "calminian", we would be reminded that there are several ways to interpret the often self-contradictory Spurgeon, also in regards to evangelism. Spurgeon, indeed, 'the prince of preachers' - for arminians and ecumenicals too! Popular revivalist as he still is, even among charismatics. Murray is not late to hook up with the cheers from the mainstream to make Spurgeon not only a very definition of calvinism, but also of gospel preaching.

To make things even more complicated, the issue of duty faith gets uneven attention. It's not the "duty" of anyone to believe. Nor is it a responsibility. One believes as a result of conversion, wrought about by the Holy Spirit. After regeneration there are many duties, but not prior to it. However, to call on sinners to repent and believe (which they, like the call to be perfect as God is perfect, can not do) does not mean that one gives the creature power to do the impossible (as real hyper-calvinists argue). It means that God through the preaching of the gospel gives a universal call that only the elect will heed. Yet this call does not have to materialize itself in a dramatic experience or some "accepting" of an "offer". What is left out of the story, wherein Spurgeon is depicted by Murray as the defender of genuine gospel preaching, is that the very same Spurgeon also believed that it is indeed possible for man to accomplish this at will. That's not calvinism proper.

What is left of Spurgeon, as he is portrayed in this work, may be discussed. A more serious and bitter question is: what is left of calvinism?

PS. Although I, apparently, have several disagreements with the author, I still give this work three stars as it strikingly challenges the concerned calvinist reader to research further and dig deeper.

This small book by Iain Murray is one that puts forth a history of Charles Spurgeon's preaching ministry in the midst of great fire against him by other churches in England that were Hyper-Calvinistic in their doctrines.

Iain Murray gives a quick biography on Spurgeon to give the reader a better understanding of where he came from and to catch the reader up to why this conflict was of a serious nature to the Baptist faith at the time. I found it amazing how much Spurgeon was having to fight off from guys that he deeply respected and found to be friends of some sort. The main quibbles that these men, James Wells in particular, had with Spurgeon was that Spurgeon believed in the following:

1. That the gospel should be preached to all men, not just those whom were the elect or had some sort of experience to tell them that they were being drawn by the Spirit

2. What we would call duty faith. Meaning Spurgeon believed in telling his hearers that they should repent, that it was their duty to believe in Christ, etc. Wells and others believed Spurgeon was charging men with something that they could not do.

3. Duty faith tied into human responsibility. Spurgeon believed that human responsibility was real and that it was their responsibility to turn from their sin and to love Jesus. Again, Wells and others believed that this responsibility was not for every man, only those who were "heavy-laden" and felt the Holy Spirit's working within them.

4. The last problem they had with Spurgeon was his belief that God desires for all men, not just the elect, to repent and be saved. This is still a huge discussion with many in the Reformed faith. Some siding with Spurgeon (myself included) and others still siding with Gill and Wells.

The book sets up to show the arguments against Spurgeon and the many writings against him in the various publications around England. There were many claims against Spurgeon because of the above stated beliefs. Because of this, many claimed that Spurgeon was an Arminian and did not believe in God's elected love or in total depravity.

After the charges are shown, the arguments are then put forth to show Spurgeon's responses to these charges, which mostly come from his sermons. I found this to be of great help in the understanding of God's desire for all and also a return to the days of old when verses that included the term "all" were not twisted to mean "some sorts" or "some sorts of different classes of men" etc. Throughout the book Spurgeon shows his honesty in the difficulty of putting all these doctrines together and that there is a good middle ground between the Arminian and the Hyper-Calvinist.

Spurgeon also shows great respect for both the Arminians and the Hyper-Calvinist. Where James Wells said that John Wesley went to hell, Spurgeon gives praise for the gospel preaching of Wesley. Also, John Gill is referred many times as the teacher for the Hypers and at one time called the proverbial head of Hyper-Calvinism, yet Spurgeon still shows much respect for him and also his contemporaries that held to Gill's positions.

The sub-heading for this book is "The Battle for Gospel Preaching" and I found it to be a very appropriate title. If anyone is interested in what historic Calvinism teaches, this is a great primer on the understanding. I would disagree with Spurgeon and Murray's thoughts on the extent of the atonement, but because of their graciousness and admittance that they didn't/don't understand how it could fit with the universal call, I can still recommend this book. They, Murray and Spurgeon, are very honest with their confusion of how limited atonement works within God's universal call for all to repent.

This book deals openly and honestly about the hard doctrines of the faith. It deals honestly with passages like John 3:16, Matthew 23:37; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:3,4 and the hoops one has to jump through to make this fit within their theology if they don't take 'all' to simply mean, 'all.'

If you have been approached by a Hyper-Calvinist, want a defense against a Hyper-Calvinist, or you just want to understand more of the heart of true Calvinism, I would highly recommend this book. Spurgeon is very gracious in his defenses, yet puts forth the truth.

In this short book Iain Murray details C.H. Spurgeon's lifelong battle with hyper-Calvinism. Murray does an excellent job of showing the differences between historic Calvinism and the strict systematic Calvinism that has done so much damage to the Church. This book is a powerful corrective to the excesses of Reformed theology. Here you will find a resounding call to sincere, earnest and (thoroughly) Biblical gospel preaching. If you are confused by the doctrines of grace or you find yourself troubled by the logical conclusions being drawn by some Calvinists read this book! I found it to be an unexpected blessing and a reminder of my own duties as a minister of the (whole) gospel.

C.J. Mahanney, D.A. Carson and numerous others praise this book, I think that alone would speak to any who are interested in reading it.

Despite the warnings of some, I do not believe the Southern Baptist Convention (or conservative evangelicalism for that matter) is currently facing the threat of Hyper-Calvinism. When properly defined, Hyper-Calvinism denies the universal intent of God's love and denies the free offer of the gospel. I have never met a Calvinist who fits this description.

But I do believe that the current Reformed Resurgence taking place among young evangelicals will probably spawn off some cases of Hyper-Calvinism over the next decade or so. This prediction is not made as a slight against my Calvinist brethren. Just as a resurgence of Arminianism may lead to the heresy of Open Theism, a resurgence of Calvinism can lead to its counter-heresy of Hyper-Calvinism as well.

Iain Murray's Spurgeon v. Hyper-Calvinism: The Battle for Gospel Preaching(Banner of Truth, 2002) is a short book that describes the great Charles Spurgeon's battles with the Hyper-Calvinists of his day. While many Calvinists point to Spurgeon as a hero against Arminian theology, it is rare to see him held up as an example of avoiding the Hyper-Calvinist tendencies occasionally manifested among adherents to Calvinist theology. Murray's book is a good pointer in the right direction. Read this from his introduction:

"While I know of no evidence that Hyper-Calvinism is recovering strength, it would appear that the priority which soul-winning had in Spurgeon's ministry is not commonly seen to be our priority. The revival of doctrine has scarcely been matched by a revival of evangelism... Doctrine without usefulness is no prize." (xiv)

Murray wants us to see the other side of Spurgeon. Not only his Calvinist convictions over against Arminianism, but his Calvinist convictions against the heresy of the Hyper-Calvinists of his day. I agree with Murray when he states the reasons why viewing Spurgeon in this light is necessary:

"Hyper-Calvinism only arises whenever and wherever the truth of the sovereignty of God in salvation is firmly believed. The reason why Spurgeon's first controversy has been so little thought of in these last hundred years is not that the subject is insignificant. It is rather that doctrinal Christianity as a whole has been too largely ignored. At the present time, when evangelical Calvinism is again being recovered in many parts of the earth, the danger of Hyper-Calvinism is once more a possibility and the lessons to be drawn from this old controversy have again become relevant." (40)

The central thrust of the attack against Spurgeon is his view of "duty-faith." Spurgeon believed in calling sinners to repentance. The Hyper-Calvinists believed that "saving faith in Christ cannot be the duty of sinners, for if we exhort the dead in trespasses and sins to trust in Christ we are attributing a power to them which they do not have." (58).

The main source of conflict for Spurgeon's opponents is doctrinal. However, Murray's account shows that a fair amount of politics and intrigue were involved as well. Spurgeon's rising popularity did not endear him to many of the traditionalist churches in town.

Murray does not shy away from the harsh aspects of Hyper-Calvinism. He quotes one preacher as saying:

"I believe that God does hate some of you and that he always will! Do what you will he will hate you, whether you believe or not - whether you pray or not - whether you repent or not - God hates you and will hate you!" (63)

Spurgeon responds to this heretical twisting of Calvinism by turning to the Scriptures. He argues that gospel invitations are universal in their scope, that faith is demanded of all, that man is wholly responsible for his own sin, and that the character of God is love.

I strongly recommend that Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike read Spurgeon v. Hyper-Calvinism. Perhaps it will help us keep the neo-Reformed movement from careening off track. It might even help Calvinists and non-Calvinists find some common ground, as they join hands in rejecting this heresy. Those who are now embracing Spurgeon's Calvinist theology would do well to embrace his antipathy toward the Hyper-Calvinist error.