A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
1 Christianity on the Down-Grade
2 The User-Friendly Church?
3 Gimme That Show-Time Religion
4 All Things to All Men
5 The Foolishness of God
6 The Power of God unto Salvation
7 Paul on Mars’ Hill
8 The Sovereignty of God in Salvation
9 I Will Build My Church
10 Epilogue
Appendix 1: Spurgeon and the Down-Grade Controversy
Appendix 2: Charles Finney and American Evangelical Pragmatism
Appendix 3: Carnal vs. Spiritual Wisdom
Summary
Preface
Charles Spurgeon lamented the apathy about doctrine that was so prevalent in his day, and the fact that people had no discernment about the truth or falsity of a sermon’s content: all they wanted was something short. Pragmatism is a philosophy that is relativistic, disregarding truth and caring only about what seems to get results. Tragically, the contemporary church has bought into pragmatism for church ministry, with the result that preaching is marginalized and human-centered doctrine and entertainment dominate. In today’s evangelicalism, theology has been replaced by methodology, and expository preaching has been eclipsed by virtually anything else. Modernist, liberal theology minimized doctrinal truth in Spurgeon’s day just as pragmatism is minimizing truth in evangelical churches today. Pandering to the flesh and catering to worldly desires is used in many places to grow attendance. It seems that more and more pastors and churches are ashamed of the gospel, as proven by their ministry strategies. Spurgeon labored hard in the “Down-Grade Controversy” to keep the church faithful to the truth, and we need this spirit today.
Chapter 1: Christianity on the Down-Grade
The last four years of Spurgeon’s life were spent fighting the Down-Grade Controversy against the threat posed to true Christianity by modernism. Spurgeon knew that if the church did not take a strong, uncompromising stand for truth, the momentum of decline would exert its influence to pull churches further and further away from the gospel. Today in England, we can see the totally destructive results of giving in to liberal theology and straying from God’s Word. Evangelical churches are flirting with the world, relying on marketing strategies and consumerism rather than on a biblical philosophy of ministry. When Paul instructed Timothy about engaging in Christian ministry, Paul highlighted the need for faithful biblical preaching, refuting error, being a godly example, working diligently, and being willing to suffer hardship. Paul warned Timothy that the time would come when many people would gather around false teachers, wanting to be told only what they wanted to hear.
Our contemporary churches seem to care about nothing but ministry success, but they define success in worldly as opposed to biblical categories. Any minister who is not faithfully preaching God’s Word in season and out of season, and being willing to encourage, correct, and rebuke as needed, is being unfaithful to the calling they have received. We need to remember that our ministry is conducted in the full view of God, and we are accountable to him in the judgment. As much as there is pressure and temptation, we must not accommodate our message to those who want compromise and want their itchy ears tickled. Preachers are to be sober, earnest servants rather than shallow entertainers. Spurgeon exhorted pastors to hold fast to the truth of God and faithfully pass it down to the next generation. He did so in his day, and now the responsibility to do the same is on our shoulders. . . .
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