Spurgeon and the Word of God
Spurgeon sought to preach the Word of God faithfully to his people, week in and week out. Spurgeon– on verbal plenary inspiration– stated that it is a fact and not a hypothesis.[1] He believed that the Bible was inerrant, authorative, and sufficient, and stated concerning the Word of God, “I am the Book of God: Read me. I am God’s writing: Open my pages, for I was penned by God; read it, for He is my Author.”[2]
Spurgeon preaching on Matthew 4:4 taught that in one’s search for truth, “It is not found in an infallible Church or infallible Apostles or any infallible man, for this is not where infallibility rests, but rather Christians have a more sure word of testimony, a rock of truth upon which they rest, for our infallible standard lies in ‘It is written’.”[3]
Spurgeon believed that the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but that it is the Word of God.[4] Spurgeon reinforced his view that the Scriptures were the unique, infallible, and inerrant[5] Word of God by stating: “It [The Bible] is also a book pure in the sense of truth, being without admixture of error. I do not hesitate to say that I believe that there is no mistake whatever in the original Holy Scriptures from beginning to end there is not an error of any sort in the whole compass of them.”[6]
To Spurgeon, a preacher’s chief aim must be to communicate the Word of God to the people of God. He said, “The Word of God is not committed to God’s ministers to amuse men with its glitter, nor to charm them with the jewels in its hilt, but to conquer their souls for Jesus.”[7] He believed the Bible was the very Word of God to break the heart and bring the soul before the throne of God, thus bringing them to a redemptive knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.[8] The Word of God was the foundation for Spurgeon’s entire theological perspective and ministry.
[1] Charles H. Spurgeon, The Greatest Fight in the Word. Conference Address (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1895), p. 27.
[2] Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Vol. 1 (1855), p. 110.
[3] Charles Spurgeon,, The Treasury of the New Testament, Vol. I, p.28
[4] The Newcastle Daily Chronicle, June 24, 1891.
[5] Spurgeon believed that inerrancy applied only to the original autographs (manuscripts).
[6] Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 35, 1889, p. 257.
[7] Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of the New Testament, Vol. III, p.863.
[8] Lewis Drummond, Spuregon Prince of Preachers (Grand Rapids, Kregel, 1992), 624.
Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, the Host and Producer of Equipping You in Grace Podcast, and is a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word. He is the author of The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, or read his newsletter. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his M.A.R. and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
