Monday, May 05, 2008

ADMIRE THE BEAR
...a time for truth, courage, humility and contrition

by C.H. Spurgeon

Before I could quit my faith in the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus Christ and my confidence in the Everlasting Covenant ordered in all things and sure, I should have to be ground to powder and every separate atom transformed. What would they give us in exchange for the faith? That is a question, which it is easy to ask but impossible to answer. Suppose the Doctrines of Grace could be obliterated and our hope could be taken away—what would they give us in the place of them— either for this life or the next? I have never seen anything proposed in the place of the Gospel that was worth considering for a second. Have you? Uncertainty, doubt, glitter, mockery, darkness—all these have been offered—but who wants them? They offer us either bubbles or filth according to the different shade of the speculator’s character. But we are not enamored of either. We prefer gold to dross.

We must defend the faith.
For what would have become of us if our fathers had not maintained it? If confessors, Reformers, martyrs and Covenanters had been indifferent to the name and faith of Jesus, where would have been the Churches of today? Must we not play the man as they did? If we do not, are we not censuring our fathers? It is very pretty, is it not, to read of Luther and his brave deeds? Of course, everybody admires Luther! Yes, yes. But you do not want anyone else to do the same today. When you go to the Zoological Gardens you all admire the bear. But how would you like a bear at home, or a bear wandering loose about the street?

You tell me that it would be unbearable and no doubt you are right. So, we admire a man who was firm in the faith, say four hundred years ago. The past ages are a sort of bear-pit or iron cage for him. But such a man today is a nuisance and must be put down. Call him a narrow-minded bigot, or give him a worse name if you can think of one. Yet imagine that in those ages past, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and their compeers had said, “The world is out of order. But if we try to set it right we shall only make a great row and get ourselves into disgrace. Let us go to our chambers, put on our night-caps and sleep over the bad times and perhaps when we wake up things will have grown better.”

Such conduct on their part would have entailed upon us a heritage of error. Age after age would have gone down into the infernal deeps and the infectious bogs of error would have swallowed all. These men loved the faith and the name of Jesus too well to see them trampled on. Note what we owe them and let us pay to our sons the debt we owe our fathers. It is today as it was in the Reformers’ days. Decision is needed. Here is the day for the man—where is the man for the day? We who have had the Gospel passed to us by martyr’s hands dare not trifle with it—nor sit by and hear it denied by traitors who pretend to love it but inwardly abhor every line of it.

The faith I hold bears upon it marks of the blood of my ancestors.
Shall I deny their faith, for which they left their native land to sojourn here? Shall we cast away the treasure which was handed to us through the bars of prisons, or came to us charred with the flames of Smithfield? Personally, when my bones have been tortured with rheumatism, I have remembered Job Spurgeon, doubtless of my own stock, who in Chelmsford Jail was allowed a chair because he could not lie down by reason of rheumatic pain. That Quaker’s broad-brim overshadows my brow. Perhaps I inherited his rheumatism. But that I do not regret if I have his stubborn faith which will not let me yield a syllable of the Truth of God.

When I think of how others have suffered for the faith, a little scorn or unkindness seems a mere trifle, not worthy of mention. An ancestry of lovers of the faith ought to be a great plea with us to abide by the Lord God of our fathers and the faith in which they lived. As for me, I must hold the old Gospel—I can do no other. God helping me, I will endure the consequences of what men think my obstinacy.

Look you, Sirs, there are ages yet to come. If the Lord does not speedily appear, there will come another generation and another and all these generations will be tainted and injured if we are not faithful to God and to His Truth today. We have come to a turning point in the road. If we turn to the right, maybe our children and our children’s children will go that way. But if we turn to the left, generations yet unborn will curse our names for having been unfaithful to God and to His Word. I charge you, not only by your ancestry but by your posterity, that you seek to win the commendation of your Master—that though you dwell where Satan’s seat is—you hold fast His name and do not deny His faith.

God grant us faithfulness for the sake of the souls around us!
How is the world to be saved if the Church is false to her Lord? How are we to lift the masses if our fulcrum is removed? If our Gospel is uncertain, what remains but increasing misery and despair? Stand fast, my Beloved, in the name of God! I, your Brother in Christ, entreat you to abide in the Truth of God. Conduct yourselves like men, be strong. The Lord sustain you for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The quote is from the sermon, "Holding Fast The Faith"
[The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol 34, preached on Feb 5, 1888--at the nadir of the "down-grade"].

7 comments:

dogpreacher said...

Amen!

Let us not compromise the word of truth, for anything. Instead, let every man who says he is called of God to preach His gospel, lay down His life for the same. Let us Deny ourselves and pick up our cross daily. Let us take the solemn charge that Paul gave to Timothy, and make it personal. NEVER let us be one of those who would say, "Yeah, I know this is not biblical, but every one likes it, and we don't want to go rockin' the smooth sailing boat of unity over some doctrinal issue,...after all, I don't think this one (doctrine) was that important anyway".

Oh God, gives us men who will not be "loving the world" while 'pastoring' your Church.

Let us pray for 21st century Whitefields, Spurgeons, Edwards, and the like, that you will raise up to "preach the word" uncompromisingly, and lay down their life for the Kingdom!

Steve, thanks for reminding us where we are, and the battle that lies before us.

SJ Camp said...

I fully agree with your prayer brother.

I am so thankful to the Lord for His cleansing grace in my life. I have blind spots, failings, shortcomings and sin issues in my wicked heart. I need faithful friends and family point them out to me and then hold me accountable to the truth of God.

Oh to be a worthy vessel fit for His use. What a hope we have in His restorative grace and sovereign will for our lives.

This has been a hard but good day. Thank you for your words--they ministered to me greatly.

Steve

littlegal_66 said...

Quote from Spurgeon: "Let us go to our chambers, put on our night-caps and sleep over the bad times and perhaps when we wake up things will have grown better.”

Oh, what a gut-check! (I'm still queasy from it)! Although Spurgeon was saying "what if" Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and their peers had made the above statement, isn't the sad reality that we sometimes actually are guilty of that mentality in modern times? Quite a sobering thought. Another manner of being "asleep in the light?!"

Pester Brat said...

Awesome quote from Spurgeon, thanks for posting it Steve. Dogpreacher, thanks for your comments as well, heart-stirring indeed?

Stephen Morse said...

Spurgeon had something good going didn't he?

I mean, what he was preaching and teaching came from a source much deeper and richer than the culture specific, anecdotal, pithy, and oh so emotional well that much of what is passed off as evangelical material comes from today.

Won't we take a hint from him and take our sermons from the ever-lasting, all-powerful, living and active Word that applies to each and every generation forever and ever?

Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh yes!!!!

bluhaze said...

And the Lord does sustain His Words.

Luke 21:33  Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

I have no fear that they shall ever pass.

Joel said...

I have remembered Job Spurgeon, doubtless of my own stock, who in Chelmsford Jail was allowed a chair because he could not lie down by reason of rheumatic pain. That Quaker’s broad-brim overshadows my brow. Perhaps I inherited his rheumatism. But that I do not regret if I have his stubborn faith which will not let me yield a syllable of the Truth of God.

This kind of surprises me. Given that Quaker theology is even farther from Calvinism than my own, did Spurgeon consider them Christians? I was a member of the Evangelical Friends for a good many years, and I'm not denying their Christianity, but I would have thought Spurgeon would have had a problem with it.