Tethered to the Cross: The life and Preaching of C.H. Spurgeon (Thomas Breimaier) -- A Review

 

TETHERED TO THE CROSS: The Life and Preaching of C.H. Spurgeon. By Thomas Breimaier. Foreword by Timothy Larsen. Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020. Xvi + 271 pages.

                In each generation, there will be preachers who stand out among their peers. While that is true, determining who warrants being numbered among the best is subjective. Names like Augustine, John Chrysostom, Martin Luther, George Whitefield, Martin Luther King, Barbara Brown Taylor might make the all-time preacher's list, but what makes for greatness? Is it the content of the sermons or the style? According to reports, George Whitefield made people cry simply by pronouncing the word Mesopotamia. Among historical figures that many would add to the list of greats is the Victorian-era Baptist preacher Charles H. Spurgeon. The author of the foreword to the book, Timothy Larsen, places Spurgeon in the company of John Chrysostom, Bernard of Clairvaux, Catherine of Sienna, and George Whitefield. That is heady company. So, who is Charles Spurgeon and what is it about his preaching that made him one of the greats of the nineteenth century?

                Thomas Breimaier has undertaken the task of answering this question in his book Tethered to the Cross. While it is biographical, it is a scholarly work that focuses on Spurgeon the preacher, biblical interpreter, and educator. The author of this work is a lecturer in systematic theology and history at Spurgeon College in London (this is the college that Spurgeon founded). Despite Spurgeon's fame as a preacher, according to Breimaier, Spurgeon has received relatively little scholarly attention. That makes this particular study an especially important contribution. As noted in the acknowledgments the book began its life as Breimaier's doctoral dissertation at New College, University of Edinburgh.

                As we learn at the end of the book, Spurgeon died at the age of fifty-seven, making him still relatively young at the time of his death. Nevertheless, he had become an important figure in English evangelicalism while still in his early twenties. Breimaier notes that he was admired by people of every level of society, from the poor to the powerful. Among his admirers were political leaders such as William Gladstone and James Garfield. I should note that Garfield was not only the President of the United States, but he was a preacher of note among Disciples of Christ churches in the United States. Unsurprisingly, Spurgeon went on to found the largest church in England—Metropolitan Tabernacle. But, not only did he draw a large audience to his church, but his fame spread across the globe in the form of printed copies of his sermons that were sold for a penny in London and around the world.

                So, what made him special? For one thing, it appears he was a well-regarded orator, even by his critics. His message was rather simple, with his preaching and reading of the Bible guided by two themes or lenses: crucicentrism and conversionism. He preached decidedly evangelistic sermons rooted in the message of the cross (penal substitution). He was conservative in his thinking but did not get caught up in the usual religious debates of the age, such as the raging question of the moment concerning the age of the earth.

                While preaching is the core of Spurgeon's life-calling, the author focuses his attention not on technique but on Spurgeon’s interpretation of scripture that stood behind that preaching. Here is where the cross comes in. This is the lens through which Spurgeon read and interpreted scripture, with the intention of converting sinners as his goal. This commitment to this lens is seen in his sermons, his commentaries, his books, articles, and instruction. Breimaier notes that these two themes—the cross and conversion—form two of the four pillars that David Bebbington assigns to evangelicalism, with the other two being activism and biblicism. Briemaier suggests that these other two themes are present, but they're subsumed under the two primary themes of cross and conversion.

                The author points out that Spurgeon did not have a formal education, but he was well-read. Spurgeon’s lack of formal education was due in part to the restrictions placed on non-conformists by the English universities (Cambridge and Oxford). Nevertheless, Spurgeon, who didn't seem to believe that formal schooling was all that valuable read widely, including historical-critical works in translation. He did so even though he rejected much of the critical biblical scholarship that was emerging in Great Britain at the time, as it was filtered in from Germany. Breimaier gives us a detailed introduction to Spurgeon's interaction with this scholarship. Thus, he might be conservative in his theology, but he wasn’t ignorant of the options of the day.

                As we learn here, Spurgeon was a child and grandchild of preachers. Nevertheless, he did not convert under their ministries. It was at a Primitive Methodist church that he came to faith. As for education, he loved books and was largely self-taught. He was especially attracted to the Puritan Divines, including Joseph Alleine and Richard Baxter. His most formalized education can at an agricultural college. Despite the lack of formal education, he would take up a position as a tutor at a nonconformist academy in Cambridgeshire. As for ministry opportunities, these began with his employment teaching Sunday School in an Independent chapel in Newmarket. This led to preaching opportunities at which he excelled. By 1851, though not yet twenty, he was called to serve as pastor of Waterbeach Chapel.

                Chapter two tells the story of Spurgeon's early years of ministry at New Park Street Chapel, a historic Baptist congregation in London, as well as his decision to form the Metropolitan Tabernacle. One thing we learn here is that while he was a Calvinist, he rejected high Calvinism. One reason for this decision was that he believed hyper Calvinism left little room for a free offer of conversion, which was the centerpiece of his ministry. We also learn that besides his preaching, he communicated his message about the Bible in his magazine The Sword and the Trowel, which he started in 1855. Besides the magazine, he wrote and published commentaries and devotional books, the latter for home use.

                With these two foundational chapters laid out, Breimaier uses the next two chapters (3-4) to focus on Spurgeon’s interpretation of Scripture. Chapter 3 focuses on his reading of the Old Testament through the lens of cross and conversion. Here we read of Spurgeon's engagement with critical scholarship, which was making its way from Germany into England at the time. What is important to note, however, is that in his preaching he believed every sermon should have a direct reference to the cross and conversion, even readings from the Old Testament. As he explores Spurgeon’s interpretation of the Old Testament, Breimaier provides an informative introduction to the way critical scholarship was being received and interacted with at the time. As for Spurgeon’s theology of the Bible, he strongly held to a belief in the plenary inspiration of Scripture so that every word was directly inspired by God, making it the infallible word of God. While the doctrine of inerrancy was in its infancy, he expresses similar views as the American inerrantists. That isn’t surprising since Spurgeon was a devotee of Princeton theologian Charles Hodge.

                The same focus on the cross and conversion guided Spurgeon’s interpretation of the New Testament (chapter 4). Again, he took a conservative/literalistic perspective, rejecting critical scholarship, even though he consulted it and spoke about it (largely dismissing it) in his commentaries. His engagement with German scholarship came largely through translated books, as well as through the filtering of that scholarship through the work of British scholars such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge. While he interacted with this scholarship in written works, it rarely appeared in his preaching. In all, Breimaier takes us through Spurgeon's readings of the Gospels, Epistles, and Revelation. Here it's important to note that Spurgeon steered clear of much of the dispensationalism that was emerging in evangelicalism. He suggested he had other things to do than focus on apocalyptic scenarios.

                Having outlined Spurgeon's interpretation of Scripture, Chapter five focuses on the later years of ministry, from the mid-1870s to his death in 1892. Here the focus is on how Spurgeon engaged with scripture in his preaching outside Metropolitan Tabernacle. We also learn about his health issues, which would take his life at a young age. While he might not be in the pulpit as much, he did continue writing, including in his magazine The Sword and the Trowel. It is was in this forum that he often reviewed the latest books of biblical interpretation and offering his own take on things. We also learn of his involvement in the Downgrade Controversy in the Baptist Union, a controversy over biblical interpretation that led to his departure from his denomination after concluding that it was dominated by liberals.

                The final chapter focuses on his creation of educational institutions that ranged from evening classes offered to working people, so that they might gain an education, not only in the Bible but the arts and sciences (much as F.D. Maurice did with his Working Men's College). He also offered Sunday and midweek women's classes through the Metropolitan Tabernacle. It should be noted that this was a period of rising literacy rates in England, and so classes like this were important to that cause. Finally, there was the Pastor's College, which became Spurgeon College. Though not having a formal education of his own, he perceived the need for such education for those hearing the call to ministry. While the curriculum was focused on the Bible, it also offered classes in English grammar, math, and classical literature. Interestingly, while the students he admitted had to be Baptists, he was open to hiring non-Baptists including Independent (Congregational) ministers like George Rogers.

                I responded to a publisher’s invitation to review the book not because I am of the same theological persuasion as Spurgeon or the author of this book, but because Spurgeon is an important figure in the modern history of Christianity. While I don't find the theology compelling, it's important to understand how a vision like this becomes dominant. It's also helpful to understand how scripture might be read with preaching in mind. Perhaps he was successful because of his singleness of focus, or perhaps it was his gifts. It's not always easy to tell. In any case, the book is scholarly and not hagiographic. While I expect that the author shares many of Spurgeon's beliefs about the Bible, I found him to be fair and willing to take note of areas of concern. Spurgeon was an important figure in Victorian English religion, who was admired by not only Baptists but people from across the broad evangelical world. Thus, he is worthy of study. It is rather surprising that so little scholarly attention has been paid to him. So Thomas Breimaier's Tethered to the Cross is a welcome contribution to the study of modern evangelicalism and the task of preaching.