The Pastor-Theologian Enters His Rest

Spurgeon stepped into the pulpit of The Metropolitan Tabernacle for the last time on June 7, 1891. His text was 1 Samuel 30:21-25 and the sermon titled, “The Statue of David for the Sharing of the Spoil.” He characteristically extolled the glories of service to Christ, saying, “His service is life, peace, joy. Oh, that you would enter on it at once! God help you to enlist under the banner of Jesus Christ!”[1] He would spend three months struggling to recover from influenza before the damp darkness of fall descended upon London. Sickness and season forced him to retreat to Mentone, France, his most frequent place of rest. He appeared to improve for a short time, but by mid-January 1892, his condition had worsened to the degree that hope of recovery was abandoned.

Just after 11:00 p.m. on January 31, Spurgeon passed away. His body was brought back to London to lay in state at the Pastors’ College for two days as private memorial services were conducted. His students then lovingly carried the body of their president to the Tabernacle for public viewing the next day. More than 60,000 Londoners passed through the Tabernacle to pay their respects and more than 20,000 attended the memorial services.  

The Funeral Procession Enters Norwood Cemetery

As expected, the work Spurgeon began carried on in his absence. The Tabernacle moved forward, eventually seeing Spurgeon’s son, Thomas, accept the pastorate call. The organizations and publications continued to engage and influence London, but the valiancy of their founder was deeply missed.

And the people returned to London, to take up their duties in the Tabernacle, the college, the almshouses, the orphanage, and the numerous missions and schools, to labor with fervor and patience as they had done for years, but yet to feel a sad difference, for the leader, the pastor they had loved, was no longer there.[2]

His indelible impact on London and Christianity was immediately admitted, as many who paid tribute acknowledged the depths of his influence. One such admirer remarked that the work of Spurgeon would become greater after his death than during his life, and I am in hearty agreement. Spurgeon deftly occupied the historical office of pastor-theologian and his example instructs modern readers profoundly, even after his death. 

Charles Spurgeon was just 58 years old when he went to his reward, meeting the savior he so eloquently exalted through his ministry as pastor-theologian. His early encounters with Puritan greats in the dark den of his grandfather’s library set him on a trajectory that would terminate in one of the most influential pastorates in history. His Puritan beginning produced a robust Calvinism galvanized by his consistent study of Scripture, theology, and church history. 

We only use the term “Calvinism” for shortness. That doctrine which is called “Calvinism” did not spring from Calvin; we believe that it sprang from the great founder of all truth. Perhaps Calvin himself derived it mainly from the writings of Augustine. Augustine obtained his views, without doubt, through the Spirit of God, from the diligent study of the writings of Paul, and Paul received them of the Holy Ghost, from Jesus Christ the great founder of the Christian dispensation.[3]

His theological development and delivery marked his pastoral ministry at Waterbeach and New Park Street as the crowds thronged to hear. His initial message at the Metropolitan Tabernacle exemplified his theological distinctives as he promised to focus the ministry upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. As his ministry expanded, Spurgeon built the Pastor’s College upon an explicitly “Puritanic” foundation.  His institution began training men in a theological method which Spurgeon believed embodied more gospel truth than newer methods. He had an intentional hope in this endeavor: “…that by God’s help, [we] hope to have a share in that revival of Evangelical doctrine which is as sure to come as the Lord Himself.”[4] Spurgeon’s publishing ministry, whether through the Penny Pulpit, the books, or the Sword and Trowel magazine, extended his theological ministry far beyond London to those who never attended the Tabernacle. 

In his efforts as pastor-theologian, Spurgeon centered his ministry upon the Tabernacle itself as a particular kind of generalist, building up the body in London. It was from the epicenter of ministry at the Tabernacle that the multitude of Spurgeonic enterprises were launched. He was, using Vanhoozer and Strachan’s term, an artisan in the house of God whose theological voice consistently resounded from his pulpit with great consequence.[5]  

One hundred thirty years later, we are still talking about Charles Spurgeon. We should be. A man devoted to Calvinistic theology, Christo-centric preaching, competent public engagement, and robust pastoral training is a good model for us all.

Notes

[1] Spurgeon, Autobiography, 2:500.

[2] Dallimore, Spurgeon, 242.

[3] Spurgeon, Autobiography, 1:162.

[4] Ibid., 387-88.

[5] Vanhoozer, Kevin J., and Owen Strachan, The Pastor as Public Theologian, 142.