Reading Biographies: Spurgeon

I’m reading Arnold Dallimore’s Spurgeon along with Tim Challies and others. This week, we read chapters 9-11 of  this biography of Charles Spurgeon. Chapter 9 was about the building of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, chapter 10 about the pastor’s college established by Spurgeon, and chapter 11 was about several other of Spurgeon’s ministry projects.

As you can tell by the short decriptions, these chapters were about projects Spurgeon took on as part of his ministry. He was a very, very busy man.

In addition to the duties of his ministry at the Tabernacle, with more than 3,500 members and various organizations. Spurgeon constantly accepted invitations to preach at other churches. Almost every day except Sunday he hastened off to some other church in London. Often he traveled, either by carriage or train, to more distant places.

How could anyone keep up with that sort of schedule?

But all of his undertakings flourished, and for a while, Sprugeon had the stamina to accomplish this all fairly easily. In his early thirties, however, he began to have chronic health problems that lasted for the rest of his life. I’m not sure his poor health was a direct result of his many reponsibilities and heavy schedule, but perhaps it was.

One more thing: Did you know that there were no offerings taken during the services at the Metropolitan Tabernacle? The main source of income was through the sale of seats. I admit I did a double-take when I read this:

People who wished to attend regularly paid for a seat on a three-months’ basis and were admitted by ticket. Others remained outside till five minutes before the beginning of the service, at which time the restriction was removed and the crowd rushed in and filled the rest of the building.

I’m not sure what to make of that. I know it wouldn’t go over well at my church. And if one of the bigger name preachers today started charging for seats in his church, can you imagine the criticism? But the Tabernacle was always full to overflowing and there were countless conversions. The practice of charging for seats didn’t seem to hinder the work of the church.

Thankful Thursday

All the upheaval was fun while it lasted, but I’m thankful that my life and home are returning to normal. I’m thankful for time to weed the garden and do the laundry and walk the dogs.

I’m thankful for an abundance of raspberries and broccoli and lettuce. I’m thankful for the sun and rain and soil that grows them.

I’m thankful for fun with family.

On Thursdays throughout this year, I plan to post a few thoughts of thanksgiving along with Kim at the Upward Call and others. Why don’t you participate by posting your thanksgiving each week, too? It’ll be an encouragement to you and to others, I promise.

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy 23

What do Christians mean when they say the Bible is inerrant? The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy tells us what leading inerrantist mean by inerrancy. I’ll be posting a section of this statement each week until I’ve posted the whole thing.

After a preface and a short statement, the Chicago Statement contains the Articles of Affirmation and Denial. (You can read previously posted sections of this statement in by clicking here.) The last section is the Exposition, which “gives an account of the outline of doctrine from which our summary statement and articles are drawn.” I think the expostion section, which continues here, is the most interesting—and maybe the best—section of this historic church document.

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Authority: Christ and the Bible

Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is the Word made flesh, our Prophet, Priest, and King, is the ultimate Mediator of God’s communication to man, as He is of all God’s gifts of grace. The revelation He gave was more than verbal; He revealed the Father by His presence and His deeds as well. Yet His words were crucially important; for He was God, He spoke from the Father, and His words will judge all men at the last day.

As the prophesied Messiah, Jesus Christ is the central theme of Scripture. The Old Testament looked ahead to Him; the New Testament looks back to His first coming and on to His second. Canonical Scripture is the divinely inspired and therefore normative witness to Christ. No hermeneutic, therefore, of which the historical Christ is not the focal point is acceptable. Holy Scripture must be treated as what it essentially is—the witness of the Father to the Incarnate Son.

It appears that the Old Testament canon had been fixed by the time of Jesus. The New Testament canon is likewise now closed inasmuch as no new apostolic witness to the historical Christ can now be borne. No new revelation (as distinct from Spirit-given understanding of existing revelation) will be given until Christ comes again. The canon was created in principle by divine inspiration. The Church’s part was to discern the canon which God had created, not to devise one of its own.

The word canon, signifying a rule or standard, is a pointer to authority, which means the right to rule and control. Authority in Christianity belongs to God in His revelation, which means, on the one hand, Jesus Christ, the living Word, and, on the other hand, Holy Scripture, the written Word. But the authority of Christ and that of Scripture are one. As our Prophet, Christ testified that Scripture cannot be broken. As our Priest and King, He devoted His earthly life to fulfilling the law and the prophets, even dying in obedience to the words of Messianic prophecy. Thus, as He saw Scripture attesting Him and His authority, so by His own submission to Scripture He attested its authority. As He bowed to His Father’s instruction given in His Bible (our Old Testament), so He requires His disciples to do—not, however, in isolation but in conjunction with the apostolic witness to Himself which He undertook to inspire by His gift of the Holy Spirit. So Christians show themselves faithful servants of their Lord by bowing to the divine instruction given in the prophetic and apostolic writings which together make up our Bible.

By authenticating each other’s authority, Christ and Scripture coalesce into a single fount of authority. The Biblically-interpreted Christ and the Christ-centered, Christ-proclaiming Bible are from this standpoint one. As from the fact of inspiration we infer that what Scripture says, God says, so from the revealed relation between Jesus Christ and Scripture we may equally declare that what Scripture says, Christ says.