Spurgeon’s False Gospel
Meme Post #4
Where to start in all the ways that this meme contradicts Scripture and denies the new birth and true gospel? Let’s start with a few blatant contradictions.
Our faith does NOT rest. Our faith WORKS through love (Gal 5:6). Faith is a GIFT, but that doesn’t mean we don’t put the gift to work. In fact, the belief that our faith doesn’t work suggests that we must continue to keep ourselves saved through “rest.” Spurgeon, like most lying Calvinist heretics, held to the Reformation’s Sabbath Rest Salvation. It holds to the idea that the Old Testament Sabbath rest is New Testament sanctification and we must continue to live by faith alone in our Christian lives to keep ourselves saved. This, according to Calvin, happens through receiving continued forgiveness for “present sin” through church membership.
And remember, Spurgeon once said that Calvinism isn’t “just a nickname,” but “is the gospel” itself.
True faith doesn’t rest–it works. There is no true love in a faith that rests.
Secondly, the Bible makes it clear that we grow spiritually through obtaining knowledge; what’s up with the idea that knowledge doesn’t define who we are as believers? Frankly, I don’t care how many people think this guy is a spiritual icon–you know, kinda like the Bereans who held Paul accountable to Scripture.
Thirdly, the idea that who we are doesn’t point to the legitimacy of our faith and is therefore not a resting faith contradicts a vast number of Scriptures and Hebrews 11 in particular.
Fourthly, how we feel is most certainly important because the Bible says that faith not working in love will cause the believer to be full of fear.
Why is it ok for Spurgeon to blatantly contradict Scripture? Because Baptists have a longstanding tradition of being man-followers, that’s why.
Furthermore, note that we supposedly rest in the idea that who we are is NOT who Christ is! HUH!!!! Say what???? If Jesus is your big brother because you are literally born into the same family, you had better be like Him or you aren’t born again (see 1John).
And finally, note that we rest in what Christ has both DONE and is DOING. This is the Reformed doctrine of Double Imputation. It teaches that Christ came to secure our salvation by both dying for sin and keeping the law in our stead. It teaches that justification is based on perfect law-keeping rather than the new birth. Jesus could die for us because He lived up to the standard of the law, and presently keeps the law for us if we are “resting” in what He has “done and is doing.” This is a blatant contradiction to Galatians chapter 3. This is the very idea that Paul is refuting in that chapter.
This makes the law a co-life-giver with God and promotes an additional seed (offspring), but their is only ONE SEED (see Gal 3). In essence, Paul was arguing that this very idea makes the law a fourth member of the Trinity. And in fact, Calvinists state this openly when they say that “the empty hand of faith presents the doing and dying of Christ to the law and the law is satisfied.”
So, instead of God electing the means of salvation, Christ dying to end the law, and the Spirit fulfilling “The Promise” of resurrection and baptism to Abraham and Christ, we now have that added fourth element of the law being the standard for justification instead of new birth obtained by faith alone in The Promise. The contrary view of this meme keeps the so-called believer under law rather than under grace, and that’s supposedly ok because Jesus keeps the law for us.
But this also keeps the believer from performing the purpose of the law for sanctification, faith working through love. Instead, we must rest because Jesus is the only one that can keep the law perfectly as the law supposedly gives salvific life when fulfilled. In contrast, the Old Covenant kept sin captive until Christ came and ended it. The law was ended by Christ’s death in regard to its ability to condemn, and we are now free to serve the law in regard to love (Rom 7 and Heb 6:10). The Old Covenant still holds all sin captive that is committed against it (“all sin is against the law”) until a person believes in Christ resulting in the law being ended for condemnation and the person being set free to “use the law lawfully” (1Tim 1:8ff.) for purposes of loving God and others. Those who do not believe on Christ will be condemned by the law, but there is “NOW NO condemnation for those in Christ.” Rather, true believers are free to fulfill the law in aggressive love for God and others (Rom 8).
For the outcome of Spurgeon’s “rest” see the Parable of the Talents. Resting in love that Christ supposedly fulfills for us evokes this response from Him: “You lazy, wicked servant.”
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
Wow! The timing of this post is uncanny. This morning, I saw the following in my Facebook newsfeed posted by a friend:
” ‘God intends for you to be a living demonstration of his magnificent glory as you rest in him, even when you can’t understand or explain him.’
Nancy Guthrie , ‘The Wisdom of God’ “
Seeing that post prompted me to compose the following post in my profile:
“Another anti-Reformation Weekend thought for the day:
No, the Christian life is not a ‘rest’. We don’t ‘rest’ until we enter the Kingdom. The Christian life is work! We are to aggressively pursue obedience to show love to God and to others. There is no fear in love. Perfect (mature) love casts out all fear. There is no fear of condemnation, for the law of sin and death has been ended for those who are born of the spirit!”
I had no idea that this would be your article topic today, so it is an encouragement to have this as a reinforcement!
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Wow. I am loving “anti Reformation” Weekend thought. Just getting past the either/ or dichotomy of Protestant or Catholic seems impossible these days in Christendom. I crack up when the Reformed just assume I am Protestant.
Personally, I find comments like Nancy Guthries nothing but silly mindless platitudes. Same for the Spurgoen quote. It is a do nothing navel gazing faith because doing something is works salvation in their world. This thinking is the worst. The Cross/Resurrection is done. It happened. I can choose to believe it and strive to live out this new kingdom now…..or not. There is no resting because daily we must conform ourselves to Christ….. is hard. Being just and living in love is hard. Growing in wisdom is hard. Thinking is hard. And so on and on.
But people eat up the mindless platitudes because they require nothing. Not even thinking.
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It may be mindless, but let’s recognize it for what it is: Neo-Gnosticism; the EXACT same Gnosticism that attacked the 1st century church. It’s the same stuff to a T and an I. And, I would beg to disagree slightly; we can’t be unborn so there is no confirming going on–it’s LOVE that’s hard.
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Not really understanding your point about being unborn. I am looking at what it means to be born again. It seems to me that humans have some ability, responsibility and accountability to Christ in the process to repent and believe and all that entails. Spurgoen disagrees. It is all done for you if you are chosen.
However, it is quite easy to catch Calvinists not living out what they believe. You cannot actually live out determinism when you pursue medical treatment for a serious illness, is one obvious example. That is resting in faith?
I think our problem lies in semantics
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clarification: the new birth is literal. I take Romans 6, 7, and 8 literally. Salvation is not merely a legal declaration propped up by observing a life of Sabbath rest, viz, Protestantism, it is a literal passing from death to life according to our being. The old self ceases to exist–all things are new. The law condemns the unjustified, the new birth justifies apart from the law through the Spirit’s baptism, and the born again uphold the law through love. Hence, justification is NOT a “legal declaration.” You have to have a law for a legal declaration. There is no law in justification. We are just because we are born of God. We are therefore justified “APART from the law.”
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Hi Paul,
I read your article, and I must confess that there are many points I disagree on and are a misrepresentation of what Spurgeon was saying in this quote, I’m only going to focus on what you stated with: your interpretation of the word rest.
“My faith rests…” is not saying “My faith takes a nap in a lawn chair.” The word ‘rest’ is clearly used in the way a house rests on its foundation. In other words; his faith is placed (founded) upon Christ alone and not himself.
Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
So salvation comes not of what works we’ve done, but what Christ has already done and is doing in all who believe. Now good works is evidence that you have a living faith, but is not the means of salvation, and Spurgeon would agree that if you claim to have faith but there is no evidence of it (lip-service only) than that is no faith at all as clearly stated in James 2:14-26
This article rests upon a different definition of the word ‘rest’ than how Spurgeon was using it.
And remember
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing,
and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
and we all do fade as a leaf;
and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Our faith rest in the Savior Jesus Christ, we rest in His righteousness. Not on any works that we have done; for our best works, our self-righteousnesses, are as filthy rags and cannot merit entrance into heaven.
That is all this quote is saying.
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Dobby,
“Rest” doesn’t really mean “rest” because we are resting on the works of someone else. Right. At any rate, if you do no righteous work you are not righteous and therefore not born of God.
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