Spurgeon V Hyper-Calvinism:

In this short book Iain Murray details C.H. Spurgeon's lifelong battle with hyper-Calvinism. Murray does an excellent job of showing the differences between historic Calvinism and the strict systematic Calvinism that has done so much damage to the Church. This book is a powerful corrective to the excesses of Reformed theology. Here you will find a resounding call to sincere, earnest and (thoroughly) Biblical gospel preaching. If you are confused by the doctrines of grace or you find yourself troubled by the logical conclusions being drawn by some Calvinists read this book! I found it to be an unexpected blessing and a reminder of my own duties as a minister of the (whole) gospel.

While other readers have had negative opinions of Murray's work on the doctrinal battles between Charles Spurgeon and hyper-Calvinist, I enjoyed Murray's work and thought he did a masterful job of presenting an historical account of the debate. While sadly this debate no longer rages today (some would say that is good but in light of the seeker movement and the hyper-Rick Warren gospel I believe we need to return to Spurgeon), the book does give us insight into the life and struggles of Charles Spurgeon. As John Piper coined it, "Spurgeon knew how to preach through afflictions." In this book, Murray gives us the historical account of the legendary prince of preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon against extreme Calvinist who saw no need to preach the gospel to all men since only the elect would be saved and that by God's sovereign choice. While Spurgeon agreed that God predestined men to salvation he also believed that the gospel was to be preached to all men, allowing the Holy Spirit to draw men to Christ, and that it was through the medium of preaching that men are saved (1 Cor. 1:18-25). Spurgeon himself was saved through the preaching of the Word through a Primitive Methodist laymen's preaching at the age of 15. In our day we see the need for true, expository, biblical preaching to return. We need men hungry for Jesus as Spurgeon, Wesley, Fox, Bounds, Ravenhill, Tozer. We don't need new methods or new programs but we need the gospel to be preached with authority and power.

Hi, my name is David and I am a Calvinist (pause while the rest of the group says "Hi David.!")Yes, I embraced the doctrines that have come to be known as "Calvinism" and it was not without a great struggle. I wrestled with the issues that many people wrestle with, God's sovereignty vs. man's freedom, sovereingty and the existence of evil, etc.. Some were thrilled when I embraced Calvinism and others were horrified. One of the most common complaints that I have heard about Calvinists is that we don't care about evangelism. There are some who aren't bothered by that charge, they figure that God is sovereign and he will bring in the elect with or without their help. There are others who are bothered by the charge and would strenuously object to it. But, many wrestle with the practical implications of Calvinism, specifically in the realm of evangelism. There are those who believe that to be passionate about evangelism is to compromise God's sovereignty. This book shows that the two can and do go together. The only reason that a person should embrace what is called Calvinism is because they believe the Bible teaches it and if the Bible teaches it we must embrace it. And, if the Bible says that Christians have the responsibility to evangelize then we must embrace this as strongly as we embrace our Calvinism. Spurgeon got in trouble with Calvinists because of his passion for evangelism and he got in trouble with Arminians because of his passion for God's sovereignty. But Spurgeon said that his goal wasn't to be a consistent Calvinist, his goal was to be consistent with the Scriptures. If the Scriptures teach God's sovereignty, we must affirm it. If the Scriptures teach that we must have a passion for evangelism, we must. This book should be a challenge to complacent Calvinists who have rationalized away their obligation to evangelize by appealing to their views of God's sovereignty.

This book should be required reading for all who would claim the title "calvinist." Murray shows Spurgeon's courage to stand and proclaim the message of the Scriptures without rationalizing them. It is clearly shown in this excellent book that both Arminianism and Hyper-Calvinism spring from the same rationalistic error.One of the negative reviews of this book on this page suggests that one must understand supralapsarianism, infralapsarianism, and a host of other complicated issues in order to understand the "true" gospel. I'm sorry but he can't be more wrong. Compare his comments with the description given by the apostle Paul of his Gospel in I Cor. 15.

This book presents the complete messsage of the gospel from the works of Spurgeon. This book clearly shows how one can embrace the entirety of scripture, rather than falling into the trap of embracing a one-sided doctrinal scheme that cheapens the gospel from its full message: 1.of God's sovereign and electing grace & 2. man's responsibility and free will. Spurgeon preaches the gospel rather than a doctrine! In addition, this Spurgeon clarifies how one who belives in God's electing perposefully can (must) still call all people to repent. - Spurgeon makes it clear that we as Christians are called to share the entirety of the gospel as it has been revealed to us through the Word of God, even when some things (i.e. election and responsibility) do not fit logically together in our finite minds. Great is the mystery of Godliness!- After reading this book, CH Spurgeon became my new hero.