SPURGEON ON SELF WATCH

__________________

A Paper

Presented to

Dr. Tim McAlhaney

The College at Southwestern

__________________

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for IDE 3203-C

__________________

by

Wes Terry

April 28, 2009

 SPURGEON ON SELF WATCH

Charles Spurgeon has long been considered the “Prince of Preachers” by those

who are familiar with his life and ministry. Though Spurgeon died long ago, he still

speaks today. One hundred years after his death, Spurgeon was the most widely read of

all English speaking authors: living or dead.1 He was known as a man of prayer and one

who lived and breathed the presence of God. However, Spurgeon was not a perfect man.

Though his impact on the world was great, Spurgeon also knew the tendency of man to

fall into sin. This temptation was especially great for those who were involved in the

ministry. Knowing this, Spurgeon dedicated the first chapter of his classic work, Lectures

to my Students, to showing how essential the minister’s self-watch really is. Spurgeon

maintained that a vibrant walk with Christ was crucial for one who is involved in the

pastorate and an investigation of Spurgeon’s reasons for such vibrancy will show why

today, more than ever, ministers should be seeking out ways to guard themselves from

moral failure.

The Minister’s Self Watch

Spurgeon opened his chapter on the minister’s self-watch by stating that

ministers, in a certain sense, are their own tools and thus need some system of keeping

themselves in order.2 Spurgeon held that education, ministry philosophy, and all other

outward forms of religiosity were only remote instruments of the holy calling. His
1
Tim Curnow et al., A Marvelous Ministry: How the All-round Ministry of
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Speaks to us Today (Ligonier: Soli Deo Gloria Publications,
1993), ii.
2
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954),
7.
2
 3
convictions were as follows: “my own spirit, soul, and body, are my nearest machinery

for sacred service; my spiritual faculties, and my inner life, are my battle axe and

weapons of war.”3 Success for a minister is more a matter of holiness than it is of

competence: more personal piety than professional performance. In the words of

Spurgeon, “It is not great talents God blesses so much as likeness to Jesus.”4

With this thesis undergirding his argument, Spurgeon put forth that a minister

should first and foremost be regenerate because an unsaved minister would be

incompetent and mischievous. Second, the minister should take care that his piety be

vigorous because the nature of the pastorate requires it. Lastly, a minister should have his

orthopraxy agree with his orthodoxy. In other words, any man that is called to ministry is

a man called to a high level of private and public holiness. “Whatever ‘call’ a man may

pretend to have, if he has not been called to holiness, he certainly has not been called to

the ministry.”5 In order to better understand why such advice is appropriate for pastors

today, Spurgeon’s reasons for the necessity of a minister’s self-watch should be

investigated more thoroughly. To begin, Spurgeon’s plea that a pastor be regenerate will

be explored.

The Need for Regeneration

A minister is in need of salvation because he is spiritually blind without Christ.

“A graceless pastor is a blind man elected to a professorship of optics, philosophizing

upon light and vision, discoursing upon and distinguishing to others the nice shade and

delicate blending of the prismatic colors, while he himself is absolutely in the dark!” 6
3
Ibid., Pg 8.
4
Ibid.
5
Ibid., Pg 9.
6
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954),
10.
 4
Those who fail to understand inwardly the truth they proclaim outwardly are described by

Jesus as “the blind leading the blind.” (Matthew 15:14) Thus, before a pastor can

proclaim the truth of the Gospel, he must first be given spiritual sight through

regeneration.

Spurgeon’s own conversion was somewhat unique. As a child, seeking out how

he might be forgiven of his sin, Spurgeon attended various churches only to find that

none were preaching the full gospel: only moralism.7 One day, after being snowed in,

Spurgeon found his way into a Primitive Methodist worship service and was saved.8

Spurgeon believed that there was a lot of power in the message of the Gospel, impacting

both believers and non-believers. Spurgeon also believed that ministers, as a matter of

first importance, should be those who have fully understood and embraced salvation by

grace. Speaking of the unregenerate pastor, Spurgeon wrote, “How can he daily bid men

come to Christ, while he himself is a stranger to His dying love.”9 An unregenerate pastor

is ill-equipped for an effective ministry.

Such pastors suffer from spiritual heart disease and will only be cured through

a penetrating, transforming work of the Gospel in their hearts. Only then can a pastor’s

thoughts, actions, emotions, relationships, and ministry be of any real effect. A great

ministry does not precede a regenerate heart. Obedience should never be elevated above

7
Moralism may be defined as keeping the externals of the law while neglecting
the inner man and the need for grace.
8
Bessie Olson, Charles Spurgeon: A Great Preacher (Des Moines: The Boone
Publishing Company, 1944), 11.
9
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954),
10.
 5
or placed prior to faith because “right action as an end in itself without grounding it in a

heart regenerated by the kingdom’s power of love loses the moral worth of the action.”10

Pastors, void of an accurate understanding of the Gospel, are only left with

moralism and that type of preaching will not lead men to an accurate understanding of

Christ. Moralism only leads men to an externally better version of themselves.

Regardless, loving the “better” man is still damnable idolatry.11 Thus, not only is the

unregenerate pastor in danger himself, he leads others down the same path of self-

destruction. Before a pastor can focus on radical piety, he must first have experienced

radical grace. The order of events is crucial for successful ministry.

Spurgeon pleaded that pastors make their calling and election sure. How does

one do this? According to Spurgeon, you rely solely on the person and work of Christ.

One’s confidence lies in his dependence on Christ. Spurgeon elaborates with these words:

“When you have no longer that slavish fear which makes you stand back, but that

childlike confidence which draws you nearer and yet nearer unto God, then you are His

child. The spirit of adoption is one point of sure witness from the Spirit of God.”12 Only

the saved pastor is a called pastor. One must be, above all else, confident in his salvation.

The Need for Personal Piety

Granted that a minister has been genuinely converted, Spurgeon then says that

his piety must be rigorous. “His pulse of vital godliness must beat strongly and regularly;

his eye of faith must be bright; his foot of resolution must be firm; his hand of activity
10
Michael J. Wilkins, Matthew, The NIV Application Commentary: From
biblical text to contemporary life, ed. Terry Muck, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2004), 550.
11
Tim Keller, "The Gospel In All Its Forms," Christianity Today, May 23, 2008,
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2008/spring/9.74.html. (accessed April 3, 2009).
12
Charles Spurgeon, Classic Counsels: Soul-Stirring Topics from the Finest
Messages of the Prince of Preachers (London: The Wakeman Trust, 2003), 17.
 6
must be quick; his whole inner man must be in the highest degree of sanity.”13 The reason

for such piety is because the office of the pastorate demands it. Alister McGrath writes,

“The quality of our Christian life and witness is directly dependent on the quality of our

relationship with God…we cannot bear fruit unless we remain attached to the vine.”14

However, pastors often times fall short when it comes to this kind of piety.

Spurgeon described it as ministerialism: “the tendency to read our Bibles as ministers, to

pray as ministers, to get into doing the whole of our religion as not ourselves personally,

but only relatively, concerned in it.”15 Spurgeon also gave some examples of the type of

entrapments that await the minister who fails to exercise vigorous piety. The most notable

is the minister’s susceptibility to vanity.

A little success and a few lofty comments will infect a preacher with pride

faster than anything else. Vigorous piety helps guard against this. Explaining Spurgeon’s

view on vanity Larry Michael writes, “A leader who experiences some measure of

success is no doubt tempted towards boastfulness and self-exaltation. But anyone who

sees himself as a servant of Christ will recognize the need for humility.”16 Failure to

exercise vigorous piety lends itself to pride and, eventually, to the idolatry of self-

worship.

Spurgeon also said that failure to maintain vigorous piety would affect one’s

public prayer life.

13
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954),
13.
14
Alister McGrath, Beyond the Quiet Time: Practical Evangelical Spirituality
(Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995), 14.
15
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954),
15.
16
Larry J. Michael, Spurgeon on Leadership: Key Insights for Christian
Leaders from the Prince of Preachers (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2003), 45.
 7
If your zeal grows dull, you will not pray well in the pulpit; you will pray worse in
the family, and worst in the study alone. When your soul becomes lean, your
hearers, without knowing how or why, will find that your prayers in public have
little savor for them; they will feel your barrenness, perhaps, before you perceive it
yourself.17

According to Oswald Sanders, the pastor should know and practice the power

of prayer better than any other person in the church.18 However, if a minister fails to

exercise vigorous piety, his passion for prayer will atrophy along with the rest of his

graces. Spurgeon writes, “Let a man have his heart weakened in spiritual things, and very

soon his entire life will feel the withering influence.”19 This erosion of spirituality has

consequences that extend beyond the pastor himself. Again, like in the area of

regeneration, a pastor’s failure to exercise rigorous pity is damaging both to himself and

to those under his leadership. When a pastor loses sight of the importance of vigorous

piety, the damages are pervasive.

An Evaluation of the Self-Watch

Spurgeon, in the opinion of this author, is accurate in his assessment of the

self-watch. His reasons are well founded and should be taken seriously. Many times, men

surrender themselves to the ministry without knowing what ministry requires of a person.

According to Spurgeon, it requires everything. There is no room for Christian flabbiness

in the pastorate. If the words of Spurgeon were taken seriously today then local churches

all across America would have a revival of godly leadership; and the Church at large

would be better off for it.

17
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954),
14.
18
J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 85.
19
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954),
15.
 8
However, today, men cultivate personality far more than they do character.20

Spurgeon’s plea for the ministerial self-watch was speaking out against just that.

Personality does not produce a godly ministry: character does. “When a preacher is poor

in grace, any lasting good which may be the result of his ministry, will usually be feeble

and utterly out of proportion with what might have been expected.”21 Spurgeon spoke

well when he said that pastors sell short by focusing more on their competency than their

holiness.

Spurgeon deeply desired for a movement of God but he knew that when God

was not honored in the pastorate he will not move as he could. Spurgeon used the phrase

“greatest power” to describe the leadership influence that godly pastors posses and

maintained that in order to achieve that “great power” one must consecrate himself to

holiness.22 That position cannot be argued against. Larry Michael capitalizes on this point

by writing, “The diligence to which Spurgeon applied himself to the highest moral

standards gave credence to the whole spectrum of his influence as a Christian leader. The

legacy he left was rich in many ways but especially regarding character.”23

A pastor’s fervency for godliness is the first and most powerful step for

building a successful ministry. “A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of

God.”24 Pastoral integrity is an indispensible prerequisite if one wants to lead others in the
20
David F. Wells, Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover its Moral
Vision (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), 96.
21
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954),
8.
22
Larry J. Michael, Spurgeon on Leadership: Key Insights for Christian
Leaders from the Prince of Preachers (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2003), 83.
23
Ibid., Pg 85.
24
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954),
8.
 9
way of holiness. Spurgeon may not have been a perfect man but he at least knew how to

give good advice. The minister who walks in holiness carves his name on the hearts of

men rather than on the marble of buildings.25 The need for the pastoral self-watch cannot

be overstated. It is needed today more than ever. The following will explain why.

How Spurgeon Speaks Today

Spurgeon’s warnings are relevant because today, more than ever before, pastors

are leaving the ministry due to moral failure. A Christianity Today editorial submits that

the problems of moral failure in the pastorate “transcend theology and ecclesiology” and

are rooted in a “pervasive culture of sensuality and disregard for communal

accountability.”26 Whatever the excuse, the consequences of moral failure in the pastorate

are devastating. Spurgeon’s plea for radical holiness in the pastorate should be heard and

acted on.

An illustration by Spurgeon might be helpful for understanding moral failure in

the pastorate. There are two sponges and two buckets of water. One bucket is full of foul

water while the other bucket has water pulled from a crystal stream. The sponge will

absorb and be filled with whatever water it has been exposed to.27 For the minister who

keeps an eye on his spiritual vitality, the water will be filtered so that what is absorbed

adds to his holiness. Conversely, the pastor who forsakes his desire for spiritual growth

and instead pursues organizational growth (or any other type of idol) will find that his

soul has been emptied of all that is truly meaningful and satisfying.
25
Larry J. Michael, Spurgeon on Leadership: Key Insights for Christian
Leaders from the Prince of Preachers (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2003), 85.
26
Christianity Today, April 1, 2006, "Before The Next Sex Scandal: How Your
Church And Your Pastor May Prevent The Predictable,"
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/april/12.28.html. (accessed April 4).
27
Charles Spurgeon, How a Man's Conduct Comes Home to Him, in Twelve
Sermons on Backsliding, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1981), 53.
 10
Warren Wiersbe writes, “In spite of what some ‘success preachers’ say, God’s

goal for our lives is not money but maturity, not happiness but holiness, not getting but

giving. God is at work making people more like His Son, and that’s what Christian

service is all about.”28 Wiersbe’s comments should apply to pastors as well as laity. But,

as Spurgeon pointed out, the pastor may need this reminder more than anyone else in the

church.29 Sadly, though he may need the reminder, he seldom gets it.

In today’s ministry environment, hiring decisions are too often based on

competence instead of character. Questions like “How big was his last church?” or “How

many degrees does this man have?” outweigh questions such as “How evident is it that

this man loves Jesus?” or “Does this man practice what he preaches?” According to

David Wells, “Today, a discussion of personal character and social habits might well be

considered rather inconsequential and, perhaps, inappropriately intrusive in a letter of

reference. Instead, matters of competence and personality are regarded as important.”30 In

turn, this creates a culture where a man’s abilities are more important than his integrity. If

a man can perform well on Sunday mornings it is of no consequence that he is sexually

promiscuous on Saturday nights. God cannot bless that kind of ministry. God uses men of

character. As one author put it, “Talent and ability are not prerequisites to being used by

God. Accomplishments, awards, and recognition will not ensure kingdom usefulness; a

broken and contrite heart does. The Lord looks at the condition of a man’s heart.”31
28
Warren W. Wiersbe, On Being a Servant of God (Grand Rapids: Baker Books,
1993), 45.
29
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to my Students (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954),
15.
30
David F. Wells, Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover its Moral
Vision (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), 96.
31
Henry Blackaby, The God Man Uses (Nashville: Broadman & Holman
Publishers, 1999), 3.
 11
A Plea for Pastoral Purity

So, like Spurgeon, may all pastors see the need for cultivating a dynamic

spiritual life. This is not only for the sake of pastors, but for all those who are led by such

men. How are these ends achieved? First, let the reader recognize how it will not be

achieved. Effective ministerial self-watch will not be achieved by one who focuses only

on his moral performance. That is moralism. Measuring intimacy with God by how

closely one follows the externals of God’s law is idolatry in its severest form. It is not

worshiping an idol per say (such as television, organizational growth, or sex.) Rather, it is

just choosing to worship oneself: one’s deeds. This leads one not to the cross for his sense

of worth but to his neighbor. As long as he is morally better than the guy next to him, he

is ok. That is not the Gospel. That is not what keeps a minister spiritually strong. That

will chain him to self-righteousness: a sin all too common for ministers.

The way to do it is closely tied to Spurgeon’s first point. A minister must be

regenerate. However, not regenerate in the popularized sense of the word. The pastor

needs a view of the Gospel that is much bigger than that. The pastor must see God not as

good because he saves man from sin but because God is good as an end in himself. This

is the New Testament view of the Gospel. The Gospel frees one from God’s judgment but

it also frees one from the tyranny of “self.” It redeems one from sin and from moralism. It

is there that man experiences the freedom of “knowing that we are not in the center of the

universe, not even in the center of our own private universe.”32 The universe has never

been about man. Until the minister realizes that, he will not measure himself correctly.

Regeneration is not argued here in the sense that man needs to be converted

over and over again. That would be to make light of the cross. Regeneration is argued

32
David F. Wells, Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover its Moral
Vision (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), 204.
 12
here as a pervasive mindset that makes the cross even more glorious. A cross-centered

life daily reminds the minister of his position in Christ though he be unworthy of it, it

gives him strength to exercise vigorous pity, and, most importantly, a cross centered life

makes the call to ministry a privileged responsibility. Without treasuring Christ, the

minister will not treasure the call to ministry. A life centered on anything other than the

Gospel of Christ will be inefficient in creating the kind of self-watch that Surgeon pleads

for. Yet, there is an extraordinary power in the Gospel. It gives the power for true self-

examination. In the words of Spurgeon,

Self-examination is a very great blessing, but I have known self-examination carried

on in a most unbelieving, legal, and self-righteous manner; in fact, I have so carried
it on myself… any practice that detracts from faith is an evil practice, but especially
that kind of self-examination which would take us away from the cross-foot.33

Before one can begin to evaluate himself, he must take ten long looks at the cross.

It is only when a minister sees Christ in all of his perfection that he will begin to correctly

see his own imperfections. Additionally, until a minister sees his strength only in the

person of Christ, he will fall short of vigorous piety. This is a call to radical holiness in

the pastorate. However, more than that, it is a call for all pastors everywhere to look to

the cross. That is what Spurgeon would have pastors do. Spurgeon knew that the power

for life change rests solely in Christ. Until one finds it in him, he has not truly found

change.

33
Susannah Spurgeon and A.J. Rowland, comps., The Autobiography of
Charles H. Spurgeon, by Spurgeon, Charles (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication
Society, 1834), 161.
 13

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blackaby, Henry. The God Man Uses. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

Christianity Today. "Before The Next Sex Scandal: How Your Church And Your Pastor
May Prevent The Predictable." April 1, 2006.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/april/12.28.html. (accessed April 4).

Curnow, Tim, Erroll Hulse, David Kingdon, and Geoff Thomas. A Marvelous Ministry:
How the All-round Ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon Speaks to us Today.
Ligonier: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1993.

Keller, Tim. "The Gospel In All Its Forms." Christianity Today, May 23, 2008.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2008/spring/9.74.html. (accessed April 3,
2009).

McGrath, Alister. Beyond the Quiet Time: Practical Evangelical Spirituality. Grand
Rapids: Baker Books, 1995.

Michael, Larry J. Spurgeon on Leadership: Key Insights for Christian Leaders from the
Prince of Preachers. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2003.

Olson, Bessie. Charles Spurgeon: A Great Preacher. Des Moines: The Boone Publishing
Company, 1944.

Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Leadership. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994.

Spurgeon, Charles. Classic Counsels: Soul-Stirring Topics from the Finest Messages of
the Prince of Preachers. London: The Wakeman Trust, 2003.

________. How a Man's Conduct Comes Home to Him. In Twelve Sermons on

Backsliding. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1981.

________. Lectures to my Students. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954.

Spurgeon, Susannah and A.J. Rowland, comps. The Autobiography of Charles H.

Spurgeon, by Spurgeon, Charles. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication
Society, 1834.

Wells, David F. Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover its Moral Vision.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998.

Wiersbe, Warren W. On Being a Servant of God. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993.

Wilkins, Michael J. Matthew. The NIV Application Commentary: From biblical text to
contemporary life, ed. Terry Muck, vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.