Sermon Tone Analysis

*Christianity on the Down-Grade*

/Doth that man love his Lord who would be willing to see Jesus wearing a crown of thorns, while for himself he craves a chaplet of laurel?

Shall Jesus ascend to his throne by the cross, and do we expect to be carried there on the shoulders of applauding crowds?

Be not so vain in your imagination.

Count you the cost, and if you are not willing to bear Christ’s cross, go away to your farm and to your merchandise, and make the most of them; only let me whisper this in your ear, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”/

Charles Haddon Spurgeon1

*I*f you’re familiar with the life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, you have probably heard of “the Down-Grade Controversy.”

Spurgeon spent the final four years of his life at war against the trends of early modernism, which he rightly saw as a threat to biblical Christianity.

The name by which history remembers the controversy comes from the title of a series of articles Spurgeon published in his monthly magazine, /The Sword and the Trowel/.

(See Appendix for an overview of the “Down-Grade” articles and a fuller account of the ensuing controversy.)

Spurgeon wanted to admonish his flock about the dangers of moving away from the historic positions of biblical Christianity.

Biblical truth is like the pinnacle of a steep, slippery mountain, Spurgeon suggested.

One step away, and you find yourself on the down-grade.

Once a church or individual Christian gets on the down-grade, Spurgeon said, momentum takes over.

Recovery is unusual and occurs only when Christians get on the “up-line” through spiritual revival.

In the controversy that transpired, Spurgeon resigned from the Baptist Union.

Later, he was the subject of an official censure by the Union.

Within a few years the Baptist Union was hopelessly lost to the new theology and Spurgeon was dead.

In 1900, Spurgeon’s wife, Susannah, wrote,

So far as the Baptist Union was concerned, little was accomplished by Mr. Spurgeon’s witness-bearing and withdrawal.…

But, in other respects, I have had abundant proofs that the protest was not in vain.

Many, who were far gone on the ‘Down-grade,’ were stopped in their perilous descent, and, by God’s grace, were brought back to the ‘Up-line’; others, who were unconsciously slipping, were made to stand firmly on the Rock; while, at least for a time, in all the churches, Evangelical doctrines were preached with a clearness and emphasis which had long been lacking.2

She believed the Lord would ultimately make clear how right her husband had been in his “protest against false doctrine and worldliness.”3

To this day, church historians debate whether Spurgeon was right to withdraw from the Union.

Many believe he should have stayed and fought to keep it orthodox.

He considered that option, but concluded it would have been futile.

I am inclined to believe Spurgeon was right to withdraw.

But whether we agree with his course of action or not, we must acknowledge that history /has/ vindicated Spurgeon’s warnings about the down-grade.

In the early part of the twentieth century, the spreading “false doctrine and worldliness”—theological liberalism and modernism—ravaged denominational Christianity throughout the world.

Most of the mainline denominations were violently if not fatally altered by these influences.

The result in Spurgeon’s own England was particularly devastating.

A hundred years after Spurgeon sounded the alarm, most theological education in England is rank liberal.

Church attendance is a fraction of what it was then.

Evangelicals are a tiny minority, true biblical preaching is uncommon even in supposedly Bible-believing churches, and the evangelical movement has been dangerously susceptible to almost every theological fad exported from America.

In short, evangelicalism in England never recovered from the modernist~/liberal assault that began a century ago.

A hundred years later, we are seeing history repeat itself.

The evangelical church has become worldly—and not just worldly, but studiously so.

Winds of doctrinal compromise are beginning to stir.

“False doctrine and worldliness”—the same two influences Spurgeon attacked—/always/ go hand in hand, with worldliness leading the way.

Christians today tend to forget that modernism was not first of all a theological agenda but a methodological one.

Early modernists were not trying to hit at the core of biblical faith; they were simply trying to make Christianity more palatable to a cynical world.

The same spirit is rampant in the church today.

I am convinced that most of those behind it would not deliberately undermine biblical Christianity.

Nevertheless, they have introduced into the church a philosophy of pragmatism and a spirit of worldliness that, if left unchecked, will eventually reap the same bitter harvest as the modernism of a hundred years ago.

*Market-Driven Ministry?*

The new philosophy is straightforward: The church is in competition against the world.

And the world is very good at capturing people’s attention and affections.

The church, on the other hand, tends to be very poor at “selling” its product.

Evangelism should therefore be viewed as a marketing challenge, and the church should market the gospel the way all modern businesses sell their products.

That calls for some fundamental changes.

The goal in all marketing is “to make both the producer and consumer satisfied,”4 so anything that tends to leave the “consumer” unsatisfied must be jettisoned.

Preaching—particularly preaching about sin, righteousness, and judgment—is too confrontive to be truly satisfying.

The church must learn to couch the truth in ways that amuse and entertain.

One best-selling author has written, “I believe that developing a marketing orientation is precisely what the Church needs to do if we are to make a difference in the spiritual health of this nation for the remainder of this century.”5

He adds, “My contention, based on careful study of data and the activities of American churches, is that the major problem plaguing the Church is its failure to embrace a marketing orientation in what has become a marketing-driven environment.”6

That all may sound very modern, and very shrewd—but it is not biblical.

And it has given the church a hard push onto the slippery slope.

Marketing principles are becoming the arbiter of truth.

Elements of the message that don’t fit the promotional plan are simply omitted.

Marketing savvy demands that the offense of the cross must be downplayed.

Salesmanship requires that negative subjects like divine wrath be avoided.

Consumer satisfaction means that the standard of righteousness cannot be raised too high.

The seeds of a watered-down gospel are thus sown in the very philosophy that drives many ministries today.

And make no mistake, the new philosophy /is/ altering the message the church conveys to the world, although many who propound these ideas think of themselves as loyal to biblical doctrine.

Christianity is on the down-grade again.

*Toward a Biblical Philosophy of Ministry*

How does market-driven ministry compare with the biblical model?

How would Timothy have fared under Paul’s tutelage if he had followed the advice of twentieth-century marketers?

We have a thorough answer to that question from the two epistles Paul wrote Timothy in the New Testament.

Paul had personally mentored the young pastor, but Timothy encountered severe trials when he was assigned the task of leading the church at Ephesus out of sin and error.

He struggled with fear and human weakness.

He was evidently tempted to soften his preaching in the face of persecution.

At times he seemed ashamed of the gospel.

Paul had to remind him to stand up for the faith with boldness, even if it meant suffering: “Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel” (2 Tim.

1:8).

The two rich epistles from Paul to Timothy outline a ministry philosophy that challenges the prevailing wisdom of today.

Paul instructed Timothy that he must:

•     Correct those teaching false doctrine and call them to a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith (1 Tim.

1:3–5).

•     Fight for divine truth and for God’s purposes, keeping his own faith and a good conscience (1:18, 19).

•     Pray for the lost and lead the men of the church to do the same (2:1–8).

•     Call women in the church to fulfill their God-given role of submission and to raise up godly children, setting an example of faith, love, and sanctity with self-restraint (2:9–15).

•     Carefully select spiritual leaders for the church on the basis of their giftedness, godliness, and virtue (3:1–13).

•     Recognize the source of error and those who teach it, and point these things out to the rest of the church (4:1–6).

•     Constantly be nourished on the words of Scripture and its sound teaching, avoiding all myths and false doctrines (4:6).

•     Discipline himself for the purpose of godliness (4:7–11).

•     Boldly command and teach the truth of God’s Word (4:12).

•     Be a model of spiritual virtue that all can follow (4:12).

•     Faithfully read, explain, and apply the Scriptures publicly (4:13, 14).

•     Be progressing toward Christlikeness in his own life (4:15, 16).

•     Be gracious and gentle in confronting the sin of his people (5:1, 2).

•     Give special consideration and care to those who are widows (5:3–16).

•     Honor faithful church leaders who work hard (5:17–21).

•     Choose church leaders with great care, seeing to it that they are both mature and proven (5:22).

•     Take care of his physical condition so he is strong to serve (5:23).

•     Teach and preach principles of true godliness, helping his people discern between true godliness and mere hypocrisy (5:24–6:6).

•     Flee the love of money (6:7–11).

•     Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness (6:11).

•     Fight for the faith against all enemies and all attacks (6:12).

•     Keep all the Lord’s commandments (6:13–16).

•     Instruct the rich to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous (6:17–19).

•     Guard the Word of God as a sacred trust and a treasure (6:20, 21).