#165 Spurgeon and the Pastors College

The Pastors’ College stressed the doctrine of Christ crucified. The motto of the College was “the Cross of Christ: “Our desire is that every man may both hold the TRUTH, and be held by it, especially the truth of CHRIST CRUCIFIED” (Earls 2022, 96). In Spurgeon's day churches had deemphasised the doctrine of Christ being crucified which ought to be the central doctrine of all those who call themselves Christian. This doctrine further speaks to what the purpose of the church is. The purpose of the church is to teach that Christ has been crucified and why that matters today. The ministry that I am going into is that of a chaplain in the military. The doctrine of Christ crucified is the first and best answer to every question that comes up in counseling as a chaplain. Of course how this looks changes on a case by case basis. Yet Christ crucified is the answer to many questions in the end.

2 Timothy 2:2 says “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (NASB). Essentially this means that as Christian leaders there are things we are meant to teach to the future leaders of the church. When we teach others about doctrines like grace, election, Christ and the cross, the Holy Spirit, love, and faith they become the sort of people that fit the description of “faithful men” in 2 Timothy 2:2.

Bibliography

Earls, Rod. Spurgeon’s Theology for Multiplying Disciples and Churches. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2022.