CH Spurgeon's "Defense of Calvinism"

This morning, my mind was taken back by Philip Johnson to one of Spurgeon's great works, The Defense of Calvinism. I remember reading this a few years ago when I first asked the question, "What do Calvinists really believe...in their own words?" Always having been an insatiable reader of the Prince of Preachers, God turned my sight on this short piece and to this day I believe it to be the perfect description and summary of Calvinism.

If you are a Calvinist, I doubt you will disagree with me. If you despise Calvinism, I doubt you will come away with any less hatred. Regardless, Spurgeon is right: "Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else."

If Christ on His cross intended to save every man, then He intended to save those who were lost before He died. If the doctrine be true, that He died for all men, then He died for some who were in hell before He came into this world, for doubtless there were even then myriads there who had been cast away because of their sins. Once again, if it was Christ's intention to save all men, how deplorably has He been disappointed, for we have His own testimony that there is a lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, and into that pit of woe have been cast some of the very persons who, according to the theory of universal redemption, were bought with His blood. That seems to me a conception a thousand times more repulsive than any of those consequences which are said to be associated with the Calvinistic and Christian doctrine of special and particular redemption. To think that my Saviour died for men who were or are in hell, seems a supposition too horrible for me to entertain. To imagine for a moment that He was the Substitute for all the sons of men, and that God, having first punished the Substitute, afterwards punished the sinners themselves, seems to conflict with all my ideas of Divine justice. That Christ should offer an atonement and satisfaction for the sins of all men, and that afterwards some of those very men should be punished for the sins for which Christ had already atoned, appears to me to be the most monstrous iniquity that could ever have been imputed to Saturn, to Janus, to the goddess of the Thugs, or to the most diabolical heathen deities. God forbid that we should ever think thus of Jehovah, the just and wise and good!

Spurgeon, while directing his thoughts here towards those who we call Universalists, carefully displayed a general defense of true redemption against Arminianism. Arminians will so often say that "Christ died for all men!" Then His death was not enough to save the lost. You would have to believe that Christ did His part, now you need to do yours. How disturbing a thought, that Christians would believe they had any ability at all to participate in our own redemption. And yet, I know all to well the trappings because I once believed that way as well.

As with Spurgeon, I thank God that He has turned me to His sweet doctrines of grace at so (relatively) young an age. I would urge you to read not only his Defense of Calvinism, but also of other descriptive works by my fellow Calvinists. Why not learn from the teachers themselves, instead of from Dave Hunt or Norman Geisler or Hank Hanegraaff what the doctrines of grace really are? You can always drop me a line.