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From the Usher's Desk to the Tabernacle Pulpit: The Life and Labors of Charles Haddon Spurgeon
by Robert Shindler.
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From the Usher's Desk to the Tabernacle Pulpit by Robert Shindler, a Baptist pastor and close associate of Charles Spurgeon. Shindler had known Spurgeon since 1855, and because of their personal relationship Shindler was able to offer unique insights into Spurgeon's life and work that few people could offer. About the Author Robert Shindler, penned the articles tracing the decline of biblical doctrine in the late 17th century up to the late 19th century. He pointed out how some of the Nonconformists, those that were ejected from the Anglican Church because they would not conform to its laws and liturgies, were gradually slipping away from their 'old Puritan godliness of life, and the old Calvinistic form of doctrine' to become 'less earnest and less simple in their preaching, more speculative and less spiritual in the matter of their discourses, and dwelt more on the moral teachings of the New Testament, than on the great central truths of revelation' So there was less emphasis on the central doctrines of Scripture and more talk on moral and popular issues. 'Ruin by sin, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and redemption by the blood of Christ' were truths conspicuously absent from the pulpits and discussions. Though professing orthodoxy, they seldom preached the orthodox truths that Christians held for centuries. Eventually, some of the pastors and churches headed in the direction of Arianism, denying the biblical teaching of the two natures of Christ, and subsequently, culminating in embracing Unitarianism. Among Baptists, it was the General Baptists rather than the Particular Baptists that moved away from the central teachings of Scripture. The General Baptists held to an Arminian theology while the Particular Baptists held to a Calvinistic theology. Particular Baptists held the line even while many Presbyterians and Independents did not, leaving a spiritual legacy of biblical orthodoxy and evangelicalism for the next generation. Shindler, with Spurgeon's approval, used this background to set the stage for present concerns. 1859 was a year of great revival in England, especially among the Baptists, but it was also the year that Charles Darwin published The Origin of the Species. Darwin, along with his father and grandfather was raised in a church whose theological foundation had long been eroded. They taught, according to Shindler, 'full-blow Socianism,' a theological system that denied the inspiration of Scripture, the Trinity, Christ's deity, original sin, the necessity of the atonement, predestination, and the bodily resurrection. Nurtured in that womb of false doctrine, Darwin could make claims against God as Creator. Accompanying Darwinism was the Higher Criticism of Continental theologians that denied the historicity of some books of the Bible as well as denying certain human authors under divine inspiration. In a climate that welcomed intellectual advances, students were beginning to value science more than theology. This began spilling over into the pulpits of Britain. Shindler recognized the decay, and along with Spurgeon raised the alarm to the churches. 'In the case of every errant course there is always a first wrong step,' he wrote. Then giving the example of a mariner, Shindler drove home his point. 'If a mariner, having to traverse an unknown sea, does not put implicit confidence in his charts, and therefore does not consult them for guidance in steering the ship, he is, as anyone can see, every moment exposed to dangers of various kinds. Now, the Word of God - the Book written by holy men as they were moved by the Spirit of God - is the Christian's chart.' He explained that even though one does not fully understand the charts he still follows them. After the example given, he states his point clearly: 'The first step astray is a want of adequate faith in the divine inspiration of the sacred Scriptures. All the while a man bows to the authority of God's Word, he will not entertain any sentiment contrary to its teaching... But let a
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