Dear BPCWA worshipper, C.H. Spurgeon is a familiar name to many Christians. Perhaps less well known is the fact that he started a theological college in the UK. In August, there was a sudden announcement by Spurgeon’s College that it would be closing its doors. This was certainly a “profound shock to many”, as it had been “a leading institution in Christian education in the UK for the last 169 years”. Spurgeon was also well known for his stand on the Downgrade Controversy, wherein he warned and fought against theological liberalism and increasing worldliness in the church and among believers. So in a sense, the news of the closure of the college took me by surprise, but then again, not too surprised. Is this a foreboding of the end times, which would see sound Christian institutions close?  Further reading of information from various sources revealed a concerning spiritual degradation far before the news of its closure was announced.

A good beginning. Spurgeon was a man raised and unusually endowed by God for his times. Spurgeon recognised the importance of academic education to fit one for the ministry and started what was then called the Pastors’ College to train men for full-time ministry in 1856. It began as a pastors’ college, consistent with the name it bore, and the number of students at the Pastors’ College steadily rose. Spurgeon believed strongly in the principle that “When God’s work is done in God’s way, it never lacks God’s supply.” Even at the time the college began, the erosion of traditional beliefs had already started in Christendom, with emerging theories of evolution and biblical criticism. However, Spurgeon’s commitment to orthodoxy maintained the college in the “Calvinistic interpretation of substitutionary atonement, biblical inspiration and authority, and eternal punishment” and as a “vanguard of the fight against modernism”.  All the tutors had a commitment to teach with dogmatism and clarity. Spurgeon sought to train men who had already heard the voice of God calling them. He interviewed every student before they were accepted, as he wanted people who had good Christian character, proven fruitfulness, and who were called to preach. Spiritual qualities and a proven record were key requirements.    

The beginning of the end. It became obvious after Spurgeon’s sudden death that the Pastors’ College had depended too much on Spurgeon’s “personality, generosity, and influence”. Struggles ensued. In 1923, the Pastors’ College was renamed Spurgeon’s College. After Spurgeon’s death, the college mended ties with the Baptist Union of England, ties which Spurgeon had broken because of the Union’s widespread departure from cardinal Christian doctrines. In his first year as the Principal of Spurgeon’s College, Percy William Evans, a graduate of Spurgeon’s Bible College who also became its Principal, was elected to be a member of the Council of the Baptist Union. He also later became the Baptist Union President in 1940 and attended the first Assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1948. By reuniting with the Baptist Union, Spurgeon’s College grew in “repute”. Eleven of its graduates ascended to the Union’s presidency, although the Union had continued down the path of the theological apostasy that caused Spurgeon to separate from it.  Over the years, endeavours included attempts to transform the College from a Bible College to a “collegiate university”. In time, Spurgeon’s College joined the movement of inclusion of women in the pastorate in Britain, ignoring Spurgeon’s warning that this was clearly contrary to Scripture. In the book “Lectures to My Students”, Spurgeon explains that although all Christians are to disseminate the gospel, “our service, however, need not take the particular form of preaching – certainly, in some cases it must not, as for instance of females, whose public teaching is expressly prohibited”. The first woman president of the Baptist Union was a Spurgeon’s graduate. In her 2013 inaugural sermon to a standing ovation, she echoed the emerging church philosophy, “It is time to … embrace a new way of being for the 21st century”. Signs were coming clear and strong that spiritual decay at the college had not only begun, but was rapidly deteriorating. Moreover, Spurgeon’s college had leaders who denied the teachings of Scripture. Beasley-Murray, who led the college for about 15 years in the 1960s, during which time he also served as President of the Baptist Union in 1968, produced works suggesting “that Jesus was mistaken with regard to the exact timing of the Parousia” (i.e., the 2^nd coming). In his commentary on John’s gospel, he endorsed the view that John was not the sole author of the gospel of John, but that the gospel was compiled by a community of John’s followers. He also participated in a number of World Council of Churches (WCC) study groups and expressed support for WCC’s theology, praising its “general theology” and “deep spirituality”. Amid increasing financial problems, the college attempted bolder actions to increase student registration and income. In 2023, Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback megachurch and author of “Purpose Driven Church” and “Purpose Driven Life”, was appointed Honorary Chancellor, recording videos supporting the college’s fundraising campaign to reach Christian philanthropists. Capitalising on Spurgeon’s good name, Warren said, “The name of Spurgeon stands for a number of key values the church needs to recover today . . . It represents strong Bible-based doctrine … caring for the poor, the orphaned and the marginalised.”

A bad end. C.H. Spurgeon’s intent for his school of prophets was to train called men in the ministry who would proclaim “thus saith the LORD” based on the authority of the word of God, and to stand against the downgrade that he was beginning to witness in his times. Instead, successive generations in the college forsook the truths of the faith, pulling the college down with them in the downgrade. When the closure was announced after 169 years, the college had trained thousands of students, with a recent student commenting, “it was somewhat liberal for my taste”.  The college had become something Spurgeon would probably have found distasteful to have his name linked to it. It may seem like the cause of the downfall was due to a mix of various factors. But as a purportedly conservative Christian college, one cause stands out above all others – its departure from God’s truth. Many continue to hold Spurgeon’s name (or fame) in high regard. Sadly, the college had departed from the biblical stance against falsehood and compromise, a stance that Spurgeon was so well known for. Herein lies a danger that we must not fail to notice. Men often carelessly assume that a college named after a defender of the faith like C.H. Spurgeon would live up to its founder’s stringent standards. As time passed, the standing and preaching against the spiritual decline in the Downgrade Controversy that had set Spurgeon apart as a true prophet who would stand resolutely for the truth alone was no longer important to those holding the reins of the college. The leaders after Spurgeon failed to keep the college faithful to God and its mission. Even aside from whatever administrative turmoils were apparent on the surface, God had seen fit to close this college before more harm was done under the pseudo umbrella of sound theological training. Its bad end was not because it had financial problems, but because it had spiritual problems. And it had become a wolf in sheep’s clothing by capitalising on Spurgeon’s good name. Spurgeon’s name may have secured a “good” reputation, but that repute also had the potential of doing more harm than good when men trust in and esteem a man’s name without discernment. This is because men trained in a known and openly liberal Bible college will be expected to have liberal mindsets. But few may suspect that those who are trained in a college that has a name tied to a man esteemed as conservative would have liberal convictions and leanings. C.H. Spurgeon would have been extremely disappointed himself if he were alive to see the state of the college after his death. God will supply for His work that He wants done when they are done biblically. At its end, Spurgeon’s College was no longer doing God’s work God’s way. Its doors were closed not because God could not sustain it. God closed its doors to prevent it from doing further harm to His remnant through His servant’s name.

Today, this lesson must ring loudly as a warning to us as a church. As our past 2 weeks’ sermons have reminded us, a good start does not imply a good end. A godly heritage and esteemed name do not guarantee a good end in any person’s or institution’s life. To end well, BPCWA as a church must remain true to God and His truth through the generations. We don’t want to be thought of as a sound church, but in reality embrace unsound doctrines and erroneous practices. If we do so, we are deceiving ourselves and those who trust us. Every generation must do all it can to keep falsehood out. Will you be the one now and into the future? May BPCWA always have leaders and members who will be doing God’s work God’s way, and for God’s kingdom, power, and glory alone. 

“The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.” (Psa 11:4)

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor