He was born in Kelvedon, Essex, to a family of clerics. His father and grandfather were Nonconformist ministers (meaning they weren’t Anglicans). At age 15, he broke with family tradition by becoming a Baptist. He attributed this conversion to a sermon heard by “chance”—when a snowstorm blew him away from his destination into a Primitive Methodist chapel. The experience forced him to re-evaluate his idea on, among other things, infant baptism. Within four months he was baptized and joined a Baptist church.
His theology, however, remained more or less Calvinist, though he liked to think of himself as a “mere Christian”. “I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist”, he once said. “I DO NOT HESITATE TO TAKE THE NAME OF BAPTIST, BUT IF I AM ASKED WHAT IS MY CREED, I REPLY, ‘IT IS JESUS CHRIST’.”
Later on, he would write: “I say of the Baptist name, let it perish, but let Christ’s name last forever. I look forward with pleasure, to the day when there will not be a Baptist living. I hope they will soon be gone. I HOPE THE BAPTIST NAME WILL SOON PERISH; BUT LET CHRIST’S NAME ENDURE FOREVER.”
Who was this individual? It was Charles Spurgeon. The question for your consideration is this: “Was Mr. Spurgeon right in the initial statement about the Baptist name; or the latter statement? (Quote is from Spurgeon Memorial Library, Vol. 1, page 168).
“And the
disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts
11:26).
rdb
12/11/21
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