True Preaching and Sanctified Sweat Go Hand in Hand (2 Tim. 2:15; Col. 1:29)

The Polemical Ministry of Charles Spurgeon

Phil Johnson's D. Min lecture on the Polemical Preaching of Charles Spurgeon.

Spurgeon was a topical expositor and often took a short text or phrase from a verse and expounded it in a doctrinal manner.  In his sermons he sometimes departed rather quickly from the context of his stated text.  His sermon content was sound and was well supported with a slew of cross references.  Having said that, it is a homiletic model that preachers today should not try to duplicate.  For one, Spurgeon had a photographic memory and he enjoyed an exceptionally powerful voice.  Concerning his sermon preparation Spurgeon studied all week long.  He filled his mind every week of his Christian life with biblical truth and sound doctrine.  You might say Spurgeon had deep theological wells to draw upon.  Concerning his work ethic, "Spurgeon often labored 18 hours a day. Famous explorer and missionary David Livingstone once asked him, “How do you manage to do two men’s work in a single day?” Spurgeon replied, “You have forgotten that there are two of us.” On Saturday evening at 6pm Charles began to develop his sermon outline that he would then take with him into the pulpit.  Before Spurgeon's sermons were distributed throughout the world (up to 25,000 copies a week) he would edit his transcript.