The Greatest Fight in the World!

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Although one of the smallest of the Spurgeon volumes, this is among the most notable of his publications. It consists of the inaugural address which he delivered at the Pastor's College Conference in April 1891. Taking "the good fight of faith" as his theme, he exhorted his audience to do their very best "in our great Master's service."

Published just before his death, this volume constitutes Spurgeon's final address to his fellow pastors. Without a doubt, it is one of the most forceful addresses that he ever delivered.

"Fight the good fight of faith" 1 Timothy 6:12

My topics have to do with our life-work, with the crusade against error and sin in which we are engaged. I hope that every man here wears the red cross on his heart, and is pledged to do and dare for Christ and for his cross, and never to be satisfied until Christ's foes are routed and Christ himself is satisfied. Our fathers used to speak of "The Cause of God and Truth"; and it is for this that we bear arms, the few against the many, the feeble against the mighty. Oh, to be found good soldiers of Jesus Christ!

Three things are of the utmost importance just now, and, indeed, they always have stood, and always will stand in the front rank for practical purposes.

The first is our armory, which is the inspired Word;

the second is our army, the church of the living God, called out by himself, which we must lead under our Lord's command;

and the third is our strength, by which we wear the armor and wield the sword. The Holy Spirit is our power to be and to do; to suffer and to serve; to grow and to fight; to wrestle and to overcome. Our third theme is of main importance, and though we place it last, we rank it first.

Our ARMORY

We will begin with OUR ARMORY. That armory is to me, at any rate—and I hope it is to each one of you—THE BIBLE. To us Holy Scripture is as "the tower of David built for an armory, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men." If we want weapons—we must come here for them, and here only. Whether we seek the sword of offence or the shield of defense, we must find it within the volume of inspiration. If others have any other storehouse, I confess at once I have none. I have nothing else to preach, when I have got through with this book. Indeed, I can have no wish to preach at all, if I may not continue to expound the subjects which I find in these pages. What else is worth preaching? Brethren, the truth of God is the only treasure for which we seek, and the Scripture is the only field in which we dig for it!

We need nothing more than God has seen fit to reveal. Certain errant spirits are never at home until they are abroad: they crave for a something which I think they will never find, either in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth, so long as they are in their present mind. They never rest, for they will have nothing to do with an infallible revelation; and hence they are doomed to wander throughout time and eternity, and find no abiding city. For the moment they glory as if they were satisfied with their last new toy; but in a few months it is sport to them to break in pieces all the notions which they formerly prepared with care, and paraded with delight. They go up a hill—only to come down again. Indeed, they say that the pursuit of truth is better than truth itself. They like fishing better than the fish; which may very well be true, since their fish are very small, and very full of bones! These men are as great at destroying their own theories, as certain paupers are at tearing up their clothes. They begin again, times without number: their house is always having its foundation dug out.

They should be good at beginnings; for they have always been beginning since we have known them. They are as the rolling thing before the whirlwind, or "like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." Although their cloud is not that cloud which betokened the divine presence, yet it is always moving before them, and their tents are scarcely pitched, before it is time for the stakes to be pulled up again. These men are not even seeking certainty; their heaven lies in shunning all fixed truth, and following every will-o'-the-wisp of speculation: they are ever learning—but they never come to the knowledge of the truth.

As for us, we cast anchor in the haven of the Word of God. Here is our peace, our strength, our life, our motive, our hope, our happiness. God's Word is our ultimatum. Here we have it. Our understanding cries, "I have found it!" Our conscience asserts that here is the truth; and our heart finds here a support to which all her affections can cling; and hence we rest content.

If the revelation of God were not enough for our faith, what could we add to it? Who can answer this question? What would any man propose to add to the sacred Word? A moment's thought would lead us to scout with derision, the most attractive words of men, if it were proposed to add them to the Word of God. The fabric would not be of a piece. Would you add rags to a royal vestment? Would you pile the filth of the streets in a king's treasury? Would you join the pebbles of the sea-shore to the diamonds of Golconda? Anything more than the Word of God sets before us, for us to believe and to preach as the life of men—seems utterly absurd to us! Yet we confront a generation of men who are always wanting to discover a new motive power, and a new gospel for their churches. The coverlet of their bed does not seem to be long enough, and they would fain borrow a yard or two of fabric from the Unitarian, the Agnostic, or even the Atheist. Well, if there is any spiritual force or heavenward power to be found beyond that reported of in this Book, I think we can do without it.

The Scriptures in their own sphere, are like God in the universe—All-sufficient. In them is revealed all the light and power the mind of man can need in spiritual things. We hear of other motive power beyond that which lies in the Scriptures—but we believe such a force to be a pretentious nothing. A train is off the lines, or otherwise unable to proceed, and a repair crew has arrived. Engines are brought to move the great impediment. At first there seems to be no stir: the engine power is not enough. Harken! A small boy has it. He cries, "Father, if they have not power enough, I will lend them my rocking-horse to help them." We have had the offer of a considerable number of rocking-horses of late. They have not accomplished much that I can see—but they promised fair. I fear their effect has been for evil rather than good: they have moved the people to derision, and have driven them out of the places of worship which once they were glad to crowd.

The new toys have been exhibited, and the people, after seeing them for a little, have moved on to other toy-shops. These fine new nothings have done no good, and they never will do any good, while the world stands. The Word of God is quite sufficient to interest and bless the souls of men throughout all time; but novelties soon fail.

"Surely," cries one, "we must add our own thoughts to Scripture." My brother, think by all means; but the thoughts of God are better than yours! You may shed fine thoughts, as trees in autumn cast their leaves; but there is One who knows more about your thoughts than you do—and he thinks little of them! Is it written, "The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity!" To liken our thoughts to the great thoughts of God, would be a gross absurdity. Would you bring your candle to show the sun? Your nothingness to replenish the eternal all? It is better to be silent before the Lord, than to dream of supplementing what he has spoken. The Word of the Lord is compared to the conceptions of men, as a garden to a wilderness. Keep within the covers of the sacred book, and you are in the land which flows with milk and honey; why seek to add to it the desert sands?

Try not to cast anything forth from the perfect volume. If you find it there, there let it stand, and be it yours to preach it according to the analogy and proportion of faith. That which is worthy of God's revealing—is worthy of our preaching! "By every Word of the Lord does man live." "Every Word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him." Let every revealed truth be brought forth in its own season. Go not elsewhere for a subject; with such infinity before you, there can be no need that you should do so; with such glorious truth to preach, it will be wanton wickedness if you wander elsewhere.

The adaption of all this provision for our warfarej we have already tested: the weapons of our armory are the very best; for we have made trial of them, and have found them so. Some of you, younger brethren, have only tested the Scripture a little as yet; but others of us, who are now getting grey, can assure you that we have tried the Word, as silver is tried in a furnace of earth; and it has stood every test, even unto seventy times seven. The sacred Word has endured more criticism than the best accepted form of philosophy or science, and it has survived every ordeal. As a living divine has said, "After its present assailants are all dead, their funeral sermons will be preached from this Book—not one verse omitted—from the first page of Genesis to the last page of Revelation."

Some of us have lived for many years, in daily conflict, perpetually putting to the proof the Word of God; and we can honestly give you this assurance, that it is equal to every emergency. After using this two-edged sword upon coats of armor, and bucklers of brass, we find no notch in its edge. It is neither broken nor blunted in the fray. It would cleave the devil himself, from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot; and yet it would show no sign of failure whatever. Today it is still the self-same mighty Word of God that it was in the hands of our Lord Jesus. How itstrengthens us when we remember the many conquests of souls which we have achieved through the sword of the Spirit!

Have any of you known or heard of such a thing as conversion wrought by any other doctrine than that which is in the Word? I would like to have a catalogue of conversions wrought by modern theology. I would subscribe for a copy of such a work. I will not say what I might do with it after I had read it; but I would, at least, increase its sale by one copy, just to see what progressive divinity pretends to have done. Conversions through the doctrines of doubtful inspiration! Conversions to the love of God, and to faith in his Christ, by hearing that the death of the Savior was only the consummation of a grand example—but not a substitutionary sacrifice! Conversions by a gospel out of which all the gospel has been drained! They say, "Wonders will never cease"; but such wonders will never begin. Let them report changes of heart so wrought, and give us an opportunity of testing them; and then, perchance, we may consider whether it is worth our while to leave that Word which we have tried in hundreds, and, some of us here, in many thousands of cases, and have always found effectual for salvation.

We know why they sneer at conversions. These are grapes which such foxes cannot reach, and therefore they are sour. As we believe in the new birth, and expect to see it in thousands of cases, we shall adhere to that Word of truth by which the Holy Spirit works regeneration. In a word, in our warfare we shall keep to the old weapon of the sword of the Spirit, until we can find a better weapon. "There is none like that; give it to me!" is at present our verdict.

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