Giants In The Mist: Why Spurgeon And The Puritans Are The Antidote To Modern Anemia

In an era where the evangelical landscape is often characterized by theological minimalism, emotional manipulation, and pragmatism, the modern soul finds itself strangely malnourished. We have technologically advanced worship services, comfortable seating, and “relevant” messages, yet the average Christian often remains anemic, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14).

Why is this? I submit that we have cut ourselves off from our supply line. We have traded the granite of historical theology for the papier-mâché of pop psychology. To recover our spiritual pulse, we must look backward—not in nostalgia, but to the “Old Paths” (Jeremiah 6:16). We need the Biblicist Synthesis: the doctrinal precision of the Puritans and the burning, practical holiness of the Wesleys.

The Diagnosis: A Lightweight Faith

The modern church often suffers from a split personality. We tend to choose between “head knowledge” (dry orthodoxy) and “heart experience” (emotionalism without roots). The giants of the past refused this dichotomy.

Charles Hodge reminds us that truth is the fuel of the heart, while John Wesley warns us that truth without love is a dead letter. When we ignore these voices, we end up with a God who is “manageable”—a deity who suggests rather than commands, and who affirms us rather than transforms us.

The Antidote: The Sovereignty of God and the Responsibility of Man

To cure this anemia, we must sit at the feet of two distinct but complementary groups of witnesses.

1. The Puritans & Spurgeon: The Anchor of Sovereignty

The Puritans (and their spiritual heir, C.H. Spurgeon) offer us the anchor we need. They did not shy away from the hard truths of Scripture. They understood that God is not merely a cosmic therapist, but the Sovereign Lord of the Universe.

Reading Spurgeon or the Westminster Divines forces us to confront the holiness of God. They teach us that we are small, and He is infinite. This is not to crush us, but to comfort us. As Spurgeon famously said:

I have a great need for Christ: I have a great Christ for my need.

C. H. Spurgeon

2. Wesley & Murray: The Fire of Responsibility

However, doctrine alone can become cold. This is why we also need the “Arminius” voice—the voice of John Wesley and Andrew Murray. While the Puritans teach us how God rules, the Wesleys teach us how man must respond.

They remind us that the offer of salvation is genuine and that the call to holiness is urgent. Andrew Murray, in his works on the Deeper Life, challenges us not just to believe right things, but to abide in the Vine (John 15). They strip away our excuses for spiritual laziness and call us to a life of “perfect love” and total surrender.

A Unified Christ for Our Need

Ultimately, we return to these old volumes not to worship men, but because they were obsessed with Christ.

Read Spurgeon, and you see the Christ who saves by Sovereign Grace.
Read Wesley, and you see the Christ who invites all to come and live in holy freedom.
Read Gulley, and you see the consistent love of God that predates time.

To read these giants is to have your eyes lifted from the mud of self to the glory of the Risen King. It is to realize that the Christian life is not about you; it is about Him.

Let us, therefore, blow the dust off these old volumes. Let us combine the heat of the Awakening with the light of the Reformation. Let us sit at the feet of these masters of Israel—not to stay there, but to look where they are pointing: to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

References and Further Reading

Gulley, Norman R. Systematic Theology. Vols 1-4. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press. Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Mounce, William D. Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006. Murray, Andrew. The Essential Works of Andrew Murray. Edited by Tracy M. Sumner. Barbour Publishing, 2008. Spurgeon, C. H. Spurgeon's Commentary on the Whole Bible. Wesley, John. John Wesley's Notes on the Whole Bible. Christian Classics Ethereal Library.