A Sermon for the Time Present (S1990)
From From the Heart of Spurgeon by Jeremy Walker
June 12, 2026 · 37 min · Episode 294
About this episode
This episode discusses Spurgeon's sermon addressing the Downgrade Controversy and the call for faithful conduct amidst trials.
By October of 1887 the Downgrade Controversy—the battle against doctrinal decay in the professing church of Christ—was in full swing. Letters had appeared in The Sword and the Trowel over the previous months, and Spurgeon himself had entered the fray through August and into September. The sermon which we consider today is clearly the fruit of that conflict, with Spurgeon feeling “as if the text had been newly written for the present occasion, for it is in every syllable most suitable to the immediate crisis.” That text is Zephaniah 3:16–18, where the Lord calls his people to faithful labour and promises his saving and succouring mercies to them. Spurgeon handles the text by looking at the present trials of God’s people, the glorious consolation which they have in the midst of those trials, and the brave conduct which ought to characterise them in the face of those trials. Many of us see the unhappy inheritance of the theological liberalism which took root at the end of the nineteenth century. While we may not be of the generation which saw the downgrade, we can—if we continue to heed Spurgeon’s call to arms—be a generation which seeks to recover some of the lost ground. Read the…
People in this episode
Host: Jeremy Walker
Topics covered
- Downgrade Controversy
- doctrinal decay
- faithful labour
- theological liberalism
- Christian consolation
- brave conduct
Keywords
- Spurgeon
- Downgrade Controversy
- doctrinal decay
- Christianity
- faithful labour
- theological liberalism
- consolation
- brave conduct
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Sword and the Trowel
Books & works: A Sermon for the Time Present, Zephaniah 3:16–18
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- God’s Thoughts of Peace, and Our Expected End (S1965) · May 22, 2026 · 35 min
- The Watchword for To-day: “Stand Fast” (S1959) · May 15, 2026 · 32 min
- Earthquake, but not Heartquake (S1950) · May 8, 2026 · 38 min
- Eternal Life Within Present Grasp (S1946) · May 1, 2026 · 38 min
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