Spurgeon at His Best

Today?s guest post is by Nate Pickowicz. Nate is pastor and planter of Harvest Bible Church in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. He holds a Master of Arts in Theology from Trinity Theological Seminary. We connected with Nate after he shared his excitement about Spurgeon Commentary: Galatians on Twitter.

New Spurgeon commentary!
HT @Phil_Johnson_ @LexhamPress pic.twitter.com/5nbgA8Uwzs

? N??? P?c??w?cz (@NatePickowicz) February 6, 2015

Here are some of Nate?s thoughts on Spurgeon Commentary: Galatians:

If you?re like me, you have a shelf-full of beautiful hardback ?Spurgeon?s Sermons? volumes that you?ve vowed to read this side of heaven. But alas, there they sit. Charles Spurgeon is a Christian household name, but I doubt very much that many Christians have read enough of him to know why he is such a treasure.

Even preachers can be challenged to find a way to interact with Spurgeon on a weekly basis. Random quotes, at best. But now, Lexham Press has brought us the Spurgeon Commentary Series. With ten volumes released digitally, the volume on Galatians is now in print for the first time.

The project was no doubt an enormous undertaking, edited together by Elliot Ritzema, and compiled in the style of a traditional commentary; this project pulls from Spurgeon?s massive body of work, assembling the best of his teaching on the biblical text. In the forward, Phil Johnson asks, ?Why didn’t someone do this long ago?? Good question, Phil, but praise the Lord it’s here now!

The book itself is formatted nicely; crisp typeset, clear text divisions for easy reading. At the beginning of each main section, the Bible text is given, followed by three main features: exposition, illustration, and application.

While Spurgeon did not systematically comment on each individual verse, Ritzema does a nice job of scouring the Spurgeon archives to get as much comprehensive material as possible. Spurgeon?s command of doctrine and clarity is commendable. But it?s the addition of illustrations and application material that shows Spurgeon at his best. So much of this preaches!

What I find so enthralling is that this project sets Spurgeon?s illuminated understanding and wit in the context of specific Bible passages. As a preacher myself, I live in pericopes and revel in the excitement of interacting with gifted teachers on any given text. And now, I can add Charles Spurgeon to that dynamic teaching team.

My only hope is that this project will not stop with these volumes, but continue. If Galatians is any indication of the quality of the forthcoming volumes, we are in for a real treat. Every preacher, teacher, Bible student, and believer can benefit from this wonderful work. Can you tell I?m excited?!

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Spurgeon Commentary: Galatians is available now digitally and in print.

The other nine volumes in the Spurgeon Commentary Series are available now in digital format, and they will be released in print later this year.