Search the Scriptures

In this sermon on Isaiah 8:20, Charles Spurgeon urges Christians to test everything they hear—including their childhood religious training, preachers' sermons, popular books, and even his own teaching—against the Bible itself, since many eloquent speakers attract crowds by preaching false doctrines and people tend to accept teachings based on how they're said rather than whether they're biblical. He warns that studying Scripture will help believers detect error, speak confidently in debates, and find salvation, while those who don't read their Bibles risk being misled even by well-meaning ministers who might emphasize morality or ceremonies without preaching the necessity of being born again, or who deny doctrines like election, depravity, and eternal security. Spurgeon specifically asks his congregation to examine his own teachings about predestination, believer's baptism, and closed communion against Scripture, insisting that every doctrine—no matter how small—must be tested by God's Word rather than accepted on any preacher's authority.Sermon delivered on January 17, 1858.