Nourishing Sheep or Amusing Goats?

Charles Haddon Spurgeon is the subject of the historical introduction of View Your God: Rethinking Goodness Biblically.

Feeding Lamb or Amusing Goats?
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
A great evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can barely fail to notice it during the past few years. It includes developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It includes worked well like leaven before the whole lump ferments. Satan has seldom done a cleverer thing than leaving clues to the church that part of their quest is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to earning them.
From speaking away as the Puritans performed, the church has slowly but surely toned down her account, then winked at and excused the frivolities during. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Nowadays she has adopted them under the plea of achieving the masses.
My personal first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere used of in the Scriptures as a function of the church. If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it? “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to each creature” (Mark 16: 15). That is clear enough. Therefore it would have been if He previously added, “and provide amusement for many who do not relish the gospel. ” No such words, however, need to be found. That did not seem to be to occur to him.
On the other hand, “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers…, for the work of the ministry” (Eph. 4: 11-12). Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Soul is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused those or because they rejected? The concert has no martyr roll.
Again, providing amusement is in immediate antagonism to the coaching and life of Christ and all his apostles. What was the frame of mind of the church to the world? “Ye are the salt” (Matt. 5: 13), not the glucose candy–something the earth will spit out not ingest. Short and sharp was the utterance, “Let the dead bury their dead” (Matt. 8: 22) Having been in awful passion.
Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasurable elements into his mission, he would have been more popular when they went back, due to searching nature of His teaching. I actually do not notice him say, “Run after these people Peter and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a nice evening for the people. Let them know they will be certain to enjoy it. Be quick Philip, we must find the people somehow. ” Christ pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to entertain them.
In vain will the Epistles be explored to find any track of the gospel of enjoyment! Their message is, “Come out, keep out, keep clean out! ” Nearly anything approaching fooling is noticeable by its absence. They will had boundless confidence in the gospel and applied no other weapon.
Following Peter and John were locked up for speaking, the church had a prayer meeting nevertheless they do not pray, “Lord give unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of blameless recreation we may show these people how happy our company is. ” If they ceased not from talking Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down (Acts 17: 6). That is the only difference! God, clear the church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed onto her, and bring us back to apostolic methods.