What was the Downgrade Controversy?

In 1887 and 1888, renowned pastor Charles Spurgeon was involved with what came to be known as the Downgrade Controversy (also spelled Down-Grade Controversy). In this context the word grade is used in an architectural, construction, or engineering sense; that is, it refers to the slope of the land. If the ground is sloping down, it is a down grade. The term downgrade, as used by Spurgeon, meant very much the same thing as our term slippery slope. The idea is that things are starting to go wrong, and once they get going, it will be nearly impossible to stop them from getting worse.

During the final years of Charles Spurgeon’s life, he began to forcefully disagree with many in the Baptist Union, the organization of which he was a member. At issue was doctrinal purity and biblical teaching. Some, including Spurgeon, warned that the Baptist Union was on a slippery slope doctrinally in that certain compromises were being made with error. The term downgrade was coined by Robert Schindler in an article he wrote for Spurgeon’s magazine, Sword and Trowel. In the article, Schindler warned that some ministers were on a “down grade” away from essential evangelical doctrine. They were drifting from the truth of Scripture, and the downward course must be arrested before it caused damage in the church (https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/down-grade-controversy, accessed 3/27/25).

Spurgeon himself took up the fight and continued to publish something about the Downgrade Controversy in every issue of his magazine for about two years (https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/down-grade-controversy, accessed 3/27/25).

There were four primary doctrinal errors that some in the Baptist Union were beginning to espouse: Scripture was not infallible, Christ’s atonement was not substitutionary, hell was not eternal (and maybe not even real), and everyone will be saved in the end (www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/blog-entries/what-was-the-downgrade-controversy-actually-all-about, accessed 3/27/25). Near the beginning of the dispute, Spurgeon wrote, “Our warfare is with men who are giving up the atoning sacrifice, denying the inspiration of Holy Scripture, and casting slurs upon justification by faith” (Sword and Trowel, April 1887). Through it all, Spurgeon refused to name names, choosing to issue more general admonitions.

Essentially, Spurgeon was warning about an encroaching theological liberalism. Many of the issues Spurgeon addressed are still issues today in various denominations. Mission drift, or mission creep, is a reality in many religious institutions.

In October 1887, Spurgeon withdrew from the Union because the leadership was not taking the “down grade” seriously. Spurgeon’s resignation dealt a severe blow to the denomination. The leadership lashed out at Spurgeon, saying that he had not done enough to try to reconcile before withdrawing. So, what was supposed to be a dispute over doctrinal issues became an issue of inter-denominational politics, personalities, and personal attacks. The Baptist Union voted in 1888 to censure Spurgeon, and the move was quite a blow to him.

The Downgrade Controversy continued later, as some, including Spurgeon’s brother James, helped broker a new Baptist statement of faith that would be more evangelical but still broad enough to allow more liberal-leaning members to affirm it. This compromise was a further disappointment to Spurgeon. The controversy took a toll on his health and seems to have consumed the last few years of his life (https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/down-grade-controversy, accessed 5/27/25).