Exposing Darkness

Dr. Peter Masters is indeed a godly man and has done a lot for the Calvinistic movement in England and abroad. He is the pastor of Metropolitan Tabernacle in which was once pastored by  Charles Spurgeon.  Masters has contributed a lot to the church and has been a large voice. However he recently wrote a very controversial article in the Sword and Trowel issue 1, 2009. which I found to be a bit concerning. I am not going to judge Masters. I do believe that he is a Christian and is a good man. But I did question his charges. For a full reading of his article please read the following link- Sword and Trowel Article.

Here is my response-

1- I agree that there are some aspects to “The New Calvinism” I am not fond of. Christian rap, and heavy metal never edified me or lifted my soul to heart felt worship. I agree that  Calvinists are compromising to some degree on those issues. I personally prefer a traditional form of worship. However with that said, I also think that when it come to worship style there is room for debate. The bible is not explicit in any prohibitions and specific style of music. I have been to the most conservative churches that go by the regulative principle and will not use any instruments and sing strictly form the psalter. I have also been to more liberal churches where there is more of a contemporary feel to worship. In both cases I did feel that those leading in worship all had a desire to God glorified. While we can be cautious on syncretism, we must realize that cultures across the world and in the span of 2000 years of the church age have influenced a variety of different worship styles. We have to be careful of not allowing cultural holiness and subjective opinions dominate what we determine is God glorifying worship and not. Only God knows the heart of those singing, we cannot judge that.

2- I have been to Together for the Gospel and I think that to critique it without having gone is a grave mistake. The men at Together for the Gospel have a sincere and genuine love for Christ and a sincere desire to see Christ glorified. John Piper preached a sermon at the 06 conference that has 3000 pastors in tears, convicted of their sins. SO WHAT if there is disagreement on secondary issues? The whole point of the conference is a unity on the primary issues of faith and unity against the modern heresies that are hurting the church. Eschatology, Pnuematology, and issues of baptism can be debated but not divided over. I think the Together for the Gospel Conference was profoundly Christ centered, conservative and humble.

3- I agree that there are many Calvinists who have the head knowledge but do not live out their faith in a genuine way. Arminians love to use this argument to discredit Calvinism, however the same can be said of Arminians and of many other camps in Christianity. The reality is- God knows those who are his. The genuineness of someone’s faith will be demonstrated by their pursuit of holy living and desire to live godly lives. Jesus taught us, “you will know a tree by it’s fruit.” We must be careful though to judge the intent of the heart and the genuine of someones faith without enough evidence to prove our accusations. Judging others by “how separate they are” reeks of Phariseeism. The Pharisees were the original “separatists” and prided themselves in how separate they were. Just as there are extremes in terms of syncretist Churches there are equally extremist churches who are of a legalistic “separatist” brand, both Calvinist and Arminian. Therefore we must be cautious on how quick we are to judge other men who are making a difference in the lives a lot of Christians.

4- In the comment about, “if Edwards were alive today…” The reality is Edwards has been with the Lord for the past 200+ years or so. Alot has changed in America in that time. If George Washington was alive he would be horrified with the state of our nation. But we cannot live by the standards of the past. What do I mean? Well, I don’t mean compromising biblical values, heaven forbid. But I do mean – times have changed. We cannot judge how authentic a church we are by how well we worship like they did in the 1700’s. Edwards was a godly man. And so were many others in his day. But there are many godly men today as well. By the way, Edwards was the target of many conservatives for the all the sensational services that he had (quasi-charismatic). His treatise “Religious Affections” was written in defense of his critics.

In the end, I agree that there are times when “The New Calvinism” goes too far in trying to be worldly, but I also want to warn anyone from passing judgement too quickly without discretion. “The New Calvinism” is reaching alot of people today and is leading them to a Christ exalting relationship with God and a sense of the importance of holiness and sanctification. In fact according to Time Magazine, it is shaking things up pretty good in the evangelical world. And that is not because of the music (all denominations have that) it is because of the Christ exalting preaching of faithful men to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.