by Tim Challies
When I began blogging through last week’s Strange Fire conference,
I had no idea how big an impact the event would have. Even while attempting to
transcribe John MacArthur’s opening address, I was not convinced I wanted to
dedicate three days and eight or ten articles to it. But once I began to see
and hear the reaction, I determined there would be benefit to listening in,
writing it down, and in opening it up for conversation.
I attempted to make my summaries as objective as possible—simply
sharing what each speaker had said without offering my own opinions. Today I
want to circle back one more time to share a few final reflections on the
event. Here is what I am thinking several days later.
A
WORLDWIDE ISSUE
This is a worldwide issue and I need to ensure I see it that way.
We need to ensure we see it that way. Those who listened to the conference
heard again and again just how many charismatics there are in the
world—somewhere around 500 million. Conrad Mbewe made it clear that in many
places in the world, and especially in the developing world, to be a Christian
does not mean that you trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, but that you
believe in and practice something akin to the miraculous gifts. Charismatic theology
is a North American export that is making a massive impact elsewhere in
the world.
There is a challenge here for myself as a Reformed, North American
believer: I have a very narrow view of the Christian world—a too-narrow view.
MacArthur made it clear that he did not host this conference in order to
critique the Wayne Grudems and John Pipers of the world; if these men were
representative charismatics, Strange Fire would have been a non-event or, at
the least, a very different event. He hosted the event because there are
hundreds of millions of people around the world who make the fraudulent
practice of fraudulent gifts the heart of their expression of the
Christian faith.
This is the time to address that issue. There is a call here for
all of us to build on and even improve what MacArthur began and much of the
onus here falls on charismatics to do this from the inside. As Clint Archer concludes, “All true believers
are on the same team, and we’re all against the abuses and excesses of
masquerading unbelievers. Conservative Continuationists need to start their own
version of the conference to police the excesses as best they can, or they
should muster a cheer while the Cessationists do it.”
A
POLARIZING ISSUE
The charismatic/cessationist issue is polarizing. Before Strange
Fire I did not know just how polarizing it could be, though I suppose others
did know, and this is why we have been loathe to address it. Based on the
reaction to the event and the discussions back-and-forth, it seems clear that
this is an issue many of us feel as much as it is an issue we believe by
reasoning it out from Scripture. It is one of those issues where we see our own
position with utter clarity and look to the opposite position with shock that
they can believe something so absurd. Those tend to be the most dangerous
issues of all because they can turn sour so quickly and easily. In the face of
such a polarizing issue, I need to consider how I can maintain unity in the
faith while still holding fast to what I believe the Bible teaches.
CONFIDENCE
IS NOT ARROGANCE
I saw at Strange Fire that we can sometimes confuse confidence
with arrogance. And it’s not just we, but me because I
suspect that if the tables were turned, I might react in much the same way. I
am convinced one of the reasons so many people reacted badly to the event is
that MacArthur and the other speakers are so sure of what they believe. They
spoke with confidence about their understanding of what the Bible permits and
what it forbids. Some of the reaction from those who were offended seems to
imply that certainty is incompatible with humility. If this is what they truly
believe, they have succumbed to dangerous and worldly thinking.
Trevin Wax goes into some detail on this and says, “If you agree with MacArthur, the best way to engage
critics is not to defend him as if he were the pope, but to back up your claims
by appealing to Scripture. If you disagree with MacArthur, the best way to
engage the conference is not by railing against the man, but by showing
specifically the ways you think he caricatured your position and by providing a
calm, sober affirmation of continualist claims, backed up by Scripture.” And
again, “let’s not judge the conference speakers as wrong simply for gathering
together and taking a stand against doctrines they believe to be false. As
Christians, we may be continualists or cessationists, but we are
not relativists.”
THERE
IS MISUNDERSTANDING
I have long believed that many of the issues related to
charismatic and cessationist theology owe to misunderstandings between the two
sides. The reaction to this conference—the many discussions through social
media and elsewhere—reveal that we need to do a better job of understanding one
another, of affirming common ground, and of determining the importance of our
differences. As a convinced cessationist, I was troubled to hear caricatures
from charismatics about quenching the Holy Spirit, about elevating Scripture
above God, about excluding all possibility of miracles, and so on. All of these
caricatures show an uncharitable and unhelpful misunderstanding of
cessationism. I am sure many cessationists were equally unfair and that I,
myself, do not understand the continuationist position as well as I should. The
simple fact is, until we rightly understand one another, we are in a weak
position to bring critiques. But I know I am prone to do it anyway, to argue
out of ignorance. I have to challenge myself here to be quick to listen and
slow to speak, and when I do speak, to speak through the Scriptures.
WHAT
WE BELIEVE (NOT WHO)
This is a late addition to the article (a half hour after posting
it), but I wanted to express it. We always face the danger of making our
theology about who we believe rather than what we
believe. The last thing we want or need is “I am of MacArthur” and “I am of
Grudem.” I am sure this is the very last thing those men want. So even while we
take our cues from the men we admire and the men who may think better than we
do, let’s be sure that we are all Bereans, that we are all going back to the
Bible to determine what we believe. Let’s be known for what we believe far
ahead of whom we believe.
THERE
IS MORE WORK TO BE DONE
Strange Fire was an event that primarily targeted the worst of the
charismatic movement. As I said when I offered an early look at the book, it is more about Benny Hinn than Bob
Kauflin. While the Reformed charismatics may be a valued and significant part
of the New Calvinism, they represent only the smallest fringe of the wider
charismatic movement. What still remains to be done is to interact with the
best arguments of the best of the charismatics and to address this from within
the Reformed resurgence. This would be a very different event with a very
different purpose and I hope someone will sponsor it before long.
CONCLUSION
Only time will tell of the long-term impact of Strange Fire, but
as I think back to the past few days, I find myself grateful for it. I suppose
that may be easier to say as a cessationist than a charismatic, but I believe
the event and its aftermath will prove beneficial. I continue to pray that God
would use it to to strengthen His church and to glorify His name.
No comments:
Post a Comment