A Disturbing Post by John MacArthur
Confusion over sanctification, thanks to the Reformed camp, continues to reign in Christianity. The few who do get it in the institutional Reformed church are not calling out the perpetrators by name, and I think that is a big mistake. A post by John MacArthur is indicative of the horrible confusion being propagated among God’s people in regard to sanctification.
Per the typical, the grave concern is “Counterfeit Sanctification.” This concept in and of itself is confusing and unbiblical. The overriding concern among the apostles and Christ was counterfeit justification, not a micromanaging of our motives in sanctification. To this point, in vogue among the Reformed is the idea that Galatians is primarily a sanctification concern. Hence, the tone of Galatians is lent to confusing justification and sanctification. The post by MacArthur reflects the reason that paralyzing fear and confusion are rampant in Christianity. Most Evangelicals in our day are ill prepared to lead others to Christ because they are unclear themselves on the difference between justification and sanctification.
Though much of the post is agreeable (no surprise since error always swims in the lake of truth), MacArthur begins to state confusing concepts in the third paragraph:
But that’s not true spiritual growth—it’s counterfeit. If you truly love the Lord, you can’t be willing to move the goalposts on biblical sanctification.
Then in the next paragraph…
There are many varieties of counterfeit sanctification. Some are easier to spot than others, but all lead to the same kind of spiritual shipwreck. Here are a few to be on the lookout for in your own life.
For sure, sanctification is deep waters, but notice the close correlation MacArthur makes between properly understanding sanctification and the separate issue of justification; viz, “If you truly love the Lord,” and “all lead to the same kind of spiritual shipwreck.” And there are “many varieties” with varying degrees of difficulty in ascertaining. But then MacArthur follows that up with warnings about things that the Bible specifically tells us to practice in sanctification!
Restraint is another possible kind of counterfeit sanctification. People don’t always avoid sin in favor of righteousness—sometimes they’re simply afraid to face the consequences of sin. They don’t necessarily have a heart to obey God or His Word. They’re just afraid of pursuing temptation because of the results.
The Bible instructs Christians to “abstain” (2Thess 4:3) from unrighteousness and even posits the fear of judgment as a motivation (2Thess 4:6). When offering an example of “counterfeit sanctification” that is something the Bible instructs us to do, it would seem that further qualification would be in order to prevent confusion. Nevertheless, MacArthur continues:
That fear could be the sign of a well-trained conscience. Maybe the person was raised in a Christian home and has built-in convictions about right and wrong. Maybe he grew up under the moral standard of God’s Word and can’t shake the nagging of his conscience. Rather than face a troubled conscience or the consequences of his sin, he’ll simply not do it.
But again, the New Testament, in many places, commands us to “keep a clear conscience before God.” The New Testament writers had much to say about utilizing and developing the conscience for purposes of spiritual growth. The Bible even speaks directly to a well-trained conscience being the opposite of spiritual immaturity (Romans 14).
My primary point of contention here is MacArthur’s steroidal hypocrisy. While chiding others for not being biblically clear and concise, he warns Christians against specific biblical imperatives with little qualification.
It’s eerily similar to the whole Reformed motif of sanctification being something that we shouldn’t try at home without the infinite wisdom of Reformed thought. Learn and do is a concept that is grasping at shadows without their deep knowledge of God’s word.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
Reblogged this on Clearcreek Chapel Watch.
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David,
Paul was speaking to circumcision as a commitment to the corpus of tradition propagated by Jewish sects; i.e., if you get circumcised–you are justified. Thereafter, keeping the law is optional according to how much you want to be blessed, and even that is/was mostly tradition. Hence, Paul told them that if they wanted to be justified by the law, they had to keep all of it and circumcision didn’t give them a pass on that. You have deep and fundamental dissunderstanding of the New Testament, and particularly in regard to Paul–who is in fact my hero–on that wise you rightly assess.
Moreover, I think PPT needs a David time out. From time to time you have contributed useful information, but I have warned you about parking on the Paul thing and making this a platform for your anti-Paul delusions.
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Reading those quotes from McArthur makes me think he is trying to teach that our “motivation” for doing what we do is what is important. Note this:
“They don’t necessarily have a heart to obey God or His Word. They’re just afraid of pursuing temptation because of the results”.: And this
“Maybe he grew up under the moral standard of God’s Word and can’t shake the nagging of his conscience. Rather than face a troubled conscience or the consequences of his sin, he’ll simply not do it.”
Ok, so let me get this straight. If one does NOT have the “right heart” when they do NOT do wrong/evil then it is a sin? Or perhaps it does not count if one is a believer? Your heavenly score card is not checked or something? This is the Gnosticism I got so sick and tired of.
After all, what exactly does it look like to “have a heart to obey God”? Who can make that distinction for another person? What does a “heart for God” look like for the person who is avoiding sin? I have heard this nonsense so much over the years even in seeker type churches that I wonder if we have all not gone mad. Is there some ecclessiastical court on earth that can judge a “heart to obey God” that is not sinning? Oh wait! How silly of me. I should have remembered that simply existing is a sin in their world. Our existence is a sin to God. .
Ok, “rather than face a troubled conscience”….what on earth does that mean? We have to make dates with Satan and go deep with our “troubled conscience”? Do these people not know what it means to live in victory? I agree with Argo that avoiding sin out of fear or dealing with temptations is a sign of “wisdom” and that is pleasing to God.
You know what I think? I think these guys need hooks to keep the pews full and money flowing in. What better hook than to market this “heart to obey God” stuff that only they can understand for the masses who follow them? These men do not want people to become spiritually mature. They ;put heavy burdens on them so they cannot live in victory over sin. Makes me shudder to think about it.
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Lydia,
I think your assessment is pretty much spot on. And, in light of all this, why would Paul warn of judgement in the here and now as motivation? We must remember that the Bible is also a general metaphysical statement–it shows forth the reality of how life works and this is an example of where Reformed thought doesn’t line up. That’s why the Historical Redemptive hermeneutic is so important to the Reformed crowd:it by-passes a literal grammatical interpretation. Now we are back to your point about control.
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The issue is not whether believers should restrain ourselves or not. Of course we should. If we are doing so to avoid future punishment, we have not understood the message of the gospel at all, and what we thing of as “sanctification” becomes works religion. A person with such an approach does not lose justification; he never had it.
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Let me qualify your statement a little more: there is NO way sanctification can BECOME works religion. You are either born again or you are not. The issue is a proper understanding of law. 1. There is no law to judge you in regard to justification. 2. Justification is a finished work. 3. Sanctification is totally separate from justification. 4. Sanctification is not powered by justification–it is powered by regeneration. 5. The law is not the standard for justification. 6. There is no law that can give life–no matter who keeps it(Gal 3:21). 7. The law cannot give life even if it is fulfilled in regard to justification (1Cor 15:56).
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Their motto seems to be “control by chaos.” They seem to never want a believer to be sure of anything. You can’t be sure you’re justified until some later date when your sanctification (that might not be real either depending on your heart attitude which YOU can’t possibly understand) is confirmed. And this chaos somehow proves that you have faith in Jesus. What, they don’t think there are enough trials in life to test one’s faith without nonsensical doctrinal gymnastics added to the mix? They need to get out in the real world — outside their religious bubbles.
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Bridget,
Yes, this is a pattern that I see; casting doubt on what would seem obvious. We can’t just simply learn and do without deep introspection. I observed this control technique at Clearcreek Chapel. A teaching elder would take a passage that clearly stated something and they would cast doubt on the plain sense of the passage. I do believe it is a deliberate control tactic.
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“The issue is not whether believers should restrain ourselves or not. Of course we should. If we are doing so to avoid future punishment, we have not understood the message of the gospel at all, and what we thing of as “sanctification” becomes works religion. A person with such an approach does not lose justification; he never had it.”
Jon, it is this thinking that is making rabid athiests out of young people who leave Christianity. It is the thinking that brings suicides for those who believe it and think they can never really know themselves or their motives. It is paralyzing. Not everyone can play Piper’s Christian Hedonist role 24/7 as we are seeing the fall out from now.
Sanctification is synergistic and whether you like it or not a person can “practice” sanctification. What do you think “walking in the light” refers to?
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There is nothing in anything I wrote that should cause anyone to become an atheist, or commit suicide. I also find nothing in my statement that suggests believers do not “practice” holiness. I may not always know my motives, but I can know whether I am trying to obey to earn God’s favor or to show gratitude to him for his grace. Jesus was quite clear about motives in Matt. 6:1-6. Supposed “righteousness” for a wrong motive is mere pagan moralism, not sanctification at all.
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Jon,
The Scriptures plainly states multiple motives for obedience other than gratitude. Furthermore, in sanctification, we are instructed to make it our goal to please God. Moreover, the rightly informed Christian knows there is no standard for attempting to earn God’s favor for justification in sanctification. Your assertion is a Reformed pink elephant and speaks to a progressive justification construct.
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“The issue is not whether believers should restrain ourselves or not. Of course we should. If we are doing so to avoid future punishment, we have not understood the message of the gospel at all, and what we thing of as “sanctification” becomes works religion. A person with such an approach does not lose justification; he never had it.”
Jon, There is another side to this thinking that makes it a big problem. Do you have any idea how much spiritual abuse I have seen perpetrated by “pastors” and “elders” FOR the “purity and furthering of the Gospel”?. As in their “motivation” is to further the cause of Christ? So they are doing it for the “right” reasons? Sounds good, doesn’t it? And many buy into it.
This is where definitions and ACTIONS become all important. That is collectivist thinking. The “cause of Christ” and “Spreading the Gospel” becomes more important than an individual believer which negates the whole point. The ends justify the means. People have a hard time seeing that it is the same position as Party Ideology thinking. The Party is more important than any one individual in the Party. Stalin said it this way, “You gotta break some eggs to make an omelette”. So you can sacrifice Christ’s people to further the Gospel. Not voluntarily, of course. They were simply in the way. They decide what is furthering the Gospel and the Cause of Christ and it is usally them.
Thanks, but I will take sanctification “works” anyday than Party Ideology aka :”Cause of Christ”.
Motivations and what is in someone’s heart is above my pay grade. But “fruit” isn’t. Why someone does what they do whether good or bad is between them and God. The consequences play out here with cause/effect and bear some sort of fruit whether rotten or sweet.
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“I may not always know my motives”
What? Why not? Have you been taught you might not be able to know your own motives for doing things?
” but I can know whether I am trying to obey to earn God’s favor or to show gratitude to him for his grace”
Why not just do “right” things because they are right things to do? You said earlier you might not always know your motives so how would you know WHY you are doing right things or wrong things?
Are you saying that because I went to see old Mrs Jones at the nursing home last week and was very frustrated because it was NOT a good night but that I knew it would mean so much to her and it was the RIGHT thing to do as a believer that I was in sin because I did not do it for the reasons you say are a must? I must feel in my heart a “gratitude for His grace” before I can go? This is so outrageously silly that I am starting to see why there are so many young YRR zombies where I live at ground zero.
.” Jesus was quite clear about motives in Matt. 6:1-6. Supposed “righteousness” for a wrong motive is mere pagan moralism, not sanctification at all.”
Ok so here is Matthew 6 you cite as Jesus being clear about motives. (But you just said you don’t always know your motives…doesn’t that paralyze you?). This passage is about them touting what they think is “righteousness” but is self serving promotion of a false piety. We are seeing lots of it today. I think you are taking the word righteousness here and mapping it to true righteousness which would be doing what he is talking about in private so they are not trying to appear righteous when they aren’t. They want the credit…and they wil get their reward here. Not a good thing–for such people.
Matthew 6
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7
So Jon, You bind a heavy “contemplative” burden on us in sanctification. We must feel “gratitude in our hearts” for grace before we do any decent/good/right things or it does not count? Is it sin, then? What we are really trying to do is earn favor? Sheesh!
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Paul,
The rightly informed Christian certainly knows there is nothing he can do to earn God’s favor, but that is the problem. Too many professing believers have not been rightly informed. It was no doubt MacArthur’s purpose to inform them.
“To be seem by other people” is the wrong motive, Lydia. You gratuitously impute too much to my belief system. Why don’t you try asking what I believe instead of making unwarranted assumptions?
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Jon,
Answer this question: “The rightly informed Christian certainly knows there is nothing he can do to earn God’s favor”…for justification, or sanctification? Which one are you referring to Jon? What’s your context?
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