"New Calvinists"

This is the 500th anniversary of the birth of Calvin. There are still many people, and I would count myself among them, who would say that his teaching has very much shaped the way that they think in terms of spiritual things.

There is a group of people in America, who have been called the "New Calvinists". So called because they would concurr with Calvin's teaching, but their approach to church, evangelism and worship is not what would be considered "traditional", or indeed what many other Calvinists would be.

It is encouraging that there are these people who are continuing to champion sound teaching at this time where there seems to be theological confusion in many places, even amongst some that call themselves evangelical. Therefore, I was very disappointed to read that these people have come in for criticism, in particular from Dr Peter Masters of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. I don't want to be critical of Dr Masters; he is a gospel man, and has had a fruitful ministry for many years. Eternity alone will tell how many have been converted under and influenced by his ministry.

However, I am afraid to say that he criticises very heavily those who disagree with him on certain issues that are not core gospel matters. In particular, he has very stron views on what constitutes reverent worship. He is prepared to completely dismiss others just because they disagree with him on this one point. He has done so very publically in the case of the New Calvinists in an article on the Metropolitan Tabernacle website. These are men of the calibre of John Piper, John McArthur, CJ Mahaney and Mark Dever. These are godly, thoughtful men, who I am certain would be the first to advocate reverence in the presence of God.

What I don't understand is why Dr Masters thinks that singing a hymn to a four square
tune with organ accompaniment has to be more reverent than a contemporary song with a band. The Scripture nowhere states that. Surely it's a matter of taste and, in addition of culture. Would he expect Christians in other parts of the world to sing traditional, westernised hymns rather than what is in their own culture? Surely it comes down to an attitude of the heart rather than the style of music.

Anyway, even if Peter Masters is right and these other brothers are wrong, he should still be gracious enough to extend the right hand of fellowship to them. Let's pray that God will continue to bless their ministry, and that of Dr Masters.