Considering Seminary
COMMENT
I would say that there are a lot of mistakes in your commentary [on Paul Washer’s endorsement of The Master’s Seminary]. I will mention just a few. You say that ministers “should be taught in the domain of the Lords Church and discipled by the Lords elders.” (9:28) But not at The Master’s Seminary. The question is what is Church? Who is elder? As I know, John MacArthur is a pastor (elder) and professor at The Master’s Seminary. Same is with Steven Lawson, Alex Montoya, Nathan Busenitz, etc. You want to say that they are not elders or Church or what? We know who these man are, but who are you? How we can check is your life in accord with Titus 1:6-9, etc.?
RESPONSE
You make several statements. My comments are below...
I would say that there are a lot of mistakes in your commentary. I will mention just a few. You say that ministers “should be taught in the domain of the Lord's Church and discipled by the Lords elders.” (9:28) But not at The Master’s Seminary. The question is what is Church?
That is a great question. The first and foremost thing that I would point out is that TMS is NOT a church. It is a 501c3 para-church institution. Do you agree with that or do you believe that TMS is the NT church established by the Lord Jesus Christ? Please answer that directly in your response.
Who is elder? As I know, John MacArthur is a pastor (elder) and professor at The Master’s Seminary. Same is with Steven Lawson, Alex Montoya, Nathan Busenitz etc. You want to say that they are not elders or Church or what?
Given the theology that these men promote, the self-contradictory doctrines of Neo-Calvinsism, I believe that they are not faithful guides for instruction in gospel truth. While I recognize that they possess the title of "Elder" within their religious institutions, I believe that the doctrine they promote, at a minimum, calls the validity of that title into question. I believe that an Elder should be teaching the faith once delivered to the saints and not the irrational notions of Well-Meant Offer Calvinism, and that this instruction takes place IN THE CHURCH, not in a 501c3 para-church institution.
We know who these man are, but who are you?
I am a simple Galilean fisherman of no reputation in Christendom who brings forth a rational biblical analysis of what others are teaching under the rubric of Christianity for your consideration. You should assess my comments on their logical and biblical merits alone. If the reasoning is sound, and it most certainly is, then you should receive it as the rightly divided truth of the word of God that it is. If it is not, you do well to ignore it. So in keeping with that statement I would ask you the following questions:
Is TMS the church or is it an extra-ecclesial, 501c3, para-church organization?
Did Jesus Christ ever establish an extra-ecclesial organization?
Did Jesus Christ ever instruct his disciples to seek such a place for instruction?
Did Jesus Christ ever suggest that one should have to PAY to receive proper instruction?
Did Jesus Christ establish the role of Professor or College President for instruction?
And, perhaps more to the point theologically...
Did Jesus die for all of humanity or just for the sheep? (John 10:11,26)
Did Jesus offer eternal life to all of humanity, when he knew that he only atoned for the elect?
Does the eternal salvation of God's chosen people involve human responsibility in any measure?
Please provide clear, explicit answers to those questions in your response because I believe they are most helpful in demonstrating the contradictory nonsense that is visited upon God's people by the theology of John MacArthur, TMS, and the legions of seminarians that are the downstream fruit thereof.
How we can check is your life in accord with Titus 1:6-9, etc.?
You can't. But I am not an Elder [I was not at the time of this correspondence - DS]. What I'm pointing out in this analysis is not affected by whether I am an Elder or not, or whether I am qualified to be an Elder or not. My analysis should be assessed on the merits of the case I have set forth, nothing more. I feel certain that were you to examine my life you would find it deficient in many ways. I do as well. I am just a disciple trying to follow Christ in obedience who often falls short.
That said, let's assume for a moment that I do not measure up to the Titus 1:6-9 standard. Does that change the nature of truth? Brother, the truth is the true regardless of who states it. Solomon was an idolator who wrote large portions of the bible. Are we to reject the Proverbs because we see that Solomon was not qualified to be a NT Elder? In Acts 16 we see a women with an unclean spirit declaring, "These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation." (Acts 16:17) Does the fact that this woman was possessed by a devil when she made that statement somehow establish that what she said was UNTRUE? Clearly not. So we should pause here to affirm something that is very fundamental: Truth is established in the word of God. Sound, logical arguments from scripture are the truth irrespective of whether or not the one who is speaking that truth is found to be wanting in many respects. That is absolutely fundamental to our understanding and instrumental in making sure that you resist the urge to employ an ad hominem as a means of avoiding the theological matter at hand.
Having established that unalterable fact, I would point out that I was in a MacArthurite church, was brought up as a candidate for Deacon and thus was at least externally regarded by others as meeting the qualifications. I did not, however, pursue ordination because as I started to biblically assess their TMS-style teachings, I concluded that their theology was RIDDLED with logical contradictions. As a result I joined the Primitive Baptist Church, which teaches salvation by the grace of God without all of the irrational baggage of MacArthur's modern dispensational Calvinism.
I'll close by directing your attention to the 8 questions above and look forward to our subsequent discussions focused on the core thesis of my analysis of the TMS video. I believe that correct answers to those questions firmly establish the biblical basis for my objection to both TMS-style, extra-ecclesial, seminary instruction, as well as my objection to the contradictory theology they promote.
May God bless our studies and understanding of his word,
- Elder Daniel Samons
POST SCRIPT
There’s a lot more to this correspondence but for the purpose of brevity, I’ll stop there. Also I want to provide explicit answers to the 8 questions raised above for clarity’s sake.
Q: Is TMS the church or is it an extra-ecclesial, 501c3, para-church organization?
A: TMS is not a church. It is an extra-ecclesial, 501c3, para-church corporation.
Q: Did Jesus Christ ever establish an extra-ecclesial organization?
A: Nope.
Q: Did Jesus Christ ever instruct his disciples to seek such a place for instruction?
A: Nope.
Q: Did Jesus Christ ever suggest that one should have to PAY to receive proper instruction?
A: Nope.
Q: Did Jesus Christ establish the role of Professor or College President for instruction?
A: Nope.
Q: Did Jesus die for all of humanity or just for the sheep? (John 10:11,26)
A: Christ died for the sheep.
Q: Did Jesus offer eternal life to all of humanity, when he knew that he only atoned for the elect?
A: Nope.
Q: Does the eternal salvation of God's chosen people involve human responsibility in any measure?
A: Nope. Eternal salvation is not of the will (John 1:13) and not of works (II Timothy 1:9).
- EDS