Bringing reformed and charismatic together

Can ‘reformed’ and ‘charismatic’ Christians live together in the same church? A veteran Sydney Anglican minister, Barry Dudding, believes they can and should. This sermon ruffled feathers – but why?

Romans 14:1-22 “Diversity in the Church”

In our sermon series on the church, we are dealing with another important topic, which was a burning issue in the early church and is just as relevant today, even though the issues are different. It deals with the subject of diversity of opinion on secondary issues where believers had strong convictions.

In the Apostolic church, it had to deal with matters of food and observing certain days as being more holy than others. Paul writes, “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man’s faith allows him to eat anything, but another man whose faith is weak eats only vegetables.” This could have been because they were vegetarians or because the animal may have been offered to an idol and was, therefore in their opinion, contaminated. So they did not feel at ease in eating it.

In verse 5, Paul writes, “ one man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike.” As far as Paul is concerned, these are secondary issues, not primary ones that compromise the Gospel. Therefore, they should not cause a breach in fellowship. It would be unthinkable to have two churches, one for vegetarians and one for meat eaters. So, the believers should not pass judgment on one another. They should allow diversity.

I can think of an application of this lesson in my own Christian development. In my early Christian life, I was very legalistic. I did not drink or smoke. I was taught it was wrong to play cards or to dance and I must never go swimming on Sunday because that was the Lord’s day, so when my family went to the beach on Sunday, I would sit in the car and read Christian books.

I think I gave a very bad impression of the Christian faith to my family. I still don’t drink partly because I know Christians for whom it is a problem, but I no longer pass judgment on Christians who have a glass of wine. My faith was weak in my early days, but I hope I have become much less judgmental of other Christians who think and practise differently to me.

I think Beach Mission knocked the idea of not swimming on Sundays out of me because we swam whenever we could, whatever the day was. Nevertheless, although my faith was weak, it was still a genuine faith resulting from a miraculous work of God in my life. In my last parish, we used to have Bush dances, so I have made progress in that area as well. Mind you, I do not think legalism is such an issue today. Compromise with the world and overindulgence is more of an issue. But it is still a relevant matter, and we need to take to heart what Paul says.

As far as meat and observing special days are concerned: “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special does so to the Lord. He who eats meat eats to the Lord for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” We need to take this exhortation to heart in our relationships with other believers.

There are many beliefs in which Christians differ for which these exhortations are applicable. In the 18^th century, there was a controversy over the matter of the sovereignty of God in salvation. This was known as the Arminian/Calvinistic controversy. John Wesley was a thoroughgoing Arminian, which meant that he emphasised the human response to the gospel message, while George Whitfield and others were Calvinists, which meant that they taught the sovereignty of God in bringing people to faith and repentance.

Charles Simeon, who was a Calvinist, had a conversation with John Wesley in 1784 when Wesley was quite elderly. Simeon was quite blunt. He said, “Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian, and I have been sometimes called a Calvinist; and therefore I suppose we are to draw daggers. But before I consent to begin the conflict, with your permission I will ask you a few questions.” Wesley gave his consent, and his replies won Simeon over completely. “Sir,” he said, “with your leave I will put up my dagger again; for this is all my Calvinism … It is in substance all that I hold ; and therefore if you please. . . . . . . .we will cordially unite in those things in which we agree.” That is the attitude we must have. Although they had differences on certain issues, they both preached the Apostolic Gospel. That is what Paul is exhorting the Romans to do.

There are lots of other topics that fall into this category. One of these is the subject of the Second Return of Jesus and whether this would happen before the thousand-year reign, known as the millennium mentioned in the book of Revelation. Some strongly believe that it will be before the millennium, the so-called pre-millennials and others after the millennium, the post-millennials. You could not join some missionary societies unless you were premillennial, and certainly, you could not occupy some pulpits unless you held to that particular interpretation. There was a lot of division between Christians. They all believed that Jesus would return, but you had to agree to this particular time frame.

The leader of the mission my wife was a member of, Dr Lionel Gurney, was asked what school of thought he belonged to on this subject, and he replied. “I belong to the wait-and-see school.” I don’t know whether he was allowed to preach in that Church, but I have a great deal of sympathy with that point of view. I don’t know whether that is such an issue today, but it was not very long ago.

But there are lots of other examples. People have different views on the interpretation of the early chapters of Genesis. Some hold to a literal six-day interpretation, and others believe in evolution. They all believe Genesis is the word of God, but they differed on how it is to be interpreted. We had some who held to the literal interpretation in my previous parish, but it did not cause friction because we were committed to the Gospel and evangelism. A more recent controversy is the role of women in ministry. I became a minister of a church in which the women did not perform any ministry in the service. It was very male-orientated. That changed while I was there. But some have very strong convictions about this matter, and we need to respect that.

Another difference of opinion that has emerged recently concerns the Covid vaccination. I met some Christians who believe it is part of a world conspiracy or the sign of the Beast and they won’t have the needle for that reason. I suppose new differences will continue to emerge as time goes on, so Paul’s words here are always applicable. We are not to judge. This is a very important matter because Paul gives a whole chapter to the subject. He is motivated by the need to keep the church united. I am not saying that these things are unimportant. We must analyse them from a theological point of view, but we must always keep in mind that they are secondary, not primary, issues that detract from the Gospel message.

There is one area of controversy and friction that is causing a significant rift in the modern church, and that is what I call the cleavage between The Reformed Church and the Charismatic movement, and I would like to analyse this in more detail. The Diocese of Sydney would be an outstanding example of Reformed Evangelicalism, and there are many examples of Charismatic Christianity. I use ‘Operation World’ as a prayer guide, and it would seem that the charismatic movement is worldwide, especially in the Catholic Church. It has resulted in many Catholics coming to a personal relationship with Jesus.

I’m not saying that one is weak and the other is strong. I think they are both strong in certain areas and weak in others.

Let me talk about the Sydney Diocese because I am more acquainted with that. This may apply to other churches as well, but the Diocese of which I am a member is very strong on what I call the objective aspect of the Gospel, which is exegesis and apologetics. There is a very strong emphasis on making the Gospel known and evangelism, and these are great strengths. We take the Bible as our authority, and I am thankful to God for that emphasis. I think there is or has been a suspicion of the subjective aspects, such as the witness of the Spirit and spiritual gifts and prayer for the infilling of the Spirit. In the church of which I was the minister, we ran the Alpha Course for many years, and I know this course has been viewed with some reluctance because of its teaching on the Holy Spirit.

At the weekend away, hands are laid on people who desire it, and prayers are offered for the infilling of the Spirit. After I retired, I had an interview with one of our Bishops, and I asked why the Diocese did not accept the Alpha course. He said it was because of the weekend away and the teaching of the Holy Spirit, in particular prayers for the infilling of the Spirit. He did not like this promotion of a Second Blessing. This seemed strange to me because when a person is ordained to the priesthood, other clergy lay hands on them, and the Archbishop prays that they will receive the Holy Spirit. The ordinands already have the Spirit, but prayers are offered for a fresh infilling to empower them for service which is entirely appropriate.  When George Whitfield was ordained to the priesthood, he wrote in his journal, “Oh, that I may be prepared for receiving the Holy Ghost tomorrow by the imposition of hands. Amen, Lord Jesus, Amen.”

And I think this is just as appropriate for the laity as well. Why not lay hands on them as well for the same reason? It seemed very inconsistent to criticise the Charismatics for that. At Synod, we used to sing the hymn, ‘Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire, and lighten with celestial fire.’ That’s praying for a second Pentecost. How can you sing a hymn like that and say you don’t believe in second blessings? We also sing the chorus, ‘Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me.’ These songs were not written by the Pentecostals. They are part of our evangelical heritage, which we have suppressed because we do not want to look like Pentecostals or charismatics. If you don’t believe in fresh outpourings of the Holy Spirit, then you restrict the expectation of revival, which is our greatest need, especially in the West, where the church is in decline. 

Another area of weakness in the Reformed evangelical tradition, I believe, is expressed in the idea that God only speaks to us in the Bible. That sounds good, except the Bible says something different. In Acts 13, we read that in the church at Antioch, there were prophets and teachers. “While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ‘So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.’ And then it says in verse 4 of chapter 13, “The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit …’

The prayer book endorses this teaching in the ordination service for deacons. The Archbishop says, “Do you believe that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Spirit to take upon you this office and ministry, to serve God, for the promoting of His glory, and the edifying of His people.” This is not to detract from the authority of the Scriptures, but God also speaks to us and guides us by His Spirit. I think what has happened in some quarters of the Evangelical Church is the desire to raise a palisade against The Charismatic movement, and so we have neglected some very relevant emphases of the work of the Spirit and impoverished ourselves as a result.

Another area where the Charismatic movement is strong and the Reformed Evangelical Church is suspicious is in the area of Spiritual gifts although Paul has a lot to say on this topic in 1 Corinthians. I think we are very uneasy about the gift of prophecy despite the fact that there are quite a few references to this gift in the Book of Acts.

I have been the recipient of this particular gift on two occasions. The most recent time was when my wife and I were travelling in the U.K. with friends. This was in 2011. We happened to be in Aberdeen on a Sunday and were looking for a church to attend. After a couple of uninspiring surveys at notice boards, we decided to go to the information office, and we asked whether there was a church that ran the Alpha Course. We were directed to a church that was due to commence in ten minutes’ time, not very far away, and when we entered the building, there was a whole group of people of all ages munching on biscuits and drinking coffee. It was a very warm atmosphere. As I remember, the sermon was on Joshua, and at the end, people were invited to come forward if they wanted prayer. I did not feel any need to go forward. We were sitting at the back of the church, and when the service finished, I was approached by a man who introduced himself as James, who was one of the leaders of the church who told me that God had given him a vision about me. He was very nervous because he did not know me from the proverbial bar of soap, but he insisted that he must obey God and tell me the vision that God had given him. The vision was of a field with new growth emerging from the soil. And He said there was a word from God that went with the vision. The message was, ‘It’s not over yet.’

I explained to him that I was a minister in the Anglican church in Australia and I was due to retire at the end of the year. So he felt, and I felt, that this message from God was entirely appropriate. So, I was greatly encouraged. I am glad James had this word from the Lord for my ministry.

The only other occasion I received a word from God like that was in 1960 when I was still at school. The charismatic movement was not in vogue at that time. I went with a lady who was the Sunday School Superintendent to see the new Minister of the Methodist Circuit. As soon as he saw me, he was quite convinced that God wanted me in the ministry, which confirmed my own thinking about the future. He was quite sure of this conviction and started preaching classes for me and others where we would preach a sermon and receive a critique. He had me accredited as a local preacher at the age of 18 and set me loose on the congregations in the Circuit.

So I think the Charismatic Movement has been strong in the emphasis on spiritual gifts, and we have been weak and prejudiced. Traditionally, we have been very suspicious of prophecy because we are convinced that God only speaks through the Bible, even though there are numerous examples in the Book of Acts, such as Agabus and the Church at Antioch. Prophecy could be a wonderful encouragement, as it was for me. A prophet may get it wrong, but you don’t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater to use a common expression.

There is also the gift of healing. I think some do have a gift in this area, but whether we think we do or not, we should make it a regular practice at our services to pray for the sick, as it says in James, and lay hands on them, Covid permitting. God does not always answer prayer in the way we desire, but he promises to give us grace to bear with our infirmity. We must not allow our aversion to Pentecostalism or the Charismatic movement to prevent us from these ministries that are clear from Scripture. The gift of speaking in tongues has also been controversial, but if we observe the Biblical guidelines, it could be a great blessing to enrich our private devotions.

I think the Charismatic movement has weaknesses as well. I am not as thoroughly acquainted with that as I am with the Reformed Church. But from my experience, there is not the same emphasis on Expository Preaching, such as we are used to, and I am not sure they have a strong doctrine on sin. In some parts of the world, such as Africa, there can be a preoccupation with miracles and an undue emphasis on God speaking supernaturally rather than through the Scriptures, and tongues can take over, so there is a lot of confusion.

Congregations are different, and there are quite a lot of examples of Charismatic churches that are strongly Biblical and probably a growing number of Reformed Churches that practice spiritual gifts. I hope we are not a homogenous church where everybody is the same. I hope there are some in our congregations who speak in tongues to enrich your personal devotions. I do not have this gift, but I rejoice if others do. I hope there are some who have the gift of prophecy to minister to the Body. We have so many needs, physical and psychological and spiritual, and God pours out the gifts so we can minister to one another. Paul tells us to seek the gifts so that our body life may be rich and dynamic.

But to emphasise the main point of Romans 14, we must not allow these differences to hinder our fellowship if we have the same commitment to the Gospel. We need to be in unity despite our differences.

These secondary matters are still very important, and we need to evaluate them theologically but not cut ourselves from others who come to different conclusions. Also, we should be open to learn and change as we interact with one another. But we must, at the same time, distinguish between secondary matters and primary doctrines that are central to the Gospel.

There are some significant illustrations in the Apostolic writings. In the churches at Antioch, there were Jews from a background of keeping the law and Gentiles from a background without the Mosaic law. They were united by a common faith in Jesus, who gave Himself for the sins of the world and was resurrected from the dead. They all were united on this, but then salvation was taught by keeping the law, and heresy entered into the fellowship. Paul addressed them in no uncertain terms. In chapter three of Galatians, he writes, “ I would like to learn just one thing from you. Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law or by believing what you heard? “ And so he directs them back to the Gospel.

The early church was always drifting into heresy as it is today. In 1 John 4:1, we read, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” We have not got time to talk about that in detail, but these examples emphasise how easy it is to move away from the Gospel. So, we need to be always reflecting on these primary issues, but at the same time, we need to be generous with those who differ on secondary issues.

Dr Alan Cole, who lectured at Moore College and was a CMS missionary in Malaysia, once made the comment, “When you are in a strong Islamic environment, any Christian looks good.”  We need one another. We need to make that distinction as Paul does in Romans 14. We need to distinguish between what is primary and what is secondary and not judge those who differ from us on secondary matters. May the Lord help us to do that. Amen.