John Newton (pastor, poet, friend, counsellor) offers a brother some wise advice on how to enter into controversy with another. Contextually, the fight du jour was between Arminianism and Calvinism. But the precepts Newton gives fit every occasion where a Christian senses the need to publicly refute error. Would that more Christians heeded his advice.
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Dear Sir,
As you are likely to be engaged in
controversy, and your love of truth is joined with a natural warmth of temper,
my friendship makes me solicitous on your behalf. You are of the strongest
side; for truth is great, and must prevail; so that a person of abilities
inferior to yours might take the field with a confidence of victory. I am not
therefore anxious for the event of the battle; but I would have you more than a
conqueror, and to triumph, not only over your adversary, but over yourself. If
you cannot be vanquished, you may be wounded. To preserve you from such wounds
as might give you cause of weeping over your conquests, I would present you
with some considerations, which, if duly attended to, will do you the service
of a great coat of mail; such armour that you need not complain, as David did
of Saul’s, that it will be more cumbersome than useful; for you will easily
perceive it is taken from that great magazine provided for the Christian
soldier, the Word of God. I take it for granted that you will not expect any
apology for my freedom, and therefore I shall not offer one. For method’s sake,
I may reduce my advice to three heads, respecting your opponent, the public,
and yourself.
Consider Your Opponent
As to your opponent, I wish that before you
set pen to paper against him, and during the whole time you are preparing your
answer, you may commend him by earnest prayer to the Lord’s teaching and
blessing. This practice will have a direct tendency to conciliate your heart to
love and pity him; and such a disposition will have a good influence upon every
page you write.
If you account him a believer, though greatly
mistaken in the subject of debate between you, the words of David to Joab
concerning Absalom, are very applicable: “Deal gently with him for my sake.”
The Lord loves him and bears with him; therefore you must not despise him, or
treat him harshly. The Lord bears with you likewise, and expects that you
should show tenderness to others, from a sense of the much forgiveness you need
yourself. In a little while you will meet in heaven; he will then be dearer to
you than the nearest friend you have upon earth is to you now. Anticipate that
period in your thoughts; and though you may find it necessary to oppose his
errors, view him personally as a kindred soul, with whom you are to be happy in
Christ forever.
But if you look upon him as an unconverted
person, in a state of enmity against God and his grace (a supposition which,
without good evidence, you should be very unwilling to admit), he is a more proper
object of your compassion than of your anger. Alas! “He knows not what he
does.” But you know who has made you to differ. If God, in his sovereign
pleasure, had so appointed, you might have been as he is now; and he, instead
of you, might have been set for the defence of the gospel. You were both
equally blind by nature. If you attend to this, you will not reproach or hate
him, because the Lord has been pleased to open your eyes, and not his.
Of all people who engage in controversy, we,
who are called Calvinists, are most expressly bound by our own principles to
the exercise of gentleness and moderation. If, indeed, they who differ from us
have a power of changing themselves, if they can open their own eyes, and
soften their own hearts, then we might with less inconsistency be offended at
their obstinacy: but if we believe the very contrary to this, our part is, not
to strive, but in meekness to instruct those who oppose. “If peradventure God
will give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth.” If you write
with a desire of being an instrument of correcting mistakes, you will of course
be cautious of laying stumbling blocks in the way of the blind or of using any
expressions that may exasperate their passions, confirm them in their
principles, and thereby make their conviction, humanly speaking,
more impracticable.
Consider the Public
By printing, you will appeal to the public;
where your readers may be ranged under three divisions: First, such as differ
from you in principle. Concerning these I may refer you to what I have already
said. Though you have your eye upon one person chiefly, there are many
like-minded with him; and the same reasoning will hold, whether as to one or to
a million.
There will be likewise many who pay too
little regard to religion, to have any settled system of their own, and yet are
preengaged in favour of those sentiments which are at least repugnant to the
good opinion men naturally have of themselves. These are very incompetent
judges of doctrine; but they can form a tolerable judgment of a writer’s
spirit. They know that meekness, humility, and love are the characteristics of
a Christian temper; and though they affect to treat the doctrines of grace as
mere notions and speculations, which, supposing they adopted them, would have
no salutary influence upon their conduct; yet from us, who profess these
principles, they always expect such dispositions as correspond with the
precepts of the gospel. They are quick-sighted to discern when we deviate from
such a spirit, and avail themselves of it to justify their contempt of our
arguments. The scriptural maxim, that “the wrath of man worketh not the
righteousness of God,” is verified by daily observation. If our zeal is
embittered by expressions of anger, invective, or scorn, we may think we are
doing service of the cause of truth, when in reality we shall only bring it
into discredit. The weapons of our warfare, and which alone are powerful to
break down the strongholds of error, are not carnal, but spiritual; arguments
fairly drawn from Scripture and experience, and enforced by such a mild
address, as may persuade our readers, that, whether we can convince them or
not, we wish well to their souls, and contend only for the truth’s sake; if we
can satisfy them that we act upon these motives, our point is half gained; they
will be more disposed to consider calmly what we offer; and if they should
still dissent from our opinions, they will be constrained to approve
our intentions.
You will have a third class of readers, who,
being of your own sentiments, will readily approve of what you advance, and may
be further established and confirmed in their views of the Scripture doctrines,
by a clear and masterly elucidation of your subject. You may be instrumental to
their edification if the law of kindness as well as of truth regulates your
pen, otherwise you may do them harm. There is a principle of self, which
disposes us to despise those who differ from us; and we are often under its
influence, when we think we are only showing a becoming zeal in the cause
of God.
I readily believe that the leading points of
Arminianism spring from and are nourished by the pride of the human heart; but
I should be glad if the reverse were always true; and that to embrace what are
called the Calvinistic doctrines was an infallible token of a humble mind. I
think I have known some Arminians, that is, persons who for want of a clearer
light, have been afraid of receiving the doctrines of free grace, who yet have
given evidence that their hearts were in a degree humbled before the Lord.
And I am afraid there are Calvinists, who,
while they account it a proof of their humility, that they are willing in words
to debase the creature and to give all the glory of salvation to the Lord, yet
know not what manner of spirit they are of. Whatever it be that makes us trust
in ourselves that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with
contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party, is a proof
and fruit of a self-righteous spirit. Self-righteousness can feed upon
doctrines as well as upon works; and a man may have the heart of a Pharisee,
while his head is stored with orthodox notions of the unworthiness of the
creature and the riches of free grace. Yea, I would add, the best of men are not
wholly free from this leaven; and therefore are too apt to be pleased with such
representations as hold up our adversaries to ridicule, and by consequence
flatter our own superior judgments. Controversies, for the most part, are so
managed as to indulge rather than to repress his wrong disposition; and
therefore, generally speaking, they are productive of little good. They provoke
those whom they should convince, and puff up those whom they should edify. I
hope your performance will savour of a spirit of true humility, and be a means
of promoting it in others.
Consider Yourself
This leads me, in the last place, to consider
your own concern in your present undertaking. It seems a laudable service to
defend the faith once delivered to the saints; we are commanded to contend
earnestly for it, and to convince gainsayers. If ever such defences were
seasonable and expedient they appear to be so in our own day, when errors
abound on all sides and every truth of the gospel is either directly denied or
grossly misrepresented.
And yet we find but very few writers of
controversy who have not been manifestly hurt by it. Either they grow in a
sense of their own importance, or imbibe an angry, contentious spirit, or they
insensibly withdraw their attention from those things which are the food and
immediate support of the life of faith, and spend their time and strength upon
matters which are at most but of a secondary value. This shows, that if the
service is honourable, it is dangerous. What will it profit a man if he gains his
cause and silences his adversary, if at the same time he loses that humble,
tender frame of spirit in which the Lord delights, and to which the promise of
his presence is made?
Your aim, I doubt not, is good; but you have
need to watch and pray for you will find Satan at your right hand to resist
you; he will try to debase your views; and though you set out in defence of the
cause of God, if you are not continually looking to the Lord to keep you, it
may become your own cause, and awaken in you those tempers which are
inconsistent with true peace of mind, and will surely obstruct communion
with God.
Be upon your guard against admitting anything
personal into the debate. If you think you have been ill treated, you will have
an opportunity of showing that you are a disciple of Jesus, who “when he was
reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not.” This is our
pattern, thus we are to speak and write for God, “not rendering railing for
railing, but contrariwise blessing; knowing that hereunto we are called.” The
wisdom that is from above is not only pure, but peaceable and gentle; and the
want of these qualifications, like the dead fly in the pot of ointment, will
spoil the savour and efficacy of our labours.
If we act in a wrong spirit, we shall bring
little glory to God, do little good to our fellow creatures, and procure
neither honour nor comfort to ourselves. If you can be content with showing your
wit, and gaining the laugh on your side, you have an easy task; but I hope you
have a far nobler aim, and that, sensible of the solemn importance of gospel
truths, and the compassion due to the souls of men, you would rather be a means
of removing prejudices in a single instance, than obtain the empty applause of
thousands. Go forth, therefore, in the name and strength of the Lord of hosts,
speaking the truth in love; and may he give you a witness in many hearts that
you are taught of God, and favored with the unction of his Holy Spirit.
From The Works of John Newton,
Letter XIX “On Controversy.”
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