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WHO IS WRONG? A REVIEW OF JOHN GERSTNER'S …

73 TMSJ 3/1 (Spring 1992) 73-94 WHO IS WRONG? A REVIEW OF john gerstner 'SWRONGLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH1 Richard L. MayhueVice-President and DeanProfessor of Pastoral MinistriesThe Master's SeminaryDr. john H. gerstner , a recognized scholar with impressivecredentials, has issued a call for dispensationalists to admit the glaring gapsbetween their system and orthodox Christianity. However, his presentation ofdispensationalism contains shortcomings that necessitate this special reviewarticle to point out some of these and to challenge dispensationalists topublicize a greater clarification of their position.

dispensationalism contains shortcomings that necessitate this special review article to point out some of these and to challenge dispensationalists to publicize a greater clarification of their position.

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Transcription of WHO IS WRONG? A REVIEW OF JOHN GERSTNER'S …

1 73 TMSJ 3/1 (Spring 1992) 73-94 WHO IS WRONG? A REVIEW OF john gerstner 'SWRONGLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH1 Richard L. MayhueVice-President and DeanProfessor of Pastoral MinistriesThe Master's SeminaryDr. john H. gerstner , a recognized scholar with impressivecredentials, has issued a call for dispensationalists to admit the glaring gapsbetween their system and orthodox Christianity. However, his presentation ofdispensationalism contains shortcomings that necessitate this special reviewarticle to point out some of these and to challenge dispensationalists topublicize a greater clarification of their position.

2 Many of the assumptionsthat undergird Dr. GERSTNER'S case against dispensationalism are in error. These faults are magnified by a number of major weaknesses in his argument. A REVIEW of the book shows how the author's treatment of his subjectdeteriorates even more through ten representative theological misstatements. The work is of such a misleading nature that a retraction of some kind seemsto be in order.* * * * *General Anthony C. McAuliffe, commanding officer of the101st Airborne Division at Bastogne, found his troops surrounded bythe Germans early in the famous World War II Battle of the Bulge 1 john H.

3 gerstner , Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Critique of Dispensa-tionalism (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth and Hyatt, Publishers, Inc., 1991). Thisvolume greatly expands on Dr. GERSTNER'S previous brief presentation of these issuesin his booklet A Primer on Dispensationalism (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian andReformed, 1982).74(December, 1944). The opposing Nazi general, sensing quick victory,sent word to surrender immediately. McAuliffe replied with what isnow one of the most famous one-word responses in military history,"Nuts!" In love, that also is our response to Dr.

4 GERSTNER'S call for thesurrender of "dispensationalism."This strong retort, borrowed from WW II, answers R. 's (President of Ligonier Ministries and a disciple of ) initial comments in the Foreword (p. ix).This bomb`unlike missiles that suffer from dubious guidance systems and areliable to land on civilian populations wreaking havoc indiscriminately`isdelivered with pinpoint accuracy into the laps of dispensational to Sproul, Gerstnerwould prefer torture or death to intentionally distorting or misrepresentinganyone's position.. If gerstner is inaccurate`if he has failed to understanddispensational theology correctly`then he owes many a profound apology.

5 Butfirst he must be shown where and how he is in error. This is the challenge ofthe book. If gerstner is accurate, then Dispensationalism should be discarded asbeing a serious deviation from Biblical Christianity (p. xi).Dr. gerstner delivers his "Surrender!" demand in theIntroduction and elsewhere in the book:Dispensationalism today, as yesterday, is spurious Calvinism and dubiousevangelicalism. If it does not refute my charges and the charges of many others,it cannot long continue to be considered an essentially Christian movement ( ).Dispensationalism .. is in constant deviation from essential historicalChristianity.

6 (p. 68).Since gerstner believes so strongly that soteriology determineseschatology, one could expect that the President of The Master'sSeminary, john F. MacArthur, Jr., would be the first to wave a whiteflag. gerstner affirmingly quotes him (without documentation orobvious connection to his point) as saying, "There is no salvationWho Is Wrong? .. 75except Lordship Salvation" (p. 2). gerstner finds this stronglyreformed view of salvation incompatible with his understanding ofdispensationalism. This convincingly illustrates the most obvious nonsequitur in the book, , Dr.

7 GERSTNER'S assertion throughout his bookthat Reformed soteriology necessarily eliminates dispensationalecclesiology and eschatology. He labors for more than half thebook`chapters 7-13`to prove that dispensationalism should surrenderbecause it is unbiblical (pp. 105-263).He seems to debate from the following basic syllogism, thoughhe never states it so succinctly as this:Premise 1:Calvinism is central to all true 2:Dispensationalism does not embrace : Dispensationalism is a "spurious" and "dubious"expression of true theology (p. 2).Thus, he strongly calls for dispensationalism's quick THE AUTHOR AND HIS WORKDr.

8 gerstner , Professor Emeritus of Pittsburgh TheologicalSeminary, is Associate Pastor of Trinity (PCA) Church in Johnstown,Pennsylvania, and currently serves as theologian-at-large at LigonierMinistries. He also lectures on the Bible at Geneva College. Gerstnerhas been a Visiting Professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity Schoolsince 1966 and is Adjunct Professor of Theology at both ReformedTheological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary. He holds from Westminster College, an and fromWestminster Theological Seminary, and a in Philosophy ofReligion from Harvard gerstner has published many books, audio and video tapes,plus numerous articles in theological journals and magazines.

9 He wasa pastor for ten years and a professor of church history at PittsburghTheological Seminary for thirty years (1950-80). He still preaches and76 The Master's Seminary Journallectures around the world. He is best known for his lectures andwritings on Jonathan describing the author, R. C. Sproul writes glowingly abouthis mentor (p. ix):As a world-class historian, gerstner has done his homework. The book is aresult of years of careful and painstaking research. gerstner has examined inthe minutest detail the works of the most important historic dispensationaltheologians.

10 He has canvassed scholarly journals and dissertations. Hehas been in repeated dialogue and debate with contemporary dispensationalscholars. The current publication is the crystalized essence of over onethousand typescript pages of GERSTNER'S research and I. Packer declares that this volume clarifies "the issues moreprecisely than any previous book has done."2 The publisher suggeststhat "Dr. gerstner .. presents the most extensive and systematic studyof Dispensational theology ever published."3 SYNOPSIS OF DR. GERSTNER'S THINKINGDr. gerstner divides his volume into three sections:1.


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