I haven’t quoted Calvin and Spurgeon in the manner you appear to be suggesting I have. I think I have consistently noted throughout this thread that their words do not demonstrate an opposition to spending time focusing on the advent. And I’m not making any appeal to their authority, but if I was, I don’t think I’m making a false one that’s twisting their positions.
With respect, I don’t understand how this is an argument. Are you asserting that inconsistency in our theology is a virtue? I acknowledge that in the life of any given church, reformation on any particular topic doesn’t necessarily come overnight. We all have many diverse histories, experiences, and particular propensities toward particular sins. We also have soft spots for our own traditions and sentimentalities. Mix all these things together and I acknowledge that getting even the elders of a church to agree on the particulars of worship is difficult.
I very much acknowledge the danger of zealous, idealistic, smarty-pants, know-it-alls who think they have in their minds the perfect standard of worship which the church should be called to. And even when such men make good points, wise older men would do well to remind them that even when a righteous king ruled in Israel, the high places didn’t all come down. So it is within every church, I would assert. There is a mixture of proper worship and wrong worship present with us at all times, and we would do well to remember it.
One of the points I’ve argued against die-hard regulative principleism is that people can be so zealous about the concept of perfect worship before God that they seem to adopt the illusion that perfect worship is even possible, on our part. I remind them that our worship is acceptable to the Father precisely because we worship in and through the Son. The church’s worship is acceptable only because the Lord Jesus is acceptable. So let’s not think too highly of ourselves, but judge with right judgment, lest our quest for perfect worship end up being the worship of whitewashed tombs, and we thumb our noses at all the other churches in the world who don’t follow in the exact same practices we do. Coherent fellowship between churches or even individual churchmen is only possible because of the perfect mediation of Christ.
But what doesn’t follow is that we would create a category in our theology where high places are permissible, in moderation, or at our whims, for the sake of peace. If, for example, advent candles in the corporate liturgy of the church are an offense to God and a snare for the body, then we ought not have them. Any whims and sentimentalities that we possess which stand at odds with truth need to be challenged and checked, if that’s indeed what’s going on. We aren’t allowed to be content to be inconsistent when the call of Christ is to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
I agree, and I think this is what I ultimately take from Spurgeon and Calvin’s examples. It’s one thing to reject the holy day, as they did. But it doesn’t seem to follow that we would then reject the opportunity that Christmas affords us to preach into that which is naturally on men’s minds. Another way to think of it would be that if you, as a pastor, were willing to give a sermon related to any current event – such as the election, or an active war in the world – but you weren’t willing to preach concerning the advent during Christmas time, then you are being inconsistent. Because even if you resent the popish holy day, providence has dealt you the hand such that every December, the world is thinking about Christmas. Seize on it, don’t recoil against it, and take your objections up with the Lord who governs the ages.