Be Careful with Andrew Murray

The Word of God is clear that it is the duty of every Christian to pursue godliness, and that with great care and diligence (1 Timothy 4:7; 6:11; 2 Peter 1:5-11; 3:11). In a world plagued by sin and tyrannized by Satan, it should come as no surprise that a pursuit toward something so good and essential and God-honoring should likewise be so fraught with danger on every side. We would be fools and grossly ignorant of Scripture to expect otherwise.

Dr. Peter Masters, in his article Christian Hedonism: Is It Right? from Sword & Trowel 2002, No. 3, warned against defective approaches to the pursuit of godliness, particularly those which emphasize one aspect of Christian sanctification over others, because they ultimately diminish every other aspect that ought, as prescribed by Scripture, to receive equal focus and attention. "You cannot reorganize the Lord's way of accomplishing the fruits of godliness without many duties being swept out of view," he writes. "'Single-principle' systems do not intend to cause harm, but, inevitably, they do. To borrow a piece of modern scientific jargon, biblical sanctification is a system of irreducible complexity."

Great danger always follows corruption of biblical standards, no matter how good one's intentions may be. Consider the account we are given in 2 Samuel 6:1-9 of King David—the man after God's own heart—and Uzzah, both of whom had the best of intentions in seeking to bring the ark of the covenant to its appointed place in Jerusalem, yet without due regard to the biblical procedure prescribed by God. Despite their good intentions, we read, "And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God" (2 Samuel 6:7). If God required such careful attention to a ceremonial institution, how much more should attend the duties and principles of sanctification?

Masters warns of the detriment springing from defective approaches to sanctification: "All single-dominant-issue schemes tend to be blind to individual matters of deep concern. Their major preoccupation creates a kind of tunnel vision, and perception fails." He briefly refers to Andrew Murray, along with the holiness movement, as examples.

"Andrew Murray, who died in 1917, a powerful writer, and a man of immense compassion and evangelistic fervour, inspired thousands through his books to adopt a single-issue system of sanctification. But for all its lofty goals and many truths, it tampered with the full-orbed biblical method, and could never work well. In the event it also provided the snare of spiritual pride."

Peter Masters

Murray would become a proponent of the Higher Life Movement (also known as the Keswick movement) and ultimately the Pentecostal movement, the former of which was written against by B.B. Warfield in his Studies in Perfectionism and by J.C. Ryle in his work on Holiness.