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I remember when I bought my Gibson Les Paul. It was marked down from $4999.00 to $1200.00 because it was an experimental model. The experiment failed but the guitar was magnificent. I had to split the cost among four credit cards, but it was worth it. My playing improved exponentially because of the silky response of that guitar, and my dynamics, dexterity, skill, and expression took a quantum leap.

I know that preachers like to use anecdotes to illustrate Gospel principles, because I do it every day on another thread (and have been for ten years). Some of my stories help people, and some fall flat, but they are all from personal experience, family history, and current events. Most of my stories have something to do with music, because I have been a musician all of my life.

This “$20 Violin” story is a terrific illustration of God making us new creatures in Christ. However, as a music teacher, I am constantly appalled by the instruments that parents expect their children to learn upon. I don’t expect a Fender or Gibson Electric or a Martin Acoustic Guitar for a beginner. Nor does every child need a Steinway Grand Piano for their childhood lessons. However, a purple plastic Hannah Montana guitar, or a toy keyboard with mini-keys will only hamper a child, and no amount of diligent practice will make any difference if the thing won’t even stay in tune. A truly sub-standard instrument will not respond to the master’s touch, no matter how skilled the player may be.

Every trained and talented musician longs for that fine instrument. Great violinists have their Stradivarius violins, Pianists have their Steinways and Baldwins, Guitarists treasure their Gibsons and Martins and Fenders, and percussionists their Zildjians. If this were not so, why not equip themselves with “$20 Violins”? It would certainly save on expenses. Classical musicians have been know to forego rent and food to pay for their instruments. My friend, a cellist, has to pay BIG BUCKS just to replace a string.

Since John MacArthur is a Calvinist, his “$20 Violin” anecdote fits the bill. God DOES take a worthless individual and turns him into a Child Of God. I have no argument with the Theology, but just with the story itself. A “$20 Violin” in the hands of the Master is still a “$20 Violin”. That’s why the musician in the story had no problem smashing it. Would that be analogous to us “dying to self” or “hitting bottom” before coming to Christ? Perhaps.

But then we have the problem of the “$20 Violin” sounding just fine, and the audience not hearing the difference. It is here where the the comparison fails. If, indeed, the “$20 Violin” sounds just as good as a Stradivarius, why bother upgrading? If the unsaved existence, a life of crime and sin, or striving in a false religion fits the bill, why change? If the master can make you sound great without regeneration, why be born again? Why smash up the “$20 Violin” if the Master can make beautiful music on it? If there is no discernible difference, why pay six figures for the Stradivarius?

Though usually right on the mark, I think that John MacArthur falls short with this analogy. While it fits the “Total Depravity of Man” by showing the “$20 Violin” as worthless without the Master, the “$20,000 Violin” gets treated with the utmost respect. I doubt if the musician in the story would smash the “$20,000 Violin” at the end of the concert to prove the “T in TULIP”. If he REALLY wanted to illustrate the Gospel, the “$20,000 Violin would be just as Totally Worthless as the other one.

Jimi Hendrix actually illustrated this principle better when he burned his Stratocaster (worth five figures) at the end of his concert.

There are people who absolutely love this teacher, and that’s OK. It’s also OK to question some of his teachings, and not everybody agrees. I am not a Theologian, so I am speaking as a musician who has played many instruments in my many years, and I think I can speak with some experience and authority on the subject.

Oh well. Time to put on my asbestos suit! LOL!