Pastor Eric's Blog

The Debate Over Election

2011-08-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

The following is the introduction to a Bible Study I taught at Calvary Chapel of the Sierra on 08-10-2011

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

Whenever you get into Biblical terms like calling and election or predestination it really does cause a lot of confusion for some folks. And when those tight little theological systems of thought are taken to the extreme it often causes major disruptions in the church. We’ve seen Calvary Chapels over the years just come apart at the seams because of the extreme reformed views of folks who call themselves either reformed Christians or Calvinists. But then, to be fair, we’ve seen the excesses of those who would fall more into what might be considered Arminian theology hurt the church as well!

One of the confusing aspects of all of this is that you can actually go back and read much of what these founders wrote on the subjects of atonement and salvation in general. And you can walk away believing very strongly that Calvin wasn’t a Calvinist. There’s a lot of presupposed thought that has taken some of what Calvin actually believed and twist it to support some pretty unbiblical views among the so called reformed theology today.

Now this isn’t an endorsement of John Calvin I’m just giving you some of this information so that you can see that Calvinists today aren’t necessarily representing what he actually believed himself.

It’s interesting that you have two very opposite views, according to theologians today, concerning what Calvin taught and what Arminius taught. And yet just recently, as I was reading from Spurgeon’s lectures to his students, in one section he was providing his students with recommendations on what commentaries would be best to use in their studies. Being a good Calvinist himself, he recommended Calvin’s commentary but he provided them with another recommendation of Calvin’s commentary. According to Spurgeon, Arminius himself once said that Calvin’s commentary was his favorite commentary on the Bible! And yet, according to so called scholars today these two men were as opposite in their beliefs as heaven and hell.

The point is this, there can not be such opposing views provided in scripture. The Word of God doesn’t provide two views and expect us to choose which one we think is best. There is one view concerning the doctrines of salvation and it’s up to us to find out what it is. And we do that by ignoring the arguments that often times rip the church apart.

I was reading about this just the other day in a book that’s intended to bring some clarity to the subject entitled, Whosever Will. And the author made one statement that really should settle the argument forever and it’s this…

Christianity isn’t a tight theological system, it’s a relationship with the risen Lord!

The theological system that we have from God’s Word is intended to facilitate the proper relationship with Christ as we submit in obedience to Him. And so it’s not a religion, it’s a relationship!

I remember hearing the testimony of one pastor who had found himself on the extreme path of reformed theology. After repenting, he said that in his arrogant pursuit and understanding of “true Biblical grace” He had forgotten about graciousness….

And so Christianity is not a system of belief, though it contains that. Christianity is a relationship with a gracious and loving Savior. He will judge sin to be sure, and that’s a part of the theology. But let’s never forget, that it’s a part of the many attributes of a God with whom we are to pursue a relationship with. And so when we deal with these things in the scriptures, let’s look at what the scriptures are saying from that perspective. And really, that perspective can be put into proper perspective this way…

That God truly does desire a relationship with all sinners!

That’s what the Gospel is all about, in fact, Charles Spurgeon
once said something to the effect that he couldn’t embrace certain aspects of Calvinism because who would he preach the Gospel to?
Now, Spurgeon did embrace other disturbing aspects of Calvinism which point out just how much confusion actually does come out of that system of thought. But at least he had the integrity to not only reject other aspects of it but exposed it as error and you’ll see that in just a minute.

And so just for a brief overview of what Calvinism and Arminianism teaches…

Calvinism teaches five elements of salvation and it’s typically described as the five points of Calvinism using the acronym TULIP

T Total depravity
U Unconditional election
L Limited atonement
I Irresistible grace
P Perseverance of the saints

Now, one thing you need to know, these five points of Calvinism came about more than 50 years after Calvin’s death. He wasn’t there, he had nothing to do with the five points that are attributed to him.

I don’t want to spend the evening going into all of these points of doctrine. But I do want to point out some problems with two of them

First is Total Depravity

We wouldn’t argue with the fact that man is utterly depraved and unable to save himself apart from the grace of God. But some Calvinists actually take this to the point to where salvation, which is predetermined before history began, is the result of God regenerating only those sinners whom he has chosen and that regeneration occurs before one can exercise faith in Christ. This is the teaching that Spurgeon argued against when He said he would be wasting his time preaching the Gospel…

If I am to preach faith in Christ to a man who is regenerated, then the man being regenerated is saved already, and it is an unnecessary and ridiculous thing for me to preach Christ to him, and bid him to believe in order to be saved when he is saved already

Spurgeon goes on to say this…

But you will tell me that I ought to preach it only to those who repent of their sins. Very well; But since true repentance of sin is the work of the Spirit, any man who has repentance is most certainly saved because evangelical repentance can never exist in an unrenewed soul. Where there is repentance there is faith already, for they never can be separated. So then, I am only to preach faith to those who have it.

Spurgeon is bringing their arguments to their obvious and ridiculous conclusions. And listen to his response to those conclusions…

Absurd, indeed! Is not this waiting till the man is cured and then bringing him the medicine? This is preaching Christ to righteous and not to sinners.

Spurgeon certainly wasn’t what we would call a hyper Calvinist today!

I’ve heard Calvinists thank God for forcing them to believe in Him. But if you take that argument to its obvious conclusion, as Spurgeon did you would have to say that saving faith isn’t really faith at all. From that perspective what you have is a sovereign God, and on that we all agree. But from some so called Calvinist’s perspective He’s a sovereign God Who’s exercising His sovereignty by forcing people to be His children. And again, what kind of relationship is that?

I believe that in God’s sovereignty He can choose whatever and whoever he wants. But doesn’t He have the right, as a sovereign God to give people the choice to choose Him? When we’re talking about relationship doesn’t that make more sense? This is where much of Calvinism looses me, it’s in that God is sovereign but it has to be their kind of sovereignty that He exercises. And so within that kind of tight little theological system, who’s the sovereign one? It’s not God, it’s the system that becomes sovereign!

The next doctrine that we’ll deal with tonight is the doctrine of limited atonement that basically says that the atonement of sins is limited to those whom God has chosen before the foundations of the world. And in a sense, and to a point, we can agree with aspects of that because the Bible does teach predestination and election. But what occurs within modern Calvinism is the ultimate conclusion that since God chose this group for salvation, He also chose this other group for eternal punishment. Which is a slap in the face of scripture that very clearly portrays God as loving all and desirous of all coming to faith in Him!

Again, when reading some of Calvin’s writings it’s very difficult to conclude that he believed in limited atonement. Listen to a quote from Calvin’s commentary on Romans 5:15

Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

Calvinists actually use this verse to support limited atonement by saying, you see, the grace of God is only offered to many and not all. But listen to Calvin’s interpretation of this verse…

Paul makes grace common to all men, not because it in fact extends to all, but because it is offered to all. Although Christ suffered for the sins of the world, and is offered by the goodness of God without distinction to all men, yet not all receive Him

Calvin was a terrible Calvinist!

Now listen to this quote from Martin Luther, the man considered to be the father of the reformation and ultimately reformed theology…

Christ has taken away not only the sins of some men but your sins and those of the whole world. The offering was for the sins of the whole world, even though the whole world does not believe

Another quote from Luther…

Who knows whether Christ also bore my sin? I have no doubt that He bore the sin of St. Peter, St. Paul, and other saints; these were pious people…. Don’t you hear what St. John says in our text:

This is the Lamb of God. Who takes away the sins of the world”?
And you cannot deny that you are also a part of this world, for you were born of man and woman. You are not a cow or a pig. It follows that your sins must be included, as well as the sins of St. Peter or St. Paul….

Don’t you hear? There is nothing missing from the Lamb of God. He bears all the sins of the world from it’s inception; this implies that He also bears yours, and offers you grace!

For being the father of the reformation, Martin Luther sure doesn’t seem to have a very good handle on “reformed” theology!

Now Arminianism, like Calvinism, has some solid Biblical foundations for many of its beliefs but puts more of an emphasis on the faith and choice of man than it does the sovereignty of God. And taken to its extreme what you end up with are folks just never sure of their salvation. Always working toward earning their salvation and constantly afraid of loosing their salvation. And again, these are the extremes just as within Calvinism there are the extremes. What we want to do as good students of the Word is end up where the scriptures take us in our study of God’s Word, which is basically, somewhere in the middle.

A word that I use a lot when teaching the Calvary Distinctives is the word balance. We often find ourselves in the middle of many of the arguments that take place in the church. Not because we’re trying to be moderates for the sake of pleasing everyone. But because that’s where the scriptures often land us in our pursuit of the truth. For example, the whole debate on tongues as being a gift of the Spirit that’s still in operation today. We believe that it is but we find ourselves in the middle of that debate in that it’s to be exercised in an orderly fashion, not to dominate a service where the teaching of God’s Word is taking place. And it’s not the evidence of the baptism of the Spirit.

That places us in the middle of the debate between those who believe tongues have ceased altogether and those who do believe that it’s the evidence of the Spirit in their life and who allow it to take precedence over everything else that takes place in the church.

In the debate between Calvinism and Arminianism we find ourselves somewhere in between those two groups. We believe that whosoever will call upon the Lord will be saved. But we also believe that God is sovereign and that His election and predestination are valid doctrines. What all of it means, I don’t think we’ll ever know on this side of heaven, but if we just focus, again, on our relationship with Christ and seeking to make others aware of their need for Him, the Holy Spirit will lead us into God’s truth as we read and study the Word. It wasn’t until I made that commitment in my walk with Christ that I was finally delivered from all the confusion! It’s okay to not know some things!

Paul says in 1Corinthians 13:12

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

Much of the arrogance and destructive nature of the extreme views within Christianity seem to forget the reality this verse proclaims, that we wont have all the answers until that day when we're in the presence of the One Who gave His life for us all

A Parent's Joy

2010-09-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

Necessity warrants that I remove my pastor’s hat for a moment and put on the hat of father. Necessity, because if I don’t say something to as many people as I can reach I think I’ll burst from an overwhelming sense of joy and pride in my children as well as an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God for what He’s been accomplishing in my kid’s lives! But let me back up a little by sharing a concern that Tonya and I had just over six years ago when we first moved back to central California.

We were sure of the calling in our life to leave a church we loved and still love and miss to this day. Confirmation of our calling to come and pastor in North Fork came through multiple sources and we had the absolute assurance of that divine call. And yet, even that overwhelming assurance was met with deep concerns. To home school your children in a city in Southern California affords many opportunities for your children. Resources are readily handy and certainly that’s where you want to be to provide your kids with all the opportunity to succeed in life, right?

Moving from that kind of environment where everything is at your fingertips to a small unknown town in the mountains of Central California could really put a strain on those opportunities. And so what’s going to happen to our children?

Well, let me begin with our oldest. Kalli has blossomed into a beautiful servant of Christ. She is a diligent and conscientious worker who looks out for others and has a deep concern for the lost. Her mother and I are bursting with pride in her accomplishments. As a student at Bible College she has arrived at her final semester and as we look back we realize that it was her own efforts that got her there. We could never afford to send any of our kids off like this and yet through her diligence and hard work and trust in God she has arrived at a place in her life where we can see God doing great and awesome things through her. Those at the Bible College continue to place much responsibility on her and we see that as proof of her maturity and God given abilities. We are so proud of our Kal!

Kalli has a beautiful voice and leads worship with me when she’s home from school. I so look forward to those times that we get to sing together. Just recently she and some friends were visiting and I asked them and her sister Mallory to sing a couple of their favorite songs. It was one of the most amazing moments that I can remember ever occurring in our little church! I was beaming with pride and was the first to break out in applause.

Kalli is a very gifted writer and I sense that God will be using that gift for His glory in her future as well. Recently, Tonya read a paper that she wrote to a group of Ladies in our church. This was a paper about her deep relationship with her heavenly Father and how she sees her worth as being in Him. At the reading of the final line there wasn’t a dry eye in the room, including my own. I was bursting with pride on that day!

Mallory is our second child. She too has matured to a spiritual level that is beyond what we feel we could have expected given our own feeble attempts to be good parents. Mallory has a sensitivity to the Spirit and His leading. She desires more of God and is always aware of her need to be more obedient.

Currently, Mallory is serving in our youth ministry with her Christian rock band, “Heroes Down”. They’ve held a couple of concerts so far and are responsible for leading the worship at youth group on Thursday nights. Though she has already graduated from high school and will miss most of her brother’s Thursday night football games she still chooses to serve what she sees as a vital ministry in our church. And when I listen to her sing for the Lord... Again, I’m bursting with pride!

Mallory is also a very gifted artist! Art show after art show we attend with the same results, a number of blue ribbons and best of shows and people’s choice awards. Recently we attended the Mariposa Fair where Mallory had several of her works on display. As we walked into the art building, we were floored by the results. Displayed with so many ribbons that you couldn’t even see the drawing was one of her best works yet. As I stood there doing everything I could to make sure the strangers around me would know that this masterpiece belonged to my daughter, I was bursting with pride!

Miles is next, a sensitive, kind and obedient son who has no fear of talking to others about Christ. Over the years it was common to hear of discussions that he had with one of his team mates that began with Miles asking the question, “are you a Christian”. Miles continues to grow and mature in a way that really blesses his mother and I.

Miles is a gifted athlete and for many years now has excelled in baseball but because we home school, the opportunities for baseball was to literally come to an end after his last year of Babe Ruth. But again, just as God provided free music lessons for Kalli and free art lessons for Mallory. Something even more astounding happened for Miles.

For over twenty years the people in our community and surrounding communities had been trying to build a public high school. Those efforts came to fruition the year before Miles last year of Babe Ruth was to be played. We never thought anything about it because we home school and from all that we had learned, homeschoolers are not typically allowed to play public high school sports but that was about to change!

A phone call to the athletic director of Minarets High School about an entirely different topic lead to a discussion about Miles and his abilities on the field. This brand new school was at the stage of wanting to begin a sports program but they would need athletes. The director told me to give him a couple of days and he’d see what he could do. The next day I received a call from the baseball coach telling me he would be happy to let Miles play!

Miles had one of the best seasons ever on a team that did fairly well for a fist year. His mother and I were beaming with pride. With every good play and every good hit we stood amazed at God’s sovereign grace in our lives! But it doesn’t end there. Minarets High School wasn’t even considering football for at least another two to three years which would mean Miles would miss out on that. But because the rapidly growing student body wanted a football team they were able to pull it together and Miles has been welcomed to play there as well.

His first game was just last week and on a roster of forty players Miles started on offense and defense and was named the MVP on defense with three quarterback sacks and several assists. His mother and I were beaming, no, exploding with pride!

Then comes Joshua! Joshua opens yet another chapter in our life. It is an exciting yet challenging chapter for two aging parents. But the joy that he brings in addition to all the joy from our older kids is very welcome.

Joshua’s story is also a testimony of God’s sovereign grace in our lives. Not really intending to adopt children we fell in love with this little Filipino boy who was in our care through Foster parenting. I’m sure that as a whole the state adoption system is an excellent system seeking to provide good, loving homes for the many children in our state needing a home. But in Joshua’s situation we found ourselves fighting against certain personalities who didn’t seem to think we would be fit as his parents. At one point they had decided to take him from us and place him with a single woman who had no kids. We sought help and advice from everyone we could find and yet in the end we can look back and see that it was God’s plan for Joshua to be a Miller and today we beam with pride as we watch our little 2 ½ year old interact with people everywhere we go. We beam with pride with every new word he learns and every time he actually makes it to the toilet in time! He’s (using Kalli’s language) so stinking cute that people are just drawn to him and when they make a big deal about him we just cant help but be proud and grateful that God is allowing us to raise him.

Joshua is a challenge but there were many challenges that we faced with Kalli, Mallory and Miles as well. With God’s grace and mercy in our lives we’ve seen those challenges become joy. We've seen how, even in a little unknown town in the mountains God is the One who provides the opportunities for our kids to grow and learn and experience. And that’s what we anticipate with Josh as well.

At this point of our life as parents some might want to think of us as successful and might even ask us what our secret is. Don’t ask us! We are overwhelmed by how our children are turning out. We are blessed beyond all measure and right now we are floating on a cloud. But we realize that it’s what God is doing in and through the life of our family and we don’t deserve it.

What is Evangelism?

2010-02-09T11:07:00.001-08:00

And He (Jesus) said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15

How many of us are doing this?
Let me answer that for you...........NOT ENOUGH!

Plenty of surveys have been done on this subject to conclude that less than 2% of us who call ourselves Evangelicals are actually being evangelical. Compare that statistic with the number of "converts" who can actually be found still serving Christ just two years after responding to an altar call (less than 5%) and we must conclude that there are few people being reached with the Gospel today. Much of the blame can be placed at the doorstep of modern evangelism.

There are grand efforts to reach people with the "Gospel", but for over fifty years now the message that Christ Himself preached has been watered down to fit the mold of our modern culture. The modern Gospel promises happiness and well-being to those who would simply say a prayer. "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Would you like to pray a prayer that will bring you joy and happiness?"

Ask any unbeliever what a "wonderful plan" means to them and they will most likely respond with answers like wealth, health, security, expensive cars, nice homes, good education and so on.

The chief end of man within secular humanism is happiness. Modern evangelism has embraced this philosophy by appealing to man's desire to be "happy", "fulfilled", "secure".

Biblical evangelism does not appeal to the senses by offering fulfillment. Though as Christians, we know there is nothing more fulfilling than to live for Christ,

Biblical evangelism does not offer happiness. Though Christians have the most reasons to be happy,

Biblical evangelism doesn't offer a life void of problems. Though I couldn't imagine going through my many problems without Christ.

So what is Biblical Evangelism then?

Biblical evangelism appeals to the conscience of sinners who have grieved and offended God in their sin.

Biblical evangelism is a call for sinners to repent of their sin and trust God, not just as Savior but also as their Lord.

Biblical evangelism seeks to convince the sinner of his sin. Once conviction has taken root and there is sorrow for having grieved God, then and only then does the message of grace make any sense.

From what are we saved? And unto Whom are we now committed? Unfortunately modern evangelism doesn't deal with these questions; rather, "decisions" for Christ have become the goal. But what information are we giving to a lost and dying world to assist them in this decision-making process? If we're simply offering them peace and happiness we are making a huge mistake! The sinner who turns to Christ to have his problems solved will be greatly dissatisfied when difficult times arise.

Keith Green once said, "I'd rather have people hate me with the knowledge that I tried to save them." Let's be bold in the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's withhold nothing from the sinner in need of a Savior, as we give him the reality of his sin, and pray that the Holy Spirit will convince him of his offense to a just and holy, yet loving God.

The Positive Side of John’s Mistake

2009-11-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

Toward the end of the book of Revelation the apostle John is overwhelmed by what he sees on two different occasions during his vision. The first occasion is in chapter 19, verse 10 when he fell at the feet of the angel who was speaking to him and John worshipped him. John knew better than to worship anyone or anything but God. Nevertheless, he was so moved by the wonder of what he was seeing that he just couldn’t help himself. We know he was wrong in what he did because the angel reprimanded him.

Yes, John was wrong in what he did but I’m glad that he did it because it provided the opportunity to bring clarity once again to “the main thing”, and remember, we are to keep the main thing the main thing, and what is the main thing? It’s the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The angel said, “don’t worship me”, “Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The book of Revelation’s primary function in the lives of those who read it is to reveal Jesus Christ. And prophecy in general? That’s its function as well. We can get caught up in the study of prophecy, as exciting and as intriguing as it all is, but if we don’t see Jesus we’ve wasted our time because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Now, what is the context of John’s mistake? It’s the marriage supper of the Lamb. John was overwhelmed at the sight of the church being served a meal in celebration of a wedding that by all rights should have never taken place! We’re all familiar with weddings that should have never occurred. “This guy just isn’t right for that girl”, “she’s too good for him” or “he’s too good for her”. The marriage that will be celebrated on the day spoken of by John in Revelation 19 is one of those weddings that should have never taken place because the Groom (Jesus) is too good for His bride (the church). And yet, there John is, in the midst of a vision that tells the future of the church and what does he see? It’s the church married to her Groom Jesus Christ. And we (the church)are seen, according to Ephesians 5:27, as a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Does this promise from God’s Word overwhelm you with the thoughts of unworthiness and a need to fall down and worship? It did in John’s case. Yes, the object of his worship was wrong but the angel corrected that right away! And as a result of his correction being recorded for us in God’s holy and infallible Word we see the unworthiness of the sinner (that’s you and me) and the faithfulness of Christ in the picture of a perfect Husband committed to His imperfect wife and His willingness to be married to her for all eternity!

I'm a Calvary Guy, Through and Through

2009-10-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

I’ve described myself over the years as a “Calvary guy, through and through” but that can create some wrong perceptions in the minds of some, so what exactly do I mean? Well, allow me to equate it with another description that I've used of myself, “I am a Dodger fan, through and through”. Now, whenever I describe myself that way, I don’t think anyone would actually believe I worship the Dodgers or that I have a life size portrait of Manny on my wall, or that I would consider the Dodger emblem a sacred symbol or Chaves Ravine holy ground. The perspective I suspect would be formed in the minds of those who hear me say this would be something like, “isn’t that nice, Eric is a Dodger fan”. And yet many who are outside of what we Calvary guys call, “The Calvary Movement” and especially those who have a bone to pick with Calvary Chapel would perceive my statement, “I’m a Calvary guy, through and through” as worshiping Chuck Smith and will equate it to bowing before the Calvary dove as a sacred emblem and suggest that I probably remove my shoes when I visit Calvary Costa Mesa.

I’m a Dodger fan because I have agreed with their style of baseball over the years. Granted, they have strayed from that from time to time but I’d like to point out, they've suffered the consequences as a result of their trying to be something different. The last few years I’ve watched as they have returned to much of the “style” and “philosophy” that has earned them several division titles and world titles during their long and rich history. It’s been a while since they’ve seen a World Series but I believe if they stay on this current path and philosophy they’ll see one soon! By the way, I don’t believe Manny is consistent with the philosophy that I’m referring to. Be that as it may, a philosophy of maintaining a strong farm system and placing faith in your young players, playing aggressive baseball with daring base running, aggressive hitting and sticking to the fundamentals is all why I’ve been a Dodger fan all of my life

As I’m sharing these thoughts, the Dodgers have been eliminated from seeing another World Series. Have I crawled into a whole in shame? Will I refuse to watch any more baseball? Of course not! There’s still at least four more games in this season and It’s sure to be some of the best baseball we’ve seen all year with the Yanks and the Phils. And so it is with my commitment to Calvary Chapel. I don’t worship Chuck Smith, but I sure love the guy and appreciate all that he’s meant to my life and ministry. I don’t consider the Calvary dove as a sacred emblem, but I do feel very much at home in places of worship where it hangs on the wall. And I don’t take my shoes off when I visit Calvary Costa Mesa, but I’m very thankful and respectful of the rich heritage that exists there.

My beliefs concerning the Calvary distinctives were formed before I ever heard of Calvary Chapel. Before I ever heard Chuck Smith teach about the rapture of the church, I was “pre-trib”. Long before I heard Greg Laurie preach the Gospel, I had a heart for the lost. Long before I ever heard Raul Reis speak on holiness I understood it’s importance in my life. Long before I read Jim Hesterly’s book on the Holy Spirit, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. It’s when I found Calvary Chapel Hanford twenty years ago that I knew I had found a home. A place where all the Biblical truths I had come to believe were taught and to this day continue to be taught by the faithful pastor there.

I pray that this commitment to the “fundamentals” and “distinctives” and “philosophy” of Calvary Chapel will continue throughout the movement as a whole. As a pastor of a Calvary Chapel now, I would like to ask any of my fellow pastors who don’t hold to these distinctives and philosophy of ministry, "take the dove off of your pulpits and walls and call yourself something else. It’s okay, you don’t have to be a Calvary Chapel if you don’t want to be, but don’t change this movement, don’t try to make it something it’s not."

If Calvary Chapel as a whole were to abandon it’s foundations and philosophy, I wouldn’t crawl in a whole in shame, because there would still be a lot of ministry to be done. Nevertheless, I pray that would never be the case because like I said, “I’m a Calvary guy, through and through” and will remain that way as long as it continues to reflect the same Biblical Truth it has since Pastor Chuck began teaching it over 40 years ago.

The Million Dollar Question at McDonalds

2009-10-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

It was one of those late nights when the family had to have one of those $1.19 cholcolate fudge sundies at McDonalds and so off we went. We arrived to see a full staff of employees but no customers. We placed our order and as my wife was paying the cashier she handed him one of the million dollar bills as is our custom when out and about in the community. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the million dollar bill, it’s a Gospel tract that looks like a million dollar bill and has the Gospel printed on the back side. Don’t worry, it can’t be considered counterfeit because there’s no such thing as a million dollar bill! As the cashier very happily accepted the tract (which is almost always the case) his manager came over and inquired about the bill, Tonya handed him one with the standard statement, “there’s a gospel message on the back”. He was so impressed that he asked for more to give to his employees and Tonya gladly reached into her purse. As we were receiving our ice cream we watched as every employee in the restaurant was pausing at his or her station reading the Gospel. But then something even more exciting happened, as we were making our way to the door we herd the words of the tract being recited out loud. It appeared to be the head cook reading the Gospel out loud to the other cooks as they each listened with eagerness!

Find ways to get the Gospel of Jesus Christ out to a lost world, the million dollar bill which is available at www.livingwaters.com is a great way to share your faith!

The Debate Over Origins

2009-10-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

The whole debate on origins has four major components, fist of all there’s the Biblical stance that “in the beginning, God created…..” at Calvary Chapel, we believe in a literal seven day creation by an all powerful, transcendent God. Not just some intelligent source with no name, but the God of the Bible. If we falter on this point of our faith the whole of our belief system will be faulty at best and our faith in vain at worst!

The second component within the debate on origins is of course, Darwinian Evolution. Let me just say at the onset of mentioning Darwin, that his theory is nothing more than a scam! It’s a smoke screen used by it’s proponents simply to prop up their own personal desire for unrighteousness. In fact, leading evolutionists have acknowledged (privately) the lack of evidence for Darwinian Evolution. Nevertheless, regardless of that lack of evidence and the overwhelming evidence for Creationism, they refuse to capitulate because, in their own words, “there’s no alternative”. There’s no alternative because it would mean submitting to the moral supremacy of a God Who created them and that would dictate the need to repent of their sins.

The third component of this very important debate is Theistic Evolution. This is nothing less than a compromise on the part of the church, who in essence has agreed to parts of the scam of Darwinism and have made God responsible for its godless theories. For example, Theistic Evolution says that the seven day creation in the Genesis account is just a metaphor that really describes millions of years and that God directed the evolution of the species. In my estimation and many others, this is worse than Darwinism in that it makes God out to be the villain responsible for the godless theory of species survival (survival of the fittest) which flies in the face of a Biblical God.

The problem that continues to exist for Darwinian Evolutionists and Theistic Evolutionists is, as mentioned before, the absolute absence of any credible evidence. The fossil record is completely void of any of the transitions from one species to another that these two theories depend upon. (for more information refer to the Institute for Creation Research at www.icr.org )

The final component is a new movement known as Intelligent Design. Many Christians see this movement as an opportunity to get in the back door, so to speak, into the realm of education and the science community. Intelligent Design is a movement being led by a number of highly respected scholars and scientists who have the intellectual integrity to admit that the lack of evidence for Darwinian Evolution and the overwhelming evidence for Creationism should at the very least, pave the way for more discussion on the subject. The problem that exists within this component is the lack of willingness on the part of the Intelligent Design people to admit that the God of the Bible is that higher intelligence. I’m sure that many within the ID movement are secretly paying allegiance to the God of the Bible, nevertheless, the movement in general is insistent that “they are not creationists!” Don’t get me wrong, I admire those within the ID movement as many of them are suffering for the stances they’ve made, sometimes suffering for simply mentioning ID (See the movie “Expelled” by Ben Stein) Nevertheless, we as Christians shouldn’t be looking for a “stealth” plan to promote the eternal truths of scripture. We should stand on those truths and proclaim them from the mountaintops for all to hear.

I’m truly amazed that at a time in history when the evidence for what the Bible says about creation is so absolutely overwhelming and when the absence of evidence for evolution has remained in tact, that the world still rejects the simple statement of Genesis 1:1 and continue to embrace the theory of a man who himself claimed it only to be a “theory” The bottom line is what the Bible says. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Let’s not waver on that first recorded truth in the Bible, because if we do, we’re in big trouble!