I've had a pretty strong feeling on these issues, but it's all been based on what I've heard from other teachers, and not on what I've seen in the Bible for myself. Chuck does a good job of laying out CC's position Biblically.
My understanding up to this point on the Cal v. Arm issue has been that neither side was completely right. They both hold Biblical views, but they also both have to throw out other scriptures to make their points stand. I see it as man's way to try to put God into a box, when that is impossible for an infinite God. Biblically, a balance has to be struck between the two views and I've heard it described before as cal-minianism. Which has always made sense to me because both positions have good points, they just need to come together and agree that there is scripture to support both positions and stop fighting.
That is probably the point that I appreciated the most in this small book... the fact that this debate has caused radical division and divisiveness in the Body of Christ. It's clear that the fruit of these doctrines have not brought about any fruit whatsoever. Here is a quote:
Jesus said, "By their fruit ye shall know them." When a particular position on the
Scriptures causes one to become argumentative, legalistic, and divisive, I
question the validity of that position. I seek to embrace those things that tend to
make me more loving and kind, more forgiving and merciful. I know then that I
am becoming more like my Lord.
One last thing I wanted to mention was my understanding of the actual 5 points of Calvanism. I find it interesting that the 5 points were established AFTER Calvin died. This stuck me as odd, and I heard it explained one time by Robert Morey that there is a good possibility that John Calvin wasn't even a 5 point calvanist. When the 5 points were set up at the council of Dort, The people that actually quipped the 5 points were the Arminians! Not the calvanists. The council was set up as a debate, and the arminians came with a "strong arm" argument against the calvanists in order to win the debate... and the 5 points stuck. Calvanists these days don't seem to recognize that the TULIP system is really an extreme position, and not necessarily what John Calvin himself believed.
Anyway, I love Calvary Chapel's balanced Biblical opinion on the matter...
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