BE BALANCED THEOLOGICALLY
(1TIM. 4:16, 2TIM. 2:23-26)
Pastor Chuck has always sought to avoid those issues that do nothing but divide the Body of Christ, and, as he once said, "when Christ's Body is divided, pray tell, who bleeds?"
Calvary Chapel is unique in the world today because it fills a gap that other churches do not.
On one side of the spectrum, there is an extreme form of Pentecostalism with its emotional expression of "charismania", an emphasis on gifts of the Spirit to the expense of the Word of God. On the other end of the spectrum is fundamentalism with its opposition to gifts of the Spirit. At Calvary we believe in and allow for the operation of all the gifts of the Spirit, but always decently and in order. We believe that the Holy Spirit never interrupts Himself, so tongues or prophecies are not allowed while the Word is being taught, for example. Calvary Chapel is the balance between Pentecostalism and fundamentalism.
On another spectrum, there are the hyper-Calvinists who teach that Jesus died only for His elect, that man has no free will, that one group is elect for heaven, another is elect for hell, and there's nothing you can do about it. Opposite them are the hyper-Arminians who forget the sovereignty of God altogether and believe a person must be born again again each time they sin. Again, Calvary Chapel is the balance between the two. As Pastor Chuck said, "I believe in once saved always saved, if you abide in Christ". The Bible teaches the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man; it teaches the security of the believer and the perseverance of the saints. We will never intellectually reconcile the two; we just need to accept the fact that God is bigger than we are and teach all that the Bible says.
There are other areas where we tend to get out of balance. Some groups preach pro-life to the expense of the gospel. Others mix in so much psychology that the Scriptures are forgotten. Stay balanced. Stay true to the Word of God.
