| |
Calvary Chapel Distinctives
1. History
Calvary Chapel began in the late 1960's as a small non-denominational church
of 25 members pastored by Chuck Smith. As of the turn of the century,
Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa is home to some 30,000 believers. The Word for
Today publishes Bible study books and tapes all over the world, KWVE
broadcasts God's Word to all of Southern California, and Calvary Chapel's
Bible College provides Bible education to thousands at its home campus in
Twin Peaks, California and at over 20 extension campuses world wide.
Because of its size and influence, many Christians have asked exactly what
Calvary Chapel believes, what are its distinctives, what sets it apart from
other Christian groups. At Calvary Chapel, we have always been hesitant to
try and answer those questions, not because we are unsure of our beliefs,
but because we are cautious to avoid division within the Body of Christ.
After all, what really matters is what we have in common as Christians: the
"essential" doctrines of the infallibility of God's Word, the virgin birth
of Christ, His sinless life, death for our sins, bodily resurrection,
ascension to glory, and personal return to rule the earth. These are the
essence of Christianity, and agreed upon by virtually all born again
believers. When we move away from the essential doctrines to those that are
less essential we risk setting barriers up in the church, something we at
Calvary Chapel have no desire to do. Still, Calvary Chapel is distinct from
denominational churches and other Protestant groups and people want to know
what those distinctions are. That is the purpose of this web page.
It is not our purpose to cause division or discord in the Body of Christ,
conversely, we long for unity among God's people of all persuasions, and we
allow for a great deal of flexibility even within our own ranks. Calvary
Chapel pastors are not clones who all believe exactly the same thing. Still,
there are distinctives that make Calvary Chapel unique and which define our
mission.
2. The Balance
In a broad general sense, Calvary Chapel is the middle ground between
fundamentalism and Pentecostalism in modern Protestant theology. In fact, we
believe that this is at least part of the reason why God has raised up this
ministry.
Fundamentalism is that portion of Protestantism, which holds to the literal
interpretation of the Scriptures, believing that they are divinely inspired
and inerrant. Hence, the "fundamentals" of the faith are emphasized.
Although the modern news media and the liberal church scorn fundamentalists
as backward and stupid, the truth is that fundamentalism has preserved the
integrity of God's Word and held on to the essential doctrines of the
orthodox faith.
Pentecostalism as a modern movement grew out of the Azusa Street revival in
Los Angeles at the turn of the 20th century. It spawned denominations that
emphasize the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the exercise of spiritual and
Scriptural gifts of the Spirit, which had fallen dormant in the main line
churches. Also criticized by the liberal church and news media as being
emotionally driven, Pentecostalism restored to the church the importance of
gifts of the Spirit and the power of God for the believer today.
Over the years, however, fundamentalism, while it clung to the integrity of
God's Word, tended to become rigid, legalistic, and unaccepting of spiritual
gifts. Similarly, Pentecostalism became enthusiastic and emotional at the
expense of the teaching of God's Word.
Calvary Chapel is the balance between the two. At Calvary Chapel we believe
in the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Bible, and we encourage
their exercise, but always decently and in order, and with the primary
emphasis on the Word of God which we look to as our primary rule of faith.
To quote Pastor Chuck Smith: "We believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit
mentioned in the Scriptures, and that they are valid for today if they are
exercised within the Scriptural guidelines. We as believers are to covet the
best gifts, seeking to exercise them in love that the whole Body of Christ
might be edified. We believe that love is more important than the most
spectacular gifts, and without this love all exercise of spiritual gifts is
worthless."
Because of this balance, Calvary Chapel services are designed to be centered
around the verse by verse teaching of God's Word, and special prayer is
provided where the gifts of the Holy Spirit can operate freely under the
leadership of mature Christians. Many Pentecostals think Calvary Chapel is
not emotional enough, and many fundamentalists think Calvary Chapel is too
emotional. That balance is indication, that we are right where God wants us
to be.
3. Church Government
Calvary Chapel also differs from most mainline churches in its style of
church government. Most denominational churches maintain a congregational
form of church government, a Presbyterian form, or an Episcopal form of
running their churches. These three terms should not be confused with the
denominations that bear the same names because other churches of different
names share the same styles of government.
The congregational form of church government is an American invention and
appeals to our American sense of democracy. Basically, the congregation as a
whole makes all decisions in these churches by voting on matters of
importance and appointing committees from its ranks to run the daily
operation of the church. Most Congregational, Baptist, Pentecostal,
Brethren, and non-denominational churches are organized in this fashion. The
congregation votes on hiring a pastor, votes on how to spend the money, and
on anything else of importance. Although democratic people like the idea,
congregational forms of church government often wind up at best causing the
pastor to be directed by the sheep he is supposed to lead, and at worst
reducing the pastor to a hireling.
The Episcopal form of church government, used by Episcopalian, Anglican,
Catholic, Orthodox, and Methodist churches (to name a few) is controlled by
a church hierarchy, which may have differing names. Basically, there is a
bishop, or someone of similar stature if called by a different name, who
oversees the churches, appoints pastors to pulpits, sets policy, and guides
the vision of the local congregations. Unfortunately, this style of
government, which grew out of European monarchies, leaves little freedom for
the local pastor or congregation to follow the leading of the Spirit.
The Presbyterian form of church government, which is typical in Presbyterian
and Reformed churches, puts the decisions of church polity in the hands of a
select group of elders (the "presbytery") who are appointed in various
different ways, depending on the church. These elders are over the pastor,
who in turn is over the congregation. The problem here too is that this
system puts the God-appointed leader, the pastor, under some of those he is
supposed to lead.
Calvary Chapels are organized differently. Church government at Calvary
Chapel is very simple; not a complex bureaucracy, committees and
sub-committees are essentially non-existent. Basically, at Calvary Chapel we
believe that the pastor is responsible for the church, responsible to hear
from God, and responsible to feed and love His people faithfully. Elders are
appointed in the larger churches to help the pastor care for the spiritual
needs of the congregation, as are deacons to help the pastor care for the
material needs of the church.
In addition, our churches have church boards as required by most states.
These boards vary in size depending on the size of the church, and which
usually are made up of mature Christian businessmen who can advise the
pastor with respect to the business operations and decisions of the church
such as property management and investments. At Calvary Chapel, church
organization is de-emphasized, and only the organization that is needed to
run the church is instituted. The pastor guides the church as he is lead by
the Holy Spirit, and we trust God to put pastors where He wants them to be.
4. Doctrine
At Calvary Chapel we believe in all the fundamental doctrines of the
evangelical Protestant church. For example, we believe in the inerrancy of
Scripture, that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the inspired,
infallible Word of God.
We believe that God is eternally existent in three separate persons: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that God the father is the personal,
transcendent, and sovereign creator of all things.
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human. We believe that
He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of
our sins by His vicarious death on the Cross, was bodily resurrected by the
power of the Holy Spirit, ascended back to the right hand of God the father,
and ever lives to make intercession for us.
After He ascended to Heaven, Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit on the
believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to preach the
Gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today.
We believe that all people are by nature separated from God and responsible
for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness of sin
are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a
person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord,
trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by
the Holy Spirit. All his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a
child of God, destined to spend eternity with the Lord.
As we previously mentioned, we believe in the proper Scriptural exercise of
all the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, the greatest gift of all
being God's love.
At Calvary Chapel, we await the pre-tribulation rapture of the church.
Calvary Chapel is strongly committed to a belief that the church will be
raptured before the seven-year tribulation period described in Revelation
chapters 6 through 18. We recognize that other believers hold a different
view, but this is the way we see the Scripture's teaching on this subject.
We believe that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ with His saints to rule on
the earth will be personal, pre-millennial, and visible. This motivates us
to heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God's Word,
regular fellowship with other Christians, and participation in both adult
baptism by immersion and in Holy Communion.
Calvary Chapel rejects the teaching of "amillennialism" which spiritualizes
Scripture and denies the literal 1,000-year reign of Christ on the earth as
described in Revelation chapter 20.
5. What We Do Not Believe
At Calvary Chapel, we reject some popular doctrines of some Christian groups
because we believe them to be in error Scripturally. This does not mean that
we will not fellowship with those holding these views, it simply means that
such views are outside the boundaries of what constitutes a Calvary Chapel
church.
For example, we reject, as we have already mentioned, "amillennialism",
post-millennialism, as well as a mid or post-tribulation rapture view. At
Calvary Chapel, we are strongly pre-millennialists and pre-tribulation
rapturists.
We also reject the belief, held by some Pentecostals and charismatics, that
Christians can be demon possessed. The Scripture says "greater is He that is
in you than he who is in the world" which makes no sense if both the Holy
Spirit and evil spirits can simultaneously indwell a believer. Christians
can be attacked by demons, but they cannot be possessed or controlled by
them.
In addition, we reject "5-point Calvinism". Additional study is required for
a deeper understanding of what Calvinism is, but for our purposes here,
suffice it to say that Calvary Chapel rejects two of the five points of five
point Calvinism. First, Calvinism teaches that Jesus' atonement on the Cross
was limited, that is, that He died only for a chosen group, His "elect", not
for the sins of the entire world. At Calvary Chapel, we believe that Jesus
died on the cross for all the sins of all people, and that anyone who wants
to can accept Him as Lord and savior and be born again. Strict five point
Calvinists believe that only the elect can be saved and that God has elected
others to spend eternity in hell.
Secondly, we reject the Calvinistic teaching called "irresistible grace",
which is the belief that man cannot, even if he wants to, resist the wooing
and calling of God to salvation. Instead, at Calvary Chapel we believe that
man has a free will and he can resist the call of God if he chooses to do
so. Therefore, those who hold to five point Calvinism are outside of the
borders of what defines Calvary Chapel.
At Calvary Chapel, we also reject the teaching of "positive confession".
This is the doctrine put forth by the faith movement teachers that says that
we as human beings can have unlimited health and wealth because we, like
God, have the ability to create our own reality by the confession of our
lips. These people teach that if a person will confess health and wealth
consistently, then that is what they will have, and, conversely, the
Christian living in sickness or poverty is settling for less than his full
inheritance in Christ. At Calvary Chapel, we believe that many believers
both in the Bible and in daily life are often afflicted not because their
confession is wrong, but simply because we live in a foreign world. We
believe that the health and prosperity doctrine is a perversion of Scripture
and is often used to fleece the flock of God. We do not believe that God can
be commanded by man to heal or provide, but that we must always submit to
His perfect will even in affliction.
Additionally, we reject the teaching that uses human prophecy to supersede
the Word of God. There are some Christian groups around which claim to have
prophets and apostles of equal validity with those who wrote the Bible.
Moreover, they claim that the prophetic utterances from these people take
precedence over the Word of God. At Calvary Chapel, we believe that the
Bible is the final authority and the complete Word of God for His church
today, and that no prophecy or teaching can ever supersede it.
Some churches have incorporated human secular psychology and philosophy into
their teaching programs, creating sermons that are more based on secular
humanistic theory than on the Word of God. While we respect our fellow
believers who work in mental health related fields, we at Calvary Chapel
believe that the central mission of the church is to proclaim God's Word to
a lost and hurting world. Moreover, it has been our experience that
humanistic psychology and philosophy often do more harm than good, and
people respond best when God's Word is proclaimed in the power and love of
the Holy Spirit. It is God's Word that changes lives for the better. At
Calvary Chapels our services remain centered on the teaching of the Bible.
This is not to imply that we object to the work of the many dedicated
Christian mental health professionals; conversely, we thank God for them.
Our point is simply that in our church services, we emphasize the teaching
of God's Word.
And finally, as we have mentioned before, Calvary Chapel rejects the
over-emphasis of spiritual gifts and experiential signs and wonders to the
exclusion of Biblical teaching. Again, we are a Bible based ministry that
avoids programs and gimmicks in favor of the simple teaching of the Word of
God in love to His people. In our services, we focus on a personal
relationship with God through worship, prayer, and the teaching of the Word
of God. We offer both expository and topical studies.
6. Worship
Many people are under the impression that a particular style of worship is
insisted upon at Calvary Chapel, that style being the soft contemporary
Sound made popular by Maranatha! Music and by Asaph Records (which both
originated at Calvary Chapel). Although most Calvary Chapels do utilize a
form of contemporary worship, there are actually a great variety of styles
Of Music found in our churches. Some are very traditional and conservative,
with organs or pianos and hymns, while others prefer electric guitars and
drums. There is no set style of worship makes a Calvary Chapel unique;
instead there is wide latitude in expression. All of us desire, of course,
that whatever the style of worship, it come from our hearts.
Similarly, some of the worship services at Calvary Chapels are quite
traditional, while others are more contemporary. Some of our churches are
filled with elderly people in suits and ties. Some are filled with young
people in jeans and tee shirts, and many are a combination of all different
ages, styles, and races of folks who come together with one common focus:
love for Jesus Christ and the desire to know Him more intimately.
7. Statement of Faith
To better help people not familiar with the Calvary Chapel ministries
understand who we are; Calvary Chapel's Bible College developed the
following statement of faith. Most of it was written and approved by Pastor
Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement, Pastor of Calvary
Chapel of Costa Mesa, and President of the Bible College.
Calvary Chapel has been formed as a fellowship of believers in the Lordship
of Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and be conformed to
His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational
church. Nor are we opposed to denominations as such, only to their
over-emphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led to the division of
the Body of Christ.
We believe the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's (Agape)
love, which is greater than any differences we possess, and without which we
have no right to claim ourselves Christians.
We believe worship of God should be spiritual. Therefore, we remain flexible
and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.
We believe worship of God should be inspirational. Therefore, we give great
place to music in our worship.
We believe worship of God should be intelligent. Therefore, our services are
designed with great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He
might instruct us how He should be worshipped.
We believe worship of God should be fruitful. Therefore, we look for His
love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have been truly
worshipping Him.
We believe in all the fundamental doctrines of orthodox evangelical
Christianity.
We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, that the Bible, Old and New
Testaments is the inspired, infallible Word of God.
We believe that God is eternally existent in three separate persons: Father,
Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that God the Father is the personal, transcendent, and sovereign
Creator of all things.
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, that He was born
of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by
His vicarious death on the Cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the
Holy Spirit, ascended back to the right hand of God the Father, and ever
lives to make intercession for us.
After Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the
believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to preach the
Gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today.
We believe that all people are by nature separated from God and responsible
for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are
freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person
repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord,
trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by
the Holy Spirit. All his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a
child of God, destined to spend eternity with the Lord.
We believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures, and
that they are valid for today if they are exercised within the Scriptural
guidelines. We as believers are to covet the best gifts, seeking to exercise
them in love that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. We believe that
love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without this
love all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.
We believe that church government should be simplistic rather than a complex
bureaucracy, and we depend on the Holy Spirit to lead, rather than on
fleshly promotion.
We await the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, and we believe that the
Second Coming of Christ with His saints to rule on the earth will be
personal, pre-millennial, and visible. This motivates us to holy living,
heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God's Word, regular
fellowship, and participation in adult baptism by immersion and Holy
Communion.
We seek to teach the Word of God in such a way that its message can be
applied to an individual's life, leading that person to greater maturity in
Christ.
We reject (1) the belief that true Christians can be demon possessed. (2)
"5-point Calvinism" (i.e., a fatalistic Calvinistic view that leaves no room
for free will. Specifically, we reject the belief that Jesus' atonement was
limited, instead we believe that He died for all people, and we reject the
assertion that God's wooing grace cannot be resisted or that He has elected
some people to go to hell. Instead we believe that anyone who wills to come
to Christ may do so). (3) "Positive confession" (the faith movement belief
that God can be commanded to heal or work miracles according to man's will).
(4) Human prophecy that supersedes the Scripture, (5) the incorporation of
humanistic and secular psychology and philosophy into Biblical teaching, and
(6) the over-emphasis of spiritual gifts, experiential signs and wonders to
the exclusion of Biblical teaching.
In our services, we focus on a personal relationship with God through
worship, prayer, and the teaching of the Word of God. We teach both
expositorily and topically. We do not allow speaking in tongues loudly
during services, nor prophecy while a Bible study is in progress because we
do not believe that the Holy Spirit would interrupt Himself.
|
