Neo-Calvinism vs The Bible 002

Neo Calvinism vs. The Bible 002
Dr. Andy Woods, Sr. Pastor

[yiminieqriket]

OUTSTANDING preaching and teaching, I don't know what they pay you Andy but it's not enough. How's Jim McGowan doing, haven't heard much lately. And I'm concerend!

[BlessedHope..]

God's word is truth - thanks for helping illuminate it.

[kevinmorris]

Thank you for this important teaching!

[Smerm]

It is extremely difficult to find a church that has not been influenced by Calvinism.

I’m in a heavy Mormon area and so of course there’s LDS churches everywhere.

Within 25 miles of my home I tried 4 churches. Becoming a member of one for 3 years.
None were Calvinist churches. However the one I joined for 3 years started adding some Calvinist teachings, Lordship salvation ideology, and backloading works then they switched to the ESV which is a reformed translation.
I had to leave.
I researched other Christian churches within that 25 mile radius and every single one’s statements of faith were tainted with Calvinist ideologies.

I then found a church whose statement of faith ( on their website) has no Calvinist influences so I stared to attend.

They taught the KJV, which i grew up on so I was happy for that. ( I know God can use other translations to save a person so being a fan of the KJV is not my point here )
I even asked if there were Calvinists and the pastor gave me a resounding, no and had even spoken against Calvinism in his sermons.

After attending about 3 months I did notice some red flags but prayed and went ahead and asked about information so I could become a member.

I was given a 5 page doctrinal bylaws which was fine. I wanted to know where they stood on specifics.

In it, there were about 6 statements that concerned me which I won’t list except one that was most concerning….
One of the specifically labeled points was “ perseverance of the saints” which made my jaw drop
BECAUSE, they had decried Calvinism yet had the P of TULIP right there.

In the explanation of that point it became clear they focused on works as proof, as a litmus test for being saved.

I sent a copy to a pastor, Jesse Martinez, in Tampa who has a channel called Bibleline. He had many teachings exposing Calvinism and also was mentored by Yankee Arnold, Tom Cucuzza and Freddie Coyle. They all taught the correct gospel.

Pastor Martinez was kind enough to read through the copy I had sent and respond to the things that didn’t sit well with me and he sent me a detailed response and he had picked out the same things that I thought were Calvinist influenced.

I then prayed and asked the pastor of the church I was considering joining, some specific questions that could clarify those red flags.

His response only solidified what I knew, although they denied being Calvinist, in reality, much of their beliefs were based on or tainted by its theology.

I told the pastor I felt God was not leading me to join. I never heard from the pastor again btw.

My point in what might be TMI in this comment is that Calvinism and its cousin Lordship salvation have infiltrated so many churches corrupting once biblically sound doctrine especially the simple gospel.

And boy try to explain salvation by faith alone and the difference between justification and sanctification ( our walk / discipleship ) and the proper place for our works and people get VERY angry, defensive and argumentative.

It is a very draining and taxing situation to navigate.

So sermons like this are necessary given the rise of Calvinism and its influence within the church.

Much thanks to you and your ministry for texting the clear gospel and sticking to what the Bible says.

Btw, early in my journey of studying Calvinism, I watched the teaching by Dennis Rokser who you had speak at your church and his sermon about salvation Or justification and assurance BY FAITH ALONE apart from what we do or don’t do not only clarified so much for me, it was a game changer as I delved more into this topic.

Please keep putting content like this out there ….. it’s much appreciated!