Praise God brother, that's what He has put on my heart so hard, the proclamation of His word to the lost. It's His word that saves, and He transforms us to proclaim this to the lost so that EVERYTHING goes under Him. I am not a "Calvinist", I do not call myself a "Pentecostal" either, although this is the "type" of church God put me in.
I do understand the purpose and reason for these labels and do think they are necessary, but absolutely loath them when they are used with broad strokes to paint everyone THEY put under that label, and they use it to attack the individual person relentlessly by assuming that by that label alone you know everything that person believes. Then they proceed to throw straw man after straw man at the person before even one question is asked, never even knowing if that person believes the things they are arguing against. In my experience it's always due to lack of communication and understanding. The very things we are commanded to be known for. I of course say this having learned it by doing these thing the wrong way and trying to learn from it.
(his Spirit teaching me it. ALL glory to Him) Also not being scared to admit when I'm wrong and openly try to change it even when it's embarrassing, and/or being called a hypocrite while doing so, by my own brothers. But it's not them I desire to please.
This leads to the other HUGE problem these us/them labels lead to, and that is this false "either/or" division that some people COME to the table with. They just lay it down that if you don't believe exactly what "I" say is truth then you're and unsaved heretic, period and I got nothing for ya.
I hate to call it out because I actually really like the guy and think we'd get along in real life, and have gotten along here, but I don't think this will be one of those times now. The thing is as long as one agrees with him he is awesome, but he will turn on you at the drop of a hat, relabel you first, condemn you in every way, and even resort to name calling refusing to listen to the others point of view at all ever, DC is who I'm talking about, and the only reason I'm even naming him is because he was doing this same thing in this thread.
Coming strait out with condemning EVERYONE that he feels falls under Calvinism, and I know some pretty "on fire" Calvinist not only proclaiming His word in power, but also DOING IT, living it in
word and deed, yet you just seem to wave them off as false, never try to understand how they see it, just because we see things from different angles doesn't make one any less truth by default, to be fair it very well could, but often time in my experience, it's just two roads to the same truth. Your words seem filled with strait up divisive anger, not love. You don't get to just sweepingly declare all these things "are not of God" without ever even getting specific, without ever actually talking one on one to see what THEY say, and then you form your arguments from that. No your tactic seems to be to just condemn and cut off, assuring that God doesn't use you to point them closer to truth (you know our main command from Jesus) and I am sure you think this impossible, but you also insure that He doesn't use them to, and I know it's impossible but I have to add it because it's true for every other human being on the planet, that they might teach you something.
DC I know this is more than likely going to anger you, and know that I'm not a bit sorry for posting it, but please try to understand
WHY I am doing this? Am I just trying to insult you, or maybe just hold a grudge from a previous conversation? No I am doing this in love to point out a glaring character flaw in you. You comments make me cringe sometimes. I just see the way you speak to others sometime, here too, amoungst others that say they follow Jesus and I am just left speechless sometimes. I just don't understand why you act so consistently hostel in this way to brothers, BEFORE ever spending 1 second getting to know them or understand them at all. I love the strait forward, no nonsense, firm in my belief kind of guy. All fine qualities I see in you, but you don't seem to know when to turn that off and be a bit more gentle, and understand, not a man purse carrying beta, but man do you think Jesus spoke like this to people, and not in hostel situations, but conversations with people believing and seeking?
You say Calvinism is "divisive, it breeds elitism, it denies many biblical truths, it skews truth and it
loves to divide and conquer", and then go on to feed right into it's trap. Wow. Do you not think your comment here reeks of divisiveness and elitism? And I started with this, but feel it's a good time to inject it again, I know I've fallen short in these same ways, but before you start pointing back at me to deflect the problem I'm calling you out for, I know, and I admit and confess it, even apologize when I'm wrong. I don't read every comment, and could be dead wrong about this, but I've been around here years and can't recall a time that I've seen you ever show any of these things, again I could be wrong, but the overall "vibe" I have ever seen come from you specifically is friendly when you agree with him, and hostel as all hell when you don't. Just what I see man, and if others saw or see that in me I'd want to be called out too.
Praise Jesus for EVERYTHING He provides, and may His Spirit bring peace and unity to the His people here on CC to come together and be a brighter light than ever before. Amen.
