The Foundational Principles of the Calvary Chapel Movement
by Chuck Smith
The Priority Of The Word
"Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine."
I Timothy 4:13
Another primary distinctive of Calvary Chapel is our endeavor to declare to
people the whole counsel of God. We see this principle illustrated when Paul met
with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. As they were on the shore of the Aegean at
Miletus, around the coastal area of Ephesus, Paul said that he was innocent of
the blood of all men, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel
of God." (Acts 20:27).
Now, how is it possible for a person to claim to have declared, 'the whole counsel
of God?" The only way a person could make that claim to his congregation would
be if he taught through the whole Word of God with them, from Genesis to
Revelation. Once you've taken your congregation through the Bible, then you
can say to them, "I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of
God."
This can't be done with topical sermons. Topical sermons are good, and they
have their place, but when you're preaching topically, you're prone by nature to
preach only those topics that you like. And there are topics in the Bible that
aren't very inspiring. They don't excite the people, but they are necessary issues
that have to be dealt with. The human tendency, however, is to avoid these. If
you're only preaching topically, you may also tend to avoid controversial or
difficult topics, and the people won't gain a well-balanced view of God's truth. So
the value of going straight through the Bible is that you can say, "I have not
shunned to declare to you all the counsel of God."
Now, I believe that I can say to the people at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, "I
have declared unto you the whole counsel of God," because we have taken them
from Genesis to Revelation seven times. We're currently beginning the eighth
round. We don't skip anything. And that's why in the majority of the Calvary
Chapels, and the most successful ones, you'll find the systematic teaching of the
entire Word of God, going through the Bible from cover to cover.
For the most part, the teaching ministry of Calvary Chapel is expositional in
style. It doesn't mean that on occasion we don't address a particular topic or
give topical messages. We're not saying that topical messages are wrong or evil.
They have their place. We don't want to fall into strict legalism where we analyze
every sermon to see if it was homiletically correct and expositionally presented.
But, for the most part, we seek to follow the example of Isaiah who said, "But
the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon
precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little;" (Isaiah
28:13). These verses are describing the people's reaction to Isaiah's style of
teaching.
They were making fun of his method, but it was an effective method. They were
complaining about him, mockingly saying that he ought to go back and teach the
kindergartners because his teaching was "precept upon precept; line upon line,
line upon line; here a little, and there a little." They said these words in derision.
Yet, it's so important to take the people through the Word, line upon line,
precept by precept. When we do, we are delivering to them the whole counsel of
God.
Another advantage of teaching the whole counsel of God is that when you come
to difficult issues that deal with problems in an individual's life or within the
Church body, you can address them straightforwardly. We need not worry about
people thinking, "Oh, he's aiming at me today." People in the congregation know
that it's simply the passage of Scripture being studied that day. So it can't be,
"Oh man, he's picking on me," because they realize that you're going
straight through the Book, and you're not jumping from topic to topic. We're just
going straight through the entire Word of God.
In Nehemiah chapter 8 verse 8, when the children of Israel had returned from
captivity and were rebuilding the city, the leadership gathered the people
together and constructed a little platform. They began in the early morning to
read the Word of God to the people. Nemehiah 8:8 declares, "So they read in the
book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to
understand the reading."
I believe this is a worthy definition of expositional preaching - to read the Word,
give the sense, and cause the people to understand the meaning. I have found
that many times I don't begin to grasp the meaning until I have read a
particular passage maybe 50 or 60 times. Suddenly it begins to come together in
my mind. I believe it's valuable to use good commentaries to help in
understanding the meaning of a passage.
I appreciate the insights God has given to other men on passages of the Word. But in saying that I appreciate and do read commentaries, I must also confess that often I will read pages and pages
from commentaries and get absolutely nothing that I can use. Sometimes when
you read seven commentaries on a particular passage, you're more confused
when you're through than when you started, because there are so many
different concepts or ideas on a particular passage. So I believe that one of the
best commentaries on the Bible is the Bible itself.
It is important to remember that we don't generally see immediate or
spectacular overnight results in a Calvary Chapel. It takes time to whet and
develop the appetite of the people for the Word of God. It takes time for them to
grow. For most Calvary Chapels that are planted in a new area, it takes a couple
of years to lay the foundation, prepare the ground, plow the hardened soil, work
the soil, and plant the seed in the fertile soil. Then you have to wait. The seed
doesn't bear fruit overnight. The seed has to grow and develop. But, eventually, it begins to bear fruit.
Most of the fellows that I have observed have gone out and by the end of the
second year, they've hit the crisis point. They're usually discouraged. They feel it
isn't going to happen where they are. They start believing that the people there
are different from other people, and that it's just not going to happen. You'd be
amazed at how many have gone out, and after two years have called me up
saying they were going to be leaving because it just wasn't happening. I'll
encourage them to stay for just another six months or so, telling them, "Look,
you've come through the hard part. You've been through the plowing. You've
been through the cultivating of the soil. You've been through the planting. Now
wait and watch and see if any fruit will come forth." As a general rule, it's in the
third year that you begin to see fruit as a result of planting the Word of God in
the hearts of the people. "The seed that falls on good soil will bring forth fruit,
some thirty, some sixty, some a hundredfold," (Matthew 13:8). But it doesn't
happen overnight.
This can be rather discouraging when some come in with a flash
and a fire and seem to generate an immediate crowd. People are thronging to
see the miracles, to watch the fireworks, and here you are just plodding along.
You can't see much development or growth, and these other guys seem to have
instant success. But as the Lord said to Daniel,
"And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." (Daniel 12:3).
On the Fourth of July, it's fun to watch the fireworks, the skyrockets, the blazes
of glory, and all the color filling the sky. Everybody is "oohing and aahing," but it
only lasts for a short time. Before you know it, it's just ashes. It's a big flash,
and then it's all over. That's the way many ministries are, just a big flash and
then it's over. You have to determine which sky you want to shine in.
Do you want to shine as a star forever and ever? Or do you want to be like a sky rocket
with a sudden flash, coming onto the scene dramatically, but with no staying
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