ARMINIANISM VS. CALVINISM VS. SIMPLE 'BELIEFISM'

 

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is "ARMINIANISM VS. CALVINISM VS. SIMPLE BELIEFISM”. It’s about the ‘isms’, and the schisms among Christian believers that ‘isms’ cause.
     Many believers these days hold beliefs that they try to impose on other believers. It often results in hurt feelings, confusion, and schisms among believers who hold different beliefs. They do it in the name of ‘rightness’. They want others to see how right it is to believe the specific ‘ism’ they believe.
     For most of my 48 years as a Christian, I didn’t know of any of the ‘isms’. The only thing that resembled an ‘ism’ I encountered in my early years as a Christian was a group of “King James Only” Christians living in my local community in Berlin, Ohio. At festivals and other events, you might see them standing in groups, praying for the people passing by. My concern was that if they had a convert, they would require that convert to also use only a King James Bible.
     When I married Dee in 1996, I became informed gradually about Arminianism, as she grew up in the Church of God, whose main offices were in Cleveland, Tennessee. Also, Dee attended and graduated from Lee University, a Church of God college. The Church of God held to the doctrine of Arminianism, which I will explain later.
     Then, in about 2008, Dee and I got involved with Mission to Amish People, and I hosted a Bible study in our home for young former Amish men. The leader and another older man, both wonderful brothers, believed in the Baptist doctrine of Calvinism. We discussed our differing beliefs cordially, and we didn’t try to convert each other to our own way of thinking.
     So let’s discuss the two different ‘isms’ that I have become acquainted with:

1. Arminianism: A Protestant theological tradition based on the teachings of 17th-century Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, which asserts that God’s sovereignty and human free will are compatible. It emerged as a reaction against strict Calvinist predestination, emphasizing that salvation is available to all and that individuals have the free will to accept or reject God's grace.
2. Calvinism: A Protestant theology named after the 16th-century reformer John Calvin that emphasizes the absolute sovereignty of God in all things, particularly in salvation. It teaches that humans are totally depraved and unable to save themselves, meaning salvation is entirely God’s work, initiated by His choice and secured by His power.

     So, many disagreements and even verbal harm, hopefully not physical harm, stem from these two ‘isms’. I recently watched two documentaries about William Tyndale, an English Biblical scholar in the 15th century who suffered physical harm when he was strangled and burned at the stake because he translated the Bible for common people. Hopefully, something like this won’t ever occur because of differences in ‘ism’ beliefs.
     So I want to present an exponentially more important ‘ism’ that I came upon today. I call it “Simple Beliefism”. Long before the 16th and 17th centuries, when the doctrines of Arminianism and Calvinism were born, Jesus said the following in John 3:16:

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.

     Then He said the following in John 3:36:

“The one who believes in the Son has eternal life . . .” John 3:36

     Jesus didn’t say in verses 16 and 36, “whoever believes in ‘Arminianism and/or Calvinism’ should not perish but have eternal life.” He said, “The one who believes in the Son (meaning Jesus) has eternal life.”
     So, in conclusion, when other people try to force their ‘isms’ on us, let’s remember the ‘Simple Beliefism’ that Jesus taught us.
     See you next time.

THE DAY MY WORLD TURNED UPSIDE-DOWN!

 

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is, "THE DAY MY WORLD TURNED UPSIDE-DOWN!” It’s about when everything is going along smoothly, without too much chaos or difficulty, then something happens to rock your world, causing it to figuratively turn ‘upside-down’.
     Most of us have a deep set of beliefs and understanding of the Bible that seems to ‘get to the heart of the matter’, as my last post indicated. It gives us comfort to know that God is right there beside us, guiding us every step of the path in our journey.
     We also derive comfort when others walking beside us share the same beliefs and understanding. We’re walking, or perhaps even floating, along in our world in an upright position. Then, a person we trust and love, whom we think shares those same beliefs and understanding, suddenly one day does an about-face on one of them. To put it mildly, that day our world is literally turned upside-down.
     We try to reason with that person, but they won’t listen to our reasons for not wanting to go down the path they are on. They usually double down on their belief that their path is the absolute right path. They even indicate that those who disagree are flawed for not wanting to go.
     What do we do in our upside-down state? If you’re like me, you usually just bail. Getting away from the upside-down world seems the only solution to get some relief. But, as I used to tell my mental health clients, “the grass doesn’t usually end up being greener” by moving away from a location or situation.
     I’m a big fan of Western drama. Recently, I watched a Jimmy Stewart movie called “The Far Country”. A certain town was known for its wonderful people and good morals. But it was a gold town. And what usually happened in gold towns back then was that unsavory people moved in to take advantage of those hard-working people who were finding gold.
     The people in that town looked toward Jimmy Stewart to help them against the people trying to take advantage of others, because he was a strong-minded man who rarely backed away from trouble. At first, he was like me. He told Walter Brennan, his sidekick, that he wanted to bail, just like I usually do. He was his own man, and he didn’t want to interfere in other people’s affairs.
     But then they killed Walter Brennan, his old buddy, even as they were moving on. That was the last straw. He went back to the town, and the rest of the townsfolk rallied around him to drive out the unsavory people.
     I’m not saying my situation is even close to a matter of life and death like what Jimmy Stewart faced, or others really faced in the Old West that wasn’t just a fictional story. But the principle is the same. If someone is turning the world upside-down in a town or area, perhaps it’s better to stay and, at the least, not bail out on the ‘townsfolk’.
     I’m more of a ‘townsfolk’ person, and not a hero, like Jimmy Stewart was. But I want to band together with other townsfolk, if they want me to, to call on Jesus, our real hero, to help us to turn the world right-side up.

GETTING TO THE 'HEART' OF THE MATTER!

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is, "GETTING TO THE 'HEART' OF THE MATTER!" Main Point: Jesus was different from the religious leaders of His day in that He reached straight into the hearts of men and women. Can you and I be like Jesus and reach straight into the hearts of our loved ones, friends, and community members?
     I’ve always been a softie when it comes to crying at movies, TV shows, and other stories. -They seem to have a way of reaching straight into my heart and causing emotion. Also, when my Dad died in 1980, everything was going along normally during the funeral, but then they started reading my now blind brother’s essay about his relationship with Dad. I lost it. I never had that kind of emotion before or after that time. I wasn’t mourning. Something had reached deep down in my 'HEART'.
     I’ve been wondering lately—what causes that emotion in us? I think it’s because our hearts were made by our great creator to see the beauty and wonder in life, which takes us out of ourselves and into the beauty and wonder of God.
     Over the Easter holidays, I watched the movie “Jesus of Nazareth”. In it, there were several references to Jesus reaching into people's ‘hearts’. One was where Joseph of Arimathea spoke in defense of Jesus to the Sanhedrin before Jesus was even arrested. I realize that what he said in the movie isn’t found in scripture.
     But, I believe it correctly portrays why the masses followed Jesus. He said to his fellow members of the Sanhedrin: 

“How can we guide them if we don’t know what’s in their hearts?" I have seen Him, I’ve heard him preach. His words reach into men’s hearts, not like ours.”

     Then Nicodemus got up, also to defend Jesus. He said:  

"Like our brother Joseph, I’ve heard Him preach. I was moved, lifted out of myself, and seemed to see all things in a new and blinding light. I was aware of wonders, signs, that God may be with Him, and through Him with us.” 

     Again, I realize that what they said in the movie isn’t in scripture, even though the movie quoted a lot of scripture. But again, I believe it correctly portrays why the people followed and loved Jesus, even the children. I believe it’s the essence of the Gospel. That men’s hearts need to be reached into, to allow change to come about!

     In Biblical terms, one internet citation defined the ‘heart’ as representing “the center of one's being, encompassing emotions, will, and intellect”.
     There are 685 references to the 'hearts' of mankind in the Christian Standard Bible. I think that vast number alone should tell us something about how important the hearts of men and women are to reach them for Jesus. Let’s look at a few of them:

• Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.”
• Ephesians 1:18: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”
• Acts 16:14: “The Lord opened Lydia's heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.” 
• Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is near to those with broken hearts and saves the crushed in spirit.” 
• Hebrews 4:12: “The Word of God is active and pierces to the division of soul and spirit, penetrating the heart.” 
• Hebrews 10:16: “This is the covenant that I will make with them, after that time, says the Lord, I will put my laws in their hearts…” 
• Romans 10:9 is the salvation verse: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” 
• And who can ever forget the greatest commandment found in Matthew 22:37? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."

     I’m not sure, like Jesus did, how we can reach into the hearts of our loved ones, friends, and people in the community. I know we can’t do it with our own power.
     I think with all MY ‘HEART’ that we need to cry out to Jesus and His Holy Spirit to reach into ‘OUR HEARTS’ to give each of us inspiration on how to reach ‘THEIR HEARTS’. I think then, and only then, do we have a chance of "GETTING TO THE ‘HEART’ OF THE MATTER!

SIMEON AND ANNA’S LONG WAIT REWARDED!

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
    The title of my post today is, “SIMEON AND ANNA’S LONG WAIT REWARDED!"
     What’s part of the Christian life? It’s ‘waiting, and waiting, and waiting’. The older I get, the more aware I am of the sometimes long wait for God’s promises, when it seems they will never be fulfilled. 

     I did a devotional for our church Serve Team a couple of weeks ago titled “Waiting, and Waiting, and Waiting For What Seems Impossible!” It was about the almost unbearable wait for what God promises each of us. The devotional, however, emphasized that we are in very, very good company. The Bible is full of heroes like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and many others who had to wait, and wait, and wait for God’s promise that seemed impossible to fulfill. And then all of a sudden, God fulfilled them!
     The last Bible heroes I mentioned in the devotional were found in Luke 2. They were Simeon and Anna, both very elderly servants of God, who spent their lifetimes waiting in the temple for the promised Messiah. What’s impressive is that their wait was preceded by 400 years of spiritual darkness after the time of the prophets.
     How did Simeon and Anna know that God had a plan for them to be rewarded after so many years of waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the promised Messiah? Did one or both of them have a dream? Were they visited by an angel? We’ll never know exactly how they knew the Messiah was about to be born after 400 years of darkness, but we can be amazed at how these two faithful servants waited, and waited, and waited until they were very old for God to reward them for their faithfulness. 

     Can you and I be so faithful in our wait for what God has promised us?

A BIBLICAL ‘EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE’: TO DECLARE GOD AND HIS ATTRIBUTES TO THE NEXT GENERATION!

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is, “A BIBLICAL ‘EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE’: TO DECLARE GOD AND HIS ATTRIBUTES TO THE NEXT GENERATION!"
     I just turned 72, and I'm having trouble deciding which direction, or directions, to take as a senior citizen. For 35 years of my life, I worked in fields that required a lot of continuity and predictability. My job as a Supported Employment Coordinator in a community mental health center required me and my workers to use ‘evidence-based practices’.
     Then, for 6 years after I retired as the supported employment coordinator, my job in writing grants for Mission to Amish People (MAP) was also very ‘evidence-based’. I had to be very specific in my wording of the grants and in answering all the detailed questions the foundations had about MAP, and how we would use their money effectively for a specific project.
     Evidence-based practices are defined as the following: “A systematic approach to decision-making that integrates the best available research evidence, expertise, and values and preferences to guide professional practice to improve outcomes.”
     I’m a very concrete thinker, so ‘evidence-based practices’ fit me and my personality very well. But now that I’m ‘totally’ retired, I’m struggling to find my niche in this world related to this strength and to my role as a Christian senior citizen. About two weeks ago, however, I came upon several verses that gave me great hope, even amid my struggles. They’re found in Psalm 92:12-15. Here they are:

“The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green, to declare, “The Lord is just; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

     So, I think I’ve found a tried-and-true ‘evidence-based practice’ in Psalm 92 for older believers like me.

• The evidence-based practice is, “To declare God and His attributes to the next generation.”
• The improved outcome is: “Bearing fruit, healthy and green, in old age.”
• What that means is: “Loved ones, friends, and others will give their hearts to Jesus as a result of our declarations about the attributes of God.”

         See you next time.

WHY DO ‘SMART’ PEOPLE NOT SEE WHAT SEEMS OBVIOUS?

     

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.

     The title of today’s post is, “WHY DO ‘SMART’ PEOPLE NOT SEE WHAT SEEMS OBVIOUS?”
     I worked 29 years in community mental health with many master's and PhD-level workers. They were obviously very smart and accomplished persons. I was taken aback a couple of times, however, when a master’s-level counselor whom I knew for years would email me and address me as “Arlene” instead of “Arlen”. I had a good relationship with that counselor, and I think she didn’t even realize that she made a mistake, and I didn’t point it out to her.
     Which brings me to the point of this short post. It amazes me that world leaders, inventors, scientists, heads of corporations, and even very smart and accomplished family members have never explored the deep mysteries of the Bible—the obvious, if you will. What seems plain to me, they deem a complete waste of time to even consider. They don’t look beyond the here and now. They don’t delve into the unknown, although the Bible reveals many known mysteries of the universe. 

     For example, Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things which you do not know.” So, in other words, if we call out to God, He will answer us and tell us ‘incomprehensible’ things we don’t know. What is the meaning of ‘incomprehensible’? It means that God will reveal to those who ask Him things that are seemingly impossible to understand with human intellect alone. These things go way beyond what ‘smart’ people can grasp without God’s help.
     I’m praying that God, by His wonderful Holy Spirit, that many people start calling out to God, and that He opens the eyes and hearts of many ‘smart’ people, especially my family members, so that they ‘see what seems obvious’!

“ARE YOU WITH ME—OR AGAINST ME?”

     

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of today’s post is, “ARE YOU WITH ME—OR AGAINST ME?” It’s based on a Bible verse I read recently that startled me. It’s found in Luke 11:23, where Jesus speaks to a crowd of people. Here it is:

“Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.”

     I’ve heard sports coaches yell the line, “Are you with me?” to rally the team to heed his advice or encouragement to work hard to win the game—or at least give it their best shot. If a teammate has a bad attitude, it’s evidence that the player is not 'with' the coach and is indeed 'against' the coach. That player is usually a detriment to team success and is often sidelined or even asked to leave the team. They, in a sense, are not ‘gathering’ the team together, but have a ‘scattering’ influence away from the coach’s advice or encouragement.
     The startling thing to me about what Jesus said to the crowd was how stark His statement was about people who might even just be on the fence about Him. Or those who have never heard, or heard very little, about Him. You would think that God, in His great mercy, would give them a pass.
     But, to the contrary, Jesus indicated in strong words how serious the matter of following Him is, no matter what point a person is at in the spiritual spectrum. He wants on His team of believers, those who are ‘with’ Him, not ‘against’ Him. He knows they will then ‘gather’ other people toward Him, and not ‘scatter’ people away from Him.
     See you next time.

THE HOLY SPIRIT GETS US 'COMING AND GOING'!

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of today’s post is, “THE HOLY SPIRIT GETS US 'COMING AND GOING'!”
     The word pictures Jesus and the apostles used were, quite frankly, amazing!
     Paul the Apostle wrote an example in Romans 5:3-5: “And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” So, on the one hand, Paul said of the believer in Romans 5 that by the incredible power of the Holy Spirit, God’s wonderful love was ‘pouring’ or ‘coming’ into our hearts.
     Jesus in John 7:38 said, “The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” So, Jesus said of the believer in John 7 that by the incredible power of the Holy Spirit, God’s wonderful ‘living water’ was ‘flowing’, or ‘going’ from deep within us out to the world around us.
     So, the bottom line for the believer is: “The Holy Spirit gets us coming and going!”

BIBLE WORDS MATTER!

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     Today’s post is entitled, “BIBLE WORDS MATTER! So do certain Bible ‘superlatives’ help dispel the perception that the Christian life is ‘boring’, ‘dour’, and ‘uninteresting’?”
     Recently, I’ve noticed certain words, 'superlatives', if you will, in the Bible. What’s a ‘superlative’, you might ask? A superlative is defined by Merriam-Webster as a word used “to denote an extreme or unsurpassed level or event."
     Many assume that the Christian life is ‘boring’, ‘dour’ or brooding, and ‘uninteresting’. But some of the ‘superlative’ words the Bible authors used to describe God’s greatness, and specifically God’s greatness toward His people, blow this assumption out of the water.
     I’m just going to focus on three of these ‘superlative’ words that the Bible authors used, but there are many more. Here are the three I chose:

1. ‘Superlative’ Word #1: “Incomprehensible.”
2. ‘Superlative’ Word #2: “Inexpressible.”
3. ‘Superlative’ Word #3: “Immeasurable.”

     Now, let’s look at one Bible verse associated with each ‘superlative’ word and break it down a little bit:

1. ‘Superlative’ Word #1: “Incomprehensible" verse: Jeremiah 33:3.

“Call to me, and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things which you do not know.”

a. Synonym #1: “Mysterious.”
b. Synonym #2: “Unintelligible.”
c. Synonym #3: “Unfathomable.”

Conclusion: The Christian life is, or should be, very far from boring.

2. ‘Superlative’ Word #2: “Inexpressible" verse: 1 Peter 1:8-9.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

a. Synonym #1: “Incredible.”
b. Synonym #2: “Indescribable.”
c. Synonym #3: “Unspeakable.”

Conclusion: The Christian life is, or should be, very far from dour or brooding.

3. ‘Superlative’ Word #3: “Immeasurable” verse: Ephesians 1:18-19.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.”

a. Synonym #1: “Infinite.”
b. Synonym #2: “Endless.”
c. Synonym #3: “Unlimited.”

Conclusion: The Christian life is, or should be, very far from uninteresting.

     Final Conclusion from the Bible Superlatives written by Bible Authors is the following: Living for and with Christ and His Holy Spirit is so wonderfully good that it can’t be described—and I pray that each of us realizes it deep within our souls. It will make a big difference in how we live our lives.
     See you next time.

ARE YOU LOST IN 2026? DO YOU NEED SOMEONE TO SEEK AND TO SAVE YOU?

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     My question I have for the new year: “ARE YOU LOST IN 2026? DO YOU NEED SOMEONE TO SEEK AND TO SAVE YOU?”
     The ABC TV show “Lost” was a very popular science fiction adventure drama that followed the survivors of an airline flight that crashed on a mysterious tropical island in the South Pacific. The survivors faced trial after trial, challenge after challenge, trying to overcome the various dangers the island held, not to mention the interpersonal battles they all faced. Their goal—to survive until someone came to seek and to save them.
     Also, the other night I watched the movie “The Diary of Anne Frank”. It was very reminiscent of the story of Corrie Ten Boom entitled “The Hiding Place”. Anne Frank, her family, and several other Jews hid from the Nazis for over two years in very cramped quarters in an Amsterdam secret attic of a business. They had to keep very quiet all day during business hours and at night when Nazi guards were trolling the streets. They desperately wanted the Allied Forces to seek and to save them. Sadly, it never happened, and Otto Frank, Anne’s father, was the only survivor in his family of the Nazi concentration camps. It was reported that Anne, at the age of 15, and her sister Margot, at the age of 19, both died from typhus fever after only about three months in one of the camps.
     Let’s face it. Life on this earth is full of trial after trial—challenge after challenge. We are, however, blessed in America that most of us don’t face starvation, murder, or as much disease on a regular basis as people in many other countries do. But all of us will, at some point, face a serious trial or challenge. For example, I have a brother who was shot and almost killed on the job in 2001. He ended up with medical complications and is currently 100% blind. He is a reminder that most people face trial after trial and challenge after challenge. And the rampant turmoil and wars in the world today are constant reminders of the lostness of people in need of someone to seek and to save them.
     About a month ago, praise the Lord, I read Jesus’ profound pronouncement found in Luke 19:10. He said of Himself, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
     The bottom line is—Jesus is the ultimate and the best one ever—to seek and to save you if you are lost in 2026!
     See you next time.