“Calvinism”
Galatians 1:6 – 9
By: Pastor J. B. Hall
Introduction: From time to time throughout history false doctrines have surfaced, or resurfaced, and have gained great popularity. But as we learned in our reference text, those who preach, teach, and espouse such false doctrines, must not be tolerated, lest the pure doctrine of Christ should be corrupted, and men should be lost, believing a false message.
Today, one such teaching is sweeping our nation, and I feel it must be exposed for the heresy it is. This morning I want to preach a message on the 5 points of Calvinism, and examine each one in the light of scripture.
The 5 points of Calvinism are usually identified by using the acronym T-U-L-I-P; each letter representing a point that, taken together, constitutes the doctrine of Calvinism.
Let’s look at what each letter represents, and then we’ll examine each one individually:
T – Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability and Original Sin)
U – Unconditional Election
L – Limited Atonement (also known as Particular Atonement)
I – Irresistible Grace
P – Perseverance of the Saints
Some claim to be only a 1 point, or 2 point, or 3 point, or 4 point Calvinist.
But contrary to what these believe and teach, these 5 points must be accepted as a package; for refuse any one, and like a house of cards; the entire doctrine collapses.
Now let’s examine what each point teaches, and what scripture says about it.
1. Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability and Original Sin)
A. “The Calvinist asks the question, "In light of the scriptures that declare man’s true nature as being utterly lost and incapable, how is it possible for anyone to choose or desire God?" The answer is, "He cannot. Therefore God must predestine."
Calvinism also maintains that because of our fallen nature we are born again not by our own will but God’s will…” (The Calvinist Corner)
B. So then, the Calvinist teaches that because of man’s total depravity, he is incapable of choosing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
C. Does the Bible really teach ‘original sin’?
D. Yes! Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
E. Romans 5:18a says, “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation…”
F. Do the scriptures teach that man is totally depraved (immoral; corrupt; wicked)?
G. Yes! Romans 3:10 – 18 describe the complete depravity of man (Read).
H. Romans 3:23 concludes, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
I. If then, the scriptures teach that because of Adam’s sin, all mankind has inherited the same sin nature; and that because of this inherited sin nature all men are depraved, that they have all fallen short of God’s glory and do not seek Him, is it possible for man to have the ability to choose to believe?
J. While ‘Original Sin’ and ‘Total Depravity’ are scriptural concepts, ‘Total Inability’, or the inability of man to make a choice concerning his relationship to God is not true according to scripture.
K. In Deuteronomy 30:19 God had given Moses the words of the covenant to make with the children of Israel.
L. Here, in this verse Moses at the word of the Lord commands the children of Israel to “…choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
M. If man was incapable of making a choice concerning God’s commandments, and God would have to make the choice for him, then this command is ludicrous.
N. In Joshua 24:15 Joshua demanded of the people to choose that very day whom they would serve.
O. He said, “…choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
P. In John 3:17 – 19 (Read) Jesus made it clear that condemnation was not his purpose for coming into the world; but that condemnation was a choice that man makes when he refuses His gift.
Q. Man does this because man’s deeds are evil and he enjoys the darkness rather than the light.
R. In Verse 20 Jesus said that those who do evil refuse to come to the light.
S. So, man’s condemnation is not based upon his inability to come; but rather upon his refusal to come.
T. In John 6:40 Jesus said, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
U. Finally, Revelation 22:17 says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
V. So, Original Sin, and Total Depravity do not mean that man is not capable of choosing to come to the Lord to be saved, as the Calvinists teach.
2. Unconditional Election
A. According to Calvinism, God has unconditionally or arbitrarily elected those to be saved before the foundation of the world solely on the basis of the counsel of His will, not taking anyone’s accountability into consideration. As a result, no matter what anyone does, some are pre-destined to salvation, and the rest are pre-destined to damnation. (kingmessiahproject.com)
B. God does not base His election on anything He sees in the individual. He chooses the elect according to the kind intention of His will (Eph. 1:4-8; Rom. 9:11) without any consideration of merit within the individual. Nor does God look into the future to see who would pick Him. Also, as some are elected into salvation, others are not (Rom. 9:15, 21). (The Calvinist Corner)
C. Does the Bible teach Election?
D. Yes! In I Peter 1:2a Peter addresses the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
E. Here is how he addresses them, “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…”
F. Galatians 3:8 & 9 describe it like this, “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”
G. Here’s how election works.
H. Ephesians 1:4 & 5 explain: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”
I. In other words, God has the ability to foresee the future; to see the future while it is yet future.
J. Isaiah 46:9 & 10a say, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,” “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done…”
K. So, God, being able to see ahead of time what would happen, looks out across history that has not yet happened, and declares that all who come to His Son in faith, receiving Him as their Savior, are His elect – therefore, He could describe those who are saved in I Peter 1:2 as the “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…”
L. Election then, is simply God having chosen beforehand that all who would receive Jesus Christ as Savior would be His children.
M. This in no way indicates that God randomly chose a select group to be His unconditional favorites and called and saved them, but then condemned everyone else to hell.
N. The election is conditional!
O. Only those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior can become God’s elect; and this is by their choice; not by God’s ‘Unconditional Election’.
3. Limited Atonement
A. Calvinism teaches: “Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not efficacious [effective, successful] for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect.” (The Calvinist Corner)
B. Scripture blatantly refutes this teaching!
C. I John 2:2 says, “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our’s only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
D. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
E. ‘the world’ in this verse means ‘the world’!
F. The ‘whosoever’ in this verse means ‘whosoever’!
G. In II Corinthians 5:14 & 15 we find these words, “…because we thus judge that if one died for all, then were all dead:” “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them…”
H. The scriptures are VERY clear that Jesus’ death was not only sufficient for all, but that it was efficacious, or effective, or successful, for all.
I. The scriptural teaching is that Jesus died to pay the price for the sins of all mankind.
J. Hebrews 2:9 plainly says, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
K. So, according to the scriptures, Jesus’ atonement was NOT limited; but was the atonement for all people of all times.
L. Hebrews 10:12 says, “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”
M. It is limited in its application – only being applied to those who believe because salvation is by grace through faith.
N. Only when faith is exercised, or placed in Jesus’ sacrifice for him, does one receive the application of the atonement that Jesus made for him.
O. But, the offer and application of Jesus’ atonement is NOT limited in that it is available and effective to all; and anyone who chooses to take advantage of the offer finds that Jesus’ sacrifice was indeed UNLIMITED!
4. Irresistible Grace
A. Calvinism teaches: “When God calls his elect into salvation, they cannot resist. God offers to all people the gospel message. This is called the external call. But to the elect, God extends an internal call and it cannot be resisted. This call is by the Holy Spirit who works in the hearts and minds of the elect to bring them to repentance and regeneration whereby they willingly and freely come to God.” (The Calvinist Corner)
B. Are we saved by grace?
C. Yes! But this grace is not irresistible.
D. In other words, God’s grace that is extended to man is offered to all; but only imparted, or given, to those who, by the act of their own will, choose to receive it.
E. According to the teaching of Irresistible Grace, only the elect will receive this special call, and they will not be able to ‘resist’ or refuse the call.
F. This point, this teaching, is in direct contradiction to the doctrine of scripture!
G. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
H. Here, the call was to all; and it was to come; and He said He will give you rest.
I. The idea that God would call those who He never intended to accept is not only foolish, it is against the very nature of God that is taught in scripture.
J. In John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life…”
K. If Jesus is the truth, and He issued a call that He would not allow to be answered, He would then be found to be a liar, a deceiver.
L. But He is truth; He is not a deceiver; he is not a trickster.
M. Being the truth, He must do what He says He will do or He would no longer be the truth; He would be a liar.
N. John 7:37 – 39a make it clear that our receiving the grace of God hinges on our willingness; not on God’s forced receipt of it.
O. These verses say, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” “(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive…)”
P. So, here again, Jesus extends the offer to ‘any man’; and then makes it clear that whosoever chooses to believe on Him, would have the gift of the Holy Spirit given to him.
Q. We are saved by grace (God’s unearned, undeserved favor), and it is genuinely offered to everyone; but only those who choose to receive it, by an act of their own will, will have this grace applied to their lives, or imparted to them.
R. Thus, the grace of God is not ‘irresistible’; it can be, and most often is, resisted, refused by those to whom it is offered; for those who are saved are always the remnant, the minority; not because God has only chosen to send His ‘Irresistible Grace’ call to a select few, but because only a few have chosen to take advantage of the offer of grace that is issued to all.
5. Perseverance of the Saints (also known as Once Saved Always Saved; or Eternal Security)
A. Are we eternally secure once we are ‘saved’?
B. Yes! Else we would have probation; not salvation.
C. But the Calvinist’s view of eternal security is a distorted one.
D. Here’s why.
E. The very term ‘Perseverance of the Saints’ is a misnomer.
F. Perseverance – def. 1. determined continuation with something; steady and continued action or belief, usually over a long period and especially despite difficulties or setbacks
G. The word ‘perseverance’ itself then, means that one has to exert his own effort by his own determination in order to ‘hold out to the end’.
H. This is contradictory to the intended meaning according to Calvinism.
I. The Calvinist’s position on eternal security is that we are eternally secure; but that we must ‘persevere’ or hold out to the end in order to receive the salvation he says we have; but he states that all who are ‘Unconditionally Elected’ will persevere, or hold out to the end.
J. Thus, Calvinists are often described as teaching eternal security; but their teaching of eternal security is not the scriptural description of it.
K. The scriptural teaching is not the ‘Perseverance of the Saints’; but the perseveration of the saints.
L. In other words, we are eternally secure once we are saved; not because we will persevere until the end; but because God Himself will preserve us unto the end.
M. II Corinthians 1:21 & 22 say, “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;” “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”
N. Ephesians 4:30 says, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
O. So, we are told that the One Who has stablished us in Chirst (saved us), is God; and that it is He Who has sealed us; giving us the earnest, or down payment, of the holy Spirit as proof positive of our eventual total transformation which includes our bodies as well as our souls.
P. Ephesians 1:12 – 14 describe what I just said like this, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.” “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Q. Again, when we are saved, God seals us with the holy Spirit; preserving us; not helping us to persevere.
R. The responsibility of our keeping then falls to God; not to us; not even to God-assisted self-effort.
S. In John 10:27 – 29 Jesus says it as plainly as it is possible to be said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all: and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
T. Here again, our keeping rests in God’s hands; He is doing the preserving; we are not doing the persevering.
U. When we are saved, we are exactly what the term implies – saved; eternally secure.
V. But, the Calvinist’s concept of this doctrine is distorted because it involves man’s effort in the process; even though it teaches that his effort depends on God to make it happen.
In Summary:
Calvinism consists of 5 tenets. These 5 tenets, or points, are usually identified by the acronym T-U-L-I-P. Each letter of the acronym represents a particular tenet, or teaching, that constitutes the doctrine of Calvinism. The 5 points of Calvinism are:
T – Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability and Original Sin)
U – Unconditional Election
L – Limited Atonement (also known as Particular Atonement)
I – Irresistible Grace
P – Perseverance of the Saints
As we have seen, these tenets, these points, these teachings, range from a distortion of the scriptural position, to an outright contradiction of the scriptural teaching.
In Conclusion:
These teachings must be exposed for the heresy they are; and those who preach, teach, and espouse these heresies must be exposed for the false teachers they are.
Those who have embraced Calvinism have abandoned the truth of scripture for what the Word of God in II Peter 2:1 calls “…damnable heresies…”
II Peter 2:1 & 2 warn us about such teachers and heresies, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”
These false teachers and their false doctrines must be exposed, marked, and avoided, lest they confuse those who are weak in the faith; and deceive those who are not yet in the faith. Beware, lest you be deceived!
