The most dominant school of thought in the Church today is Reformed Theology, also known as Calvinism, which primarily adheres to the theological traditions and teachings of John Calvin and other preachers of the Reformation era who broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century.
In this message, we will take an honest and objective look at the foundational Pillars of Calvinism, the doctrine of salvation, and what critics say in counterpoint to them. I hope you undertake a diligent study to clearly know what and why you adhere to your beliefs and provide sincere and educated answers to those who question the foundational teaching of their Church and underlying philosophy of ministry.
The elemental teaching of Calvinism is that God limited atonement by ordaining every future event before creation and selected only specific individuals for salvation based on nothing good or bad within the person. God then changes the hearts of pre-selected people to love Him because His saving grace is irresistible. It is taught that Jesus died only for the ones who had been pre-selected for salvation. In the fundamental teaching of Calvinism, it is believed that God actively causes people to sin or go to Hell.
The doctrine of salvation is defined using five points that are commonly explained utilizing the acrostic TULIP:
T - Total Depravity
U - Unconditional Election
L - Limited Atonement
I - Irresistible Grace
P - Perseverance of the Saints
Many in the church today define themselves as 5-point Calvinists. Moderate Calvinists often embrace three or four of these points, and marginal Calvinists hold to only one (eternal security).
T. Total Depravity / Inability
Adam and Eve sinned, and because of their sin, every human being is dead in their sinfulness and hates God. They are entirely unable to save themselves or accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They cannot do anything that is spiritually righteous because it is impossible for them to choose good over evil. God alone determines who will receive salvation, and it cannot be offered to anyone because it is impossible.
(Mark 7:21-23; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2:14; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-3,15; Romans 3:10-12,23, 5:12,19, 7:18, 8:7 - Also Genesis 6:5, Psalm 143:2; Jonah 2:9; 2 Chronicles 6:36; Isaiah 53:6; Jeremiah 17:9)
COUNTERPOINT - The Bible does teach total depravity.
"The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV).
That means there is nothing good in human beings to earn or deserve salvation. The Bible does not mention that people are lost because they cannot come to Jesus. It is not a matter of whether or not a person CAN come to Him but whether or not they WILL come to Him.
"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you REFUSE to come to me that you may have life" (John 5:40 ESV - emphasis mine).
God made every human being a free moral agent to choose to accept or reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37 ESV). It was not a matter of whether they COULD but whether they WOULD.
Jesus said, "When I am lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL people to myself" (John 12:32 ESV – emphasis mine). All people are drawn to Jesus because they have light, but not all will choose to trust Him as Savior and Lord. The Bible gives a final invitation to salvation.
"The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who DESIRES take the water of life without price" (Revelation 22:17 ESV – emphasis mine).
The Bible makes it clear that even if a person has not heard the words of God in the Bible, they have light within and have been called through the creation that displays the glory and handiwork of God, as well as through their conscience (John 1:9; Romans 1:19-20; 2:11).
People will spend eternity without Jesus if they intentionally reject Him and not because of their inability to come to Him. The teaching that men, women, and children are unable to come to Christ and trust Him as Savior is not a Scriptural doctrine. The language itself is not Scriptural.
U. Unconditional Election
God has chosen a particular group called His Bride and the Church. His choice was not based on looking down the portals of time – because God is all-knowing. Before any human being is born, God decides who goes to Heaven and who will not. God chooses to give some people eternal life without looking for anything good in them as a condition for loving and saving them. There was never a split second that God did not already know, based on His choice, who would be saved. God alone gives the faith necessary for a person to be saved, a gift of God's grace. *
(John 6:44,65,15:16; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:30,9:15-16; Ephesians 1:4-5,11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:9,2:25; 1 Peter 1:2; Revelation 13:8 – See also Psalm 65:4; Proverbs 16:4)
*John Calvin wrote in INSTITUTES, Book III, chapter 23: "...Not all men are created with similar destiny but eternal life is foreordained for some and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say, he is predestined either to life or to death."
COUNTERPOINT - The Bible teaches the doctrines of God's foreknowledge, predestination, and election. His controlling hand is on the affairs of all people. He specifically selected some, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, as instruments to do things He planned.
Because God is Omnipotent and Omniscient, He chose before a person became Born-Again that they would be holy without blame, justified, glorified, and predestined to spend eternity with Him once they received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you." (John 15:16 ESV)
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." (Ephesians 1:4 ESV)
The Bible does not teach that God wills some to go to Heaven, and others are doomed from the womb to go to Hell. He desires that all people to be saved and spend eternity with Him.
"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that ALL should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9 ESV - emphasis mine)
"This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4 ESV)
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." (John 3:36 ESV)
People go to Heaven because they freely choose to come to Jesus and trust Him as Savior and Lord. A person who goes to Hell does so because they willingly rejected Him and refused to trust Him as Savior and Lord.
L. Limited Atonement
Jesus was the perfect, spotless lamb of God and the only one whose life could pay the penalty for humanity's rebellion against God. Jesus laid down His life for His sheep only, the Elect, whom He planned and ordained to go to Heaven. The death of Jesus on the Cross was sufficient for the salvation of all humanity and secured everything necessary for salvation. Still, it is only effectual for those He chose and predestined before creation.
(Matthew 1:21,15:24,20:28, 22:14, 26:28; John 6:37-39, 10:11,26, 17:9,19:30; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25; Hebrews 7:26-27; Romans 8:28-30,33,9:11,13 - See also 1 Samuel 3:13-14)
COUNTERPOINT - The Bible does not discuss anything remotely close to the words "limited atonement."
"'He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2 ESV)
The teaching "Limited Atonement" contradicts the express statement of Scripture that teaches Jesus is the Savior of the world.
"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." (1 Timothy 2:5-6 ESV)
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:17 ESV)
"And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." (1 John 4:14 ESV)
"They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." (John 4:42 ESV)
Jesus bore the sins of all people on the Cross and died for every person in the world.
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6 ESV)
"He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2 ESV)
"But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for EVERYONE." (Hebrews 2:9 ESV - emphasis mine).
"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for ALL, which is the testimony given at the proper time." (1 Timothy 2:5-6 ESV – emphasis mine)
"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us ALL, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32 ESV – emphasis mine)
"For God so loved the WORLD, that he gave his only Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the WORLD might be saved through him." (John 3:16-17 ESV – emphasis mine)
Jesus died for the whole world. He suffered Hell for every person on the planet who has ever lived or will live. The sacrificial death of Jesus on the Cross was sufficient for all and is effective only for those who receive Him as Lord. The death of Jesus made it possible for every person to be saved. But only those who believe that Jesus died to pay their sin debt and trust Him completely for salvation will be saved. The atonement is not limited.
"Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5:20-21 ESV)
I. Irresistible Grace
No human being can know when a person will answer the call of the Holy Spirit, which is why evangelism is essential. The Holy Spirit will, at some point in the life of the Elect, place a special irresistible inward call that will inevitably bring them to salvation. Human Beings can't turn this call away because God is not dependent upon their cooperation and makes them willing. His grace is invincible and will never fail to save whom He has set out to save.
(John 1:12-13, 3:3, 5:21,6:27,11:38-44; Acts 9:6,13:48, 16:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6, 15:10; 1 John 5:1 – See also Psalm 110:3)
COUNTERPOINT – The Bible does not use the word 'irresistible' before the word "grace" and does not say or infer that grace is irresistible. The word "grace" means God's unmerited favor. It is an attitude and not a power. The Bible shows that people will resist and reject God.
"He who is OFTEN reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing." (Proverbs 29:1 ESV – emphasis mine)
God gives many opportunities to be saved, yet many stiffen their neck against the wooing of the Holy Spirit, and when they continue to reject Him, they will reach a point of no return and be broken beyond healing.
"Because I have called and you REFUSED to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have IGNORED all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you" (Proverbs 1:24-26 ESV - emphasis mine)
God offers salvation to all and constantly calls, yet people resist and refuse. He stretches out His hand, and no one regards it. The Bible makes it plain that some people willingly choose to reject Jesus and resist the calling of the Holy Spirit (See Acts 7:51).
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12 ESV)
Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they were rejecting Him.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often WOULD I HAVE gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37 ESV – emphasis mine)
Jesus would have gathered them together as a hen gathers her chicks, but they would not and instead resisted, rejected, and refused to come to Him. That means that those who are not saved could have been saved. Those who rejected Christ could have accepted Him. God offers salvation to those who will have it but does not force it upon anyone who doesn't want it.
P. Perseverance of the Saints
The Elect, those chosen by God, can never lose their salvation because He decided who would be saved before they were born. They are kept safe by His omnipotent power. God preserves His people so they can never be lost. (John 6:39,10:27-29, 17:2,11:12; Ephesians 4:30; Romans 8:37-39; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12, 4:18; 1 John 2:19; Jude 1:24-25)
COUNTERPOINT - The Bible teaches the eternal security of the Born-Again Christian. Those who entrust Jesus with their lives have everlasting life and will never perish. But, their eternal security does not depend upon their perseverance. The Bible does not say anything about persevering. However, it says that the Born-Again Christians have been preserved (kept).
"Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:1 NKJV)
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV)
The Bible makes it plain that the Born-Again Christian is kept/preserved. They do not preserve themselves and are secure because they are kept by God and held firmly in His hand.
"…to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, KEPT in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:4-5 ESV – emphasis mine)
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and NO ONE will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." (John 10:27-29 ESV – emphasis mine)
The Born-Again Christian is encouraged to "not grieve the Holy Spirit of God" by allowing "bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander" in their lives. They are commanded "to put away" those things, as well as "malice," and instead "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" because they were "sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30-32 ESV).
Salvation is by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus, who died for all people, and anyone can choose to call "on the name of the Lord" to "be saved" (Romans 10:13 ESV). Because God is omniscient, He foreknows the outcome of any possible choice a person could make. God has ordained and determined some events ahead of time and selected some individuals for His purposes. People are saved by grace and kept by the power of God.
CONCLUSION
Critics of Calvinism say it is a heretical system of fallen human philosophy as it denies that God was not sovereign over creation until He created it. The early Church taught none of the five points of Calvinism (TULIP). At least three of the five points (total depravity, unconditional election, and perseverance of the saints) did exist during the first 200 years of Christianity in a heretical movement called Gnosticism. Under Calvinism, people are not saved or unsaved. They are either Elect or non-elect, and their elect status is assigned to them before birth. God's Sovereignty is not an eternal attribute that was compromised by the libertarian freedom He gave human beings but His right to have dominion over His creation. Calvinism denies God loves everyone in the truest sense because He already chose before the foundation of the world who would spend eternity suffering in the torment of damnation in Hell or eternity in Heaven with Him. Calvinism does away with free will. People don't make any choices because they are programmed before birth to think and act as they do in every facet of life. God is presented as the author of all sin and pain and created satan to deceive people into sin. Because the Elect are guaranteed entrance into Heaven, God allows/authorizes/permits trials and tribulation, accidents, sickness, heartache, sorrow, pain, anguish, and tragedy to happen to teach/discipline/chastise/etc. Because God predestines people, there is nothing they can do or have done to change any of it. There is no use in praying for friends or family because God allows only the predetermined Elect to be saved and everyone else to be eternally condemned.
No matter what human teaching a person follows, the underlying and all-encompassing fundamental truth is that we can love God most fully when we understand His all-powerful and wise sovereign character and nature, which is love that is supremely and infinitely good, wanting only the best for us, knowing everything about us and loving us anyway, desiring to save everyone. These truths lead us to a healthy, confident, ever-deepening love relationship with Him and experience the constant outpouring of His love into our hearts, exponentially increasing our trusting-faith in Him with each new breath we take.
"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV)
