Tiptoeing Through The Tulip’s

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. *