TULIP A Review of the Five Points of

T-U-L-I-P A Review of the Five Points of Calvinism

Calvinism Revival • John Calvin was born in France, July 10, 1509; died 1564 • Many today are celebrating John Calvin’s 500 th birthday (see the article below in The Tennessean 7/12/09; 1 B, 3 B)…

Calvinism Revival The first thing that Joel Littlepage did when he got to Nashville was ditch God. Littlepage, an Alabama native, came to Belmont University two years ago to study music. Raised United Methodist, Littlepage lost interest in religion by the time he'd got to college. He said that years of fun and games in church youth groups gave him little theology to believe in. "I never gave up belief in God, " he said. "But I had my doubts about him. ” Then Littlepage discovered John Calvin. Before long he was up to his ears in double predestination and total depravity — terms made famous by Calvin, a leader of the Protestant Reformation. He began downloading sermons from Calvinist preachers like John Piper on his i. Pod, joined a Calvinist group on campus, and became a true believer. He's not alone. As Calvin turned 500 on Friday, his theology has seen a revival. Calvinist groups like the Reformed University Fellowship are thriving on campuses nationwide, including at Belmont and Vanderbilt University. Calvinist preachers like Piper and Tim Keller are penning bestsellers. And Calvin's newfound followers say that his intense theology is a remedy for the doctrinefree, Christiantity-lite they grew up with. But some older believers, especially among Southern Baptists, say Calvinism is filled with dangerous errors.

Calvinism Revival God's sovereignty Born July 10, 1509, in Noyon, France, Calvin was only 7 years old when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenburg, Germany, sparking the Protestant Reformation. He first trained as a lawyer, as his father wanted Calvin to stay out of church politics. Calvin eventually embraced the Protestant faith, and became a minister in Geneva. He became famous — or infamous — for taking Luther's ideas to the extreme. His beliefs were condensed into five points, known by the acronym TULIP: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. Behind all of these tenets is an intense belief in God's sovereignty — the notion that God controls everything. That led Calvin to advocate what's known as double predestination. He believed that God has chosen to save some people, and condemn others, and that there's nothing human beings can do to change their destiny. That contradicted the idea of earning your way into heaven with good works. "Calvin is coming from the medieval Roman Catholic church — when it was all about works, it was all about earning your way to heaven, " says Rev. Ken Locke, pastor of Downtown Presbyterian Church. "Calvin and the reformers said that we are saved by grace, so I don't have to work hard to make God love me. ”

Calvinism Revival Calvin's ideas would eventually spread to the New World. The most famous American Calvinist is Jonathan Edwards, best know for his sermon on "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. " Many new Calvinists are young people dissatisfied by the modern church growth strategies, says Collin Hansen, author of Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists. Inspired by pastors like Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church in California, many churches dumped their denominational ties to focus on bringing in new people. That approach led to a boom in megachurches. But it also downplayed core Christian doctrines, leaving some with what felt like a generic experience. "In the 1980 s and 1990 s, the pragmatic approach was dominant — and it reaped a lot of evangelistic fruit, " Hansen said. "A lot of kids grew up in these churches, and in those kids, there's a need for something more than they've experienced in their youth groups. Church might be fun, but you need more than that. " By contrast, a preacher like Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis or Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, focus on hard-core doctrine. They often draw on theologians like Calvin in their sermons, which can last more than an hour. "For kids growing up in megachurches, to learn that their faith predates the 1980 s, is really encouraging, " Hansen said.

Calvinism Revival Permission to fail Calvin's pessimistic attitude toward human nature is also an appeal. He stressed total depravity — the idea that human beings are completely sinful, and can't do anything to earn God's favor. That's a relief to many students who've grown up in church, said Kevin Twit, who oversees the Reformed University Fellowship at Belmont. Calvinism gives them permission to fail. "They've been trying to live by their own will power — to be fired up for Jesus. By the time they got to college, they are worn out, " Twit said. Calvin's dark view of humanity and religion offers a stark contrast to the optimistic outlook of ministers like Joel Osteen, the so-called smiling preacher. Log on to Osteen's website, for example, and you'll find this greeting: "We believe that your best days are ahead. God has great plans for you and we want to be there to help encourage you along the way. " Calvin described human sin a bit differently: "For our nature is not only utterly devoid of goodness, but so prolific in all kinds of evil, that it can never be idle. " "Calvin is the anti-Osteen, " said Paul Lim, a Calvin scholar, who teaches Christian history at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Lim says that Calvin understood human nature — that even people who attend church or try to live good lives have a dark side.

Calvinism Revival "We all have feet of clay, " he said. One of the hotbeds of Calvinism is Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, the largest Baptist Seminary in the world. Russ Moore, dean of Southern Seminary, calls himself a four point Calvinist. He doesn't accept limited atonement, believing instead that Jesus died for all sinners. Still, he thinks it is important to discuss the question of predestination. "All Christians believe in predestination and election, because those words are in the Bible, " he said. "One has to ask, if we've got these words in the Bible, what do they mean? " Some critics fear that Calvinism makes believers lazy, especially when it comes to evangelism. Morris Chapman, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee, took aim at Calvinism at the Southern Baptist recent annual meeting. "If there is any doctrine of grace that drives men to argue and debate more than it drives them to pursue lost souls and persuade all men to be reconciled to God, " he said, "then it is no doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. “ Other Southern Baptists blame Calvinism for the recent declines in Southern Baptist baptisms and membership.

Calvinism Revival "Southern Baptists no longer agree on what is the Gospel. Does God love everyone? Did Jesus die for everyone to have an opportunity to be saved? " said Jerry Nash, a member of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Fort White, Fla. "Calvinism splits families, churches, and associations. And it will either kill or split the Southern Baptist Convention. " Even fans of Calvin admit that his newfound followers sometimes go overboard. Most like to ferociously debate ideas. And new converts often have little patience for anyone who disagrees with them. "They speak as if they are seeing the Bible for the first time — and for some of them, that's the case, " Hansen said. "They assume that every one has to see things the way they do. I call it the cage phase: It would be better for their first year or two, if you just locked them in a cage, and didn't let them talk to anyone. " Locke, the son of Southern Baptist missionaries, says he disagrees with Calvin on some points. On predestination, for example, he doesn't believe that God will intentionally condemn people. But he does think that Calvin reminds people not to trifle with God. He says that many people believe Jesus is their buddy, and have lost reverence for holy things. "That's part of the problem with the megachurch movement, where they have taken the cross out of the building. It has downsized God. Calvin reminds us how big God is. ”

Historical Background • Augustine, a bishop of Hippo in Northern Africa (A. D. 354 -430), believed that mankind after the Fall was totally depraved and could not exercise his free will. He also believed that Adam’s descendants are all born with a sinful, depraved nature (“original sin” or “total depravity”). Man cannot use his free will and choose to be saved. Only God’s elect can be saved and by God’s grace alone. Augustine was influenced by the Gnostic doctrine of the inherent evil of all flesh and matter.

Historical Background • Pelagius, a British monk (c. A. D. 400), came to Rome to meet Augustine and debate this issue. Pelagius believed that man’s sins were not inherited from Adam and that each man could exercise his free will to choose right and wrong.

Historical Background • Augustine opposed Pelagius and the views of Pelagius were condemned as heresy by the Council of Ephesus (A. D. 431). Augustine’s belief in total depravity and the bondage of the will prevailed in the Roman Catholic Church from that time to the present day (as witnessed in the practice of sprinkling babies for inherited sin).

Historical Background • The modern denominational concept of predestination (God choosing each person to be saved or lost without free will) was developed first by Augustine and then made popular by John Calvin.

Historical Background • John Calvin (1509 -1564), a French reformer, wrote The Institutes of Christian Religion in Geneva, Switzerland, A. D. 1536. In this work, he set forth his beliefs which later became known as the Five Points of Calvinism: T-U-L-I-P. Calvin followed the teaching of Augustine that man is totally incapable of doing any good and is not able to receive the gospel without direct divine intervention. Martin Luther, A. D. 1483 -1546, was another major figure at this time who believed mankind has no free will. He wrote, “The Bondage of Will”.

Historical Background • Jacobus Armenius opposed Calvin in 1603 in Holland. Armenius died in 1610 but his followers continued to oppose Calvinism. Calvin and Armenius debated the issue of the predestination of God and the free will of man. Calvin taught that the choice of man to be saved or lost was determined by God’s sovereign will alone, by God’s free grace and greatness; not conditioned on man’s free will. Calvin’s understanding of God’s sovereignty and greatness led him to believe that God’s sovereignty (might, power, control) completely eliminated man’s free will to choose. Therefore, salvation and damnation are unconditional.

Historical Background • At the Synod of Dort in Holland (1618 -1619), Calvinism was exonerated and Armenianism was opposed with the Five Articles Against the Remonstrants; Calvin’s “TULIP” was systematized and formally taught from this time forward. • The five points of Calvinism are T-U-L-I-P: T (total depravity), U (unconditional election and reprobation), L (limited atonement), I (irresistible grace), and P (perseverance of the saints).

Historical Background • John Calvin taught that the choice of man to be saved or lost was determined by God’s sovereign will alone, by God’s free grace and greatness; not conditioned in any way on man’s free will. Calvin’s understanding of God’s sovereignty led him to believe that God’s sovereignty (might, power, control) completely eliminates man’s free will to choose. Salvation and damnation are thereby unconditional.

Historical Background • John Calvin wrote: “For all are not created in equal condition; rather eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 3, Chapter 21, Section 5). . . “As Scripture, then, clearly shows, we say that God once established by his eternal and unchangeable plan those whom he long before determined once for all to receive into salvation, and those whom, on the other hand, he would devote to destruction” (Section 7).

Historical Background • John Calvin was opposed to the works-based theology of the Catholic Church of his day which focused on man. Calvin set for a theology that focused on the sovereignty of God and argued that man had no part in his salvation.

Historical Background • The Westminster Confession of Faith, adopted by the Presbyterian Church in 1647, reads: “By the decree of God … some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death (Chapter 3, Section 3). • The Philadelphia Confession of Faith, adopted by the Baptist Church reads similarly (Section 3, Number 4).

Historical Background • The major denominations that came out of the Protestant Reformation followed some form of Calvinism (Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, etc. ). Today, many of the mainline denominations are Calvinistic in their theology. Many commentaries are written by denominationalists who are influenced by Calvinism. • Some members of churches of Christ have accepted portions of Calvinism (see Neo-Calvinism in the Church of Christ, Tom Roberts, Editor, Cogdill Foundation, 1980).

Five Points of Calvinism T – Total Depravity U – Unconditional Election and Reprobation L – Limited Atonement I – Irresistible Grace P – Perseverance of the Saints

Total Hereditary Depravity (Stated) • Calvinism: the sin of Adam corrupted the whole human race; Adam’s guilt was transmitted to all humans (“Original Sin”); man is so corrupted and depraved (dead) that he cannot do any good; man cannot exercise his free-will to do good, but is wholly inclined to do evil; sin is inherited, a child is in sin at birth, and a child is totally depraved at birth • Common proof-texts: Gen. 6: 5; 8: 21; Ex. 20: 5; Job 14: 4; 15: 14 -16; Psa. 51: 5; 58: 3; Rom. 5: 12; 2: 1, 3 Eph.

Total Depravity (Answered) • All are born upright and innocent (Deut. 1: 39; Eccl. 7: 29; Mt. 18: 3) • Sin is committed, not transmitted (Rom. 7: 9; 1: 13 -14; 1 Jn. 3: 4; 5: 17) Jas. • Each one is accountable for his own sin (Ezek. 18: 20) • Sin in one’s life does not eliminate all good (Lk. 8: 15) • Sin can grow worse (2 Tim. 3: 13)

Unconditional Election (Stated) • Calvinism: since mankind is totally depraved and cannot choose to do good, God, by sovereign decree saves mankind unconditionally; God predestines some to be saved and others to be lost without regard to any conditions, character, or conduct • Common Proof-texts: Acts 13: 48; Rom. 8: 28 -30; 9: 11 -13, 15 -18, 22 -23; 11: 5 -6; Eph. 1: 3 -14

Unconditional Election (Answered) • One must work the works of God to be saved (Jn. 6: 29; Acts 10: 34) • One must obey conditions to be saved (Heb. 5: 8 -9; 2 Thess. 1: 8) • One is not saved by grace or faith alone (Eph. 2: 8 -9; Jas. 2: 26) • Election is conditional – “if” (Jer. 18: 7 -10) • Election is in a “body” … “in Christ” (Eph. 1: 3 ff; 3: 9 -10)

Limited Atonement (Stated) • Calvinism: since some have been predestined by God to be lost, Jesus did not die for them; Jesus’ death was limited in scope to the elect only; Jesus did not die for the non-elect; the blessings of Jesus’ atonement (reconciliation, redemption) are for the elect only and no one else • Common Proof-texts: Isa. 53: 12; Mt. 1: 21; 20: 28; 26: 28; Jn. 1: 11; 6: 35 -40; 10: 11, 15, 27 -29; 11: 50 -53; 17: 1 -11, 20, 24 -26; Acts 20: 28; Rom. 8: 32 -34; Eph. 5: 25 -27; Heb. 2: 17; 3: 1; 9: 15, 28; Rev. 5: 9

Limited Atonement (Answered) • The blood of Jesus is for provided for all (Jn. 1: 29; 3: 16; 6: 51; 12: 32 -33; Rom. 5: 8 -9; 2 Cor. 5: 14 -15; Heb. 2: 9; 1 Tim. 2: 6; 4: 10; 1 Jn. 2: 1 -2; 4: 14); however, it is appropriated only by a few (Mt. 7: 14) • The gospel is for all (Mt. 28: 19 -20; Mk. 16: 15 -16) • The gospel invitation is for all (Mt. 11: 28; Rev. 22: 17) • God does not want anyone to be lost (Mt. 18: 14; 23: 37; Acts 17: 30 -31; 1 Tim. 2: 4; Tit. 2: 11, 14; 2 Pet. 3: 8 -9)

Irresistible Grace (Stated) • Calvinism: since the elect for whom Christ died are unconditionally saved, God irresistibly calls them to salvation by the Holy Spirit; the non-elect cannot hear or heed this call; the elect cannot resist or oppose this call – an “experience of grace” • Common Proof-texts: Jn. 1: 12 -14; 3: 3 -8; Acts 16: 14; 1 Cor. 2: 14; Eph. 1: 17 -18; 2: 8; Phil. 2: 12 -13; Tit. 3: 5; 1 Jn. 5: 20

Irresistible Grace (Answered) • The gospel is God’s power to save (Rom. 1: 16; 10: 17; 2 Thess. 2: 14); the gospel can be rejected (Acts 13: 46) • Jesus (Jn. 12: 47 -48), the Holy Spirit (Neh. 9: 30; Acts 7: 51; Eph. 4: 30; 1 Thess. 5: 19), and the Devil (Jas. 4: 7) can indeed be rejected and resisted • God’s grace is not irresistibly given, but freely offered (Eph. 2: 8; Tit. 2: 11) • Man, not God, does the believing and the confessing (Rom. 10: 9 -10); man is urged to repent (Acts 2: 38, 40)

Perseverance of the Saints (Stated) • Calvinism: since some are predestined to be saved and irresistibly called, they will be eternally secure no matter they do or not do; they can neither totally nor finally fall away – “once saved always saved” • Common Proof-texts: Jn. 3: 16, 36; 5: 24; 6: 37; 10: 2729; Rom. 8: 1, 31 -39; 1 Cor. 1: 9; 10: 13; Eph. 1: 13 -14; Phil. 1: 6; 2 Tim. 2: 12; 1 Pet. 1: 5; 1 Jn. 5: 1 -3

Perseverance of the Saints (Answered) • There are plain statements of apostasy (Lk. 8: 12 -13; Gal. 5: 4; Jas. 5: 19 -20; Jude 24; Rev. 3: 5) • There are severe warnings of apostasy (Jn. 15: 1 -6; 1 Cor. 9: 27; 10: 12; Rom. 11: 22; Heb. 2: 1; 3: 12 -14; 10: 26 -29; 12: 15; 2 Pet. 1: 10; 3: 17; 2 Jn. 8) • There are certain promises of apostasy (1 Tim. 4: 1) • There are clear examples of apostasy (Acts 8: 20 -24; 1 Tim. 1: 19 -20; 5: 12; 2 Tim. 2: 18; Heb. 6: 4 -6; 2 Pet. 2: 1 -3, 20 -22; Jude 5)

Calvinism’s Consequences for God • God does not want all to be saved (Ezek. 18: 23; 33: 11; 1 Tim. 2: 4; Tit. 2: 11; 2 Pet. 3: 8) • God is a respecter of persons (Acts 10: 34; Rom. 2: 11; Eph. 6: 19; Col. 3: 25; 1 Pet. 1: 17) • God forces man to be saved or lost (Rev. 3: 20; 22: 17) • God is responsible for the damnation of the wicked (Ezek. 18: 21 -32; 33: 10 -20)

Calvinism’s Consequences for Man • Man blames heredity for sin and excuses sin (Total Depravity) • Man is not motivated to act; a fatalistic view of life is adopted (Unconditional Election) • Man is a robot without a free-will, or choice (Irresistible Grace) – Gen. 4: 6 -7; Deut. 30: 19; Josh. 24: 15; Heb. 11: 25 • Man lives any way he wants (Perseverance of the S. )

Calvinism’s Consequences for Man • Man is not truly accountable to God, but only doing what God predestined him to do (Eccl. 12: 14; Mt. 25: 19; Rom. 14: 12; 2 Cor. 5: 10; Rev. 22: 12 -13)

Calvinism’s Consequences for Gospel Preaching • Why preach to the whole world, if the whole world cannot be saved (Mt. 28: 19 -20; Mk. 16: 15 -16; Acts 8: 4)? • The all-sufficiency of the gospel call is denied 6: 44 -45; Rom. 1: 16; 10: 14 -15, 17; 2 Thess. 3: 14) • The gospel invitation (Rev. 22: 17) and call to repentance (Acts 17: 30) is foolish (Jn.

Calvinism’s Consequences for the Devil • There is no work for the Devil. Why should the Devil try to get people to be lost, if the lost are predestined to be lost anyway and can never be saved, and the saved elect can never be lost (Lk. 8: 12; 1 Pet. 5: 8)?

Calvin’s TULIP Picked and Plucked • Calvinism when tested under the light of God’s truth is found to be false (Acts 17: 11; 1 Thess. 5: 12; 1 Jn. 4: 1) • Calvinism is “not after Christ” (Col. 2: 8) • We listen to Jesus Christ, not to John Calvin (Mt. 17: 5)