Calvinism is defined as “the Protestant theological system of John Calvin and his successors, which develops Luther's doctrine of justification by faith alone and emphasizes the grace of God and the doctrine of predestination.” Many view Calvinism as a “doctrine of demons” or, at best, a fanatical, heretical doctrine. That puts Calvinism, also known as Reformed Theology, in a very unfavorable light. It’s often summarized by an acronym entitled “TULIP”. The T stands for Total Depravity, the idea that every human being is born inherently sinful. It is often used interchangeably with “Original sin”. Total Depravity makes the case that every human is inherently sinful, and deserving of hell. It points to the idea that mankind cannot and will not choose God, because of their sinful nature. The U in Tulip stands for “Unconditional Election”. Election is used in reference to the act of predestination, which is broken down into two separate actions. Election is the selecting of God’s chosen people, and Reprobation is the act of passing over the person, thus not appointing them for salvation. Unconditional Election says that God chose his people, not based any works, or future faith, but according to his purpose in election. Calvinism asserts that He chose his people, because He wanted to. It explicitly denies that the act of election was because of God’s foreknowledge, as if He peered into the future of all time, and then elected those who would choose him. Unconditional Election assures that our Salvation did not come from anything inside us, or anything we did, but is a completely undeserved, gift of God. The L is used for the term “Limited Atonement”. The atonement is Jesus Christ’s payment for our sins. Calvinists believe that Christ only died for the elect, that his sacrifice secured their salvation, and was for all of God’s chosen people. Christ’s death was sufficient for all, and efficient for the elect. The I is for Irresistible Grace. That God’s grace will end up saving the elect, and that they can then see God for what He is, and in turn accept Him as their Lord and Savior. It’s also known as effective grace. Last, but certainly not least, is the “Perseverance of the Saints” filling out the P. This holds that once you are truly saved and born again, by the blood of Jesus, then there is nothing that can separate you from His saving love.
I could go through and point out biblical backing for each one of the five points of Calvinism, but that does nothing for its relevance in day to day life. These five points have the ability to change your life, and the way that you view your faith. The TULIP is a beautiful tool that, used correctly, can keep the christian God-centered, and not man-centered.
Total Depravity is an excellent jumping off point into the world of Calvinism. Every human being is sinful. We are not only sinful because of our actions, but we are born inherently sinful because of Adam’s fall. Since the fall, humanity has been cursed. Since every human after Adam and Eve is sinful, excluding Jesus as he was both fully God and fully man, and completely and utterly deserving of death and eternal punishment in hell, we all deserve hell. Yet, some of us don’t get what we deserve. We get mercy, in the form of Jesus Christ paying for our sins and becoming our substitute on the cross. Why? Did we get mercy because we saw the sacrifice and embraced it with open arms? No. That is ridiculous, suggesting that God’s sacrifice is only effective whether or not we accept it. What do people want most? Free will, the ability to choose. If we completely had that ability, to freely choose without limitations, then we would all be rotting in hell. We are completely and utterly depraved, and every single square inch of us is infected. 10 out of 10 times we would choose death over life. The only way that salvation happens is when God reaches in, and breaks through our sin nature to save us personally. Salvation is not some pie in the sky that anyone can reach up and grab a slice of. It is a personal gift from God to his people. Humanity, in and of itself, is completely hopeless. The only hope is God.
When a person is saved, the beginning, middle, and deciding factor is only God. Salvation is a intricate personal rescue, completely orchestrated and carried out by the Trinity. How does God decide who He will save? He chooses them personally. Contrary to popular thought, He does not choose them based on something He sees in them, for every single person is completely sinful. He chooses completely unconditionally, hence the term Unconditional Election. His choice is completely based on Him. Nothing we do can make God choose. God chose before the foundations of the earth were made. The universe was still void and black, completely empty when God chose His people who he would save. Before we could do anything good or bad, God chose, so that his purpose in election would stand. We see this in Revelation 13:8, and Romans 9:11. “8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” - Revelation 13:8 ESV. The names of God’s people, of His elect, were written before the foundation of the world. The book of life had the names of the elect written before the first fish swam in the sea, before the first bird experienced the wind under its wings, and before Adam took his first step on this brand new earth. “11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—” - Romans 9:11 ESV. God chose Jacob over Esau before either of them had even taken a single breath, so that His purpose in election would stand. Salvation hinges entirely upon God. He is the only factor in our salvation, and He chose His people unconditionally. This gives hope that even the most seemingly hopeless person could still be redeemed by God, even if they cannot even lift a finger to stop themselves from sinning. That is the basis of Unconditional Election.
Limited Atonement is often the most hated of the five. It holds that because the elect are the ones that God has chosen to be saved, they are the only ones that will actually be saved. Salvation is sufficient for all mankind, however it is only efficient for the elect. People often get upset with this teaching because it seems to say that very few people will actually make it to heaven, thus making all of this completely pointless. Jesus said that the path is narrow to salvation. Any way you look at it, many people will not make it. Either it is all completely random and people just fall away due to the course of nature, or God, in his all knowing ways, decided to save some and pass over others. God is completely good in all of His ways, so if He decided to orchestrate salvation in this way, then it must be good and trustworthy, even if we do not understand. Limited Atonement may not be the easiest teaching to swallow, but it must be accepted in order to have a fully God-centered life, in realizing that everything, including who and how many get saved, is completely up to God.
Irresistible Grace is easily the most misunderstood of the five points. People often complain that if Grace is irresistible, then why does the bible warn against grieving the Holy Spirit? (Ephesians 4:30 ESV) The only answer is that Grace can be resisted. For a while. If God has chosen you, you cannot push it off forever. He will break through any defense that you and your sin have created and get to your heart. Your desires will be changed and you will become a whole new creature, with a new hunger for the things of God. (2 Corinthians 5:16-18 ESV) Grace is irresistible in the idea that it will break through eventually, and nothing you can do will stop it. If God has chosen you, then He will rescue you from your sin, and will change your desires and your heart into something that desires for more of God, and for His work.
The last petal on the TULIP is Perseverance of the Saints, otherwise known as once saved, always saved, or Eternal Security. The church is nearly split exactly in half on this. One side stands against it, as they have seen people who seemed to show all the traits of born again christians fall away from the faith, as if they had never seen the truth. The other half looks at it from the angle that those that God holds, He will not drop, and nothing can take them from Him, including themselves. Much of this comes from Romans 8:38-39, which says “38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love that God has for us. Nothing. Not Lucifer himself, not his army of demons, not the brimstone of hell, not the draw of lust, nor the wants of greed, and most certainly not yourself. You are safe in His grasp. Once you have been called, you have been predestined, and justified. Your sins are now dead and paid for on the cross. Everything you have ever done, ever will do, or have ever thought of, was paid for on that tree. God sent his only Son to die, so that his Elect could have life. His love was too strong to let us fall away. He broke through our sinful nature to save us, and He will keep us with the same level of passion.
The five points of Calvinism do everything possible to veer away from man-centered Christianity, and point toward God as the final answer for anything and everything. True Christianity should and ought to be completely and utterly God-centered. Calvinism is the only answer. It takes away all credit from people when it comes to salvation, and leads to humility. We have nothing to boast in. If we do boast, the only thing we can boast in is the Cross, and God’s beautiful, majestic glory. The true focus of Calvinistic Christianity is God’s grace and his astounding mercy in saving sinners. This is the heart of Christianity. This is Calvinism.
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Thanks for reading,
Nathaniel Gregg
