Jennifer Rothnie Supporter Housewife, Artist, Perpetually Curious

The five points of Calvinism are Total depravity (T), Unconditional Election (U), Limited Atonement (L), Irresistible Grace (I), and Perseverance of the Saints (P). The five points are often referred to by the Acronym "TULIP".

Total Depravity: Total Depravity is also known as Total Inability. It teaches that all men sin (Rom 3:10-23), that sin corrupts every aspect of our being, such as flesh, heart, mind, etc, (Mark 7:21-23), and that man cannot save himself (Psalm 60:10-12, Is 63:5-6). [On this part, all Christians agree.]

The teaching goes beyond this to claim that man is born sinful by nature and guilty of sin, and is so "spiritually dead" that he cannot even accept the offer of Christ’s salvation and receive Christ's deliverance from sin [contrary to scripture, which asks us to believe: Rom 10:9-13, John 3:14-21, Luke 11:5-13, Heb 11:13-16, Gal 3:24, Deut 30:11-14, etc.] 

As such, many Calvinists hold that spiritual regeneration must occur *before* one believes to allow the person to believe [contrary to scripture which states we receive the Holy Spirit after we believe, not before: Gal 3:2-3, Gal 3:10-14, Eph 1:11-14, II Cor 5:17, etc.] 

 Unconditional Election  Unconditional Election is also based in the misunderstandings that the 'Total Depravity' teaching brings in; since man, in His sin, cannot accept the free gift of Salvation, then God chose (elected) some to be regenerated or enlightened by the Holy Spirit so they can believe and be saved, whereas others he chooses not to regenerate or enlighten, so they still can't believe, and hence they stand condemned. 

However, scripture gives a different presentation of election: The nation of Israel was elect due to God’s own choice (Ezek 16:5-7). Israel entered the covenant with God to confirm this (Deut 29:9-15), but they still rebelled, and thought salvation was by works and not the promise. More importantly, in regards to salvation: God elected a people for Himself, the body of Christ, both Jew and Gentile. (I Pet 2:7-10, Rom 1:1-3, II Tim 2:1-13, etc). His calling this people is by His grace, not by any of our own works (I Pet 2:9-10, Eph 2:8-10, Rom 11:1-6). 

 Limited Atonement  This teaching holds that Christ's sacrifice was sufficient for all, but it wasn't efficacious for all; that Jesus only bore the sins of the elect; that Christ only died for some, not all.

However, scripture presents that Christ died for all, and God desires all men to be saved (I John 2:2, I Tim 2:4, John 12:32, John 4:4-42, John 10:9, John 3:16-17, Rev 22:17, Matt 11:28, Ti 2:11, etc) Jesus was a perfect sacrifice, offering complete propitiation to appeasing the wrath of God for all who believe (Rom 1:16-17). 

 Irresistible Grace  In short, this is the teaching that there is an 'internal call' to salvation by the Holy Spirit that cannot be resisted, as such anyone that God calls to Him cannot refuse.

However, as most easily seen by Israel's continual rebellion, God rarely stops people from rebelling, disobeying, or ignoring conviction (Acts 7:51-53, Deut 30:11-20, Josh 15:14-28, Luke 6:46, Luke 9:5).

Rather, God commands everyone to repent, Christ draws all men to Himself, and the Holy Spirit is given to all who believe and also helps us testify to Christ (Acts 6:8-12, John 15:26-27). We still can refuse, but we remain under condemnation if we do so (John 3:16-17).

 Perseverance of the Saints  The last point is quite complicated, but teaches that the individuals that God chooses and then draws (see above points) will then persevere in their faith to the end.

Conversely, scripture shows that belief must be continuous abiding, not a one time decision (John 3:16, Mk 16:16, John 15:1-17, Luke 8:4-15, I John 5:3-5).

 Is it biblical?  This has been debated among Christians for a long time. While parts of TULIP are biblical (based in the Bible), other parts are not (new definitions, out-of-context verses, philosophies, contradictions, etc.)

November 10 2014 • 3 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

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