PLUCKING THE PETALS OF CALVINISM’S “TULIP”

      The doctrine commonly known as Calvinism has five major points, which may be remembered by using the word TULIP as an acronym. In the “TULIP” acronym, the following words are represented: T- total depravity; U- unconditional election; L- limited atonement; I-irresistible grace; P- perseverance of the saints (impossibility of apostasy = once saved, always saved).

1.   Total Depravity: Man, since the fall in the garden, has inherited the sin of Adam down through the ages, and, being born with Adamic sin, is totally depraved. That is, man is totally incapable of any good thing, whether in thought or deed.

      a.   Originally a Catholic doctrine (Augustine). A difference b/w Catholicism and Calvinism is baptismal regeneration, which Catholicism affirms and Calvinism denies.

      b.   Little children are innocent = sinless.

            i.   Ezekiel 18:20

            ii.  Matthew 18:2-3; 19:13-15

            iii. I John 3:4

      c.   One cannot sin until one can be tempted to choose evil over good

            i.   Isaiah 7:16

            ii.  James 1:12-16

            iii. I Corinthians 10:13 “There is no temptation taken you...”

2.   Unconditional Election: God has predestined some men to be saved and others lost without regard to man’s desires or deeds.

      a.   These saved ones are known as “the elect.” They had no choice or desire to be saved, thus the term “unconditional election.”

      b.   This doctrine makes God a respecter of persons!

            i.   Acts 10:34-35

            ii.  1 Timothy 2:4

            iii. 2 Peter 3:9

3.   Limited Atonement

      a.   The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was only for those predestined to eternal life, thus it was limited in its scope.

      b.   The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ died for all men:

            i.   John 3:16-17

            ii.  1 Timothy 2:5-6

            iii. Hebrews 2:9

            iv. 1 John 2:2

4.   Irresistible Grace: as totally depraved, man is incapable thinking, desiring, or doing any good thing. Thus, he cannot even desire to be saved by God, so God must give His grace to man, and as a man is not stronger than God, he is powerless to resist God’s grace.

      a.   Acts 7:53; 2 Corinthians 6:1

      b.   Some quote John 6:44 as “proof,” but fail to read verse 45.

      c.   Any gift which cannot be refused is no gift at all-- it is coercion!

      d.   This is the origin of the false doctrine of salvation by faith only.

      e.   The Bible teaches men are drawn to God through the preaching of the Gospel:

            i.   1 Corinthians 1:21

            ii.  Acts 2:37 “and when they heard this, they were pricked. . .”

            iii. Acts 4:4 “many of them which heard the word believed. . .”

            iv. Acts 15:7

            v.   Acts 18:8

            vi. Acts 26:16

      f.   Question: If man could pass sin to his descendants, why couldn’t he pass on his righteousness after the irresistible grace of God completely saved him, making him a partaker of the Divine nature, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4)?

5.   Perseverance of the Saints: (a.k.a. once saved, always saved; the impossibility of apostasy; a Christian cannot fall from grace)

      a.   Since one is saved by a direct act of God, he is incapable of “undoing” what God has done.

      b.   This is the necessary conclusion to the entire process--man had nothing to do with it to start, he can have no part after the fact.

      c.   The Bible teaches that one once saved, can so sin as to be eternally lost:

            i.   Matthew 10:22 “He that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

                  (1) Judas was present; why admonish the saved to be faithful unto death if they could never fall?

                  (2) Was Judas ever saved? If not,

                        (a) what did Jesus mean in John 17:6, 12?

                        (b) who gave Judas his powers in the limited commission of Matt. 10:5-8?

                        (c) what does Acts 1:17 mean?

      d.   If one, once saved, can never fall:

            i.   Why the warnings of false teachers and apostasy given to the saints? Acts 20:28-30

                  (1) Galatians 5:4 “ye have become estranged from Christ, ye who seek to be justified by the law, ye have fallen from grace.”

                  (2) 1 Timothy 4:1 “some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits”

                  (3) 2 Timothy 2:16-18

            ii.  What did the Hebrew writer mean in Hebrews 6:4-5

            iii. What did Peter mean in II Peter 2:20-22?

            iv. What did Jesus mean about removing one’s candlestick in Revelation 2:5?

      e.   We must continue to walk in the light, and confess our sins as they occur- 1 John 1:5-10