TULIP (Part 2 of Predestination)

(Continued from last post)

Is Calvinism biblical? Even though Calvinism consists of more than the five points of TULIP, I will limit my comments to them only. My approach is to cite what Calvinism and its opponent Arminianism assert about each point and their biblical evidence, then decide which side has better support.

Calvinism	Arminianism
Total Depravity or Inability. Because of Adam’s fall, man is unable of himself to believe the gospel. Gen 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.Jer 17:9 The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?Rom 3:10-12 As it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks God. All have turned aside. Together they have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one.”	Total. Some Arminians believe in total depravity. Partial Depravity or Free Will and Human Ability. Other Arminians believe although human nature was corrupted by the fall, man’s free will enabled by common or prevenient grace can respond to the gospel. Jn 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.Jn 5:40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.Rom 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Assessment. The Calvinist passages support the idea that man is totally (in all aspects of life) depraved – in his heart, mind, and body. The Arminian passages indicate that sinners with prevenient (preceding) grace can choose to believe or reject. While prevenient grace is a possible cause, Arminians did not offer any proof of such grace. This is supposedly given by God to open the minds of the unbelieving blinded by Satan so that they might see the light of the gospel (2 Co 4:4). It is an unproven theory. I, therefore, accept Total Depravity.
Unconditional Election. God elects individuals to be saved based entirely on His will, not on any condition in the individual. Rom 8:29-30 See above.Rom 9:11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,Eph 1:4-5 See above.Eph 1:11 See above.	Conditional Election. God elects individuals to be saved based on His foreknowledge of who will believe in Christ. Rom 8:29 See above.Rom 11:2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?1 Pet 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Assessment. Both sides cite Rom 8:29, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined,” but interpret “foreknew” differently. Calvinists take “foreknew” to mean “love beforehand,” so that God’s choosing the elect is indeed according to the kind intention of His will. Arminians interpret “foreknew” literally, thus making God’s choice dependent on His knowledge beforehand of who will believe in Jesus. Essentially man’s freedom directed God’s sovereignty, and His election becomes rubber-stamping man’s choosing to believe. This is not what the biblical data showed. I, therefore, accept Unconditional Election.
Limited Atonement or Particular Redemption. Jesus died only for the elect, not all humanity. Mt 1:21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.Jn 10:11 I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.Jn 17:9 I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;Acts 20:28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.Rom 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,	Unlimited Atonement or General Redemption. Jesus died for all mankind, not just those He chose. Jn 3:16 For God so loved the world,Rom 11:32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.2 Co 5:14-15 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that One died for all, therefore all died, and He died for all so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.1 Tim 2:3-6 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.1 Tim 4:10 For it is for this we labor and strive because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
Assessment. Both sides have valid evidence supporting their position: Calvinist: The sheep and the church are the elect, which indicates particular redemption. Arminians: To all, for all, and all men indicate the world, supporting general redemption. Since not all men are saved, Arminians reconcile this by concluding that while Jesus died for all men, His atonement becomes effective only for those who believe. My position is that since God is love (1 Jn 4:8), it is contrary to His nature to love only some but not others, leaving those He passed over to perish. 2 Tim 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. I, therefore, accept Unlimited Atonement.
Irresistible Grace or Effectual Calling. The Holy Spirit extends to the elect an inward call that inevitably draws them to salvation. Jn 6:37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.Jn 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.Jn 10:16 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd.	Resistible Grace. God calls all to repent and be saved, but man’s free will can resist and reject God’s free offer. Mt 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.Acts 7:51 You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.2 Thes 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit;
Assessment. Irresistible means it will produce the desired result; it does not mean by force. The Calvinists’ “all” and “no one” indicates that the elect receiving God’s call will inevitably come to Christ. The Arminians’ “unwilling” and “always resisting” show that men can resist the Holy Spirit. Scholars reconcile this by concluding that the outward call to all men can be resisted, but the inward call to the elect will be effective. I accept Irresistible Grace.
Perseverance of the Saints or Eternal Security. All chosen by God are preserved by Him and will persevere to the end. They are eternally secure. Jn 10:27-29 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.Rom 8:29-30 See aboveEph 1:3-14	Able to Fall from Grace. There is security in Christ based on continued faithfulness, but man can apostatize and lose their salvation. Mt 5:13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.Jn 15:6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.Heb 6:6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.Heb 6:8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
Assessment. Calvinists assert that the sheep (the elect) will never perish. They will be glorified. Arminians are divided, with some holding that believers are eternally secure in Christ. Others claim that it is possible to make a shipwreck of one’s faith (1 Tim 1:19) and lose his salvation. My position is that man did not gain salvation by his works or faith; so salvation is not his to lose, as no one, including himself, can snatch him out of Christ’s or the Father’s hand. We are sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit of promise (Eph 1:13) and have eternal security. I accept the Perseverance of the Saints.

In summary, I hold four of the five points of TULIP. I do not subscribe to Limited Atonement as I believe it denies God’s nature of love. Many believe the five points stand together as a system, and to reject one is to reject all. My concern is to be biblical – to be true to Scripture as far as I understand. To be labeled as Calvinistic or otherwise does not concern me; to be Christ’s disciple does. You do not have to accept my position as each one of us will give an account of himself to God (Rom 14:12).

Predestination (Part 1 of 2)

Q. Some evangelicals criticize Calvin’s TULIP, especially predestination. What is your opinion?

Predestination usually evokes a lot of heated debate whenever it is discussed. Often the objections involve whether Calvinism is biblical. There are other criticisms, but I will restrict myself to this major one. We will first examine what the Bible says about predestination, then examine each of TULIP’s five points.

The word “predestined” translates the Greek verb proorizō, which occurs six times in the NT:

• Acts 4:28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
• Romans 8:29-30 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
• 1 Corinthians 2:7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
• Ephesians 1:4-5 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
• Ephesians 1:11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,

To predestine literally means to “determine or decide beforehand; foreordain.” Note the following:

• Who – God is the One who predestines, not man.
• What – He chose and predestined some to be adopted as sons. He also predestined them to be conformed to Christ’s image.
• When – God predestined the elect before the foundation of the world,  before the ages. There was no man around then.
• Why – He predestined according to His purpose, His will. Man does not play a part in this pre-determination.
• How – He predestined through Christ His Son.

So what the Bible says is, “God, before the foundation of the world, before the ages, chose and pre-determined that the elect will be adopted to be His sons and be conformed to the image of Christ, according to His purpose and His will.” There are other deductions from these verses, but that is the summary. We know there are other passages on predestination without the actual word appearing in them. However, I will reference them only as needed in this short post.

(To be continued)

Pre-nuptial Agreement?

Q. I have a question on financial issues in the case of re-marriage. So hypothetically speaking, I, a Christian widower, met a Christian widow. Both of us have adult children and are financially independent. Suppose we decide to get married. My question is this. The assets I have were jointly earned by my first wife and me. It was her desire, and mine as well, that whatever assets are left when I pass away, I want them to go to our children and grandchildren. The only way I can think of to make this happen is to have a pre-nuptial agreement, and I think the other woman would probably want to do the same thing. However, having a prenup doesn’t feel right, for it gives a sense of distrust. I believe that one must put this down in writing so there will not be misunderstandings or confusion, as later on there will be other people involved. So, is it OK to have a prenup?

There are no pre-nuptial agreements, or prenups, in the Bible, but there are biblical principles on marriage that apply here. A prenup is an agreement entered into by a couple before marriage that sets out how assets will be divided if they divorce. In essence, it is a business contract between partners. Typically the more wealthy partner asks for a prenup to protect his (her) assets in case the poorer partner marries him (her) for money. While prenups are quite common among the rich and the famous, they show a lack of trust in the partner, hence a legal document to protect oneself. But a fundamental question is, “if you don’t trust your partner with your money, how can you entrust your life/health to your mate?”

Biblically, marriage is a covenant, not a contract, between husband and wife:

• Mt 19:4-6 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
• Rom 7:2 For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband.
• 1 Co 7:39 A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

God’s design for marriage is one man-one woman, one husband-one wife, one union-one flesh, and one marriage for life. Marriage is dissolved only when one partner dies, after which the surviving spouse is released and free to remarry. Since covenants are unconditional, permanent pledges made for the other’s benefit, a prenup in anticipation of a divorce is inconsistent with a biblical marriage. Why plan for getting your “fair” share when you divorce, when the two of you should be working together to make your marriage great?

From your preamble, you are planning to leave your assets to your offspring when you pass away, not when you divorce. I assume your future wife would want to leave her assets to her offspring too. One solution is to set up two trusts. The first will hold the bulk of your assets for the benefit of your children and grandchildren. The second holds most of her assets with her offspring as beneficiaries. I say “bulk” because, presumably, both you and your future mate would want the surviving partner to be adequately provided for until the second partner dies. I suggest that rather than talk about a prenup, you two should share and come to a mutually agreeable arrangement. Then incorporate that arrangement in your respective wills. That would be a more productive conversation than a prenup which shows mistrust, as you rightly pointed out. Hope this helps.

Reformed Baptists?

Q. Do you feel there is any conflict about being a “Reformed Baptist”? There seems to be confusion about “Reformed” being both theology and denomination.

Whether there is any conflict depends on which issue you are talking about.

Let us start by knowing what a Reformed Baptist is. Reformed Baptists were called “Particular Baptists” in Britain in the 16^th-17^th centuries. They were “Particular” because they believed that Jesus died for a particular people, the elect, as opposed to “General Baptists,” who believed that Jesus died for all. In other words, Particular Baptists believed in “limited atonement,” and their soteriology is Calvinistic. In contrast, General Baptists were Arminian in their understanding of salvation.

Next, what is a Reformed Church? Reformed churches are those churches that emerged from the Protestant Reformation and followed Calvinistic theology. Their doctrines of grace are summarized by the acronym TULIP, which stands for:

• T – Total Depravity,
• U – Unconditional Election,
• L – Limited Atonement,
• I – Irresistible Grace, and
• P – Perseverance of the Saints.

Since both are Calvinistic, there is no conflict between “Reformed Baptist” versus “Reformed” in their soteriology (doctrine of salvation). But there are conflicts in their ecclesiology (doctrine of the church). Let us look at two issues.

1. Church Polity

Reformed Baptist churches follow the congregational form of church governance. In congregational churches, the final authority in decision-making rests with the congregation. The congregation can elect officeholders (pastors, elders, deacons) to make day-to-day operating decisions. However, major decisions (such as large capital expenditures, taking on debt, and hiring and firing a pastor) must be decided at a congregational meeting of her members. They also believe in the autonomy of the local church.  Thus they are independent of any centralized denominational government.

Reformed churches, on the other hand, follow the presbyterian form of governance. Decision-making authority rests with a body of elders or presbyters, not the congregation. If the church belongs to a denomination, e.g., Presbyterian, the local elders’ board answers to a higher board of elders called a synod, which consists of representative elders from each member church. The final authority rests with the General Assembly, which is made up of representatives from each synod. Hence, the presbyterian form is hierarchical, though authority is not concentrated in one individual but a plurality of elders. Local churches are not autonomous but must follow the decisions of the General Assembly.

2. Baptism

Reformed Baptists, as Baptists, practice believers’ or credo baptism. Only those Christians who can provide a credible profession of faith are eligible for baptism. In addition, they consider the proper biblical mode of baptism to be by immersion, representing the death, burial, and resurrection with Christ (Rom 6:4).

In contrast, Reformed churches practice infant or paedo baptism in addition to adult believers’ baptism. This is based on their understanding that infants born in a Christian family are part of the New covenant. As the sign of the Old covenant (circumcision) is put on infants, the sign of the New covenant (baptism) is practiced on infants too. The difference is in the mode. Instead of cutting the body, it is pouring or sprinkling water on the child’s head. There is no need for a credible profession of faith.

So, while Reformed Baptists and Reformed churches have compatible soteriology, they are incompatible in their practices and do not merge together in a single denomination.