The Five Points of Calvinism What is T.U.L.I.P.? INTRODUCTION – The start of the Sixteenth Century Reformation has been attributed to one man, Martin Luther, an ex‐Roman Catholic priest whom God raised from within the den of Satan to ignite the flames of the reformation which continues to burn till this day. It was definitely the sovereign hand of God that ignited this unstoppable phenomena that spread across Europe and then to the rest of the world. After more than 1,000 years of Dark Ages where the Word of God and the gospel were hijacked by the Roman Catholic Church since the 5th or 6th century, a bright spiritual light of truth began to shine across the dark world that was dying in sin. Many people and factors contributed to the success of the 16th century reformation movement. For example, the cause of the 16th century reformation of Martin Luther would not have succeeded if not for the invention of the printing press. Luther's 95 Thesis were taken down from the door of the church at Wittenberg and printed by the thousands, and distributed throughout Germany and the rest of Europe. During the same period there were other reformers like Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), Martin Bucer (1491– 1551), Wolfgang Capito (1478–1541), John Oecolampadius (1482–1531),and Guillaume Farel (1489– 1565). These were regarded as the first generation reformers. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Calvinism #Five_points_of_Calvinism.] The second generation reformers included men like John Calvin (1509–64), Heinrich Bullinger (1504– 75), Wolfgang Musculus (1497–1563), Peter Martyr Vermigli (1500–62), and Andreas Hyperius (1511–64). The main difference between the two groups is in the fact that toward the middle of the 16th century, "the Reformed began to commit their beliefs to confessions of faith, which would shape the future definition of the Reformed faith."1 These confessions were basically creeds that delineated what these reformers stood for regarding certain doctrines of the Bible. These creeds became the foundation for the many different denominations that span across Christendom from the 16th century reformation onwards. "The 1549 Consensus Tigurinus brought together those who followed Zwingli and Bullinger's memorialist theology of the Lord's supper, which taught that the supper simply serves as a reminder of Christ's death, and Calvin's view that the supper serves as a means of grace with Christ actually present, though spiritually rather than bodily. The document demonstrates the diversity as well as unity in early Reformed theology. The remainder of the 16th century saw an explosion of confessional activity. The stability and breadth of Reformed theology during this period stand in marked contrast to the bitter controversy experienced by Lutherans prior to the 1579Formula of Concord." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism#Five_points_of_ Calvinism.] It was during such a theological climate that the TULIP became the clarion call for Presbyterians on the doctrines of salvation, election and predestination. I. Spread of Calvinism – "Due to Calvin's missionary work in France, his programme of reform eventually reached the French‐speaking provinces of the Netherlands. Calvinism was adopted in the Electorate of the Palatinateunder Frederick III, which led to the formulation of the Heidelberg Catechism in 1563. This and the Belgic Confession were adopted as confessional standards in the first synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in 1571. Leading divines, either Calvinist or those sympathetic to Calvinism, settled in England (Martin Bucer, Peter Martyr, and Jan Łaski) and Scotland (John Knox). During the English Civil War, the Calvinistic Puritans produced the Westminster Confession, which became the confessional standard for Presbyterians in the English‐speaking world. Having established itself in Europe, the movement continued to spread to other parts of the world including North America, South Africa, and Korea." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism#Five_points_of_Calvinism.] 1 The Five Points of Calvinism "Although much of Calvin's work was in Geneva, his publications spread his ideas of a correctly Reformed church to many parts of Europe. In Switzerland, some cantons are still Reformed and some are Catholic. Calvinism became the theological system of the majority in Scotland (see John Knox), the Netherlands (see William Ames, T. J. Frelinghuysen and Wilhelmus à Brakel) and parts of Germany (especially these adjacent to the Netherlands) in the Palatinate, Kassel and Lippe with the likes of Olevianus and his colleague Zacharias Ursinus. In Hungary and the then‐independent Transylvania, Calvinism was a significant religion. In the 16th century, the Reformation gained many supporters in Eastern Hungary and Hungarian‐populated regions in Transylvania. In these parts, the Reformed nobles protected the faith. Almost all Transylvanian dukes were Reformed. Today there are about 3.5 million Hungarian Reformed people worldwide. It was influential in France, Lithuania and Poland before being mostly erased due to the counter‐ reformational activities taken up by the monarch in each country. Calvinism gained some popularity in Scandinavia, especially Sweden, but was rejected in favor of Lutheranism after the Synod of Uppsala in 1593. "Most settlers in the American Mid‐Atlantic and New England were Calvinists, including the English Puritans, the French Huguenots and Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam (New York), and the Scotch‐Irish Presbyterians of the Appalachian back country, Nonconforming Protestants, Puritans, Separatists, Independents, English religious groups coming out of the English Civil War, and other English dissenters not satisfied with the degree to which the Church of England had been reformed, held overwhelmingly Reformed views. They are often cited among the primary founders of the United States of America. Dutch Calvinist settlers were also the first successful European colonizers of South Africa, beginning in the 17th century, who became known as Boers or Afrikaners." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism#Five_points_of_Calvinism.] II. Comparing Calvinism and Arminianism – Calvinism: "T.U.L.I.P." T: Total depravity – "Every facet of every person everywhere has been marred by sin." This is spiritual death where man is dead in sin and blind to the spiritual realm around him. U: Unconditional election – "God chooses those to be saved based solely on His will." God alone saves sinners for all sinners have no ability to save themselves. L: Limited atonement – Christ died for those whom He has elected even though His death is sufficient for the sins of the whole world. It is in this sense that Christ died for the elect and also for the whole world. I: Irresistible grace – "The elect cannot resist God’s call to salvation." When God's saving grace touches a sinner's heart he cannot resist and will surely be saved to the uttermost. P: Perseverance of the saints – "The elect cannot lose their salvation." Since salvation is entirely of the Lord, no sinner can lose his salvation once he is saved. He will be kept saved all the days of his life on earth till he ascends to heaven upon death or the rapture. Arminianism: "D.A.I.S.Y." D: Diminished depravity – "Humanity is depraved, but God uses prevenient grace to restore man’s ability to respond to Him." It is a grace that anticipates or precedes what is in the heart of sinful man which is his ability to believe. God knew in advance who will receive Christ as Lord and Saviour when the gospel is given which implies that man has some degree of good in him to accept Christ on his own. The United Methodist Book of Discipline (2004) defines prevenient grace as "...the divine love that surrounds all humanity and precedes any and all of our conscious 2 The Five Points of Calvinism impulses. This grace prompts our first wish to please God, our first glimmer of understanding concerning God's will, and our 'first slight transient conviction' of having sinned against God. God's grace also awakens in us an earnest longing for deliverance from sin and death and moves us toward repentance and faith." [The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church ‐ 2004 (Nashville: United Methodist Publishing House, 2004), Section 1: Our Doctrinal Heritage: Distinctive Wesleyan Emphases.] A: Abrogated election – "God bases His election on His foreknowledge of those who freely choose Him." The doctrine of God's election is based upon His foreknowledge that these sinners will accept Christ and therefore they are chosen for their inclined acceptance. I: Impersonal atonement – "Christ died for everyone, making salvation possible for everyone." The atoning work of Christ is therefore for all. S: Sedentary grace – "God calls everyone to salvation, but many freely reject it." The grace of God does not have the power to save all but only those who already possess the desire to want to be saved. Y: Yieldable justification – "The saved can fall from grace and lose their salvation." This has to be the logical outcome. Since man's will is involved in his own salvation (albeit a tiny portion of it), the moment he stops believing he loses it. He has to keep on believing in order to hold on to his salvation in Christ. On God's part, He will not fail. It is man who fails. That is why those who believe in "DAISY" will do their utmost to live a holy life to maintain their salvation. They also believe that only in Christ can they be saved. Their issue is with reference to the manner in which they receive and hold onto the Christ who saves them. Adapted from – [http://thewardrobedoor.com/2010/08/theological‐flower‐bed‐tulip‐daisy‐roses. html] III. Calvinism vs. Hyper Calvinism – Hyper‐Calvinists' beliefs – a. An over‐emphasis or distortion of Limited Atonement; b. Distinctive of hyper‐Calvinists – God loves only the Elect; Jesus Christ died only for the elect; there is only one kind of grace and that is saving grace.