Limited Atonement – The L of “TULIP”

What the Calvinist says about Limited Atonement: (Taken from: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1985/1487_What_We_Believe_About_the_Five_Points_of_Calvinism/#Grace)

The term "limited atonement" addresses the question, "For whom did Christ die?" But behind the question of the extent of the atonement lies the equally important question about the nature of the atonement. What did Christ actually achieve on the cross for those for whom he died?

If you say that he died for every human being in the same way, then you have to define the nature of the atonement very differently than you would if you believed that Christ only died for those who actually believe. In the first case you would believe that the death of Christ did not actually save anybody; it only made all men savable. It did not actually remove God's punitive wrath from anyone, but instead created a place where people could come and find mercy—IF they could accomplish their own new birth and bring themselves to faith without the irresistible grace of God.

For if Christ died for all men in the same way then he did not purchase regenerating grace for those who are saved. They must regenerate themselves and bring themselves to faith. Then and only then do they become partakers of the benefits of the cross.

In other words if you believe that Christ died for all men in the same way, then the benefits of the cross cannot include the mercy by which we are brought to faith, because then all men would be brought to faith, but they aren't. But if the mercy by which we are brought to faith (irresistible grace) is not part of what Christ purchased on the cross, then we are left to save ourselves from the bondage of sin, the hardness of heart, the blindness of corruption, and the wrath of God.

In the Calvinist view Jesus only died for those he Unconditionally Elected. According to them there are only two choices, either someone is saved by the total activity of God or they are saved by the total activity of man.

Read again their claim in the last paragraph describing what remains if Limited Atonement is not true. According to their explanation, Jesus not only purchased salvation, He also purchased the means of delivering salvation. Where do they get that out of God’s Word?

They unsuccessfully try to use Scripture to support their position like Mark 10:45, Matthew 26:28 and Hebrews 9:28, but none of these passages speak about Christ purchasing the means of delivering salvation.

In fact, Matthew 26:28 says, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” The blood of Christ was shed, not for the means of delivery of salvation but for the remission of sins. Even Hebrews 9:28 said, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many…”. Again, no mention of the method of delivery of salvation.

In Hebrews we are given an analogy, a comparison, between what happened in the fall and what happened on the Cross. Let’s take a few minutes to examine the passage:

Romans 5:12-16 says: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

The analogy begins with showing how sin was applied to the entire human race, by one man.

13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Sin is the transgression of the law. Where God has not established law, sin is not imputed.

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

Although no one else ate of the Tree of Knowledge, they were still going to die because of the sin nature handed down through the generations. Notice the final phrase: “…who is the figure of him that was to come.” Here comes the comparison.

15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Observe here the term used, “free gift.” If someone has a deadly disease and I purchase them a free (free to them, expensive to me) gift what good will it do them if they refuse the offer? No good at all. Must someone accept a free gift? No. If someone refuses a free gift does their refusal mean they will ultimately get the gift by working for it? No.

Also pay careful attention to the use of the term, “many.” “For if through the offence of one many be dead…” means how many are dead? A few or all? All. Therefore the gift, purchased by Jesus Christ has abounded to the same number impacted by the sin, “many.” The term, “many” does not exclude the meaning of “all.”

Does, “Many of my children are in the house,” cancel the possibility they are all in the house? No. Or if I say, “The sun arose on many days,” am I saying the sun did not rise on some days? No. “Many” does not have to exclude the possibility of “all”.

16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

The gift, the free gift, is not like the sin. Adam sinned once and his judgment led to the condemnation of all (many sins). In contrast, the many sins did not need many payments. The one free gift provides justification for the many (all) offences (sins). When a sinner is saved, how many of their sins are forgiven? Many? Yes, since we have already seen many is inclusive of the term all and not necessarily exclusive.

Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

“They which receive abundance of grace…” are not receiving the means of delivering salvation, it is salvation. Righteousness for mankind is only possible after salvation has occurred.

18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Here again is the comparison: condemnation came upon all men; by Christ the free gift (free to us, costly to Him) came upon ALL men. Is this saying all men receive the free gift? No. The free gift came upon them by being accessibile.

19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Here we are again, when one man disobeyed, how many were made sinners? Many? Yes! Was there anyone who was not made a sinner? No. How many will be made righteous? Many? Yes! Is there any sinner Christ did not die to save? No. Just as many as were made sinners, those are the ones made righteous (all who believe).

Does the passage above mean all people will be saved? Of course not! Just because all people can be saved does not mean all people will be saved. It means all people have the opportunity to be saved because of the payment Jesus made for all sin.

Look at John 3:16 from the Analytical-Literal Translation: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten [or, unique] Son, so that every [one] believing [or, trusting] in Him shall not perish, _but_ shall be having eternal life!”

Calvinists misunderstand the application of the death of Christ. The death of Jesus Christ must apply to the entire human race just as the sin of Adam. Through one man, Adam, sin and death came to the entire human race. The one God-man, Jesus Christ, died once to purchase redemption for those same people.

Just as Adam’s sin was a one time event having eternal consequences for all, so too Jesus’ payment was a one time event offering eternal forgiveness as wide as the curse was found.

“Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Hebrews 9:25-26

“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1Corinthians 15:21-22

“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”

1John 4:14-15

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” 1Timothy 2:5-6

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” 2Corinthians 5:14-15

Just as Adam in his sinless state had the ability to choose sin, sinful man has the ability to choose salvation. How? Because of Christ. Christ calls, Christ draws, Christ initiates, Christ paid, Christ convicts and when man responds in repentance and faith, Christ chooses him.

I close here with one final passage from Isaiah 53:

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Unlimited Atonement –Unlimited Love – Unlimited Grace – Amazing Grace!

Unconditional Election – The U of “TULIP”

Unconditional Election – The U of “TULIP”

What the Calvinist says about Unconditional Election: (Taken from: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1985/1487_What_We_Believe_About_the_Five_Points_of_Calvinism/#Grace)

If all of us are so depraved that we cannot come to God without being born again by the irresistible grace of God, and if this particular grace is purchased by Christ on the cross, then it is clear that the salvation of any of us is owing to God's election.

Election refers to God's choosing whom to save. It is unconditional in that there is no condition man must meet before God chooses to save him. Man is dead in trespasses and sins. So there is no condition he can meet before God chooses to save him from his deadness.

We are not saying that final salvation is unconditional. It is not. We must meet the condition of faith in Christ in order to inherit eternal life. But faith is not a condition for election. Just the reverse. Election is a condition for faith. It is because God chose us before the foundation of the world that he purchases our redemption at the cross and quickens us with irresistible grace and brings us to faith.

The TULIP of Calvinism is a single “flower”. I recognize there are five “petals” making this flower but they are inter-related. If you have one, you have them all. If you remove one, you invalidate them all.

I have said it before, and I will say it again here, there are no “4 point Calvinists” or “3 point Calvinists.” There are Calvinists or non-Calvinists, you are, or you are not, there is no ground in between. It is the same with the Arminian perspective, either you are or you are not. If you are not in either camp, like me, why not claim to be a Biblicist or a Bible-ite or a Biblican or even a Biblocrat, but don’t try to claim parts of an inseparable doctrine.

If you are claiming to be something other than a “5 point Calvinist” you must have changed the their definition of the points. Either you have made it something more palatable for your theology, or you have redefined the terms in order to find some “common ground” where there is none.

Calvinism is a single “flower”, take away any of the “petals” and the flower wilts into a pile of dust. John Piper has successfully added two leaves to this “flower” which are logical assertions to TULIP, but nothing can be taken away with sacrificing the structural integrity of the whole.

Unconditional Election is made of two parts: God does not use any criteria for choosing those He has chosen, and God does the choosing then comes faith. Notice again how the Calvinist uses the term unconditional: “We must meet the condition of faith in Christ in order to inherit eternal life. But faith is not a condition for election. Just the reverse. Election is a condition for faith.”

Do you see what they are saying here? 1) Faith is the condition to salvation; 2) Faith comes after election; 3) If there is no election, there is no faith; 4) Election happened before the world began. Now put that together with two points from the previous post about Total Depravity: “Depravity affects every human.” and “Man’s inability to submit to God and do good is total.”

So, let’s put together everything we have so far:
A) A person is elected before the world begins;

B) When that person is born they are Totally Depraved although they are elected; (If you are elected to become saved, how can you be TOTALLY Depraved?)

C) Because of their election, they grow in their understanding and faith, but they are still Totally Depraved and they are unable to submit to God and do good; (Again there must either be a violation of Total Depravity or a violation of their statement, “We must meet the condition of faith in Christ in order to inherit eternal life.”) (Remember, in Unconditional Election our faith is the fruit of God’s election so in effect we don’t meet any condition, God meets the conditions.)

D) Eventually this person comes to faith, a faith they can not resist, because of God’s effectual call and election. When this person finally, and eventually, comes to saving faith he is not doing anything good, because salvation has its beginning and ending in God and not man.

Are you confused yet? In Calvinism, prior to the act of salvation, the entire race of man is totally depraved, even the elect. The elect may gain in their knowledge and understanding of God, and the salvation available through Jesus Christ, but this is not considered a good act because of Total Depravity.

The second half to the position of Unconditional Election is the belief of Reprobation. (John Piper’s sixth point of Calvinism) Reprobation is the logical understanding coming from the idea that since God elected some to salvation and Heaven, then those unelected are “elected” to be forever lost and burn in Hell.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) in Chapter 10, article IV says it this way: “Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may have some common operations of the Spirit, yet they never truly come to Christ, and therefore can not be saved: …” (Chapter 10, Article IV)

The Westminster Confession of Faith also states: “Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth.” (Chapter 10, Article III) This recognizes the effect of being elected prior to birth means some infants, dying while an infant, are elected to Heaven while the rest are elected to burn in Hell. This is a painfully sad misunderstanding of God and the Scriptures.

This stands in stark contrast to the Word of God in several verses:

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2Peter 3:9

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Titus 2:11

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:15-17

Finally, if Unconditional Election is taught by God’s Word as the Calvinist describes, how can one make his election either more or less sure as in 2 Peter 1:10-11? Or what about Romans 4:13 or 10:1-15?

In Calvinism these passages make no sense.

God’s Salvation is available to all. God does call people, draw people and choose people to be saved, but the choice takes place after man calls on the Lord. How else could 1Timothy 2:4 be true when it says, “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Total Depravity – The T of “TULIP”

What the Calvinist says about Total Depravity: (Taken from: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1985/1487_What_We_Believe_About_the_Five_Points_of_Calvinism/#Grace)

Human Depravity Is Total in at Least Five Senses

1) Depravity affects every human.

2) Our rebellion or hardness against God is total, that is, apart from the grace of God
there is no delight in the holiness of God, and there is no glad submission to the
sovereign authority of God.

3) In his total rebellion everything man does is sin.

4) Man’s inability to submit to God and do good is total.

5) Our rebellion is totally deserving of eternal punishment.

It is hard to exaggerate the importance of admitting our condition to be this bad. If we think of ourselves as basically good or even less than totally at odds with God, our grasp of the work of God in redemption will be defective. But if we humble ourselves under this terrible truth of our total depravity, we will be in a position to see and appreciate the glory and wonder of the work of God discussed in the next four points.

Calvinists use a variety of Scripture to support each of these five points. Since we know God’s Word is true, if these points are properly interpreting Scripture, there should be no contradiction with Scripture found in other places, as long as they are interpreted properly.

Genesis 3:6-23 tells us about sin entering the world and the punishment of sin. Look closely at the events of that day:

First, Man and Woman were created without a sinful, fallen nature. According to the Calvinist, once sin happened, Man and Woman were “Totally Depraved”. Now examine closely what happened when man was in his “Totally Depraved” state.

Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

I am not claiming Adam after he sinned was still sinless. I am only asking for a fair evaluation of the facts. Although Adam sinned he: 1) Covered his nakedness; 2) Recognized God’s voice; 3) Did not ignore his sinful status; 4) Obediently answered God’s question; and 5) Feared God’s consequences.

I understand Adam used inappropriate materials (fig leaves) for his covering, but he still committed an act that God also did. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” Genesis 3:21 Also take into consideration, God never corrected Man for making clothing.

Ignoring all Adam’s other actions, and focusing in on this one act, the making of clothing, was this action sin? Was it an act of “total rebellion”? Was man unable to do any good? Did this action totally deserve eternal punishment?

Additionally, take into account the fact God did the exact same action, make clothing, for Man and Woman. Consider also man’s need to make future garments. When Man made a garment for his children, was this a sinful act or not? According to the Scriptures, man would have made future clothing without being specifically commanded to do so by God.

To better understand what happened, think about this: God created man as a three-part being. God made man with a body, a mind, and a soul. The body is the physical, the mind is the cognitive, and the soul is spiritual. All of these parts constitute one being and all were made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26-31; 2:7; 2:15-25)

God told Adam: “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17

When man ate of the fruit, man immediately died. Did man’s body die? No, not instantly. Did man’s mind die? No, he could still think. It was man’s soul that died and then needed to be born again.

Man’s sin did not erase the image of God found in man’s mind. This is not only confirmed by the events surrounding the day of man’s first sin, but by Paul in Romans.

Romans 1:19-21 says, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Does this passage support item number 3: “In his total rebellion everything man does is sin.” No. Does it support item number 4: “Man’s inability to submit to God and do good is total.” No. Is Total Depravity supported by the entire Word of God? NO!

Remember, we must allow the Calvinists to define their own terms. What would be the benefit of everyone having their own definition of “Total Depravity”? We must allow the definition of the entire TULIP to have its origin in the Calvinist camp.

Before you quickly label me an Arminian let me say, they are equally in contradiction with many biblical doctrines. I reject the Arminian position of “Natural Ability” as much as I reject Total Depravity. As I will explain in future articles, I am neither a Calvinist nor an Arminian.

Until next time – Keep Studying Scripture!