When did Calvinism crystallize? The official Calvinistic response - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

When did Calvinism crystallize?

“The official Calvinistic response came from the Synod of Dort which was held November 13, 1618, to May 9, 1619, to consider the Five Articles.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.12.

“The Synod wrote what has come to be known as the Canons of Dort. These are still part of the church confession of the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.12.

Calvinism’s Five Points

“Somewhere along the way (nobody knows for sure where or how), the five points came to be summarized in English under the Acronym TULIP. T – Total depravity. U – Unconditional election. L – Limited atonement. I – Irresistible Grace. P – Perseverance of the saints.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.12.

Calvinism’s Five Points

“I make no claim that these five points exhaust the riches of Reformed Theology.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.13.

“…in general I am willing to be called a Calvinist on the five points because this name has been attached to these points for centuries and because I find this Calvinist position to be faithful to Scripture.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.15.

“The five points of Calvinism are closely related. One point presupposes the others.”

Source: Gise J. Van Baren, The Five Points of Calvinism, p.91.

(T) – Total Depravity Quotes #1

“Our sinful corruption is so deep and so strong as to make us slaves of sin and morally unable to overcome

• ur own rebellion and blindness. This inability to save
• urselves from ourselves is total.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.15.

“Natural man has a mindset that does not and CANNOT submit to God.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, pp.21-22.

“Total depravity means that our rebellion against God is total, everything we do is in rebellion is sinful, our inability to submit to God or reform ourselves is total.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.22.

(T) – Total Depravity Quotes #2

“Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately

• corrupt. His will is not free. It is in bondage to his evil
• nature. Therefore, he will not – indeed he cannot –

choose good over evil in the spiritual realm.”

Source: Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Updated and Expanded), p.5.

(T) – Total Depravity Quotes #3

“Consequently it takes much more than the Spirit’s assistance to bring a sinner to Christ – it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and give him a new nature.”

Source: Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Updated and Expanded), pp.5-6.

Regarding counselors, he said, “Their work is to confront unsaved men with the universal offer of the gospel. This

• ffer is genuinely made to every man, but only God can bring

life to dead souls to enable them to believe.”

Source: Jay Adams, Competent to Counsel, p.70.

(T) – Total Depravity Quotes #4

“Reformed theologians…place regeneration before faith, pointing out the that the Holy Spirit must bring new life before the sinner can by God’s enabling exercise faith and accept Jesus Christ.”

Source: Allen R. Killan, The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, vol.2, p.1449.

“A cardinal point of Reformed theology is the maxim: Regeneration precedes faith.”

Source: RC Sproul, Chosen by God (Revised and Updated), p.55.

“The Reformed view of predestination teaches that before a person can choose Christ his heart must be changed. He must be born again…one does not first believe, then become reborn…”

Source: RC Sproul, Chosen by God (Revised and Updated), p.54.

“It is a myth man in his natural state is genuinely seeking God … Apart from conversion, no one comes to the light of God.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.19.

(T) – Total Depravity Scripture #1

“16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

“12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”

John 1:12

“31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

John 20:31

“16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him FOR everlasting life.”

1 Timothy 1:16.

(T) – Total Depravity Scripture #2

“48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

Acts 13:48

“46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 "For so the Lord has commanded us: 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

Acts 13:46-48

(U) – Unconditional Election Quotes #1

“God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation

• f the world rested solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of

particular sinners was not based on any foreseen response or

• bedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. On the

contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom He

• selected. ”

Source: Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Updated and Expanded), p.6.

“God could have chosen to save all men (for He had the power and authority to do so) or He could have chosen to save none (for He was under no obligation to show mercy to any) - but He did neither. Instead He choose to save some and to exclude others. His eternal choice of particular sinners unto salvation was not based upon any foreseen act or response on the part of those selected, but was based solely on His own good pleasure and sovereign will. Thus election was not determined by, or conditioned upon, anything that men would do, but resulted entirely from God's self-determined purpose.”

Source: Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Updated and Expanded), p.27.

(U) – Unconditional Election Quotes #2

“Those therefore whom God passes by he reprobates, and that for no other cause than he is pleased to exclude them from the inheritance which he predestines to his children.”

Source: John Calvin, Institute of the Christian Religion, book 3, chap 23, sec 1, p.225.

“We say, then, that Scripture clearly proves this much, that God by His eternal and immutable counsel determined once and for all those whom it was His pleasure one day to admit to salvation, and those whom, on the other hand, it was His pleasure to doom to destruction.”

Source: John Calvin, Institute of the Christian Religion, book 3, chap 21, sec 5, p.206.

“We believe that from all eternity God has intended to leave some of Adam's posterity in their sins, and that the decisive factor in the life of each is to be found only in God's will.”

Source: Lorraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctine of Predestination, p.104.

He was asked “Why does God only save some?” and he wrote, “The only answer I can give to this question is that I don't know. I have no idea why God saves some but not all. I don’t doubt for a moment that God has the power to save all, but I know that he does not choose all. I don’t know why.”

Source: RC Sproul, Chosen by God (Revised and Updated), p.25.

(U) – Unconditional Election Scripture #1

“3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

1 Timothy 2:3-4

“9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9

“16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

(U) – Unconditional Election Scripture #2

“32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"”

Ezekiel 18:32 – Also see Ezekiel 33:11.

“28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."”

Matthew 11:28-30

“…sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 9 'Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.”

Matthew 22:3-9

“…many are called, but few chosen.”

Matthew 20:16b & 22:14b

(L) – Limited Atonement Quotes #1

“As a reformed Christian, the writer believes that counselors must not tell any unsaved counselee that Christ died for him, for they cannot say that. No man knows except Christ himself who are his elect for whom he died.”

Source: Jay Adams, Competent to Counsel, p.70.

“But the counselor’s task is to explain the gospel and to say very plainly that God commands all men to repent of their sin and believe in Jesus.”

Source: Jay Adams, Competent to Counsel, p.70.

(L) – Limited Atonement Quotes #2

“Christ’s redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them.”

Source: Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Updated and Expanded), pp.6-7.

“His death was a substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners.”

Source: Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Updated and Expanded), p.7.

“He came into the world to represent and save only those given to Him by the Father. Thus Christ’s saving work was limited in that is was designed to save some and not others.”

Source: Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Updated and Expanded), p.40.

“Christ died not for an unorderly mass, but for His people, His Bride, His Church.”

Source: Lorraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctine of Predestination, p.157.

(L) – Limited Atonement Quotes #3

“The biblical foundation for saying that Christ died not just to make salvation available for all who believe, but to actually purchase the faith of the elect is the fact that the blood of Jesus secured the blessings of the new covenant for His people.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.41.

“The faith of God’s chosen and called was purchased by ‘the blood of the covenant’ (Matthew 26:28).”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.41.

“In summary, the biblical point of limited atonement is that in the death

• f Christ God had a particular design for his elect. He was purchasing not

just a possibility for them to believe and be saved, but he was purchasing the belief itself.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, pp.51-52.

“In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christ’s redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation, including faith which unites them to Him.”

Source: Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Updated and Expanded), p.7.

(L) – Limited Atonement Scripture

“16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

“2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for

• urs only but also for the whole world.”

1 John 2:2

“29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29

“13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."”

Romans 10:13

(I) – Irresistible Grace Quotes #1

“…the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The external (which is made to all without distinction) can be, and often is, rejected; whereas the internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion.”

Source: Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Updated and Expanded), p.7.

“The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ.”

Source: Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Updated and Expanded), p.7.

(I) – Irresistible Grace Quotes #2

“The Calvinist view of predestination teaches that God actively intervenes in the lives of the elect to make absolutely sure that they are saved.”

Source: RC Sproul, Chosen by God (Revised and Updated), pp.22-23.

“Of course the rest are invited to Christ and given the "opportunity" to be saved if they want to. But Calvinism assumes that without the intervention of God no one will ever want Christ. Left to themselves, no

• ne will ever choose Christ.”

Source: RC Sproul, Chosen by God (Revised and Updated), p.23.

“We conclude that fallen man is still free to choose what he desires, but because his desires are only wicked he lacks the moral ability to come to Christ. As long as he remains in the flesh, unregenerate, he will never choose Christ. He cannot choose Christ precisely because he cannot act against his own will. He has no desire for Christ.”

Source: RC Sproul, Chosen by God (Revised and Updated), p.57.

(I) – Irresistible Grace Quotes #3

“Someone may say, ‘Yes, the Holy Spirit must draw us to God, but we can use our freedom to resist or accept that drawing.’ But that is not what they Bible teaches. Except for the continual exertion of saving grace, we will always use our freedom to resist God.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.27.

Piper then went on to quote from John 6:44 for his proof text, “44 "No

• ne can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up

at the last day.”

But, he didn’t see fit to quote Jesus from John 12:32, “32 "And I, if I

am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."”

“As the bird with a broken wing is "free" to fly but not able, so the natural man is free to come to God but not able.”

Source: Lorraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctine of Predestination, p.62.

(I) – Irresistible Grace Scripture

“37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”

Matthew 23:37

“6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,”

Hebrews 4:6

“10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."”

John 4:10

“38 "But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 "But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”

John 5;38-40

(P) – Perseverance of the Saints Quotes #1

“In 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Paul shows the necessity of perseverance: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.64.

“Paul says in Colossians 1:21-23, ‘And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel.’ And again in 2 Timothy 2:11-12: ‘The saying is trustworthy, for: If we died with him, we will also live with him’ if we endure, we will also reign with him.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.64.

“But if no one falls away, why even bother to warn people against it? It seems frivolous to exhort people to avoid the impossible.”

Source: RC Sproul, Chosen by God (Revised and Updated), p.156.

(P) – Perseverance of the Saints Scripture

“1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,”

1 Timothy 4:1

“12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;”

Hebrews 3:12

“4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”

Hebrews 6:4-6 (also see Hebrews 10:26-29)

“10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;”

2 Peter 1:10

God’s Sovereignty Quote

“One popular explanation for election by those who cannot accept God’s sovereign choice based on nothing but His own will stems from a faulty understanding of foreknowledge. [and then he said of this understanding] … it makes man sovereign in salvation instead of God, though Jesus affirmed His and His Father’s sovereignty when He told His disciples, ‘You did not choose Me but I chose you.’”

John MacArthur Commentary on 1 Peter 1:2a

Who are Reformed Churches?

“The churches which have inherited the teachings of Calvin are usually called Reformed as opposed to the Lutheran or Anglican/Episcopalian branches of the

• Reformation. While not all Baptist churches hold to a

Reformed theology, there is a significant Baptist tradition which flowed out of that stream and still cherishes the central doctrines inherited from the Reformed branch of the Reformation.”

Source: John Piper, Five Points, p.11.

Well-known Reformed pastors of our day?

John MacArthur John Piper R.C. Sproul Tim Keller Alistair Begg Francis Chan C.H. Spurgeon (lived in the 1800’s).

How to get more material?

#1 – You can get a copy of all the overheads from today by texting “FIVESLIDES” to Calvary Connect (209.493.6495). #2 – You can get a two-page summary of the Five Points with a limited number of verses attached by texting “FIVESUMMARY” to Calvary Connect (209.493.6495). #3 – You can get a “pdf” copy of a short book I strongly recommend you read by texting “FIVEBOOK” to Calvary Connect (209.493.6495). The book is “The Five Points of Calvinism (Weighed and Found Wanting)” by George Bryson.