TULIP: The 5 Points of Calvinism (Doctrines of Sovereign Grace)
As a believer in the doctrines of grace set out in the Bible, I don’t particularly enjoy using the term “Calvinism.” This is so because if these doctrines are Biblical then they are from God himself. If God is the designer then He is the one that gets all of the glory.[1] I also understand that these doctrines were first formally laid out by John Calvin – one of the church’s great reformer of the 16th century. Since Calvin so adequately explained them and many were led to believe in the truth of them from his writings, these doctrines have historically been referred to by his name. This is, I must admit, unfortunate because it leads many (most of which have never attempted to study these doctrines) to believe these doctrines are merely from man and therefore they reject them. I pray that this will no longer be the case. But for ease of explanation (and for flow of writing) please forgive me if I refer to them as Calvinism from time to time. I like what has been said of George Whitefield, “… a theological system was forming in his mind. It was the system long referred to as ‘Calvinism,’ but which he preferred to term ‘the doctrines of grace.’”[2]
So as we begin this look into the doctrines of grace let us keep our minds open not to what man may say but to what God’s Word does say. Man is no authority unto himself. All authority belongs to the Lord. It is His Word, His plan. He rules over it! “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).[3] Let’s be active in prayer for God to illuminate our minds with the truth of His Word. If we have to change life-long beliefs to believe the truth, so be it. That was my attitude in studying these things and I pray it will be yours as well. God’s Spirit will teach us all things and Christ will reveal himself to us if we love him and obey his commands (John 6:45, John 14:21). “But it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’ – these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10, quoting Isaiah 64:4). The Spirit will lead us into all truth (John 16:13). So we must rely on Him to give us understanding and we must beg him for help in guiding our minds to apprehend truth and to throw off, as far as the east is from the west, what isn’t true.
[1] This is not unlike the main drive of Calvinism which states that salvation is totally from God and is the design from beginning and end of God and because of this He alone is the one to whom ALL glory is due.
[2] Arnold Dallimore, George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books) p. 27.
[3] All Scripture references are from the English Standard Version. It is a literal translation (like the NASB). We should always use a literal translation of God’s Word when studying the Bible (and as our main Bible) because they are word-for-word English versions of the Greek and Hebrew of the original. Many interpretation problems can arise from using a non-literal, thought-for-thought translation (or a paraphrase like The Message).
