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Index To All Sections
The Canons of Dordt and T.U.L.I.P
As said in the introduction Although the Synod of Dort - an international Synod held in the Netherlands in 1618-1619 - was held to settle the Arminian controversy the delegates also drafted five points to summarize Calvinistic doctrine.
TULIP which eventually became the cornerstone of Reformed theology is an acronym - each letter standing for one of the five fundamental tenets of Calvinism. It is a comprehensible but accurate representation of Calvin's views. Also See Original Sin.. Fact or Fable
Note that the last four points of Calvinism are completely dependent on the first i.e. Total Inability
2A- Total Inability HERE
Total Inability is the foundation and cornerstone of the entire superstructure. It teaches that as a consequence of Adam's sin every person born into the world is so morally corrupt and so enslaved to sin that he is incapable of repenting and believing the Gospel - worthy of nothing but everlasting damnation. It is only God's grace that enables him to choose to follow God, repent, and have faith in Christ for salvation.
If one concedes that this first point is a Biblical fact, the subsequent four become relatively easy to defend. However, when a major belief system stands or falls on a single point doctrine, there should be unequivocal proof for this doctrine in the Scriptures. But, far from this being the case, the Biblical silence is deafening when it comes to certain points that Calvinism insists are completely by the Book.
2B - Unconditional Election HERE
According to this doctrine, God unconditionally and "sovereignly" elected who would and would not be saved. This election was not based on God looking into the future and seeing that the person would have some particular virtues or faith, nor how he would respond to the gospel), but was according a decision based solely upon God's will or, as some Calvinists like to put it, His good pleasure. One has to wonder why then Paul tried his best to persuade his audience to believe in the Gospel often spending days reasoning with them from the Scriptures.
2C - Limited Atonement HERE
Calvinism denies that Christ died for the whole world. They claim that because God unconditionally elects those whom He will save, it is logical that the atonement is limited only to those whom He has elected and that the Bible uses the words "world" or "all" in a limited sense. The Greek words used do not support this theory.
2D - Irresistible (or efficacious) Grace HERE
(Efficacious means successful in producing a desired or intended result). God draws the sinner to Christ before he himself has a single thought of responding to the good news. In other words, faith is a gift imparted to the sinner, who is entirely passive in this act, therefore regeneration (the new birth) occurs before belief in Christ.
Calvinism claims that not only is it out of the individual's hands as to whether he will choose God's grace, but that he or she is unable to resist it - hence the name 'Irresistible' part. This means a Christian who wishes to walk away from the faith and does not want to be saved can not do so. Although Calvinists will not admit to it, word games cannot detract from the fact the the saved person is being forced into something that he does not or no longer desires.
2E - Perseverance of The Saints HERE
This doctrine is similar to the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved. It states that everyone truly regenerated by God's grace will never fall away and perish but will persevere or keep the faith throughout their lives because it is God who keeps or preserves them. If the believer falls away they couldn’t have been truly saved in the first place.
If people are saved because God chose them to be so since the foundation of the world, there is no sound reason to encourage anyone to stay faithful nor warn them to persevere. Those who are genuinely saved cannot do otherwise. Yet Scriptural passages that warn believers to be careful about not wandering from the faith and falling from a secure position are liberally sprinkled throughout both Testaments.
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