“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:6-8)
“But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived…” (2 Timothy 3:13).
These passages warn us of the very real possibility of our being deceived, either through the efforts of others, or by deceiving ourselves through a desire to believe something that may not be taught in the scriptures (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Knowing this, God has
made
provision for
us to escape
from others
who would deceive usGod has made provision for us to escape from others who would deceive us, or to correct ourselves if we are unaware of our error. As followers of Christ we are told simply to “test” beliefs, that is, “examine everything carefully” and then to “hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21 NAS). Like the Bereans, we are obligated to examine religious ideas with the scriptures “to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11; see also 2 Timothy 3:16). Based upon this obligation, we would like to examine the principle tenets of Calvinism.
When someone believes…
1. That one is saved by faith alone or faith only,
2. That faith is a gift of God acquired through a direct operation of the Holy Spirit,
3. That man has no spiritual ability to sincerely choose to believe in or obey God without a direct operation of the Holy Spirit,
4. That those who acquire faith have been previously chosen by God to obtain this ability (“predestination”),
5. That once a child of God it is impossible to sin in such a way as to lose salvation (“once saved, always saved”),
…they have embraced some of the tenets of Calvinism.
Remember, we are concerned for the souls of all people, but oppose false doctrine. We are examining ideas, not the people who hold these ideas to be valid.
History:
John Calvin
Born: Nayon, France, July 10, 1509 – Died May, 27, 1564 (near age 55).
He lived the same time as Martin Luther (although 25 years younger) and influenced Luther’s Long and Short Catechism.
He published “Institutes of the Christian Religion” at age 26, which went through five editions growing from six to eighty chapters.
He helped organize the “Reformed Church” with Ulrich Zwingli & John Knox.
Calvinism has profoundly affected the Protestant movement.
If, in your investigation, you probe into the history and influence of Calvinism, you will discover that its doctrines have been incorporated into the majority of the great creeds of the Protestant churches (The Five Points of Calvinism, David N. Steele & Curtis C. Thomas, Presbyterian & Reformed Pub. Co., 1963, p. 61).
Calvinism has formed the doctrinal basis of the Presbyterian Church, the Reformed Church, the Episcopal Church of America, and in the main the Baptist and Congregationalist Churches, which include the United Church of Christ. Most aspects of Calvinistic ideology are found in the Nazarene Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and almost all so called “Evangelical” churches. (See McClintock & Strong, Vol. 2, p. 47.)
The five points of Calvinism are not original with John Calvin.
The Reformation was essentially a revival of Augustinianism and through it evangelical Christianity again came into its own (The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, Loraine Boettner, Presbyterian & Reformed Pub. Co., 1932, p. 367).
An easy way to remember the basic theological system championed by John Calvin is an acronym “T-U-L-I-P” (The Five Points of Calvinism, Edwin H. Palmer, Baker Book House, 1972, p. 6);
T – Total Depravity,
U – Unconditional Election,
L – Limited Atonement,
I – Irresistible Grace,
P – Perseverance of the Saints.
These five points were recognized as representative of Calvinism by the Synod of Dort (Church of Holland) in 1619.
- Glen Osburn
Editor’s note: In upcoming articles Brother Osburn will be considering each of the five points of Calvinism in detail. Please continue to visit the site.