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What is Calvinism and is it BIBLICAL?
Is Calvinism and Reformed Theology BIBLICAL?
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Examining Calvinism in the Light of God’s Word!
Introduction to Calvinism, Reformed Theology, and Grace Alone Christians.
Exposing the errors of Calvinism in the LIGHT of the
Part 1 of a 9-part series of in-depth Bible studies!
Part 1 of a nine-part in-depth Bible study is a brief introduction explaining what Calvinism and Reformed Theology teaches
And the rest of this series of studies will cover the Scriptures to show the ERRORS of interpretation made by “Calvinistic” Christians who believe and teach anyone of the following five teachings.
In other words, the teachings of Calvinism, Reformed Theology, and Grace Alone Christians ALL involve what is commonly referred to as the five points of Calvinism, which is represented by the acronym T.U.L.I.P.
Again, part 1 of this study will be an introduction to Calvinism and the meaning of the acronym T.U.L.I.P.
But please understand that just because some Reformed Theology and some Grace Alone Christians do not state their doctrines with the same exact wording does not mean that they are not “Calvinistic” Christians.
For you see, even if a Christian believes only ONE point of Calvinism, then that means that they are a “Calvinistic” Christian.
Let us begin with the letter “T” in the acronym Tulip.
The “T” in T.U.L.I.P
The “T” in T.U.L.I.P. stands for TOTAL DEPRAVITY or sometimes known as TOTAL INABILITY.
This total depravity doctrine basically states that EVERY human being is so TOTALLY DEPRAVED that they are, therefore, rendered TOTALLY UNABLE to understand the gospel enough to BELIEVE the word of TRUTH in order to be SAVED, UNTIL they are FIRST born-again or REGENERATED by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God.
In other words, this doctrine of TOTAL DEPRAVITY teaches that the ELECT ones, who according to Calvinism, were chosen or elected BEFORE the foundation of the earth to be saved must be born-again first BEFORE they can understand the gospel enough to be saved.
And they base their total depravity doctrine on the ASSUMED doctrine of the original sin of Adam.
So then, to the Calvinistic Christians, even the elect are BORN as sinners and with a sinful nature.
And, therefore, according to Calvinism, even the ELECT along with the rest of mankind are so TOTALLY depraved and render so totally unable to understand the gospel enough to be saved that they must FIRST be REGENERATED or born-again by the Holy Spirit BEFORE they can UNDERSTAND the word of God enough to be SAVED.
The ELECT or the CHOSEN ONES will be explained in more detail when we look at the letter, as in, the next letter in the acronym T.U.L.I.P, which is their doctrine called “Unconditional Election”.
The “U” in T.U.L.I.P
The “U” in the acronym TULIP stands for UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION.
And the unconditional election doctrine basically states that from BEFORE the foundation of the world Almighty God CHOSE certain select individuals to be SAVED based upon NOTHING that these particular individuals have or have not done.
And at the same time before the foundation of the world, Almighty God also chose that the remainder of mankind were to be vessels of destruction to be cast into the lake of fire at the end of the 1000-year reign of Jesus based upon absolutely NOTHING that they have done or have not done.
In other words, this doctrine of UNCONDITIONAL election that is taught by Calvinism and Reformed Theology, teaches that each and every person is PREDESTINED to EITHER be SAVED, or LOST.
And to Calvinistic Christians, this means that the LOST are chosen to be LOST.
In other words, according to Calvinism and Reformed theology, each individual person who is chosen to be LOST before the foundation of the world is PREDESTINED to be cast into the lake of fire in the end, and there is NOTHING that any of mankind can do to CHANGE their PREDESTINED state.
For you see, according to Calvinism, it has ALREADY been CHOSEN and ordained by Almighty God from BEFORE the foundation of the world whether each individual person will be saved or whether each individual person will be lost.
So then, according to Calvinism and Reformed Theology and some Grace Alone Christians, you are either chosen to be saved or you are chosen to be lost, and there is NOTHING you can do to CHANGE your predestination.
And ONLY Almighty God Himself knows whom He has chosen to be saved based on NOTHING that person has done or will do after they are regenerated by God at the time of His choosing.
Thus, the term UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION, which according to Calvinism and Reformed Theology, is where Almighty God has ALREADY UNCONDITIONALLY ELECTED or has UNCONDITIONALLY CHOSEN certain select individuals from BEFORE the foundation of the world to be SAVED based upon NOTHING that these certain select individuals have or have not done.
And also, the unconditional election continues after an elect person is regenerated.
This means that the elect who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit can never lose their salvation no matter what they will or will not do during their lifetime.
In other words, according to Calvinism, you MAY be one of the ELECT or you may NOT be one of the ELECT and only Almighty God Himself knows for SURE.
The Calvinistic doctrine of UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION also teaches that Almighty God will EFFECTUALLY CALL His ELECT, whom He has chosen from BEFORE the foundation of the world, with an IRRESISTIBLE GRACE.
This means that each and every one of his ELECT or CHOSEN ONES will, without fail, be saved and NONE of these ELECT can or ever will lose their salvation, because they were CHOSEN from the foundation of the world to be saved.
Now due to these first two doctrines of Calvinism, there was a need to have another doctrine that they call LIMITED ATONEMENT, which I will explain in the next letter “L” in their acronym T.U.L.I.P.
The “L” in T.U.L.I.P
The “L” in T.U.L.I.P stands for LIMITED ATONEMENT which basically states that the ATONEMENT that Jesus made was ONLY for the ELECT whom Almighty God has CHOSEN and PREDESTINED to be SAVED from BEFORE the foundation of the world.
In other words, according to this doctrine of LIMITED ATONEMENT of Jesus, as taught by Calvinism and Reformed Theology, teaches that Jesus did NOT die for the sins of everyone in the WHOLE world.
But rather, according to Calvinism, Jesus died ONLY for the sins of the ELECT or the CHOSEN ONES, who are the ONLY people chosen to be saved from before the foundation of the world.
And consequently, if you are not one of the PRE-chosen ones. then there is absolutely nothing that you can do to change your “PREDESTINE” destiny to be cast into the lake of fire.
For you see, according to Calvinism, there is no such thing as FREE WILL, when it comes to being saved.
So, to them, you are either chosen to be saved or you are chosen to be lost.
And thus, according to the way that they “INTERPRET” the Scriptures, no person can CHOOSE to be saved if they were chosen to be lost before the foundation of the world.
Again, these doctrines of Calvinism and doctrines or Reformed Theology also teach that Almighty God will EFFECTUALLY CALL or with a SPECIAL GRACE.
This means that God will CALL or DRAW his ELECT whom he has chosen from BEFORE the foundation of the world to be saved with a SPECIAL grace that is only for the elect.
And they call this grace an IRRESISTIBLE GRACE whereby each and every one of his ELECT or CHOSEN ONES will, without fail, be SAVED.
In other words, NONE of the ELECT will be able to RESIST God’s effectual call to the point of not answering his call eventually.
And therefore, all of the elect will, without fail, be saved, eventually.
Also, this doctrine of this special irresistible grace teaches that absolutely NONE of these ELECT can or ever will lose their salvation, because they were CHOSEN from the foundation of the world to be saved.
In other words, God’s effectual or special grace remains IRRESISTIBLE throughout the life of the ELECT.
Again, to Calvinist Christians, the elect means the specifically selected individuals who were chosen to be saved before the foundation of the world.
Thus, to them, this SPECIAL grace only for the elect is to ensure their salvation no matter what they do or do not do.
In other words, Calvinism and Reformed Theology believe and teach the doctrine of O.S.A.S., which stands for Once Saved Always Saved, sometimes called the doctrine of eternal security.
The “I” in T.U.L.I.P
This brings us to the “I” in TULIP, which stands for the doctrine of IRRESISTIBLE GRACE.
Now again, this doctrine of IRRESISTIBLE grace basically states that Almighty God will DRAW His ELECT to Himself with a GRACE that is IRRESISTIBLE.
But this does not mean that the ELECT CANNOT resist his drawing at times in their life.
However, in the end, NONE of the ELECT ones that are CHOSEN to be SAVED from the foundation of the world will be able to resist God’s grace to the point of not obtaining their SALVATION.
For you see, the ELECT or chosen ones were PREDESTINED to be saved from BEFORE the foundation of the world, according to the doctrine of unconditional election in the five points of Calvinism.
Again, this also means that throughout the life of each and every one of the ELECT individuals that this IRRESISTIBLE GRACE remains in effect to KEEP the ELECT from ever LOSING their salvation.
And, again, this does not mean that the ELECT cannot backslide or fall back into sin for a season of time.
But rather, it means that in the end before they die, ALL of the ELECT will, without fail, be saved no matter what.
This brings us to the letter “P” in their acronym Tulip.
The “P” in T.U.L.I.P.
And finally, the “P” in “T.U.L.I.P.” stands for PERSEVERANCE of the SAINTS.
And the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints basically states that once an ELECT person comes to the Lord Jesus Christ to RECEIVE their SALVATION, then Almighty God will KEEP them, and they will NEVER be able to LOSE their salvation.
So then, to Christians who believe in Calvinism or Reformed Theology, all of the ELECT will be PERSEVERED unto the end by God Himself.
For you see, perseverance is a WORK in the minds of Calvinistic Christians who believe in salvation by grace ALONE and not by WORKS lest any man should boast.
And, therefore, to them, it is impossible for any true born-again Christians to ever lose their salvation.
In other words, according to this doctrine of Calvinism called the PERSEVERANCE of the saints, once a person is BORN-AGAIN or REGENERATED by the Holy Spirit, then they can NEVER LOSE their SALVATION NO MATTER WHAT.
For you see, in their minds, God Himself KEEPS them saved no matter what they do or do not do,
And that is why SOME Calvinistic Christians have called this letter “P” in T.U.L.I.P. to stand for PRESERVATION of the saints, rather than the PERSEVERANCE of the saints.
Again, according to Calvinism, it is Almighty God Himself who is the one who is KEEPING the ELECT from LOSING their salvation, and NOT the ELECT who are keeping themselves from departing from God and losing their salvation.
In other words, Calvinism and Reformed Theology teach that since the ELECT are UNCONDITIONALLY saved, then there is NOTHING the elect can DO or NOT DO in order to KEEP or MAINTAIN their salvation.
In this series of studies listed under the meaning heading called Cc-0. Is Calvinism Biblical we will take a look at all the verses of Scripture that are used by Calvinism and Reformed Theology to try to support their doctrines throughout these studies.
But for now, let us take a brief moment to review what we just covered.
As a little review here is the acronym for T.U.L.I.P. again is the vertical position.
TOTAL DEPRAVITY
UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION
LIMITED ATONEMENT
IRRESISTIBLE GRACE
PERSEVERANCE of the SAINTS
Now, each of these five points of doctrine is interconnected with the other four points.
And what I mean by their being interconnected is that each point or each doctrine of Calvinism and Reformed Theology is dependent upon one or more of the other points of doctrine as being TRUE.
Therefore, if even ONE point is shown to be FALSE, then the WHOLE teaching of Calvinism and Reformed Theology falls along with that ONE point of doctrine that falls.
For you see, once that even one point of Calvinism is clearly shown to be FALSE teaching in the LIGHT of the WHOLE WORD of Almighty God, then the whole doctrine falls apart.
To say this another way, if a church doctrine is based upon another church doctrine that is presumed to be true, but that doctrine is FALSE, then how can the doctrine based upon a false doctrine be true.
In other words, if the Bible ITSELF does NOT teach that every person is BORN with a sinful nature, then ALL of Calvinism and Reformed Theology is proven to be false teaching.
If the Bible ITSELF teaches that there is even ONE CONDITION other than grace ALONE that is required to be saved, then all of Calvinism and Reformed Theology is proven to be false teaching.
And if the Bible ITSELF teaches that Jesus died for ALL people and not just for the so-called elect, then all of Calvinism and Reformed Theology is proven to be false teaching.
And if the Bible ITSELF teaches us that any Christian can become deceived by Satan to depart from God and LOSE their salvation, then ALL of Calvinism and Reformed Theology is proven to be false teaching.
For example, if it is shown from the whole word of God that a TRUE BORN-AGAIN believer that is TRULY SAVED can and do FALL AWAY to the point that they LOSE their SALVATION, as in, they LOSE the right to obtain ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come, then this would consequently make the doctrine of UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION and the doctrine of IRRESISTIBLE GRACE to both be FALSE teaching.
For you see, according to these doctrines of Calvinism, ALL of the elect will, without fail, and PRESERVED by God Himself so that they can never LOSE their salvation no MATTER WHAT a Christian does or does not do.
However, if it is clearly shown from the whole word of Almighty God that true born-again believers have departed from God in the Scriptures, then Calvinism is proven to be false teaching.
And even when the Bible WARNS every believer of this danger of the possibility of falling away, then the Bible ITSELF proves that NOT ALL the ELECT are guaranteed or eternally secure to be SAVED unto the END.
And, thus, that would prove that ALL of Calvinism and Reformed Theology are FALSE teachings.
Again, Calvinism, Reformed Theology, and Grace Alone Christians all teach the same things, but in different words.
All three groups of Christians teach the doctrine of Eternal Security that is also called “once saved always saved” that is abbreviated as OSAS or O.S.A.S.
And the Eternal Security doctrine teaches that once a person accepts Jesus as the Savior to become a true born-again Christian, then they can NEVER lose their salvation no matter what they DO or do NOT do.
Therefore, this universal doctrine of ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED, also called the doctrine of ETERNAL SECURITY, is firmly held by ALL three groups of “Calvinistic” Christians.
However, if any of these doctrines are true, then they must be found to be absolutely true in every jot and title of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
Otherwise, the teachings of Calvinism, Reformed Theology, and Grace Alone Christians MUST be REJECTED as being FALSE teachings.
What I mean by this is that any Scripture can be INCORRECTLY interpreted to mean something that it is not TRULY saying in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
Please read the study called F-2. Is Once Saved Always Saved BIBLICAL?
Also, the doctrine of Total Depravity must NOT contradict even one point of God's word or the whole teaching of Calvinism, Reformed Theology, and Grace Alone Christians falls apart and they are proven to be false teachings.
Please read the study called F-27. The FALSE Doctrine of Original Sin!
For you see, the “T.” in T.U.L.I.P. is called the doctrine of TOTAL depravity.
And that doctrine teaches that every person is BORN with a sinful nature, which is based on the ASSUMPTION that the Roman Catholic doctrine of “Original Sin” is sound Biblical teaching.
But as you will see from the Scriptures, the doctrine of “Original Sin” is also FALSE teaching.
Now, here is where the Grace Alone Christians DIFFER slightly from the Calvinist and the Reformed Theology Christians.
Some Grace Alone Christians do indeed believe that Jesus died for the sins of EVERY person in the world.
Whereas, Calvinism and Reformed Theology Christians believe in the doctrine of Limited Atonement.
So then, the doctrine of LIMITED atonement must be proven without any shadow of a doubt that Jesus did NOT die for ALL of mankind.
For you see, even if ONE verse of Scripture from God’s WORD shows that Jesus did, indeed, die for the sins of the whole world, then the whole teaching of Calvinism and Reformed Theology falls by the wayside and must be rejected as doctrines of devils.
Please read the study called E-2. Almighty God Loves You So Very Much!
Plus I have many other related studies on salvation, according to the Bible itself, along with this study that proves that the “L” in T.U.L.I.P., the doctrine of LIMITED atonement, is false teaching.
Even Grace Alone Christians teach that a person must have FAITH in order to be saved.
So, how can anyone have FAITH to be saved if they are not absolutely sure that Jesus died for the sins of EVERYONE in the entire world?
For you see, faith COMES by hearing the word of God, according to Romans 10:8-17.
Please read Romans 10:8-17.
“But what does it say? (Or what do the Scriptures say?) The word is nigh you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: that is, the word of FAITH, which we PREACH;
Romans 10:9. That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.
Romans 10:10. For (Or BECAUSE) with the heart man BELIEVES unto righteousness, and with the mouth, CONFESSION is made unto salvation. (These are the only the first THREE CONDITIONS of being saved and actually RECEIVING eternal life in the world to come.
#1. A person must first HEAR the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.
#2. Then they must BELIEVE or have FAITH in the heart that Jesus died for THEIR sins and that God raised him from the dead after three days.
#3. And then, you must CONFESS to God and to others in order to be INITIALLY saved or RECONCILED to God.
And by confession, the Bibles means to MAINTAIN our confession of faith unto the END of our life or until Jesus returns, whichever comes first.
For you see, if a true born-again Christian becomes DECEIVED to change their confession of faith to DENY that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God then they will LOSE their salvation.
In other words, every Christian knows and understands that if the take the MARK of the beast, then they will LOSE their salvation)
Romans 10:11. For the Scripture says, WHOSOEVER believes on him shall not be ashamed. (Notice that the Scripture does not say, whosoever of only the so-called ELECT who were supposedly chosen to be saved before the foundation of the world.
But rather, one must read INTO the Scriptures that Calvinistic belief)
Romans 10:12. For (Or BECAUSE) there is no DIFFERENCE between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over ALL is rich unto ALL that call upon him.
Romans 10:13. For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:14. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
Romans 10:15. And how shall they preach, except they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Romans 10:16. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
Romans 10:17. So then, FAITH COMES by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
With that being said, let us begin this study in God’s word to see if the teachings of Calvinism, Reformed Theology, and the Grace Alone Christians stand or fall in the LIGHT of the WHOLE WORD of Almighty God.
To do this, we must take a CLOSE look at each and every one of the five points of doctrine represented by the acronym T.U.L.I.P. beginning with the DOCTRINE of TOTAL DEPRAVITY.
This concludes part one of this series of nine sound Biblical in-depth studies.
Part 1 is a brief summary and INTRODUCTION to what Calvinism and what these three groups of Christians actually teach.
To continue reading part 2 of this study please click on the link called Total Depravity! True or False? Part 2.
Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here? Is God at WAR? **.
More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God.
If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.
For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING!
And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD!
At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.
Or you can scroll down to the MORE dropdown menu list to find those studies as well.
Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **
And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! **
This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century.
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