Why I’m a 4.5 point Calvinist

“John Calvin was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calvin

- for my son, Calvin James MacDougall -

I named my son Calvin James because of the teachings of John Calvin and the New Testament book of James. In my cheeky way, I describe my son’s name as meaning “God is in control, but get off your butt.” This tension in my life, a combination of faith and movement describes how I can be at my healthiest.

I sat down this morning around 3:30 after being woken a up a couple times and prompted to look at a Facebook post I made late last night with a photo I took of the Orion Nebula. After what I felt was a Holy Spirit led comment, I realized I was up for the day … or at least ‘til this afternoon. Coffee brewing, a bit of thought, a discovery of an excellent workbook on Calvin’s Tulip and a quick walk down the street to setup the Seestar S50 for a shoot of the Whirlpool Galaxy before sunup, I managed to read some of the workbook and write the bits above this paragraph. I will give a brief introduction to what Calvin’s Tulip is and then simply copy and paste the intro paragraphs to the five parts of the Tulip from the workbook. I will quote the copy / pasted paragraphs and then comment as needed … particularly to explain the 4.5 out of 5 and which point I half agree with.

Calvin’s Tulip or TULIP is an acronym coined by the students of Calvin who infer these 5 points from his teachings on the Bible. The components of TULIP are:

1. Total Depravity
2. Unconditional Election
3. Limited Atonement
4. Irresistible Grace
5. Perseverance of the Saints

The pastor of the church I grew up in, the great Rev. Dr. Arthur Dekruyter, once told me that John Calvin would roll over in his grave if he knew his students called themselves Calvinists. I am blessed to have been able to call Dr. Dekruyter friend in his later years as we lived down the street from one another and he allowed me to digitize some of his archive. Dr. Dekruyter also had a good sense of humor and I believe is seeing me write this, seeing me call him “great”, and while not rolling over in his grave, I picture him smiling and shaking his head at me. This leads into the first part of TULIP, my fervent belief that I and everyone else is Totally Depraved.

Quotes from TULIP The Five Points of Calvinism

1. Total Depravity (page 33)

Human beings were created with incredible dignity. In all of creation, only mankind was made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27). The Bible highlights the perfection of God’s creation by noting that it was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). But the first couple, Adam and Eve, did not remain long in their innocent state. Soon they would reject the word of God and rebel against the authority of their Creator. The ramifications of this first transgression are still felt today by every person on the planet.

All Christians believe that human beings are naturally sinful. Every parent knows that children do not learn how to sin. They come into the world with a rebellious inclination. But questions still remain. How pervasive is our sinfulness? Does any good remain? How serious are the consequences of our rebellion?

In this lesson, we will explore the nature and extent of humanity’s sinfulness. Calvinists are not optimistic about human nature. Calvinists believe that, apart from divine grace, human nature is totally depraved. This does not mean that every person is as wicked as he could be. Nor does it mean that human beings do not do good things in relation to other men. Rather, total depravity means that man is naturally in total rebellion against God, such that everything he does apart from divine grace is sin.

I must admit I’ve daydreamed about being blackmailed. “Give me $ABC dollars or I’ll tell the world about XYZ.” My reply would be “Ha, I did far worse than that!” Think of a terrible thing, multiply it by 10 and that probably comes close to how totally depraved I feel I have been when I turn from God; much less the complete absence of goodness in my being if God had not chosen to place his Holy Spirit in me. I have told people this, only for them to get worked up. “Don’t beat yourself up like that”, they tell me. What they don’t understand is that there’s a profound peace that comes with total depravity for me. I know that without God I am doomed. But, with God, oh with God, I can become all good things. That knowledge gives me an indescribable warmth and peace.

2. Unconditional Election

In the last lesson (3. Limited Atonement … the workbook teaches TULIP out of order for a better conceptual flow. As a nerd, I’ll stick to the acronym), you learned that there are multiple intentions in the atonement. Christ died so that any person can be saved, if they will only believe, and he died so that the elect will assuredly come to faith in him and be saved. In other words, while God loves all human beings in one sense, there is a deeper love that he reserves only for his elect.

Immediately, a host of questions arises. What does it mean to be elect? How does a person become elect? Are there any criteria that we must meet? Does God foresee who will one day have faith and, based upon that, choose people to be his own? Or is election completely unconditional? And if election is unconditional, how is God just to choose some and not others?

This lesson will unpack the doctrine of unconditional election. The word “unconditional” means that there are no prior conditions which a person must meet if they are to be chosen by God. In other words, God’s choice of an individual is rooted solely in his sovereign will. As you work through this material, you may want to refer back to the explanation of God’s sovereignty set forth in Lesson 1.

The idea of unconditional election is a tough pill to swallow for many. I believe the apostle Paul described it best in Romans 9:19–24. To put in my own words, assume God is like a potter. A potter is master over the clay. He can choose to make a piece that he ends up cherishing and another piece that is for everyday use. Paul uses the words honorable and common to describe the end results. In a human perspective, God may seem like a jerk. Why doesn’t he just design everyone for honroable use, make everyone to be His? Beats me, I’m not God. I do believe that in His love and goodness, he allows the common to not care about him, to not have something in them that shames them for not wanting God. On the other hand, those that he chooses to be close to Him do not have any choice in the matter. They are pulled to God whether they want to or not.

I chose to live the first half of my life under the concept of “cheap grace” as coined by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In this I knew from an early age that God was pulling me and was blessed with an understanding of election. If God picked me and I couldn’t get away then I’m going to do whatever I want and in the end I’ll still be ok. Yeah, in retrospect that way of life really sucked. I don’t really know why God picked me or anyone else in the first place. Now however, I do feel a compelling joy in being bold for Him, that I may reflect His glory and goodness. I’m sure I’ll continue to struggle and will likely screw some things up. But I’m content to be where I’m at now spiritually.

3. Limited Atonement

The doctrine of the atonement refers to the accomplishment of Christ in his life, death, and resurrection on behalf of sinners. This doctrine is the heart of the gospel. Apart from the work of Christ, sinners have no hope of being accepted by a holy God.

All Christians agree that Christ died for us. But what does it mean that he died for us? And who is included in “us”? Did Christ make salvation possible for all men? Or did he actually accomplish salvation for some men? And if the latter is true, does he only love those whom he died to save?

The doctrine of limited (or definite) atonement is probably the most controversial of the five points of Calvinism. The reason is not hard to see. The very name is controversial. Who wants to limit the atonement? Doesn’t the Bible teach that “God so loved the world that he sent his only Son to die?” However, unless we are prepared to say that all human beings throughout history will be saved, then we must put some “limits” on the atonement. In other words, all Christians who are not universalists limit the atonement. Either we limit the efficacy of atonement or the extent of the atonement. Arminians limit the former; Calvinists limit the latter.

Limited atonement is the point I can see both sides of. It basically states that the sacrifice of God the son, aka Jesus was made only for the elect. I guess, in my understanding, I agree with this. To me, it makes sense because I believe God is efficient. I say to myself why would God dole out atonement for the sins of those who will never care about Him on earth? “Ah ha!”, I then say to myself as I ponder the feebleness of my understanding of efficiency and infinity. I know God is infinite. If God has no boundaries or limits, what is the point in being efficient. Around and around I go. One of these days this point may be the one that gives me a stroke for thinking too hard.

4. Irresistible Grace

If it is true that we are dead in sin, blind to beauty, and enslaved to sinful passions, then the only hope of rescues lies outside of ourselves. If we naturally suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness and refuse to honor him as God or thank him, then what is needed is a radical change in the core of who we are. We don’t just need assistance; we need resurrection.

But this raises a host of questions. If God is sovereign in salvation, what is the role of human faith? Are we merely robots? What is the relationship between the new birth and our faith? And does God give this sovereign grace to all men or only to some?

In this lesson, we will study the doctrine of irresistible grace. In advocating this doctrine, Calvinists are denying that salvation is a cooperative effort between God and man, as if God performs part of our salvation and we perform the rest. Rather, salvation is all of sovereign grace, from the beginning to the end. This does not mean that human beings are totally passive in this affair. However, the decisive action belongs to God.

Irresistible Grace relates back to election for me. God is in charge. He picks whom he picks and if he picks me, the sooner I accept him, the sooner my life will become more satisfying. I spent years running from God in one form or another, all the while knowing deep down that I could never fully get away from him. Oh the folley of my pursuits.

5. Perseverance of the Saints

One of the most common struggles among professing Christians concerns the security and perseverance of the believer. The Bible contains both glorious promises of eternal security and terrifying warnings of final judgment. How can we put these two realities together?

Can Christians lose their salvation? Can Christ lose a Christian? If we are eternally secure, is perseverance necessary? If we must persevere, then can we have genuine assurance in this life? What does it mean to persevere to the end? Can we ever truly know if we are saved?

The final lesson will seek to address these questions. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is sometimes referred to as the preservation of the saints because God is the one who preserves us in faith. However, it is important to stress both preservation and perseverance so that we don’t fall into error. Marginalizing God’s sustaining work can result in fearful saints and an undue emphasis on our efforts. Marginalizing the necessity of endurance can result in presumption and false confidence among professing Christians. This lesson seeks to avoid both of these errors by emphasizing both God’s preservation and our perseverance.

As I tried to run from God and embrace cheap grace, what I was running from was the love of God. Looking back, what I ran towards is the opposite of love. I ran towards fear. I was chosen by God to be close to him before I was born. There is nothing I can do to escape that reality. Yet I tried, and in trying I removed love from my life and filled the void with fear. That lead to a abundance of problems, some that I will be forced to face for years to come. My actions have consequences, saved or not.

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Calvinists, for lack of a better term, often identify themselves by how many points of his Tulip they agree with. I consider myself a 4.5 point Calvinist because I don’t have the desire to argue Limited Atonement and because, in the grand scheme of things I don’t think it really matters which side of the fence someone lands on for that point. After all, what really matters is that there is a God in control of all things and none of us are Him.

Thank you LORD for prompting me to get off my butt and write this.