Calvinism: A Response Questions for Small Group Discussion

1. What has Christ done for you?
2. What has Christ worked in you?
3. If believers are chosen unconditionally, what should the natural response to this be?
4. Which is a better question between these two: a) Have I accepted Christ? or b) Has Christ accepted me?
5. How does a man who is an enemy of God become a child of God?
6. Do you believe that unless God initiates the work of salvation, it will never happen?
7. Have you been chosen by God? How do you know? (I.e., How do you know if you’re among the elect?)
8. Is there still corruption and wickedness in you? How do you know? If yes, then what are the dangers of tolerating sin in your life?
9. Does God protect you? If yes, what do you think would happen if He were to withdraw His protective hand? If no, how are you a) still alive, or b) able to avoid certain sins?
10. Was Calvin the first to teach these things? Why do we use the term “Calvinism” today?
11. What were the people in Scripture like who were aware of God’s sovereign power? Think of David, Isaiah, Peter, Paul, etc.
12. What has the recent teaching on Calvinism done for your walk with Christ?
13. Are you dependent on God? Why?
14. Are you proud of your own abilities or goodness?
15. Do you completely trust God’s timing, or do you sometimes try to hurry along what you think is His will?

Note: The last few minutes of this message were not recorded.

We examine the last petal in TULIP this morning. This fifth and final point is not only very important, it is very personal. The perseverance of the saints, also referred to as the security of salvation, is regularly debated and discredited if not flat-out denied.

One of the reasons “security” of salvation troubles us is because we’ve all known family members or friends who said they were Christians and, to different degrees, even lived like Christians who later walked away from Christ. We not only grieve that they turned away, we feel like it is insensitive or arrogant to question the reality of their salvation. In order to be thoughtful and sympathetic some are tempted to conclude that they must have really had, then lost, their salvation.

Of course that’s not the only complication, because we also know people who say they are saved, yet live like the worst of pagans and claim “once saved, always saved” as excuse for their behavior. They say they believe in Jesus, they asked Him into their hearts, and therefore they can’t do anything to lose their salvation. On one hand we know that a person isn’t saved by what they do, but on the other hand we know that believers are dead to sin so they shouldn’t live in it any longer. We’re called judgmental if we question their salvation, but we appear to justify their behavior if we don’t question. Some are tempted to just deny “once saved, always saved” rather than allow others to use it as an excuse for their sin.

But perhaps the biggest problem is the one closest to home, namely our own experience of doubts, fears, and sin. Perseverance of the saints sounds good, but what if we don’t persevere? What if we walk away? Our faith seems real, what if it isn’t? We wonder if we’ll keep believing when sometimes doubt seems so deep and dark. We question our salvation because we’ve sinned…again. Security of salvation is nice for other people, but we are too aware of our weakness, inconsistencies, and remaining depravity to think we’re secure.

So our observations, our experience, and our added awareness of biblical and church history brings little surprise when men make shipwreck of the faith. But there are biblical answers to each of these problems AND there is great confidence of sure salvation available to believers.

The Fifth Biblical Burden

of Calvinism: The Perseverance of the Saints

The Perseverance of the Saints is not only the final puzzle piece to Calvinism, it is one of the most thrilling truths in all of God’s Word. I remember a few years ago at a Shepherds’ Conference when Dr. MacArthur posed the question, “What is the best part about salvation?” His answer was the security of salvation. The reason he gave was that even though each part of our salvation is breathtaking, if salvation isn’t guaranteed to last, what good is that?

The reason he asked and answered the way he did was related to his study of Jude and the spiritual battle for the truth. Most of us would be too scared to even join the army, let alone engage in battle, if we thought there was the slightest possibility of losing our faith and our salvation. We know our weakness all too well. But if our salvation is guaranteed by God Himself then let’s fight!

Our confidence level is always associated with the object of our attention. For example, hope and confidence buoy up to the surface when our eyes are fixed on God (Look Only to Christ) but they nosedive like nobody’s business when our eyes get stuck on ourselves. This is one of the reasons why Calvinism is so good for us, since it reminds us that God saves sinners. Salvation is His work from first to last. The Father chose us in eternity past, based not on us but according to the purpose of His will (unconditional election). Christ came and made atonement for His sheep and He secured our forgiveness (limited atonement). The Spirit gave us new life, gifted us with repentance and faith, and enabled us to hear and follow the Shepherd (irresistible grace).

Every part, all along is God-centered. The only thing we bring to the table is our depravity, which is not helpful and the more we bring the worse we look. So God saves sinners. He planned salvation, purchased salvation, and applied salvation. And don’t think for a moment that He doesn’t guarantee salvation.

The Arminian says all who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation. Sinners can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, by falling into a state of serious sin, etc. This is consistent with their system because it emphasizes man’s ability and responsibility. It also seems to fit with some passages that make salvation sound conditional, contingent on man sustaining his faith.

The Calvinist says all who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit are assured eternal salvation. They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and therefore continue to persevere in faith. This is consistent with their system because it emphasizes God’s initiative and sovereignty. I’d like us to consider three God-centered parts of His guarantee from Scripture: His Plan, His Power, and His Promise.

1. His PLAN to Finish What He Started

God’s blueprint includes everything necessary to finish salvation, not just to start it. Just like there was nothing we could do to earn our salvation, so there is nothing we can do (in and of ourselves) to keep our salvation. It is entirely His program and production.

The guarantee of our glorification in Romans 8:28-39 is the culmination of Paul’s teaching on the three foremost features of salvation (justification 3:21-5:21, sanctification 6:1-8:17, and glorification 8:18-39).

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Salvation isn’t done until we are conformed to the image of His Son, and we won’t be fully conformed until heaven. Some transformation is presently taking place in sanctification, but our transformation isn’t complete until glorification. His plan includes justification all the way through glorification. Our glorification, that is, our being made perfectly righteous, is guaranteed, and in God’s mind is just as “finished” as our justification (notice the past tense of glorified). That’s precisely why Paul has such confidence in the rest of the chapter.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Perseverance” doesn’t mean saints won’t die, it means we won’t stop believing even when we’re faced with dying. It doesn’t mean there won’t be lost battles, it means victory in the war has already been achieved. Absolutely nothing can separate us from His love, which reminds us that His love for us is what keeps us, not our love for Him.

Jesus also talks about eternal security as the will of God in John 6, especially in verses 37-40.

37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

All along the plan was to secure the successful, complete salvation of all those chosen by the Father. Jesus will not lose any of His sheep.

So how will He make this happen?

2. His POWER to Help Us Persevere

Not only is it His plan to bring our salvation to completion, His power ensures it. The certainty of salvation is in direct proportion to His ability. Not only that, there is a connection between His laying down His life for the sheep and Him keeping them safe. He is invested in our redemption and won’t give us up.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

No one will snatch the sheep out of the Shepherd’s hands. Security is the reality. Even more so, no one is able to snatch believers out of the Father’s hand. Insecurity is an impossibility. The sovereign God with supreme power who created the universe exercises that power to keep us. If there was any inability on God’s part there would be uncertainty on ours. But His limitless ability should lead to our total confidence.

Another person who learned much about God’s power to keep His people was Peter, who wrote his first letter after three denials of Christ.

1 Peter 1:3 According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Our eternal inheritance is prepared and kept for us, and we are not going to miss out because God’s power is guarding us.

And notice an additional, little, vital insight in these verses: that we are guarded by God’s power through faith. Faith is the instrument of God’s work in us; it is the channel of God’s power. Those who get God’s power see it as they keep believing. And this is why we talk about perseverance of the saints as opposed to “once saved, always saved.” Is that a true statement? Of course. But no one can use that to lay claim to salvation though they’ve abandoned faith. True salvation is recognized as faith perseveres, and faith perseveres because God maintains it.

This isn’t to say that faith is never weak or never doubts. Peter, with all of his failures, is a perfect example of ups and downs. Remaining sin is real and it will really eat at our obedience and take bites out of our assurance. But true faith is tenacious. It may struggle but it will stay. The overall picture of a truly saved person will be a life of God-strengthened faith that produces visible obedience and that endures.

3. His PROMISE of Eternal Life

And that is why we celebrate His promise of salvation as revealed in verses like John 3:16: whoever believes will have eternal life.

It probably could go without saying, but let’s not overlook the obvious that eternal life is a lame promise without security. Short-term and maybe endless life is not the promise. It is everlasting, never-ending, God-guaranteed eternal life. Those who get eternal life believe, and those who keep eternal life believe because God enabled them to believe in the first place and God keeps them believing after that!

His promise is born out of His plan and is as sure as He is God. We know whom we have believed, and we are convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to us (2 Timothy 1:12).

Let’s also not forget that God has given every believe a down payment on eternal life: the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

The Spirit enables faith and fortifies faith and seals faith until our final salvation is revealed.

That does mean that once you are truly saved you are always saved. That also means that those who walk away from the faith were never truly saved.

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Those who don’t continue don’t have God’s power. They don’t have God’s power because they don’t have God-given faith. But if your faith is the size of a mustard seed, and if faith keeps keeping your head above water, then you can have great confidence to fight the fight of faith, because God is keeping you save and secure for His sake.

Conclusion

The saints will persevere, because He planned their perseverance, He purchased everything necessary for their perseverance, He guaranteed their perseverance with His Spirit, and we can be sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). His preservation causes our perseverance.

Jude 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Some Suggested Small Group Questions

• Why is it important if we can or cannot lose our salvation?
• Can a person live any kind of life and still be saved?
• How much can a person sin and still be saved?
• What parts do the Persons of the Trinity play in our perseverance? Father? Spirit? Does Jesus have anything to do with our perseverance? (Look up Hebrews 7:25 for at least part of the answer.)
• Could perseverance of the saints stand alone or does it require points 2-4 (unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace) as well?
• Is it possible to have assurance of salvation? If yes, how? Do you have assurance of your eternal salvation?

First, the Story of a People with No Story. Second, The Amazing Story. Third, The Good Shepherd. And fourth, Calvinism as a Nickname for the Amazing Story.

The Story of a People With No Story

Is anyone amazed anymore?

No. Not really. We’re not amazed by anything. In fact, we’re not only not amazed, we’re apathetic about what ought to amaze us. We are the culture of the unamazed and the apathetic.

And not ironically, so many people’s lives are empty, meaningless, and frustrated. It’s because the only thing they have to live for is themselves. And at the end of the day, living for oneself is not the fabulous life because no one is really that fabulous. It’s not a worthy cause. There is no bigger picture, no greater cause, and nothing amazes because life is no bigger than the mirror.

Of course, most people figure out that they’re not that fantastic somewhere along the line so they start searching for meaning elsewhere. They buy stuff and go places and read magazine articles and join groups hoping that something will offer some relief, respite, and significance to life. They are looking for answers.

Academic philosophers talk about these answers in terms of stories. Every culture and religion has its own story, and most of the time culture and religion are closely connected. In our modern day, multi-culture, pluralistic world each person is coached to meld a story that works for them from whatever parts and pieces they like from all the options. Anyone can have any story they like as long as no one suggests that their story is the right story. Especially anathema is talk of there being only one story. The “one story that fits all” is scorned as the “metanarrative.”

David Wells defines the metanarrative as “an overarching structure that enables people to see the connections of its parts and where it’s all heading.” In other words, a metanarrative is a master story, a grand narrative, or a worldview. (Above All Earthly Pow’rs: Christ in a Postmodern World, p.74) It is a story about stories, encompassing and explaining all other ‘little stories.’ It is a worldview that provides a framework upon which an individual’s own experiences and thoughts may be ordered.

And the postmodern culture is at best skeptical about the possibility of one, true story for everyone and at worse our culture is antagonistic and hostile to the idea of the metanarrative.

Of course most people sitting at home in their Lazy Boy are not talking about a “metanarrative” or crafting a clear definition of their worldview. But this itself is a view of the world. And in fact, these people are just as busy trying to construct their own significance and meaning. Their story may be no bigger than the course of their commute, but it is their story. It is the way they look at and approach life, work, relationships, and the world. They include whatever they want and whatever they like into their story. Their story is also likely to be in constant flux since new options turn up around every corner . The only constant is that there are no causes, no crusades, no bigger pictures to fit into. There is nothing to live for except self, and there certainly is nothing to die for (since dying for yourself isn’t very beneficial). Wells describes it like this:

Postmoderns are no longer actors in a vast and unfolding drama. They are actors in their own petit dramas. We are but the pieces of confetti that flutter down, each on its own erratic course, none joined to the others but each making its own solitary way through the air. (p.250)

In other words, life apart from a big story is disconnected, weightless, and pointless.

Wells points out that the assumptions are the same for both the intellectual and the lay-thinker. Both live like there is not one, comprehensive worldview, there is no ultimate, final truth, and there is no meaningful purpose (p. 90). Both act like nothing is more important than themselves. Both are characters in a story that is no amazing story.

Christians, however, know there is a bigger picture. We believe that there is actually one, eternal, universal story–the metanarrative–that explains everything in the world and that explains where everything is going. It sheds light on every event in history, every physical phenomenon in our bodies, it accounts for good and evil, it reveals why some are in power and why others are oppressed by that power.

Our story explains it all and where it is all going and the purpose behind it all. We know that this is a really great story, in fact, it’s The Amazing Story.

The Amazing Story

Having no story is no good. But as believers we have no need to grope for a good story. In fact, we are already part of an amazing story. We are part of God’s eternal, infinite Love Story.

So what is our “bigger picture,” the Christian metanarrative, God’s love story? Who are the principal characters? And where do we learn about our story?

The last question is easiest for us to answer. Our story has been revealed in God’s book: the Bible. But surprisingly, many who read the same story reach different conclusions. For example, the key players in the grand story are not the ones billed in the church over the last hundred years or so. We’ve been mislead to think that men are at center stage, but that’s not where they belong. And the bigger picture is not about the salvation of sinners primarily, though that is certainly part of the story line. It is an eternal love story, but not like we typically think.

The amazing story is first and foremost about the glory of the triune God. The three Persons of the Trinity have the title roles. And the entire plot revolves around the infinite, eternal love of the Father for His Son. The biblical panorama puts God on display, not men. Too often we get it backward.

Undoubtedly someone is raising their hand to protest, “But what about John 3:16?” or something similar. “God so loved the world that He sent His Son.” There is no question that God loves the world, but His love for the world is not His first love. The Father’s love for the Son came first and provides the strategic motivation not only for creation but also for redemption.

I remember the first time I ever read this. In the summer of 1996 a friend of mine gifted me with John MacArthur’s commentary on Titus. (You can also read an updated and extended account in MacArthur’s forward to A Long Line of Godly Men.) It was normal for me in those days to read a commentary like any other book, so I started on page one. And it wasn’t too long before my understanding of the Christian metanarrative got a major adjustment. The eyes of my heart were opened and my worldview reshaped in Paul’s greeting.

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

Verse 2 includes an intriguing phrase, namely that God promised eternal life before the ages began (ESV). The NAS translates the same phrase, “long ages ago,” but that is a bit misleading. That gives the impression that God made this promise of eternal life a long time ago in the Old Testament. And while there is no doubt that God revealed His promise of eternal life in the OT to Abraham and Moses and David and the prophets, that is not the meaning of the phrase.

The original phrase, πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων, refers to the time prior to creation and therefore previous to the Old Testament. That’s why the KJV translates it, “before the world began,” and even the NIV gets one right with “before the beginning of time.” The promise was made when the world did not yet exist and during the time before time.

So that prompts the pivotal question: to whom did God make this promise of eternal life? The world was not in existence. Men had not been created. So who existed with God before the ages began? The answer is His Son! All three Persons of the Trinity exist eternally and this promise of eternal life was a promise the Father made to the Son. Obviously the Father wasn’t promising the Son that the Son Himself would have eternal life, but the Father promised that a group from every tribe, tongue, and nation would have eternal life through and for the Son.

Let’s investigate this promise a bit more. What was happening before the world was created? The Trinity was writing the story of salvation in the eternal counsels, and the promise of eternal life included election.

2 Timothy 1:9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

God called us, believers, before the ages began (the exact same Greek phrase as Titus 1:2). In fact, He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4-5). In eternity past the Father was choosing a people and promising to redeem them as a gift for His Son.

But this is a costly gift, and the purchase involved Christ’s death on the cross. To fulfill His part of this eternal covenant, the Son agreed to deliver the elect by His own blood.

Hebrews 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

So before the world or mankind was ever created, the Father chose to express His great love by promising His Son a redeemed people who would love and serve and glorify the Son forever. These were hand selected by the Father for that very purpose, which is why their names are written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8, 17:8).

And again, the Son also has a responsibility in this covenant: to shed His blood on their behalf. The Son agreed to lay down His life, to die as a substitute for their sin. He consecrated His life for all whom the Father gave Him (John 17:19).

This is the precise group of people that Jesus referred to as His mission. For example, in John 6 He identified this group as His purpose for coming.

John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

John 6:39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

Before time, the Father elected a group of people to give to His Son as a love gift, as an expression of His infinite love for His Son. The Father makes the promise and does the choosing. The Son gives His life for theirs.

We look in on a piece of this eternal plan in John 10, where specifically the imagery of a shepherd with his sheep is used to describe the relationship Jesus has to His people. We’re reminded in verse 29 that the sheep are given to the Son by the Father. And back in verses 11 and 15 Jesus explains His role, the Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep that they might have life and have it abundantly (v.10).

Now this is a story! This is a big, eternal, love story. But the story is not first or foremost about the love of the Shepherd for the sheep, though that is true and historic. This is a love story about the eternal, infinite love between the Father and the Son. MacArthur puts it this way:

It is astonishing to consider that those who are redeemed are caught up in this magnificent eternal covenant that two members of the Godhead have made with each other in order to demonstrate the infinite scope of their love for each other. (Titus, p.12)

This is the kind of thing that gets us out of bed in the morning. This metanarrative explains the purpose for everything. Better than that, this is the kind of thing that guarantees we’ll be spending every morning for a trillion times a trillion years with Christ if we are one of His sheep.

But don’t miss the point of the story. The reason this particular group was chosen is not because they were inherently valuable as a gift, but because the Son was infinitely valuable to receive the gift. Salvation is about something far greater than our personal happiness, better marriages, more obedient kids, or vocational fulfillment. We have done a poor job of knowing our story–which is really His story, of knowing our place in His story, and we’ve certainly done a lousy job of communicating and celebrating His story.

We’ve mangled the story so much that most of the time we present the key characters as the sheep. We talk like the sheep are so precious. The sheep are so beloved. The sheep are so special. Actually, the sheep are so stupid. In our (perhaps well-intentioned) enthusiasm to see others trust Christ and have this blood-bought eternal life, we tend to minimize the God parts, the eternal parts, and the sovereign parts because we’re afraid people won’t be interested in a story where they aren’t at the center. We try to evangelize and grow churches by telling men that they are the reason, the center, and the goal of God’s work. “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”

But they can get a man-centered story anywhere. “Choose your own adventure” stories are retailed by every religion, sold by psychologists, advertised by professionals, hawked by educators, and sadly peddled in most churches. Everywhere we turn in our culture there is another man-centered story to choose from. What the lost can’t get is the truth. What they can’t get is something bigger and more meaningful then their little life-dramas. They need to hear the church proclaiming the truth of the gospel, the eternal love story of redemption. People are parched for it, even if they don’t know what exactly they’re thirsty for. May God help us to get our story straight.

The Good Shepherd

John 10:22-30 provides a small peak into this eternal covenant with the curtains pulled back by Jesus Himself. Here we see Good Shepherd is at the center of the Amazing Story.

The Setting

This is the end of John’s presentation of Jesus’ public ministry. We’re at the end of three years of Jesus’ traveling, preaching, miracle working, and confronting.

John 10:22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.

This answers the where and the when. The “where” was the temple, in particular the colonnade of Solomon which was a row of columns supporting a roof, located on the east side of the temple overlooking the Kidron Valley. It would have provided a bit of shelter during bad weather. (We read about this very same location in Acts 3:11 and 5:12 when the apostles preached there.)

The “when” was the Feast of Dedication. The “Feast of Dedication” was not established by the OT. It is connected with an inter-testamental event, namely that in 167 BC Antiochus Epiphanes ransacked Jerusalem and polluted the temple. During this time it was a capital offense to possess a copy of the law or to circumcise a son. Within a few years the Jews grew strong enough to revolt and under the leadership of Judas Maccabaeus they recaptured the temple on 25 Kislev (December) 164 BC.

The people celebrated the rededication of the temple for eight days, and it was decreed that a similar eight day feast of dedication was to be held every year. This is Hanukkah. It was also called the Feast of Lights because of the lighting of lamps not only in the temple but in individual homes.

This is probably two months after verse 21, since the events from 7:1-10:21 took place around the Feast of Booths or the end of October. This is the last time we see Jesus in Jerusalem before His return for Passover in the spring when He will be killed.

It is ironic that the very Feast the Jews were celebrating was part of their story. They were awaiting the fulfillment of temple worship, the Messiah, but they missed the fact that Jesus was the fulfillment of the feast. Their story involved national and political deliverance so that life would be better. God’s story was of deliverance from sin so to eternal life as a gift for His Son. Their story was close, but they misunderstood God’s story.

The Question

24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

I think the so is an interesting way to begin the verse. It’s a “therefore.” Because Jesus was walking in the temple the Jews gathered around Him. The idea of gathered is that they circled around Him, they hemmed Him in. It’s like they see their opportunity, because there is no mention of any crowds. For that matter, even the disciples aren’t mentioned though it’s likely they were near. Now the Jews can have it out with Him without a friendly multitude to protect Him.

And they challenge Him. They demand from Him an answer. We get the idea that they were ready to take immediate, decisive, and hostile action against Jesus depending on His answer (especially since in verse 31 they take up stones to stone Him).

The Answer

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my sheep.

For all the building of suspense Jesus says, “I already told you.” They came looking for a fight and Jesus says they should know better. And though He hadn’t verbally announced that He was the Messiah publicly, He had told a few individuals (like the Samaritan woman in 4:26 and the man born blind in 9:35). But more than that, His very works corroborated everything concerning His person and His office as Messiah. Those with ears to hear and eyes to see did hear and see. But the only thing clearly obvious to these Jews was that they did not believe. Yet problem was not lack of revelation, but their spiritual condition which caused them to reject His words and His works.

And notice Jesus explanation of their unbelief in verse 26. It’s not “You are not part of my sheep because you don’t believe.” It’s the exact opposite cause and effect. You do not believe because you are not part of My sheep.

I think this is actually the point of this paragraph. There is more to it, but the primary significance is that Jesus is explaining why some don’t believe the story. Recognizing who Jesus is is not something available to all, but only to the sheep. “The knowledge of Christ is not the natural possession of any man. Faith is always a gift of God” (Morris, p.520). As D.A. Carson put it, “Their massive unbelief is not surprising, it is to be expected, and falls under the umbrella of God’s sovereignty.”

Then in verses 27-30 Jesus contrasts those who are not His sheep with those who are.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Jesus’ identity is self-authenticating when the sheep hear His voice. They have no doubt about who He is. This is a great picture, and more of it is detailed at the beginning of the chapter. But the idea is probably of a pen owned by a few families, some distance from their houses. These families would share the cost of the pen and the duties of watching the sheep by putting their different flocks together. The picture is of the shepherd coming to the pen and knowing his sheep and his sheep knowing him. They have a relationship. More than that, the sheep are His before He calls.

And the story of the Good Shepherd and His sheep includes eternal security. Of course, the very idea of eternal life means that it must be secure; eternal life does not end. But the key to security is not our hold of Christ but His hold of us.

The fact of their security is made in verse 28, no one will snatch them out of my hand. The certainty of their security is described in verse 29, no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

The sheep did nothing to earn their eternal life, nor can they do something to lose it. The certainty of the sheep’s salvation is entirely dependent on something outside of themselves, or rather Someone. Jesus does not fail in His eternal mission. His assignment was to save (and preserve) all those given to Him by the Father.

30 I and the Father are one.”

The mission of the Son is part of the plan of the Father.

And, don’t forget the response of the Jews in verses 31-39, as they picked up stones to stone Him. They didn’t like His story.

Calvinism as a Nickname for the Amazing Story

Let me make Four observations about the relationship between the Shepherd and His Sheep.

First, the sheep are chosen by the Father for the Shepherd. The Father chose them, elected them. John 10:29, “My Father who has given them to me.” This is an arranged marriage between the Son and His bride, the church.

Second, the sheep are delivered by the death of the Shepherd. John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” Verse 15, “I lay my life down for the sheep.” His sacrifice was specific. It was not for someone else’s sheep or for the goats or the thieves. Jesus agreed to His part of the covenant on behalf of those chosen by the Father for Him.

Third, the sheep are drawn by the Spirit to follow the Shepherd. True, the Spirit isn’t mentioned specifically in John 10, but look at the phrase, “My sheep hear My voice.” How is that possible? Look back at John 6:37: “All that the Father gives to me will come to me.” Then look in verse 44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” We know from the rest of the NT that the Father sends the Spirit to do His drawing. Perhaps Jesus doesn’t mention the Spirit yet because the Spirit hadn’t come yet. But this is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey My rules” (Ezekiel 36:27). The third person of the Trinity has a crucial role as well.

Fourth, the sheep are kept by the power of the Shepherd. Of course this is in perfect union with the Father, and for that matter, it is practically worked out through the Spirit.

Now if we could add one more observation at the beginning you may recognize a pattern. Perhaps if we added something like: the sheep are totally depraved without the Shepherd. Do you see the pattern? It’s the Five Points of Calvinism: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints. This is the story; this is the gospel, and Calvinism is just a nickname. But the emphasis is on God, the Father, Son, and Spirit, saving sinners for God’s glory.

When we tell the story with men at the center, that is actually a different story altogether.

Some people suggest that even if this is all true, it’s not really that beneficial. But Jesus didn’t think it was unhelpful. In fact, Jesus taught this to unbelievers, and hostile unbelievers at that. The truth of God’s eternal sovereignty in salvation is a cause for celebration for those who believe. Peace and hope and awe is increased for the Christian when he understands Calvinism. But Calvinism is also an explanation of our world and a motivation to preach. Go back to Titus 1.

Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

God promises eternal life to His elect. He brings His elect to faith through knowledge of the truth. And He brings knowledge of truth through the preaching of His Word. The good story is not just good information, the good story itself is effective to save people. Our doxology and our evangelism are the same story.

Conclusion

Before we go tonight I want to entreat unbelievers to consider that the gospel of John was written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have life in His name. Of course, we know that if you do believe that is because you have been chosen by the Father in eternity past not because you are valuable, but because His Son is valuable. And if you believe, you can know that the Son laid down His life for yours and the Spirit effectually called you to this eternal life in the gospel. You can be saved, but your salvation is part of something much bigger than you.

And I also want to remind believers that we will have contact with many who see Jesus and see His ministry and His miracles and His teaching in Scripture who will not believe. But this is no surprise to God, nor should it be to us. The reason for their unbelief is either because God hasn’t called them yet or because are not one of His sheep. Of course, we don’t know what He knows so we just keep proclaiming the gospel anyway. But His sheep know Him, they know His voice, and they follow Him.

The eternal and infinite love of the Father for the Son is not one of many good stories. It is the only story, whether people embrace it or not, and it is the only good story, good in it’s provision of eternal life for us and glorious as it reveals the infinite love of the Trinity. Our responsibility is to confront our culture with the only life giving story of the Gospel as a framework for all existence. This story is real, revealed, and to be remembered, rehearsed, and recited by the people of God (Wells, p.172).

God’s inbreaking, saving, vanquishing rule is His from first to last. It has no human analogs, no duplicates, no surrogates, allows of no human synergism. (p.214)

This is His amazing story. We’re to busy proclaiming this story while waiting for the next chapter, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not only true, it is powerful! On this Easter Sunday (and for that matter, every Sunday) we celebrate not only the historical fact that Jesus rose from the dead, but we also celebrate the impact of that reality.

We–as believers–are here today because of His resurrection. And what I mean by that is more than simply that we are here because we know the truth of His resurrection, but our being here is a direct result of His resurrection.

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Our regeneration is necessarily connected to His resurrection. Unless He comes back from death, we have no hope of escaping death ourselves. We are raised to walk in newness of life by the same resurrection power that caused Christ to walk out of the grave.

Look again at verse 3. “He has caused us to be born again…through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Our new birth is a result of His resurrection. His new life is the means by which we have new life. No one is born again by any other means than Christ’s resurrection. And, all those for whom Christ died and rose again will be regenerated. Our spiritual birth is a consequence of His rising from the dead.

So our celebration this morning is only possible because of His resurrection. It isn’t just that Easter is on our calendar, it’s that Easter is the cause of our new life. One commentator put it this way:

Without the Resurrection there would have been no Christian church. Christianity is an Easter religion. ~Archibald Hunter

And as we continue our series on Calvinism this morning, I wonder if you can see the connection between our being born again the the Five Points.

First, we have need to be born again. Jesus said as much to Nicodemus in John 3. This second birth/spiritual birth is necessary because when we come into the world we are dead in our trespasses and sins. We are by nature children of the devil, not children of God. We are polluted with sin in a debilitating–we can do no good, and depraved–all our our doing is corrupted, way. We are Totally Depraved.

Second, if we are to escape our condition, someone other than and outside of us must choose to free us. This choice cannot be based on seeing something good in us, or seeing that we would believe, because as we just recalled, we could not and would not do anything creditable! So God elected to save a people for His Son. He predestined many for salvation based on nothing but His own good pleasure. Those that would be born again are Unconditionally Elected by the Father.

Third, the Son came to lay His life down for all those the Father gave Him. Again, this is a great multitude of all kinds of people all over the world, from every tribe, tongue, and nation. The Son bore the penalty for His sheep and through His resurrection there is power to bring them to new, spiritual life. By His life every believer has life. This is Particular Atonement.

That leads to the fourth petal in TULIP.

Irresistible Grace (or Efficacious Call)

Now at this point, the Arminian says that anyone can believe and have this new birth, AND anyone can reject as well. Specifically, the Arminian says that the Holy Spirit cannot regenerate fallen man only after he believes. The Holy Spirit does all He can to bring every fallen man to salvation, but until fallen man responds in faith, of his own free will, the Spirit cannot give life. Faith precedes and makes possible the New Birth. Personal faith brings spiritual life.

In order to believe this, the Arminian must assume two things, one thing about man and one about God. He must assume that man is not dead in his sin, because man must not only capable of knowing his bad condition, he must also capable of doing something about it. In fact, if man doesn’t act first, there is no hope of salvation. The Arminian is also compelled to assume that God is not in control, either because He isn’t powerful enough to be in control or that He has voluntarily chosen to give up His control. But these two assumptions are rooted in human logic and pride, not in Scripture.

On the other hand, the Calvinist says the Holy Spirit regenerates every one of God’s chosen people, enabling them to believe. The Holy Spirit graciously regenerates every one of God’s chosen people, creating within them a new heart and enabling them to freely and willingly believe in Christ as Savior and Lord. In fact, if the Spirit doesn’t act first, there is no hope of salvation. The New Birth precedes and makes possible Saving Faith. Spiritual life yields personal faith.

The reason why 10 people believe in room of 20 is because the Father chose them to believe, the Son’s resurrection guaranteed their regeneration, and the Spirit gives them new life in faith.

This is known as Irresistible Grace, or other theologians use the term efficacious call. To say that grace is “irresistible” is not to say that God saves men kicking and screaming against their will, but rather that His grace overcomes their will for sin and gives them desire for righteousness. It is “effectual,” in that it successfully overcomes spiritual deadness and brings spiritual life; it conquers our hatred of God and enables us to love God. His grace powerfully and wonderfully brings us to Himself.

One of the clearest illustrations of this compelling work of the Spirit is the picture of New Birth. Jesus Himself makes new birth the requirement for seeing the kingdom of God, but pay special attention to how a person experiences this new birth.

John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus explains that new birth is necessary for salvation. Nicodemus responds with a relevant question, “Okay, so how do I get ‘born again’? What do I need to do?” But note that Jesus doesn’t give Nicodemus any steps to follow or any procedure to obey. In fact, Jesus tells Nicodemus that being born again has nothing with what you do, but it is something that happens to you. He repeats the necessity of being born again in verses five and seven, then in verse eight He gives the behind the scenes clarification on being born again: it is a work of the Spirit.

Being born is a perfect illustration of the child’s inability to originate, initiate, or intentionally participate. No child is responsible for deciding who its parents will be or determining the time or location of its birth. The child is obviously there, it is the child’s birth, but forces outside the child are responsible.

The same is true with spiritual birth. There are factors and forces outside a person that are responsible for this new life. Not only is this necessary because we were dead and unable to do anything, it is also a matchless display of God’s sovereign, irresistible, effectual grace.

Four Truths About Spiritual Birth

The idea of new, spiritual birth is found throughout Scripture. In particular I’d like to consider four truths about spiritual birth from the New Testament.

1. Spiritual Birth is by the Will of God (His Plan)

John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

We are more familiar with the concepts in verse 12 than in verse 13. In verse 12 we see men “receiving” Jesus and “believing in His name.” As we know, every person that receives and believes is recognized by God and given the right to be His child. All this is true. But why do some receive and believe? Is it because they grew up with believing parents? Is it because of their own spiritual insight? Not at all. Some receive and believe because they were born of the will of God. It was the Father’s desire, decision, and determination that brought them new life, not their own choice or willpower. Our spiritual birth was His plan.

2. Spiritual Birth is by the Spirit of God (His Agent)

Back in John chapter three,

John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

This verse makes absolutely no sense at all apart from understanding the sovereign, invisible work of the Spirit. From the human, visible viewpoint we repent, we receive, and we believe. But there is more going on than what we see. Just as the wind is invisible, so is the Spirit’s work invisible. You can’t see the wind, but you see the effects of the wind. You can’t see the wind, control it, direct it, manipulate it, etc., and so the same is true with the Spirit. The emphasis is on the Spirit’s independent, self-determining work that causes new birth. Our spiritual birth is worked by the agency of His Spirit.

3. Spiritual Birth is by the Son of God (His Power)

1 Peter 1:3 …according to His great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Not only does the motivation (“according to His great mercy”) emphasize His initiative, not only does the illustration itself (“caused us to be born again”) emphasize His actions, the means (“”through the resurrection”) again makes it clear that our regeneration is a result of His resurrection. Our spiritual birth is enabled by the power of Christ’s new life.

4. Spiritual Birth is by the Word of God (His Instrument)

1 Peter 1:23 …you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God cf. 1 Peter 2:2, James 1:18

Our being born again is His plan, worked out by His Agent, accomplished by His power, using His instrument: Scripture. There is a divine intersection between the Son’s work, the Spirit’s work, and the Word’s work in new birth. Both the Word and the Spirit reveal the Son, and the Spirit takes the living and abiding Word, preached by men, and gives new life to spiritually dead men.

This is an excellent place to point out that the plan of the Father, the purchase of the Son, and the work of the Spirit do not take place in a vacuum. God has planned not only the end, but He also planned the means to His end. The reason we preach, as foolish as that is (1 Corinthians 1:18), is because that is His chosen method to bring new birth. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Our spiritual birth is created by the Word.

Additional NT Descriptions

There are other descriptions of God’s effectual work of grace in the lives of His elect in the New Testament in addition to new birth. Let me quickly point out some of the sovereign, Spirit-worked, behind the scenes explanations of why some believe.

He Made Us Alive

Though this is similar to the picture of new birth, dead men are not capable of initiating their own resurrection any more than Lazarus could respond before Christ raised him to life.

John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

Ephesians 2:5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, (He) made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–

Colossians 2:13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

We Come Because He Draws

Men are responsible to come, and whoever comes He will receive. But who comes? And how do they come? Those who come do so because they were chosen by the Father for the Son. And how they come is by the powerful pull of the Spirit.

John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me–

64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

Repentance and Faith are His Gifts

Men are also responsible to repent and believe. But again, there is an invisible power that enables men to do so. Both repentance and faith are given by God. Repentance is a result of His work.

Acts 5:31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

Acts 11:18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

2 Timothy 2:24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Faith is a gift of God as well.

Philippians 1:29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

And Ephesians 2:8-10. We are saved by grace through faith, and the whole of our salvation, including faith itself, is His gift.

All of this is a fulfillment of God’s New Covenant promise. Though this promise is for Israel, we participate in the benefits of the covenant.

Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Why We Need Irresistible Grace

Our Own Personal Experience

We need His sovereign work. We need His initiating rescue operation for ourselves. It isn’t just that we couldn’t believe, we wouldn’t if we could. We are prone to wander. It is our experience. We know that we needed His conquering work.

No one has ever completed a successful self-heart transplant. The Spirit must do it (cf. Ezekiel 36).

Our Ministry Experience

We need His effectual work. We need His rescue operation in our ministry to others. He is the hope of our discipling, our shepherding, and our preaching. If we had to depend on our own wisdom, our own persuasiveness, our own abilities, we would be highly frustrated and sorely disappointed.

By the way, this is why you pray. Have you ever prayed that God would change someone’s attitude toward you? Then you are praying for God to overcome their wants. Do you every pray for someone’s salvation? Then you are praying for God to conquer their wants. Do you ever pray for God to change your attitude, wants, etc.? Then you are asking Him to take control of your heart.

The hope of our lives, the hope of our work, is the sovereign, effectual, Spiritual work of God in the hearts of men.

CONCLUSION

The Westminster Shorter Catechism describes irresistible grace/efficacious call as follows:

Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.

Our new life was purchased by Christ. Our redemption was accomplished by Christ and applied by the Spirit. Our regeneration is a result of His resurrection, and that is why we proclaim that His resurrection is true and powerful. This is something not only to remember but to celebrate.

The fact is, this is serious and important stuff. Not only does history itself hinge on the cross of Christ, everything in the Christian’s life hangs on the cross as well. As we turn towards the upcoming week and our celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ on Easter, I think this is a perfect time to consider the cross and what Jesus actually did for His children almost 2000 years ago.

I know many of you are enjoying the current series on Calvinism. I’ve been having some great conversations with a number of you, working through some of your questions, and hearing about a number of lunch/dinner conversations your having with your families, as well as some great small group discussions. I continue to be thankful for your receptivity and that even the disagreements are being handled in a Christlike manner for the most part.

However, I also know for a fact that some of you think this whole discussion is useless, if not actually damaging. You believe talking about Calvinism isn’t beneficial. You are convinced that it doesn’t matter and that it only causes divisions. And since we can’t know for sure one way or the other, we should move onto something else.

But that is horrifically sad. I fear for those of you, because if that is your attitude then it’s like you’re happy with your faith resting on a cloud. There is no solid support for you. The things we’ve been talking about are not in the margins of your Bible, they are the marrow of it. The eternal work of the Trinity in salvation is the point of the Bible and the point of history as it shows Himself off. This isn’t useless, this is indispensable.

And so we are seeking a certain level of precision. The reason for that is because the more precise your understanding, the more firm your faith and hot your praise.

At the same time, we’re not going as deep as we possibly could. The purpose of this series is to be a precise, middle-level overview. We’re not skipping along the top of the water, neither are we putting on snorkeling gear. It’s kind of like being dragged through the water when your inner tube has flipped over. We’re covering ground, but you might get a mouthful of water along the way.

We return this morning to the third biblical burden, and this petal is not only the center of TULIP, it is the center of God’s plan of redemption, it is the heart of the gospel, and it is the core of our hope. I hope that one of the benefits of this extended and specific reflection on the cross is intensified celebration. So as you think about today as Palm Sunday, the final Sunday of Jesus’ earthly life, consider Jesus’ intent as He entered Jerusalem.

Review of Last Week

Romans 5:8 says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is substitutionary atonement. The Father “made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). We had sinned; He took our punishment. We needed righteousness; He provided perfect righteousness. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

But the Logical Question is, did Christ’s work on the cross make atonement possible or did Christ’s work on the cross accomplish atonement? In other words, does Christ’s work on the cross need our faith to finish the atonement process, or did Christ’s work on the cross guarantee our faith because atonement was finished?

The Arminian says Christ’s death was designed to make salvation possible for each and every person who has ever lived in any place at any time; the target of the cross was universal and general. But the Calvinist says Christ’s death actually secured the salvation of all of God’s elect; the target of the cross was individual and particular. Christ’s death accomplished and guarantees salvation for all of God’s chosen people.

Of course, as we also pointed out last time, everyone limits the atonement in some way. The Calvinist limits the atonement in its scope (that is, who the atonement is for. It is an issue of quantity). But Arminians limit the atonement in power (that is, what the atonement actually accomplished. It is an issue of quality). As Lorraine Boettner said,

For the Calvinist it is like a narrow bridge which goes all the way across the stream; for the Arminian it is like a great wide bridge which goes only half-way across.

And then we considered some of the verses that reveal the Biblical Affirmations of the defined intent of Christ’s death. For example, in John 10 Jesus Himself makes a distinction between two groups, those who are His sheep and those who aren’t. Then He clarifies the aim of His sacrifice.

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

If Jesus laid down His life for the sheep, does that mean He didn’t lay down His life for the non-sheep? If He lays down His life for the non-sheep that undermines the whole point of the passage. The same would be true if He laid down His life for the wolves.

And this isn’t the only passage where a limitation is put forward. There are a number of verses where the word “many” is used.

Matthew 20:28 the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. See also Matthew 28:28; Hebrews 9:27-28

And Hebrews 2:17 says Christ’s propitiation was “for the people.” John 11:50-52 says Christ’s death was for the “children of God.” This is different than saying His death was for every person.

So to summarize the biblical affirmations,

1. Jesus states that He atoned for the sheep.
2. Jesus actually accomplished atonement for sin through His death and resurrection.
3. Jesus prays for the application of the atonement He purchased. (Hebrews 7:25)

Hebrews 7:25 He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

This is Jesus’ work as our high priest. And we know from John 17 in His high-priestly prayer that He prays for all those that the Father gave Him, and not for the whole world. The Father chose men to give to the Son, the Father sent the Son to be the substitute for the sheep, the Son atoned for their sin and now intercedes for the sheep, and the Spirit applies the work of the Son at the right time.

Potential Problem Passages related to Limited Atonement

There is no doubt that those of you who know your Bibles, or for that matter, anyone who knows John 3:16 has some questions.

The problem with talking about the atonement being only for the sheep, for the elect, is the passages of Scripture that use words like world, all, and everyone. There are a number of verses that use these sweeping words to communicate what seems to be a much broader intent in Christ’s death. And while you certainly can do more study of this on your own, let me explain what I think is the essential factor in the discussion. This is a perspective that is foreign to us.

Who were most of the NT books written to? That is, what kind of people were the original audience of Scripture? The Jews. And the Jews had major misunderstandings about their Messiah. Not only did they misunderstand His purpose–they thought of His deliverance only in terms of politics, not deliverance from sin. And I think they also misunderstood His target–deliverance for Jews and Gentiles!

The gospel is for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Romans 1:16). We have a very hard time with this. We don’t think in terms of Jews and Gentiles. We would be satisfied leaving off the last phrase in verse 16. The Jew/Gentile discussion seems unimportant and irrelevant for most of us American Christians.

Yet I think you will find that when words like “all” and “world” are used in reference to Christ’s death they are meant to challenge the narrow, Israel-centric attitude of the Jews. Let’s consider a couple of these passages.

1 John 2:2

1John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

There it is, the whole world. Now this is an issue of exegesis, not logic. Most 5 Point Calvinists are accused of being driven by logic. And while I don’t have a desire to be illogical this is primarily an interpretational issue, not a logical one. There are only a few ways to interpret verse 2. Most people think that whole world means every person, specifically unbelievers. They think the our refers to Christians and that Jesus is the propitiation for every believer and every unbeliever. But if the target is unlimited, the propitiation has to be limited. There are two possibilities if the target is universal.

• He is the (partial) propitiation for every person in the world.

He could be the partial propitiation, that is, He could have appeased God in some sense for everyone. But what sense would that be? In what way did Jesus appease God’s wrath against those who are in hell, or those who will experience God’s wrath to come? The verse says that propitiation was for sin, so was it only for some sins or certain kinds of sin? What good was that propitiation for them? And if it was only for some sins, then what is the additional propitiation that Christians get, since Christians are saved? There just aren’t verses that talk about complete appeasement for believers and an incomplete appeasement for unbelievers. The partial propitiation interpretation is no good.

• Or, He is the (potential) propitiation for every person in the world.

This second interpretation option is that Jesus is a potential propitiation. This is basically the Arminian position. The bridge is very wide but it only goes halfway across. Jesus appeased God’s wrath but it isn’t valid until we believe. But when you read the verse, the passage doesn’t actually say it was a potential propitiation. It says He is the propitiation for our sins. It is a fact. And if it is reality, then it isn’t potential. It’s a done deal. Also, if the propitiation were only potential the door is still open for the possibility that Christ appeased God’s wrath for some that God is still wrathful towards.

Honestly, I’m not really excited about limiting the propitiation. Limiting the atonement to a certain percentage of sins, or to certain kinds of sins, or saying it is only potential misses the encouragement the verse is meant to provide. But there is a third possible interpretation.

• He is the (full) propitiation for every (kind of) person in the world.

I’ve added the word “full” to make the contrast clear between this third interpretation and the previous two. If propitiation were simply allowed to mean what it means, we wouldn’t need a qualifier like “full.” Nevertheless, the epistle of 1 John was written by the apostle John, one of the pillars of the Jerusalem church. So as a Jew, writing to to a primarily Jewish audience, John was trying to expand their national horizons. There are no national limitations on His work of atonement.

The our is not just Christians, it is Christian Jews. Christ is not the propitiation for Jews only, but for the whole world, for all kinds of people in the world including Gentiles.

So again, you either limit the atonement by extent or power. You either say it is limited because it was partial or potential, or that it is limited in that it was intended for a specific group, even though that group consists of persons regardless of nationality.

John 3:16

And of course, no discussion of potential problem passages would be complete without considering John 3:16. The Gospel of John was likewise written by the apostle John, and while we ought to celebrate the broad nature of the verse, I’m not convinced it refers to every person without exception.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

In John chapter three, John is relating a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews (verse 1). Nicodemus was undoubtedly a prime example of someone thinking that salvation was for Israel, and Israel alone. Jesus is expanding Nicodemus’ understanding by explaining that whoever believes in Him will be saved; whoever among the Jews and whoever among the Gentiles. There is a broad, sweeping promise in the gospel, as it goes into all the world.

Hebrews 2:9

Hebrews 2:9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

The question here is whether everyone refers to every human being, or everyone within a certain group. Immediately after saying that Christ tasted death for everyone, the writer of Hebrews explains God’s design in this suffering of Christ was to “bring many sons to glory.” This means that the everyone of verse 9 probably refers to everyone of the sons in verse 10. It was for everyone of these that Christ tasted death.

For an excellent sermon on Hebrews 2:9, read John Piper, For Whom Did Jesus Taste Death

Obviously there are other verses as well, but this sampling shows that there are possible explanations for preaching particular atonement to every nation.

Perhaps the best way to say it this is: Christ died for all the sins of all those who would ever believe. Or another helpful summary statement: He did not die for all men without exception, but for all men without distinction. He didn’t die just for Jews but also for Gentiles. Atonement was made not just for men, but also for women; old an young, educated and uneducated, from every race, etc. No one can say, “I really want to be saved by believing Jesus, but I can’t because He didn’t die for me.” No one can say that, because any who believe can be saved.

Limited and Unlimited Effects?

Many Calvinists believe that Christ’s death has both limited and unlimited effects. The limited effect is salvation for the elect, but there are also non-salvation effects of the cross for every unbeliever. Those Calvinists who think there are both limited and unlimited effects typically refer to themselves as 4.5 Point Calvinists.

They say, for example, that on the cross Christ purchased common grace for everyone. That is, His death allowed for the Father to give sun and rain to unbelievers. And while there is no denying God’s common grace to His creatures, I can’t find an actual verse anywhere that connects the cross and common grace. Common grace comes from God’s gracious character. His general kindness is part of His nature. But nowhere in Scripture does it say these temporal “good things” were part of Christ’s atoning work.

The same people also suggest that Christ purchased delayed judgment on the cross. Again, I can’t think of any verse that connects the cross with any postponement of judgment. In Romans 3:25 we read that He doesn’t judge immediately because of His divine forbearance, but likewise, this is part of His character, not a purchase of the cross. Besides, I’m not sure that delayed judgment is better, since the more an unbeliever experiences God’s common goodness the more accountable he is. Delayed judgment is inevitably worse judgment, and certainly Christ did not purchase greater accountability.

And it is also suggested that Christ purchased a global gospel offer on the cross. That is, His dying for the world means that the gospel can be preached to everyone in the world. But again, where is the verse that says Christ suffered so that the gospel could be preached to everyone? What Scripture explains the purpose of the atonement in terms of purchasing the universal offer of salvation?

I can only find one Scriptural effect of Christ’s death that has universal implication.

Colossians 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Romans 8:19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

There is some sense in which the death of Christ overcame the effects of sin on creation itself. Though creation didn’t sin, creation benefits from the cross as Christ redeems many sons and sets creation free from the curse of futility due to man’s sin. But this is not a universal effect for unbelievers. The reconciliation that Christ made on the cross for creation is established, just as the reconciliation of the elect is a done deal. It is not partial or potential.

So other than this reconciliation of creation, I cannot find any passage that reveals unlimited effects of the cross. There are some blessings give to all mankind, but those flow from God’s character, not the cross. The purposeful, direct purchases and benefits of the cross are limited to the sheep.

CONCLUSION

So when we use the phrase “limited atonement” we don’t mean that Jesus was limited, or that He wasn’t able to do everything He wanted to at the cross. It doesn’t mean that He would have needed to suffer more pain, or even die a second death in order to save more people. In fact, His death on the cross has infinite value, because the Sacrifice Himself was of infinite value.

But the cross had a particular intent, to save the elect, and therefore was limited in scope.

Jesus came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), exactly as the Father planned. His work on the cross accomplished reconciliation, justification, and sanctification (Romans 5:8-10). He continues His work for the sheep even now through intercession (Hebrews 7:25), and that not for the whole world but for all the Father gave Him (John 17:24-26). This is still a great number from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Revelation 5:9). In particular, His death was not just for the Jews but for all the children of God scattered throughout the world (John 11:52).

As we finish up the third point of Calvinism and try to tie everything together, is this really a “limited” atonement? Spurgeon said,

If Christ has died for you, you can never be lost.

That is something not just to defend, but to celebrate! Not only that, this is something to preach! He died for everyone who will ever believe. That means if you believe, your sins are atoned for.

Christ didn’t die and write us a check, hoping that we would sign it. He died and paid His Father directly in the currency of His blood. Our sins are paid for. It is finished. God is not waiting for the possibility that we will accept forgiveness, He only waits for His timing to apply forgiveness already purchased. Christ’s work on the cross does not depend on our faith to make it effective, rather His work on the cross is effective to make us depend on Him in faith.

It is the death of Christ that guarantees for us everything we need.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Who are “us all”? Even the people who are in hell? Did the Father really not spare His son, pouring out punishment on Him, and then not give faith to those He paid for? Don’t you think the Father planned on giving us “faith” in the all things?

(And by the way, does all things mean a Hummer, and good looks, and long life, etc.? Not at all. The “all” has a context, namely all the good things necessary for eternal life.)

If you are a believer, there is no peace like when you really grasp that Christ died on your behalf. What comfort is it to think that Christ paid the same penalty for those who are now in hell? What good did His sacrifice do for them? And what makes His sacrifice more valuable for us? Our faith? No. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimsoned stain, He washed it white as snow. This is why we look to the cross (not to look to ourselves looking to the cross).

One final quote from John Owen,

…if there be any comfort, any consolation, any assurance, any rest, any peace, any joy, any refreshment, any exultation of spirit, to be obtained here below, it is all to be had in the blood of Jesus long since shed, and His intercession still continued; as both are united and appropriated to the elect of God, by the precious effects and fruits of them both drawn to believe and preserved in believing, to the obtaining of an immortal crown of glory, that shall not fade away. (Owen, The Death of Death)

Last week we talked about Total Depravity and Unconditional Election, the first two biblical burdens of Calvinism. Today we’ll begin to consider the third petal in TULIP, Limited Atonement.

3. Limited Atonement (or Particular Redemption)

This third biblical burden is the one where a lot of people run and hide. Sometimes you’ll hear people talk about being Four Point Calvinists, and almost all of the time this is the point they reject.

But as we consider this doctrine this morning, I want to do more than simply present my best attempt at a brief, biblical defense of limited atonement, I want to lead us in a biblical, cross-centered celebration of it! Our peace with God is planted here in the center letter of this TULIP (“L”). Because this is so confusing and hard for some, and because it is the center of celebration for others, I want to focus our attention on it for the entire time this morning.

We are talking in this third point about the “atonement.” When the Bible talks about the atonement of Christ’s death it means that He paid the penalty for sin, His death satisfied God’s wrath and provided forgiveness. And when we talk about Christ’s “substitutionary atonement” we mean that Jesus died in the place of, instead of, sinners (2 Corinthians 5:21). He paid their price, He took their punishment on Himself.

Logical Questions about the Atonement

But here is the question: did Christ’s work on the cross make atonement possible or did Christ’s work on the cross accomplish atonement? In other words, does Christ’s work on the cross need our faith to finish the atonement process, or did Christ’s work on the cross guarantee our faith because atonement was finished?

The Arminian says Christ’s death was designed to make salvation possible for each and every person who has ever lived in any place at any time; the target of the cross was universal and general. Christ’s death made salvation possible for everyone, but it did not actually secure or guarantee the salvation of anyone. Man’s faith is the final, but necessary, component that determines whether or not Christ’s atoning work will be effective.

The Calvinist says Christ’s death actually secured the salvation of all of God’s elect; the target of the cross was individual and particular. Christ’s death accomplished and guarantees salvation for all of God’s chosen people. Christ’s atoning work does not need man’s faith to make it effective; Christ’s atoning work effectively provides faith as the final component.

Before we go any further, I hope you see that everybody limits the atonement in some way. The only people who place no limits on the atonement are called Universalists, and a Universalist is one who says everyone is saved and going to heaven. But Universalism doesn’t even have one biblical leg to stand on. So if you think that some people are currently in, and others are going to, hell, you believe in some sort of limited atonement.

• As a footnote, some don’t like the term “limited” atonement. They prefer something more positive like “particular” atonement or “particular redemption” or “definite” atonement. Those are fine, but they really mess up TULIP. Besides, since everyone limits the atonement, we might as well get used to knowing what we mean when we say it.

The Calvinist limits the atonement in its scope (that is, who the atonement is for. It is an issue of quantity). But Arminians limit the atonement in power (that is, what the atonement actually accomplished. It is an issue of quality).

Loraine Boettner wrote one of the foremost books on Calvinism titled The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (1932). His chapter on Limited Atonement is one that profoundly shaped my thinking on this issue. He gives a great illustration of the difference between the two limitations:

For the Calvinist it is like a narrow bridge which goes all the way across the stream; for the Arminian it is like a great wide bridge which goes only half-way across.

Let’s think about this logically for a bit more. The foremost book on the atonement I know is called The Death of Death in the Death of Christ by John Owen (a puritan who lived 1616-1683). In his book he lists the three possibilities that took place at the cross. Jesus atoned for:

1. All the sins of all men.
2. All the sins of some men.
3. Some of the sins of all men.

Which one is correct?

If the last is true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so none are saved. The atonement was limited in sufficiency. Everyone goes to hell because the payment didn’t satisfy God’s demand for anyone.

If the second is true, then Christ suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world. The atonement was limited in extent, but not in power. Some men go to hell because Christ did not satisfy God’s demand for them, even though He did for others. This explains how some can still go to hell, how some can be saved, and how Jesus gets all the credit for the saved.

But if the first is true, why aren’t all men free from the penalty of their sin? That is, if Christ paid for the sin of every person, if He took the place of everyone, than how can God justly send anyone to hell? If Christ paid the penalty, how is it right for God to punish Christ and the person for the same sin? Not only does this require a “double-payment” for sin, this makes Christ’s substitution almost worthless. I have difficulty thinking of the Father pouring out wrath on His Son, knowing that He was adding punishment that would do no good.

Again, you could be a Universalist, saying that He did pay for all the sins of all men and so all men are saved. But if you don’t think everyone is saved, you must give another answer.

Most people answer, even though Jesus paid for everyone’s sin, some go to hell because they don’t believe. Here is where the infamous check writing illustration comes in. We owe God for our sin. Jesus dies on the cross and writes us a check to cover everything we owe. But we have to sign the check or it isn’t any good. In other words, we have to believe or the atonement isn’t any good for us. Unbelief is what keeps the atonement from being effective. Owen answers the point,

I ask, Is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it be, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!

So if Christ died for all their sins, He also died for unbelief. What is it that God has left to punish? So why does He send any men to hell? The answer is not because they didn’t believe, it is because their sins weren’t paid for.

Biblical Affirmations about the Atonement

Well, even if that sounds neat and tidy logically, what really matters is if it is accurate and consistent biblically?

I remember one Christmas break in college, I was visiting the Bible study a friend of mine was leading on his college campus. He was taking them through the Gospel of John, and on the night I was visiting they were working through John 10. John 10 is a great passage on Jesus as the Shepherd and it is an encouragement to the sheep as to how trustworthy their Shepherd really is.

In John 10 Jesus Himself identifies two distinct groups, those who are His sheep and those who aren’t. John 10:22-27. Those who are His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. Those who are not His sheep do not believe because they are not His sheep. (Note that it isn’t because they don’t believe that they aren’t His sheep, they don’t believe because they aren’t His sheep.) Anyway, look back earlier in the chapter:

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Back to my friend’s Bible study, I had promised him I wasn’t going to say anything. I really meant it too. But we worked through the passage and were about ready to finish when he asked if there were any final thoughts or questions. I sheepishly asked, “So if it says Jesus laid down His life for the sheep, does that mean He didn’t lay down His life for the non-sheep?” This caused no little stir. I think most of the seven or eight had never thought of it before, so it was more curiosity than anything else that night. And of course, I left to go back to my own college the next day. But over the next couple weeks the study went from eight or so down to two, and he started getting calls from parents and lost friends and it was kind of a big brouhaha.

But the same question is now for you. If it says Jesus laid down His life for the sheep, does that mean He didn’t lay down His life for the non-sheep? The answer is not unclear. Jesus repeats the intent of His sacrifice twice, “the sheep.” The sheep is a definite, specific, particular group. Elsewhere in the gospels they are contrasted with the goats.

And the whole of the chapter fits together. Those who are His sheep are given to Him by the Father (verse 29). This is election. And the sheep hear His voice and follow (verses 26, 27). This is irresistible grace. And they have guaranteed eternal life (verses 28-29). This is perseverance of the saints. And what makes salvation of the sheep possible is that the Shepherd lays down His life for them, not for those who are not given to Him (non-elect) or those who don’t hear His voice (not effectually called). And the virtue of the Shepherd, the reason He is called good, is because of His willing life-giving on behalf of the sheep.

So is this picture consistent with what we see about the intention of Christ’s death in other parts of Scripture? In Matthew 20:20-28 Jesus is responding to the mother of James and John, explaining to her the nature of true greatness, that whoever would be great must be a servant and whoever would be first must be slave. Jesus Himself is the perfect example of that service, and notice who is service is for.

Matthew 20:28 the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

This is not the only passage that talks about His death being for many and not all.

Matthew 26:28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time,

The word for is the idea of “in place of, on behalf of.” And the word many is purposefully different than words like “all” or “everyone.” It denotes a large number, but not an unabridged group.

In His work of being our high priest, He made propitiation (He appeased God, basically another word for atonement) for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

And in His high priestly prayer, Jesus goes out of His way again to make clear that there are two groups of people, His people and those who are not His people. Vv. 2, 6, *9-10, 19, 20, 25. There is a very specific group He is concerned about, His disciples and those who would become His disciples, but not the whole world.

John 17:19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

And then one more passage that narrows the intended scope of His atoning death. Caiaphas spoke to the chief priests and the Pharisees who were beginning to plan how to put Jesus to death, and he prophesied:

John 11:50 “…it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

Who are the children of God scattered abroad but the elect? So the Bible consistently affirms that Christ paid the price for His sheep, and they will be saved.

So to summarize the biblical affirmations,

1. Jesus states that He atoned for the sheep.
2. Jesus actually accomplished atonement for sin through His death and resurrection.
3. Jesus prays for the application of the atonement He purchased. (Hebrews 7:25)

If you deny #1, then you must limit Jesus’ ability in #s 2 and 3.

So Christ didn’t die and write us a check, hoping that we would sign it. He died and paid His Father directly in the currency of His blood. Our sins are paid for. It is finished. God is not waiting for the possibility that we will accept forgiveness, He only waits for His timing to apply forgiveness already purchased. Christ’s work on the cross does not depend on our faith to make it effective, rather His work on the cross is effective to make us depend on Him in faith.

Next week we’ll consider some of the Potential Problem Passages argued against Limited Atonement. But as we finish our celebration of the atonement for this morning, if you are a believer, there is no peace like when you really grasp that Christ died on your behalf. What comfort is it to think that Christ paid the same penalty for those who are now in hell? What good did His sacrifice do for them? And what makes His sacrifice more valuable for us? Our faith? No. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimsoned stain, He washed it white as snow. This is why we look to the cross (not to look to ourselves looking to the cross).

Before we get into the five points themselves as the Biblical Burdens of Calvinism, I want to remind us that some pretty important things are at stake. I got an even clearer understanding of the motivation behind the Remonstrance this week as I read the Canons of Dort in full for the first time (I thought that might be an appropriate thing). At the end of the document written by the Synod to refute the Remonstrance, they detailed the criticisms leveled at the doctrines of grace. Though I’ve summarized and rephrased them, the Remonstrance claimed that [Calvinism:]

1. Discourages personal holiness. There is no motivation for righteous living since God is going to save whoever He wants, regardless of their character or works.

2. Promotes religious hypocrisy. Professing Christians can rationalize sin since even their sin is part of God’s sovereignty. If they are elect, they can do whatever they want.

3. Encourages evangelistic apathy. There must be no reason to minister since it doesn’t matter what we do and God is going to save whoever He chooses anyway.

4. Tarnishes God’s integrity. God is responsible for sin and sending innocent (or at least helpless) people to hell, even creating and predestinating people for destruction.

5. Denies God’s impartiality. For God to choose who is saved and who isn’t
   is arbitrary, unfair, and tyrannical, especially toward those who believe and obey but He still doesn’t care because He didn’t choose them.

6. Questions God’s love.

These are no small charges. These are things that are not good, right? So What does the Bible have to say? The Canons of Dort, which eventually became known as the Five Points of Calvinism, have a biblical response.

The Biblical Burdens of Calvinism

For a fuller treatment, I still recommend The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented by David Steele and Curtis Thomas. There are also numerous web sites that do a terrific job of summarizing and explaining the Five Points.

Perhaps we’ll come back and touch some problem passages at a later time, but for now my goal is simply to provide you with two or three decisive passages that you should know and can point to when engaging in discussions.

The Five Points of Calvinism, a.k.a., the doctrines of grace, a.k.a., the sovereignty of God in salvation, are often summarized under the acronym TULIP. While some would debate that these aren’t all necessarily the best words to summarize the biblical teaching, they do help us to remember the truth. TULIP refers to Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints.

1. Total Depravity (or Total Inability)

As with each point there are two sides. The Remonstrance taught that man is spiritually sick. Fallen man was seriously affected by the fall but he still has the ability to choose spiritual good. He determines his eternal destiny by either accepting or rejecting God’s mercies.

But the Synod of Dort countered that man is spiritually dead. Because of the fall, man is born spiritually dead, blind and deaf to the things of God and is therefore unable of himself to choose spiritual good and determine his own destiny.

Two biblical things stand out when we think about the spiritual condition of man:

First, his depravity.

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Second, his inability.

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

Depravity and inability affect all men universally. Paul said that “we all” were slaves of our sinful flesh and John said twice, “no man can come” on his own. Natural men cannot choose God on their own, they are not capable of faith or cooperating with God in any way. They don’t want to.

God told Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam’s fall brought with it spiritual death to all men (Romans 5:12). Everyone is born into spiritual death (Psalm 51:5) and no one can do anything to change their spiritual condition (Proverbs 20:9; Jeremiah 12:23).

By the way, this changes how you approach evangelism. It changes how you approach worship. I remember the first time I grasped the doctrine of total depravity and the consummate shame, desperation, and anxiety I felt. Yet without it I would have never appropriately been humbled. Other than seeing God more fully, there is nothing more humbling than seeing the depth and breadth of our depravity.

2. Unconditional Election

No one who reads their Bible at all can deny election. The word is there, so is “predestination.” The question is not if God elects, but how He elects.

The Arminian teaches that God’s election is based on foreseen faith. God chose certain individuals for salvation based on His foreseeing that they would, of their own free will, choose Christ. So faith comes first, then election. Election is God’s response, the result of seeing faith. The reason this is known as conditional election is that the condition of faith must be met before God makes His choice. Only those who believe are chosen.

On the other hand, the Calvinist position is that God’s election is unconditional. God’s choice of certain individuals for salvation was not based on any foreseen response of obedience on their part or any currently seen qualities, but was based solely in His good and sovereign will. Election is first and results in faith.

Ephesians 1 is Paul’s greeting to the Ephesian believers as he celebrates with them all the things we have in Christ. And who are those who have received the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies? God is to be praised,

Ephesians 1:4 even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, 6 to the praise of His glorious grace… 11 In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory.

Four components communicate His sovereignty in election in this passage:

1) Grammar. “He chose us.” The intent behind the idea of choosing is different than being coerced or pressured or obliged. If some qualifier explained why He chose we should pay attention. By itself it may not be a slam dunk, but “He chose us” certainly points in a particular direction.

2) Timing. “before the foundation of the world.” Again, by itself someone might say based on His foreknowledge He just knew what was going to happen ahead of time, but it seems the reason for making such a statement in the first place is to emphasize His intention.

3) Standard. “according to the purpose of His will.” If the first two components leave any door open, this slams them shut. The same thing is repeated in verse 11, “predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Election is his design. Predestination is His decision.

4) Purpose. “to the praise of His glorious grace.” This also is repeated in verse 12, “to the praise of His glory” as well as in verse 14, “to the praise of His glory.” The whole purpose.

God’s choice is independent, uninfluenced by anything but Himself. His election is initiating, not responding. Perhaps no better case study can be found than that in Romans 9. The entire chapter begins Paul’s explanation behind why some of Israel had not received their Messiah. It was because they weren’t chosen.

Romans 9:10 when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of His call— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

God’s choice has nothing to do with looking down the corridors of time and then responding to our choice. That makes election conditional–dependent on us and our faith. Instead, our faith is a work rooted in His choice, His unconditional, free, by His own pleasure selection that chooses to grant us repentance and faith.

Election is everywhere in Scripture, and everywhere the emphasis is on the graciousness of the chooser, not the worthiness of the chosen (Deuteronomy 7:6-7). God’s electing of some to receive mercy and not others is part of what it means for God be God (Exodus 33:19). His choice effects repentance (Acts 13:48) and faith (Philippians 1:29; 1 Timothy 2:26) and is not a response to our repentance and faith.

Doesn’t this produce great awe? This produces great wonder that God would choose to be gracious with us, because of absolutely nothing to do with us, even in spite of us and our sin.

1. The Historical Burden of Calvinism

The historical burden of Calvinism, that is, the main historical motivation that produced Calvinism, was to refute false teaching. Calvinism was forged in an historical setting where the burden of the church was to refute false teaching.

In 1610, one year after James Arminius (a seminary professor in Holland) died, five articles of faith were crafted by his followers. These five articles were a protest against the teaching of the church.

As a quick footnote, the debate between free-will and predestination is not new. In fact, James Arminius was not the first one to question God’s sovereignty. The debate goes at least as far back as Pelagius and Augustine in the 5th century, and really we could say it goes back to the apostle Paul, Jesus, and even Moses.

Nevertheless, the term Arminianism and its counterpart, Calvinism, come from this protest in the 17th century. The followers of Arminius crafted five articles of faith in what was called the Remonstrance.

The Remonstrance was rooted in two assumptions. First, that human freedom and divine sovereignty are incompatible. Second, that there can be no responsibility if there is no ability. Their logical assumptions determined their conclusions. And though we all bring various assumptions to our study of God’s Word, we had best make sure we are willing to abandon our assumptions if Scripture says something else. In the case of the Remonstrance, it was logic that drove their theology, not Scripture.

The assumptions of human freedom and ability prompted these five articles in the Remonstrance:

1. Man is not so corrupted by his sin that he cannot believe the gospel. Man has the ability to accept the gospel on his own.
2. Man is never so controlled by God that he cannot reject the gospel. Man also has the power to refuse the gospel.
3. God does not violate man’s will, but makes His choice in response to man’s choice. Election is on the basis of forseen faith.
4. Christ died for each and every person (even those in hell), and His death does not secure salvation for anyone unless they believe. So the cross only created the possibility of salvation.
5. Christians can lose their salvation if they do not keep themselves in grace. Believers are able and responsible to keep believing in order to have eternal salvation.

In each of these points the Arminian doesn’t deny that man need’s God’s grace, but he says that everyone gets the same grace and that man makes the crucial and ultimate difference. Jesus’ work on the cross is certainly necessary, but it is only good if the sinner accepts it. Christian’s do need God’s help, but God’s help can only do so much without man’s cooperation.

All of this was thought to protect God’s character. This way He is not responsible for those who reject Him, nor is He guilty of making robots. Likewise, Arminians desired to defend the responsibility of man.

In 1618 a national Synod (an assembly of clergy) met in Dort (South Holland) to examine the views of Arminius and settle the controversy. The Synod lasted seven months, during which there were 154 sessions where more than a hundred men determined from God’s Word that each article in the Remonstrance was wrong. They also concluded that merely rejecting the articles of Arminianism was not sufficient, so they set forth the truth in what have become known as “the five points of Calvinism.”

In general, great statements of truth, though not inspired, can help us better understand the inspired text. In fact, J. Gresham Machen once said,

Every really great Christian utterance, it may almost be said, is born in controversy. It is when men have felt compelled to take a stand against error that they have risen to the really great heights in the celebration of truth.

In their stance against error, the Synod composed five canons, or standards of truth related to the Biblical teaching of God’s sovereignty in salvation. The name Calvinism was eventually attached to these five points because John Calvin had done so much to study and clarify these truths from Scripture. So Calvin never knew the term Calvinism or Calvinist, but the term is in honor of his faithful exposition and teaching of Scripture.

We ought to be thankful for men who help us understand God’s Word with greater clarity, and we should celebrate in God’s goodness to us in raising up faithful men who defend the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

Quotes from the message:

It is no novelty, then, that I am preaching; no new doctrine. I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines, that are by nickname CALVINISM, but which are surely and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus. By this truth I make a pilgrimage into [the] past, and as I go, I see father after father, confessor after confessor, martyr after martyr, standing up to shake hands with me…taking these things to be the standard of my faith, I see the land of the ancients peopled with my brethren; I behold multitudes who confess the same as I do, and acknowledge that this is the religion of God’s own church. ~Charles Spurgeon

I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what is nowadays called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. ~C.H. Spurgeon

Someone says, “But I do not understand this doctrine.” Perhaps not, but remember that, while we are bound to tell you the truth, we are not bound to give you the power to understand it; and besides, this is not a subject for understanding, it is a matter for believing because it is revealed in the Word of God. It is one of the axioms of theology that, if man be lost, God must not be blamed for it; and it is also an axiom of theology that, if man is saved, God must have all the glory of it. ~C.H. Spurgeon

For to Calvinism there is really only one point to be made in the field of soteriology: the point that God saves sinners. ~J.I. Packer

Areas of Impact:

• One’s view of self
• One’s view of God
• One’s view of the cross
• One’s view of ministry

Ground Rules for Discussion:

• Remember there is one right answer.
• Honor God in how you theologize, not just what.
• Go the the Bible.
• Remember the aim: the glory of God.

Questions:

• What exactly does it mean that men are “dead in sin”? Are they able or unable to respond to the gospel? If they are unable to respond, how can they be held responsible?
• Does God choose men because He sees their faith, or does His choice of them lead to their faith? Is faith something we do or something God does in us?
• Did Christ die for each and every person, including those who are now in hell? If yes, why are they paying for the same sin again? If no, how can we offer the gospel to everyone?
• Can men reject the Holy Spirit’s work? If yes, who is sovereign? If not, doesn’t that just make men into robots?
• Can a person lose his salvation?
• How does Arminianism glorify God? How does Calvinism glorify God? Which is man-centered and which is God-centered?