My Position on T.U.L.I.P. or Calvinism
Total Depravity: We are all born with a disease called sin, “For all have sinned and come short of earning God’s glory” (Romans 3:23). David said: I was born guilty, and a sinner from the moment my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5). We inherited our sin nature from Adam (to see link click Bm – The Consequences of Adam).
Unconditional Election: While I agree that “God does not foresee an action or condition on our part that induces Him to save us,” I also believe that we have a choice in the matter (see Irresistible Grace below). Those who believe that we have no choice point to Romans and Jacob and Esau. While it is undeniable that Jacob was loved (chosen) and Esau was hated (not chosen), I don’t believe this applies to salvation in general, but rather through whom would the Seed of the Messiah come. ADONAI chose that the line of the Messiah would come through Jacob and not come through the line of Esau.
Limited Atonement: Calvinism teaches that Yeshua died only for the sins of the saved, but the Bible teaches that God is the Savior of all mankind (1 Tim 4:10). While it is true that believers were chosen in Messiah before the creation of the world (Eph 1:4), and that God foreknew, predestined, and called the elect (Rom 8:29; Jude 1), it is also true that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 NIV). I believe this is an antinomy. An antinomy in the Bible is two seemingly contradictory statements that are both true. For example, the Trinity is an antinomy. God is one (Deut 6:4) and is reflected in three Persons. We don’t have to choose if God is one or God is reflected in three Persons. I also believe we don’t have to choose on this issue. The Bible teaches both, it doesn’t make sense to our finite minds, but the Lord will explain it all to us when we get to heaven.
Irresistible Grace: We cannot save ourselves. Because of our sin nature, we are spiritually dead. It is as if we have drowned in our sin and are lying dead at the bottom of a lake. We are dead. We cannot possibly bring ourselves back to life. It is Yeshua who takes the first step in our salvation process . . . and reaches down to pull us out from the bottom of the lake. Like David said: He sent from on high; He took me and pulled me out of deep water (Second Samuel 22:17). Through His grace, God reveals Himself to us (Romans 1:18-20) so that we are without excuse. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV). Therefore, I believe that faith precedes regeneration, but ADONAI gives us the faith.
Perseverance of the Saints: Since we can do no works to gain our salvation, we can do no works to lose our salvation. When we are saved there is a union with Messiah (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith?) where there is the actual uniting of the believer to Messiah in such a manner that what is true of Messiah is true of the believer, minus His deity. We are in Messiah and the Ruach Ha’Kodesh is in us. This union cannot be broken. Therefore, we are eternally secure (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer).
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