Taking a MORE Correct View of TULIP

It's time to see TULIP according to the Biblical view and not how crooked theologians would view it.  This is an attack against hyper-Calvinism which is a crooked view to the five points John Calvin made in his preaching.  These points are:
  • Total inability
  • Unconditional election
  • Limited atonement
  • Irresistible grace
  • Perseverance of the saints
So we would take this view at a more Baptist angle than the typical "Protestant" outlook. So here's how to take it at a Biblical view:


Total inability to save one's self
  • Romans 3 describes the sinfulness of mankind by default as they've sinned, all have sinned, no one is righteous, does not seek God, all men are liars and that they cannot justify themselves before God by the deeds of the Law and that by the Law is the knowledge of sin.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:14 says the natural man rejects God's ways.  Man in the flesh is totally powerless to call upon God without His calling.

Unconditional election

  • God chose Christians not because of what they did for Him but what He did for us when it comes to salvation, it is His redeeming work that counts (Romans 4:5). Ephesians 1:4-8 supports this verse. Also in Romans 5:6-8 it says that while men were yet sinners, Christ died for them and that, He didn't choose to die for anybody. When sinners come to Him, God bases on the fact they accept what He did for them and not trying to get to Him by what they do.
  • It also supports the idea that God has chosen certain people to do His work even before the world began like the Apostles and today's missionaries.  These may include former workers in cults.
  • However this does not mean that God has chosen who's going to Heaven and who's going to Hell.  Rather, the person is to respond to God's plan of salvation and by faith, they get saved.  Remember Jesus chose Judas Iscariot to be an apostle but he never got saved, he had the free will whether or not to get saved.  Sadly he was NEVER saved.

Limited atonement
  • If we're going to think about it, although the Lord Jesus Christ DIED FOR ALL PEOPLE but the atonement is limited in the fact that it must be received by the lost sinner or His dying will be of no effect because it was not received. Think about it- atonement is only going to take place for those who RECEIVE. Just for example, a person can open a party and you didn't arrive- you can't complain why you didn't get to eat the food that was prepared because you didn't come to the party. John 3:36 says whoever rejects the Son has no life. John 5:23 says whoever honors not Jesus honors not the Father. It's a matter of receiving the Lord Jesus as Savior (or alternatively said in the same meaning of Jesus as Lord and Savior)
  • However it is a heresy to say that Jesus only died for the elect because He died for EVERY sinner and anybody who comes to Him can be forgiven.  However it is still limited to the fact that it is only for those who believe.  Some people are elect and some people are non-elect when it comes to the family of Christ.
  • Also, there is NO atonement for the dead. Hebrews 9:27 is clear that once dead, it's passed on to judgment. Prayers for the dead are just stupid. If anybody died without the Lord Jesus Christ, no novenas would help the person out of Hell!

Irresistible grace
  • When a person receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they can no longer resist the grace of God. John 10:27 says that His sheep hear His voice.  
  • Ephesians 2:10 shows good works happen because of God's grace.  Christians CANNOT resist the grace of God even if they fall into sin.
  • Philippians 2:13 reveals that God works in the believer.  It is God's grace, it is He who works in them. 
  • Titus 2:11-15 shows how God's grace molds the Christian from sinfulness to a life of good works. Christians can no longer resist the grace of God in their lives. This is in contrast to God forcing Himself on the unbeliever to get saved except if they be elect like Paul or Jeremiah. 
  •  People resist God's grace prior to getting saved but once they are saved, they can no longer resist the grace of God that changes their lives after they got saved by grace.

Perseverance of the saints
  • This is the if saved, always saved doctrine which will be manifest by actions shown they are eternally secure in Christ and that He walks with them. 
  •  1 John 2:19 shows the difference between the true and the fake believer- the true believer will endure to the end while the fake believers do not.  An example would be Judas Iscariot's betrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Philippians 1:6 confirms this also when it says that God will not cease to work in believers until they have reached the perfection, however perfection is NOT part of salvation. True Christians CANNOT lose their salvation in contrast to the works salvation crowd who even dare replace the word "works" with "lordship" when Christ is NOT their Lord but rather their falsehoods!

Updated on: April 25, 2011