By Bob Wilkin
Calvinism can be remembered by using the acronym TULIP. In a series of three articles, I will consider each of the five points. This first part covers the T and U. Part 2 will consider the L and I. Part 3 will consider the P, which has two different aspects to it.
TOTAL DEPRAVITY AND TOTAL INABILITY ARE TOTALLY UNBIBLICAL
The T in TULIP stands for Total Depravity. Many mistakenly think that Calvinists use this term as a way of saying that we are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). That is not what Calvinists mean by Total Depravity.
Calvinists mean that our entire being is tainted by sin. As a result, we are unable to respond to God. Calvinists use the expression Total Inability to explain the T in TULIP.
A favorite illustration of Total Depravity is a cadaver at the bottom of a well. Rescuers come. They don’t know that the person at the bottom is dead. They throw a rope down and ask the person to tie it around his waist so they can pull him to safety.
But dead men don’t hear anything. Nor can they grab the rope and tie it around their waists. It is a waste of time to talk to a dead man or to throw him a rope. What the dead man needs is to be made alive.
The T in TULIP means that regeneration must precede faith.
The Lord taught in John 3:16 that faith precedes regeneration. But Calvinism says that this is impossible, considering Total Depravity.
In my book, Is Calvinism Biblical? I consider two verses that disprove Total Depravity: John 6:35 and Acts 10:4.
The Lord Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). He did not say, “He who never hungers will come to Me, and he who never thirsts will believe in Me.” Believing in Jesus comes first. Belief precedes regeneration and eternal security.
Cornelius was a God-fearing centurion. He worshipped in a Jewish synagogue, though he was a Gentile. God sent an angel to speak to him. The angel said, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God” (Acts 10:4). The angel went on to tell the unsaved centurion to send for Simon Peter (Acts 10:5) “who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved” (Acts 11:14).
The angel was talking to that dead man at the bottom of the well. But the man heard him! The man understood and responded to him. Cornelius sent three men to get Simon Peter. And when Peter came, Cornelius believed and was born again.
Spiritual death does not mean total inability. It does not mean that regeneration must precede faith. It means that the unbeliever lacks the life of God. That is what spiritual death is. But the unbeliever can seek God (Matt 7:7-11; Acts 10:1-8; 17:27; Heb 11:6).
If an unbeliever is willing to believe in Christ, he will receive the message he must believe to be born again. The Lord Jesus rebuked some legalistic Jews saying, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).
Notice the words: “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” According to Calvinism, cadavers can have no willingness to believe in Jesus. But the Lord Jesus said otherwise.
Don’t be duped by the T in Calvinism. Its explanations of Total Depravity and Total Inability are unbiblical.
UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION IS UNCONDITIONALLY UNBIBLICAL
According to Calvinism, in eternity past, before the Creation, God chose, or elected, those individuals who would have everlasting life. That choice was unconditional—that is, He did not use foreknowledge to know who would freely believe or who would willingly serve Him. His choice was not based on anything in the people chosen.
The U in TULIP is Unbiblical. There are two proofs from Scripture that Unconditional Election is contrary to Scripture.
First, it is unbiblical because in the Bible, election is always to service and never to eternal destiny.
Israel was chosen or elected to serve the Lord and to be the major world power (Matt 24:22, 24, 31). Jerusalem was chosen to be the world capital (1 Kings 11:13; Zech 2:12; Rev 21:2). Jesus chose twelve men to be His disciples (Luke 6:13). Matthias was chosen to take the place of Judas (Acts 1:24-26). Paul was chosen to be the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). The Father chose the Lord Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (Matt 12:18; 1 Pet 2:4). God chose Peter to be the one to take the promise of life to Cornelius and his household (Acts 15:7). Jewish believers in the first century were chosen to be sojourners when they were dispersed (1 Pet 1:1-2). Local churches have been chosen to serve the Lord in their communities (Eph 1:4; 1 Pet 5:13; 2 John 1, 13).
Second, Biblical election is often conditioned upon the faithfulness of the person chosen. For example, all church-age believers could be chosen to rule with Christ. But only those who persevere in the faith will be so chosen. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Lord Jesus will choose which believers will rule with Him in the Millennium and on the New Earth (Matt 22:14; Jas 2:5; 2 Pet 1:10-11; compare Luke 19:16-26; 1 John 2:28; Rev 3:21). Some believers will, but many will not.
In Is Calvinism Biblical? I cite two verses that disprove the U in TULIP: Acts 13:46 and John 5:39-40.
Using language inconsistent with unconditional election, Paul rebuked the Jews in Antioch for rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ: “…you… judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life…” (Acts 13:46). If God elected unconditionally, then no one could judge himself either worthy or unworthy of everlasting life.
I mentioned above that John 5:39-40 disproves Total Depravity. Those verses also disprove Unconditional Election. Jesus said that some legalistic Jews were “not willing to come to [Him] that [they] may have life.” That is inconsistent with the U in TULIP. According to Calvinism, if God did not elect someone, then there is nothing he can do to avoid eternal condemnation. The non-elect are doomed. Willingness or unwillingness has nothing to do with everlasting life, according to Calvinism. Have you ever seen a cadaver that was willing to grab a rope?
I’ve debated with many Calvinist pastors and theologians. None of them have been able to say that they are sure they have everlasting life. One reason is that they cannot be sure they are of the elect. They look at their works to try to determine whether they are on a trajectory that suggests they will probably persevere (the P in TULIP). But they know that they might fall away. If they do, then in their view they prove that they were never elected by God.
What a sad way to live. You can’t know where you will spend eternity until after you die.
The Calvinist teaching of Unconditional Election is unbiblical and dangerous. Don’t believe it for a second. It is hazardous to your spiritual health.
CONCLUSION
Calvinists stress that all five points of the system are logically consistent. They stand or fall together. That is true of the T and U in TULIP. They are consistent. The T is consistent with the U and vice versa. But consistency does not prove validity. Communism, for example, is logically consistent with its understanding of the flaws of capitalism. Atheism is logically consistent with its premises.
If you are a Calvinist, I urge you to read the Gospel of John carefully and prayerfully. Ask God to show you if certainty of one’s eternal destiny is possible. Are all who simply believe in Jesus eternally secure? Do I need to look at my works to see if I’m no longer a cadaver and if I’ve been elected? Or can I simply take Jesus at His word? God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6).
If you have a Calvinist friend or loved one, please encourage them to read John’s Gospel carefully and prayerfully. Ask them if they would like to be sure of their salvation, if that were possible. Calvinists lack assurance, but they would like to have it.
____________________
Bob Wilkin is Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society. He and Sharon live in Highland Village, TX. He has racewalked twelve marathons.
