We were contacted by someone who asked us to explain the Free Grace understanding of Calvinism’s five points. She sent a chart showing the difference between Calvinism and Arminianism on the five points. I slightly modified the chart to show my understanding of the differences:
| Calvinism | Arminianism | |
| Total Depravity | Without regeneration, belief in Christ is impossible. | Unbelievers have free will to believe. |
| Election | God unconditionally chose who will be saved. | God chose, based on foreknowledge. |
| Atonement | Christ died for the elect. | Christ died for all. |
| Grace | God’s grace is irresistible. | God’s grace is resistible. |
| Perseverance | The elect will persevere. | Believers may fail to persevere. If they do, they lose salvation. |
Now let’s consider how Free Grace handles those same five points.
| Total Depravity | Spiritual deadness is lack of everlasting life, not total inability. |
| Election | Election is to service, not eternal destiny. |
| Atonement | Christ’s shed blood makes everyone savable. |
| Grace | God’s grace is resistible. |
| Perseverance | If believers fail to persevere, they won’t rule with Christ, but will be in His kingdom forever. |
Here are some articles and books that you might want to consult for more details on the Free Grace understanding of the five points:
- Wilkin, “Why Am I a Zero-Point Calvinist?” (see here).
- Yates and Wilkin, “Did DTS Free Grace Stalwarts and Professors Hold to Four-Point Calvinism?” (see here).
- Wilkin, “The Perseverance of the Saints” (see here).
- Wright, “Review of Let the Scriptures Decide by Robert N. Wilkin” (see here).
- Wilkin, Is Calvinism Biblical? (book, available here).
- Vance, The Other Side of Calvinism (book, available here).
- Badger, Confronting Calvinism (book, available here).
- Lee, Grace Recovered: How Reading the Bible Led Me Away from TULIP (book, available here).
About twenty years ago, I presented Free Grace Theology to a group of about fifteen DTS students. Afterward, one of the students came up and asked how I could feel comfortable “contradicting 500 years of Christian scholarship.” My answer was that the issue is what Scripture teaches, not what “Christian scholarship” teaches. In addition, the view of mainstream Christian scholarship during the last 500 years has not been Calvinism, as the student suggested, but Catholicism (and Orthodoxy). Calvinism is a relatively small movement within Christianity.
Keep grace in focus, and you’ll be able to evaluate any theological system in light of the teachings of Scripture.
