THE REFORMED FAITH
Part VI
by Loraine Boettner
The Two systems Contrasted
We have said that
Christianity comes to its fullest expression in the Reformed Faith. The great
advantage of the Reformed Faith is that in the framework of the Five Points of
Calvinism it sets forth clearly what the Bible teaches concerning the way of
salvation. Only when these truths are seen as a unit an in relation to each
other can one really understand or appreciate the Christian system in all of its
strength and beauty.
The reason that so
many Christians have only a weak faith, and that so many churches present only a
rather superficial form of Christianity, is that they never really see the
system in its logical consistency. It is not enough for the professing Christian
to know that God loves him and that his sins have been forgiven. He should know
how and why his redemption has been accomplished and how it has been made
effective. And that is set forth systematically in the Five Points of Calvinism.
Historically, the
Five Points of Calvinism have been held by the Presbyterian and Reformed
churches and by many Baptists, while the substance of the Five Points of
Arminianism has been held by the Methodist and Lutheran churches and also by
many Baptists.
The Five Points of
Calvinism may be more easily remembered if hey are associated with the word
T-U-L-I-P:
T - Total Inability
U - Unconditional Election
L - Limited Atonement
I - Irresistible (Efficacious) Grace
P - Perseverance of the Saints
The following
material, taken from Romans: an Interpretive outline, by David N. Steele and
Curtis Thomas, Baptist ministers in Little Rock, Arkansas, contrasts the Five
Points of Calvinism with the Five Points of Arminianism in the clearest and most
concise form that we have found anywhere. It is also included as an Appendix in
The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, by the present writer. Each of these
books is published by the Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co.,
Phillipsburg, N.J.
THE "FIVE POINTS"
OF ARMINIANISM
1. Free-Will or
Human Ability
Although human
nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of
total spiritual helplessness. God graciously enables every sinner to repent and
believe, but He does not interfere with man's freedom. Each sinner posses a free
will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. Man's freedom consists
of his ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not
enslaved to his sinful nature. The sinner has the power to either cooperate with
God's Spirit and be regenerated or resist God's grace and perish. The lost
sinner needs the Spirit's assistance, but he does not have to be regenerated by
the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is man's act and precedes the new
birth. Faith is the sinner's gift to God; it is man's contribution to salvation.
2. Conditional
Election
God's choice of
certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world was based
upon His foreseeing that they would respond to His call. He selected only those
whom He knew would of themselves freely believe the gospel. Election therefore
was determined by or conditioned upon what man would do. The faith which God
foresaw and upon which He based His choice was not given to the sinner by God
(it was not created by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit) but resulted
solely from man's will. It was left entirely up to man as to who would believe
and therefore as to who would be elected unto salvation. God chose those whom He
knew would, of their own free will, choose Christ. Thus the sinner's choice of
Christ, not God's choice of the sinner, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
3. Universal
Redemption or General Atonement
Christ's redeeming
work made it possible for everyone to be saved but did not actually secure the
salvation of anyone. Although Christ died for all men and for every man, only
those who believe on Him are saved. His death enabled God to pardon sinners on
the condition that they believe, but it did not actually put away anyone's sins.
Christ's redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it.
4. The Holy
Spirit Can Be Effectually Resisted
The Spirit calls
inwardly all those who are called outwardly by the gospel invitation; He does
all that He can to bring every sinner to salvation. But inasmuch as man is free,
he can successfully resist the Spirit's call. The Spirit cannot regenerate the
sinner until he believes; faith (which is man's contribution) proceeds and makes
possible the new birth. Thus, man's free will limits the Spirit in the
application of Christ's saving work. The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ
those who allow Him to have His way with them. Until the sinner responds, the
Spirit cannot give life. God's grace, therefore, is not invincible; it can be,
and often is, resisted and thwarted by man.
5. Falling from
Grace
Those who believe
and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith,
etc.
All Arminians have
not been agreed on this point; some have held that believers are eternally
secure in Christ - that once a sinner is regenerated, he can never be lost.
According to
Arminianism:
Salvation is
accomplished through the combined efforts of God (who takes the initiative) and
man (who must respond) - man's response being the determining factor. God has
provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effective only for
those who, of their own free will, "choose" to cooperate with Him and accept His
offer of grace. At the crucial point, man's will plays a decisive role; thus
man, not God, determines who will be recipients of the gift of salvation.
THE "FIVE POINTS" OF
CALVINISM
1. Total Inability
or Total Depravity
Because of the
fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is
dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and
desperately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature,
therefore, he will not - indeed he cannot - choose good over evil in the
spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit's assistance
to bring a sinner to Christ - it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes
the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man
contributes to salvation but is itself a port of God's gift of salvation - it is
God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God.
2. Unconditional
Election
God's choice of
certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested
solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based
on any foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance,
etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom He
selected. These acts are the result, not the cause of God's choice. Election
therefore was not determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous quality or act
foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignly elected He brings through the power
of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ. Thus God's choice of the
sinner, not the sinner's choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
3. Particular
Redemption or Limited Atonement
Christ's redeeming
work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for
them. His death was substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place
of certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His
people, Christ's redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation,
including faith which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly
applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their
salvation.
4. The Efficacious
Call of the Spirit or Irresistible Grace
In addition to the
outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the
gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that
inevitably brings them to salvation. The external call (which is made only to
the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this
special call the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited
in His work of applying salvation by man's will, nor is He dependent upon man's
cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to
cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God's
grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of
those to whom it is extended.
5. Perseverance of
the Saints
All who are chosen
by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved.
They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and thus persevere to the
end.
According to
Calvinism:
Salvation is
accomplished by the almighty power of the Triune God. The Father chose a people,
the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death effective by
bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly
obey the gospel. The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the
work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the
recipients of the gift of salvation.
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