2. Calvinism Revival
• John Calvin was born in France, July 10, 1509; died
1564
• Many today are celebrating John Calvin’s 500th
birthday (see the article below in The Tennessean
7/12/09; 1B,3B)…
3. Calvinism Revival
The first thing that Joel Littlepage did when he got to Nashville was ditch God.
Littlepage, an Alabama native, came to Belmont University two years ago to study music. Raised
United Methodist, Littlepage lost interest in religion by the time he'd got to college. He said
that years of fun and games in church youth groups gave him little theology to believe in.
"I never gave up belief in God," he said. "But I had my doubts about him.” Then Littlepage
discovered John Calvin. Before long he was up to his ears in double predestination and total
depravity — terms made famous by Calvin, a leader of the Protestant Reformation. He began
downloading sermons from Calvinist preachers like John Piper on his iPod, joined a Calvinist
group on campus, and became a true believer.
He's not alone.
As Calvin turned 500 on Friday, his theology has seen a revival. Calvinist groups like the Reformed
University Fellowship are thriving on campuses nationwide, including at Belmont and
Vanderbilt University. Calvinist preachers like Piper and Tim Keller are penning bestsellers.
And Calvin's newfound followers say that his intense theology is a remedy for the doctrine-
free, Christiantity-lite they grew up with. But some older believers, especially among
Southern Baptists, say Calvinism is filled with dangerous errors.
4. Calvinism Revival
God's sovereignty
Born July 10, 1509, in Noyon, France, Calvin was only 7 years old when Martin Luther nailed his
95 Theses to a church door in Wittenburg, Germany, sparking the Protestant Reformation. He
first trained as a lawyer, as his father wanted Calvin to stay out of church politics. Calvin
eventually embraced the Protestant faith, and became a minister in Geneva. He became
famous — or infamous — for taking Luther's ideas to the extreme.
His beliefs were condensed into five points, known by the acronym TULIP: total depravity,
unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints.
Behind all of these tenets is an intense belief in God's sovereignty — the notion that God controls
everything. That led Calvin to advocate what's known as double predestination. He believed
that God has chosen to save some people, and condemn others, and that there's nothing
human beings can do to change their destiny. That contradicted the idea of earning your way
into heaven with good works.
"Calvin is coming from the medieval Roman Catholic church — when it was all about works, it was
all about earning your way to heaven," says Rev. Ken Locke, pastor of Downtown
Presbyterian Church. "Calvin and the reformers said that we are saved by grace, so I don't
have to work hard to make God love me.”
5. Calvinism Revival
Calvin's ideas would eventually spread to the New World. The most famous American Calvinist is
Jonathan Edwards, best know for his sermon on "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."
Many new Calvinists are young people dissatisfied by the modern church growth strategies, says
Collin Hansen, author of Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New
Calvinists.
Inspired by pastors like Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church in California, many
churches dumped their denominational ties to focus on bringing in new people. That
approach led to a boom in megachurches. But it also downplayed core Christian doctrines,
leaving some with what felt like a generic experience.
"In the 1980s and 1990s, the pragmatic approach was dominant — and it reaped a lot of
evangelistic fruit," Hansen said. "A lot of kids grew up in these churches, and in those kids,
there's a need for something more than they've experienced in their youth groups. Church
might be fun, but you need more than that."
By contrast, a preacher like Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis or Tim
Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, focus on hard-core doctrine. They
often draw on theologians like Calvin in their sermons, which can last more than an hour.
"For kids growing up in megachurches, to learn that their faith predates the 1980s, is really
encouraging," Hansen said.
6. Calvinism Revival
Permission to fail
Calvin's pessimistic attitude toward human nature is also an appeal. He stressed total depravity
— the idea that human beings are completely sinful, and can't do anything to earn God's
favor. That's a relief to many students who've grown up in church, said Kevin Twit, who
oversees the Reformed University Fellowship at Belmont. Calvinism gives them permission to
fail.
"They've been trying to live by their own will power — to be fired up for Jesus. By the time they
got to college, they are worn out," Twit said.
Calvin's dark view of humanity and religion offers a stark contrast to the optimistic outlook of
ministers like Joel Osteen, the so-called smiling preacher.Log on to Osteen's website, for
example, and you'll find this greeting: "We believe that your best days are ahead. God has
great plans for you and we want to be there to help encourage you along the way."
Calvin described human sin a bit differently: "For our nature is not only utterly devoid of
goodness, but so prolific in all kinds of evil, that it can never be idle."
"Calvin is the anti-Osteen," said Paul Lim, a Calvin scholar, who teaches Christian history at
Vanderbilt Divinity School.
Lim says that Calvin understood human nature — that even people who attend church or try to
live good lives have a dark side.
7. Calvinism Revival
"We all have feet of clay," he said.
One of the hotbeds of Calvinism is Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, the largest
Baptist Seminary in the world. Russ Moore, dean of Southern Seminary, calls himself a four
point Calvinist. He doesn't accept limited atonement, believing instead that Jesus died for all
sinners.
Still, he thinks it is important to discuss the question of predestination.
"All Christians believe in predestination and election, because those words are in the Bible," he
said. "One has to ask, if we've got these words in the Bible, what do they mean?"
Some critics fear that Calvinism makes believers lazy, especially when it comes to evangelism.
Morris Chapman, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee, took
aim at Calvinism at the Southern Baptist recent annual meeting.
"If there is any doctrine of grace that drives men to argue and debate more than it drives them to
pursue lost souls and persuade all men to be reconciled to God,"
he said, "then it is no doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ.“
Other Southern Baptists blame Calvinism for the recent declines in Southern Baptist baptisms
and membership.
8. Calvinism Revival
"Southern Baptists no longer agree on what is the Gospel. Does God love everyone? Did Jesus die
for everyone to have an opportunity to be saved?" said Jerry Nash, a member of Cornerstone
Baptist Church in Fort White, Fla. "Calvinism splits families, churches, and associations. And it
will either kill or split the Southern Baptist Convention."
Even fans of Calvin admit that his newfound followers sometimes go overboard. Most like to
ferociously debate ideas. And new converts often have little patience for anyone who
disagrees with them.
"They speak as if they are seeing the Bible for the first time — and for some of them, that's the
case," Hansen said. "They assume that every one has to see things the way they do. I call it
the cage phase: It would be better for their first year or two, if you just locked them in a cage,
and didn't let them talk to anyone."
Locke, the son of Southern Baptist missionaries, says he disagrees with Calvin on some points. On
predestination, for example, he doesn't believe that God will intentionally condemn people.
But he does think that Calvin reminds people not to trifle with God. He says that many people
believe Jesus is their buddy, and have lost reverence for holy things.
"That's part of the problem with the megachurch movement, where they have taken the cross
out of the building. It has downsized God. Calvin reminds us how big God is.”
9. Historical Background
• Augustine, a bishop of Hippo in Northern Africa (A.D.
354-430), believed that mankind after the Fall was
totally depraved and could not exercise his free will.
He also believed that Adam’s descendants are all
born with a sinful, depraved nature (“original sin” or
“total depravity”). Man cannot use his free will and
choose to be saved. Only God’s elect can be saved
and by God’s grace alone. Augustine was influenced
by the Gnostic doctrine of the inherent evil of all
flesh and matter.
10. Historical Background
• Pelagius, a British monk (c. A.D. 400), came to Rome
to meet Augustine and debate this issue. Pelagius
believed that man’s sins were not inherited from
Adam and that each man could exercise his free will
to choose right and wrong.
11. Historical Background
• Augustine opposed Pelagius and the views of
Pelagius were condemned as heresy by the Council
of Ephesus (A.D. 431). Augustine’s belief in total
depravity and the bondage of the will prevailed in
the Roman Catholic Church from that time to the
present day (as witnessed in the practice of
sprinkling babies for inherited sin).
12. Historical Background
• The modern denominational concept of
predestination (God choosing each person to be
saved or lost without free will) was developed first by
Augustine and then made popular by John Calvin.
13. Historical Background
• John Calvin (1509-1564), a French reformer, wrote
The Institutes of Christian Religion in Geneva,
Switzerland, A.D. 1536. In this work, he set forth his
beliefs which later became known as the Five Points
of Calvinism: T-U-L-I-P. Calvin followed the teaching
of Augustine that man is totally incapable of doing
any good and is not able to receive the gospel
without direct divine intervention. Martin Luther,
A.D. 1483-1546, was another major figure at this
time who believed mankind has no free will. He
wrote, “The Bondage of Will”.
14. Historical Background
• Jacobus Armenius opposed Calvin in 1603 in Holland.
Armenius died in 1610 but his followers continued to
oppose Calvinism. Calvin and Armenius debated the
issue of the predestination of God and the free will
of man. Calvin taught that the choice of man to be
saved or lost was determined by God’s sovereign will
alone, by God’s free grace and greatness; not
conditioned on man’s free will. Calvin’s
understanding of God’s sovereignty and greatness
led him to believe that God’s sovereignty (might,
power, control) completely eliminated man’s free will
to choose. Therefore, salvation and damnation are
unconditional.
15. Historical Background
• At the Synod of Dort in Holland (1618-1619),
Calvinism was exonerated and Armenianism was
opposed with the Five Articles Against the
Remonstrants; Calvin’s “TULIP” was systematized and
formally taught from this time forward.
• The five points of Calvinism are T-U-L-I-P: T (total
depravity), U (unconditional election and
reprobation), L (limited atonement), I (irresistible
grace), and P (perseverance of the saints).
16. Historical Background
• John Calvin taught that the choice of man to be
saved or lost was determined by God’s sovereign will
alone, by God’s free grace and greatness; not
conditioned in any way on man’s free will. Calvin’s
understanding of God’s sovereignty led him to
believe that God’s sovereignty (might, power,
control) completely eliminates man’s free will to
choose. Salvation and damnation are thereby
unconditional.
17. Historical Background
• John Calvin wrote: “For all are not created in equal
condition; rather eternal life is foreordained for
some, eternal damnation for others” (Institutes of
the Christian Religion, Book 3, Chapter 21, Section 5)
... “As Scripture, then, clearly shows, we say that God
once established by his eternal and unchangeable
plan those whom he long before determined once
for all to receive into salvation, and those whom, on
the other hand, he would devote to destruction”
(Section 7).
18. Historical Background
• John Calvin was opposed to the works-based
theology of the Catholic Church of his day which
focused on man. Calvin set for a theology that
focused on the sovereignty of God and argued that
man had no part in his salvation.
19. Historical Background
• The Westminster Confession of Faith, adopted by the
Presbyterian Church in 1647, reads: “By the decree
of God … some men and angels are predestinated
unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to
everlasting death (Chapter 3, Section 3).
• The Philadelphia Confession of Faith, adopted by the
Baptist Church reads similarly (Section 3, Number 4).
20. Historical Background
• The major denominations that came out of the
Protestant Reformation followed some form of
Calvinism (Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist,
Methodist, etc.). Today, many of the mainline
denominations are Calvinistic in their theology. Many
commentaries are written by denominationalists
who are influenced by Calvinism.
• Some members of churches of Christ have accepted
portions of Calvinism (see Neo-Calvinism in the
Church of Christ, Tom Roberts, Editor, Cogdill
Foundation, 1980).
21. Five Points of Calvinism
T – Total Depravity
U – Unconditional Election and Reprobation
L – Limited Atonement
I – Irresistible Grace
P – Perseverance of the Saints
22. Total Hereditary Depravity
(Stated)
• Calvinism: the sin of Adam corrupted the whole
human race; Adam’s guilt was transmitted to all
humans (“Original Sin”); man is so corrupted and
depraved (dead) that he cannot do any good; man
cannot exercise his free-will to do good, but is wholly
inclined to do evil; sin is inherited, a child is in sin at
birth, and a child is totally depraved at birth
• Common proof-texts: Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Ex. 20:5;
Job 14:4; 15:14-16; Psa. 51:5; 58:3; Rom. 5:12;
Eph. 2:1,3
23. Total Depravity
(Answered)
• All are born upright and innocent (Deut. 1:39;
Eccl. 7:29; Mt. 18:3)
• Sin is committed, not transmitted (Rom. 7:9;
Jas. 1:13-14; 1 Jn. 3:4; 5:17)
• Each one is accountable for his own sin (Ezek. 18:20)
• Sin in one’s life does not eliminate all good (Lk. 8:15)
• Sin can grow worse (2 Tim. 3:13)
24. Unconditional Election
(Stated)
• Calvinism: since mankind is totally depraved and
cannot choose to do good, God, by sovereign decree
saves mankind unconditionally; God predestines
some to be saved and others to be lost without
regard to any conditions, character, or conduct
• Common Proof-texts: Acts 13:48; Rom. 8:28-30;
9:11-13,15-18,22-23; 11:5-6; Eph. 1:3-14
25. Unconditional Election
(Answered)
• One must work the works of God to be saved
(Jn. 6:29; Acts 10:34)
• One must obey conditions to be saved (Heb. 5:8-9;
2 Thess. 1:8)
• One is not saved by grace or faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9;
Jas. 2:26)
• Election is conditional – “if” (Jer. 18:7-10)
• Election is in a “body” … “in Christ” (Eph. 1:3ff; 3:9-10)
26. Limited Atonement
(Stated)
• Calvinism: since some have been predestined by God
to be lost, Jesus did not die for them; Jesus’ death
was limited in scope to the elect only; Jesus did not
die for the non-elect; the blessings of Jesus’
atonement (reconciliation, redemption) are for the
elect only and no one else
• Common Proof-texts: Isa. 53:12; Mt. 1:21; 20:28;
26:28; Jn. 1:11; 6:35-40; 10:11,15,27-29; 11:50-53;
17:1-11,20,24-26; Acts 20:28; Rom. 8:32-34;
Eph. 5:25-27; Heb. 2:17; 3:1; 9:15,28; Rev. 5:9
27. Limited Atonement
(Answered)
• The blood of Jesus is for provided for all (Jn. 1:29; 3:16;
6:51; 12:32-33; Rom. 5:8-9; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Heb. 2:9;
1 Tim. 2:6; 4:10; 1 Jn. 2:1-2; 4:14); however, it is
appropriated only by a few (Mt. 7:14)
• The gospel is for all (Mt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15-16)
• The gospel invitation is for all (Mt. 11:28; Rev. 22:17)
• God does not want anyone to be lost (Mt. 18:14; 23:37;
Acts 17:30-31; 1 Tim. 2:4; Tit. 2:11,14; 2 Pet. 3:8-9)
28. Irresistible Grace
(Stated)
• Calvinism: since the elect for whom Christ died are
unconditionally saved, God irresistibly calls them to
salvation by the Holy Spirit; the non-elect cannot
hear or heed this call; the elect cannot resist or
oppose this call – an “experience of grace”
• Common Proof-texts: Jn. 1:12-14; 3:3-8; Acts 16:14;
1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 1:17-18; 2:8; Phil. 2:12-13; Tit. 3:5;
1 Jn. 5:20
29. Irresistible Grace
(Answered)
• The gospel is God’s power to save (Rom. 1:16; 10:17;
2 Thess. 2:14); the gospel can be rejected (Acts 13:46)
• Jesus (Jn. 12:47-48), the Holy Spirit (Neh. 9:30;
Acts 7:51; Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19), and the Devil
(Jas. 4:7) can indeed be rejected and resisted
• God’s grace is not irresistibly given, but freely offered
(Eph. 2:8; Tit. 2:11)
• Man, not God, does the believing and the confessing
(Rom. 10:9-10); man is urged to repent (Acts 2:38,40)
30. Perseverance of the Saints
(Stated)
• Calvinism: since some are predestined to be saved
and irresistibly called, they will be eternally secure
no matter they do or not do; they can neither totally
nor finally fall away – “once saved always saved”
• Common Proof-texts: Jn. 3:16,36; 5:24; 6:37; 10:27-
29; Rom. 8:1,31-39; 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; Eph. 1:13-14;
Phil. 1:6; 2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Pet. 1:5; 1 Jn. 5:1-3
31. Perseverance of the Saints
(Answered)
• There are plain statements of apostasy (Lk. 8:12-13;
Gal. 5:4; Jas. 5:19-20; Jude 24; Rev. 3:5)
• There are severe warnings of apostasy (Jn. 15:1-6;
1 Cor. 9:27; 10:12; Rom. 11:22; Heb. 2:1; 3:12-14;
10:26-29; 12:15; 2 Pet. 1:10; 3:17; 2 Jn. 8)
• There are certain promises of apostasy (1 Tim. 4:1)
• There are clear examples of apostasy (Acts 8:20-24;
1 Tim. 1:19-20; 5:12; 2 Tim. 2:18; Heb. 6:4-6;
2 Pet. 2:1-3,20-22; Jude 5)
32. Calvinism’s Consequences
Consequences for God
• God does not want all to be saved (Ezek. 18:23;
33:11; 1 Tim. 2:4; Tit. 2:11; 2 Pet. 3:8)
• God is a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11;
Eph. 6:19; Col. 3:25; 1 Pet. 1:17)
• God forces man to be saved or lost (Rev. 3:20; 22:17)
• God is responsible for the damnation of the wicked
(Ezek. 18:21-32; 33:10-20)
33. Calvinism’s Consequences
Consequences for Man
• Man blames heredity for sin and excuses sin
(Total Depravity)
• Man is not motivated to act; a fatalistic view of life is
adopted (Unconditional Election)
• Man is a robot without a free-will, or choice
(Irresistible Grace) – Gen. 4:6-7; Deut. 30:19;
Josh. 24:15; Heb. 11:25
• Man lives any way he wants (Perseverance of the S.)
34. Calvinism’s Consequences
Consequences for Man
• Man is not truly accountable to God, but only doing
what God predestined him to do (Eccl. 12:14;
Mt. 25:19; Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 22:12-13)
35. Calvinism’s Consequences
Consequences for Gospel Preaching
• Why preach to the whole world, if the whole world
cannot be saved (Mt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15-16;
Acts 8:4)?
• The all-sufficiency of the gospel call is denied
(Jn. 6:44-45; Rom. 1:16; 10:14-15,17; 2 Thess. 3:14)
• The gospel invitation (Rev. 22:17) and call to
repentance (Acts 17:30) is foolish
36. Calvinism’s Consequences
Consequences for the Devil
• There is no work for the Devil. Why should the Devil
try to get people to be lost, if the lost are
predestined to be lost anyway and can never be
saved, and the saved elect can never be lost
(Lk. 8:12; 1 Pet. 5:8)?
37. Calvin’s TULIP Picked and Plucked
• Calvinism when tested under the light of God’s truth
is found to be false (Acts 17:11; 1 Thess. 5:12;
1 Jn. 4:1)
• Calvinism is “not after Christ” (Col. 2:8)
• We listen to Jesus Christ, not to John Calvin (Mt. 17:5)
