TULIP is an acronym used to refer to the five points of Calvinism. It idea is to emphasise the sovereignty of God in redemption. While this is taught without doubt in Scripture, we also find the many ‘who-so-ever believes’ passages with put the responsibility of responding squarely on man himself.
To try to figure out the line where Sovereignty of God ends and the Responsibility of Man begin is an attempt in vain. It is best to allow these two truths to coexist in our minds as they do in the Scriptures. Let there be a healthy tension between those seemingly contradictory schools of thought. A deep study of the following passages can help in finding true rest, joy and great assurance in Gods sovereign work in our life. When I first understood and imbibed these truths, my joy knew no bounds.
T: Total Depravity of Man –
indicating therefore that unless God initiated the work of salvation within us, we would have been unable to do so.Genesis 6:5
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every intent of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil
continually.
After the flood:
Genesis 8: 21
And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake,
although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
Jeremiah 17: 9
The heart is
deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Mark 7: 21-23
For
from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, "thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. "All these evil things come from within and defile a man."
Jeremiah 13: 23
Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.
Job 14:4
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one!1 Corinthians 2:14
But the
natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
U: Unconditional Election –
it is irrational for man to consider that there was absolutely no reason for God having chosen us...unworthy sinners...yet that is exactly what the Scriptures teachRomans 9:11-16
v.11 for the children not yet being born,
nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),
v.12 it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger."
v.13 As it is written, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated."
v.14
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!v.15 For He says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion."v.16 So then it is
not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.Invitation is to all: Mathew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” But ALL do not come.
Mathew 22:14: "For many are called, but few are chosen."
John 15:16: "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you…”
Romans 8:28-31
v.28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose.v.29 For whom He [1]
foreknew, He also [2]
predestined to be
conformed to the image of His Son, [Purpose] that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
v.30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also [3]
called; whom He called, these He also [4] justified; and whom He justified, these He also [5]
glorified.v.31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Ephesians 1:4
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love
{Revelations 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.}
L: Limited Atonement –
This as point emphasises that, if God in His foreknowledge knew those who were ultimately going to be saved, it was necessary for Jesus Christ to have died only for that select group and not for the whole world. For practical purposes this point has limited application and I would not hold on to it very strongly. To me it only a point for theoretical debate. As we do not know whom God had elected, we would have to preach the gospel to all. The Scripture seems to emphasise that Christ died for all human beings without distinction (i.e.: Jews and Gentiles alike) not that He died for all human beings without exception.Mathew 1:21
"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Galatians 1: 3,4
v.3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
v.4
who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father
Titus 2:14
Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world!John 4: 42
Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ,
the Saviour of the world."
Christ died for all human beings without distinction (I.e.: Jews and Gentiles alike) not that He died for all human beings without exception. Passages like: 2 Cor. 5:19; 1 John 2: 1,2; Romans 5: 18; 2 Cor. 5: 14,15; 1 Timothy 2: 4-6: Hebrews 2: 9; 2 Peter 3: 9 should be understood in this context.
I: Irresistible Grace – that draws us towards HimJohn 6: 44
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me
draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6: 65
And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me
unless it has been granted to him by My Father."{Repentance and Faith are also divine gifts}
Acts 11:18
When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then
God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."Acts 13:48
Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord.
And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.Acts 16: 14
Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God.
The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
1 Corinthians 12:3
Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and
no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.John 3:27
John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing
unless it has been given to him from heaven.P: Perseverance of Saints –
despite all that may happen, those who have called by God will persevere to the end and not be lost.John 6: 37-40
v.37All that the Father
gives Me
will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me
I will by no means cast out.v.38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
v.39 "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me
I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
v.40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 10:26-29
v.26 "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.
v.27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
v.28 "And I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish; neither
shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.v.29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and
no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.Ephesians 1:13, 14
v.13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were
sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
v.14 who is the
guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
The Security of Our Salvation rests not on us but on the commitment that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have one with the other.Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that
He who has begun a good work in you
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Jude 24
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to
present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
John 5:24
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and
shall not come into judgment, but
has passed from death into life.1 John 3:24
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
Passages that may bring doubt:Hebrews 6: 4-8
v.4 For it is impossible for those who were once [1] enlightened, and have [2] tasted the heavenly gift, and have [3] become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
v.5 and have [4] tasted the good word of God and [5] the powers of the age to come,
v.6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since
[as long as] they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
v.7 For the earth [believer], which drinks in the rain [blessing] that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;
v.8 but if it bears thorns and briars [lifestyle], it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned [the vegetation is burned, the earth remains]
For the five reasons numbered above, the persons referred to here are definitely genuinely born again believers. As long as such believers continue to crucify the Son of God and put Him to open shame by their life and conduct, it would be impossible to renew them to repentance. This implies that, if at a certain point of time they stop putting the Son of God to open shame, it would then be possible to renew them to repentance. The illustration given by the author of Hebrews in v. 7, 8 also corroborates with this in that the believer is not destroyed but his works alone are burned. This truth is further reinforced in the following passage of Scripture:1 Corinthians 3: 12-15
v.12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
v.13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.
v.14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
v.15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss;
but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.Conclusion:Ephesians 2: 8-10
v.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
v.9
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
v.10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
1 Peter 1: 3-8
v.3 as
His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
v.4 by which have been
given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
v.5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
v.6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
v.7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
v.8
For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
v.9
For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and
has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.v.10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to
make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
v.11 for
so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2: 12
v.12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;v.13
for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
