Calvinism Flashcards
Scriptural support for the doctrine of predestination, that concludes that God’s plan for our salvation was in place before the foundations of the world.
Eph 1:4-5
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Eph 1:6
11 In him we were also chosen,[a] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
Acts 13:48
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
Rev 13:8
8 And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.[a]
Rom 8:28-29
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
What is the 5 event chain presented in Rom 8:28-29
Forknowledge > Predestination > The Calling > Justification > Glorification
What is Idolatry, according to John Piper and A.W Tozer?
The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of him. We imagine things about God and act as if they are true.
Wrong Ideas about God is Idolatry.
Our affections responds to our thoughts
When we have a false Idea of who God is, we have affections for something which is not God.
Right affection for God, depends on having a right view of God. Our conception of God needs to be both accurate, and worthy of Him, to avoid being an idolator.
We might have free will, but God is the one who gives us our desires and enables us to act
Eph 2:12-13
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Why is right thinking about what the Bible teaches about God and man and salvation really matters
Bad theology dishonors God and hurst people
Should we be faithful to a particular theological system or framework?
Being faithful to scripture is more important than being faithful to Calvinism or Arminianism
What does “thinking is essential for grasping Biblical truth” mean
Just as we need the Holy Spirit to illuminate the meaning of scriptures, we also need to think deeply about the scriptures
Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:7
7 Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.
What is the danger with Theological possitions, and pitting them against one another.
We can become arrogant.
We need to be humble. Like all fallen finite human people, you and I see in a mirror dimly. We do not claim to be perfect in what we know, or claim to know all that can be known.
But that does not mean we can’t know anything.
We can know some things confidently because of God’s revelation, but there remain things that God has not chosen to reveal to us, and we must sometimes be content with mystery
We need to acknowledge when we don’t know, and be content with the mysteries that God has chosen not to reveal.
Did Calvinism Start with TULIP?
No, TULIP is an answer or response to the Arminian challange to Calvinism, namely the 5 Remonstrance
What does TULIP stand for?
- Total Depravity
- Unconditional Election
- Limited Atonement
- Irresistible Grace
- Preservation of the Saints
Calvinsim v.s. Arminianism: Depravity
- Total Depravity
Both Calvinists and Arminians agree that no one can respond to God’s offer of salvation, without the assistance of divine Grace.
Unlike Calvinists, Arminians believe that eventhough people are depraved and corrupt, and that while God enables us through his grace, it is us who provide the ultimate, final and dicisive impulse to decide whether or not we use the grace we have been given or not
Calvinists on the other hand, believe that we are so utterly and entirely depraved that we are unable to trust God, without a special work of grace to change our hearts so that we nescesarily and willingly believe. In ohter words, if this grace doesn’t compell them to believe, then they wont believe.
What is Pelagianism?
It is a reponse to Augustine’s doctrine of Total Depravity. It states that a person has the ability to respond to God’s offer of salvation through their own efforts without the need for divine assistance
It is exemplified by the phrase “Just will it, and you can do it!”
The consequence of Pelagianism is that the Person, not God, is responsible for their own salvation.
Calvinism Vs Arminianism: Irresitable Grace
How can you say that Grace can’t be resisted, when the bible says the following:
Acts 7:51
“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
Eph 4:30
30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,[a] guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
1 Thes 5:19
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
Clearly it is possible to resist God’s gace, but what calvinists mean is not that it is not possible to resist God’s grace, what they mean is that if God so chooses, he can overcome your resistance.
The only reason people are NOT christian is because they resisted God’s grace, and the only reason some ARE christian is because God overcame their resistance.
Ofcourse you can resist, you just cannot resist any longer than He wants you to.
- Faith and Repentance are a gift of God, and not from ourselves
Acts 11:18
18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they iglorified God, saying, j“Then to the Gentiles also God has kgranted lrepentance that leads to life.”
2 Timothy 2:25
25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
Acts 5:35
31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give prepentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Ephesians 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Romans 12:3
3 Because of the privilege and authority[a] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.[b]
2 Timothy 2:28
24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
- Nobody can come to Christ, unless God draws or enables them
John 6:44
44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.
John 12:32
32 And I, when I am lifted up[g] from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
John 6:64-66
64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
1 Corinthians 1:22-24
22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.
24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles,[a] Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 John 5:5
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well
1 John 5:9
9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.
- God is the one that overcomes our resistance to Him
Deuteronomy 29-2-4
2 [a]Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the Lord did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to his whole country— 3 all the great tests of strength, the miraculous signs, and the amazing wonders. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you minds that understand, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear!
Deuteronomy 30: 6
6 “The Lord your God will change your heart[b] and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!
Ezekiel 36:26-27
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
- God’s grace is irresistable
Romans 9:17-19
17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.”[j] 18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”
Doctrine of Total Depravity
1 Corinthian 15:10
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
In this passage we se the we DO expend ourselves, we DO expend our will, we DO make choices, we DO work hard, but it is only by the Grace of God that we were able to.
Eph 2:13
13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
All over the bible we find God speaking in conditional language. If you do this, then I will do this… , this might lead people to believe that God’s responses requires our efforts first, that we are being left to our selves, however this is not the case because, when God says “If you do this” He also intends to enables us to do it through his grace.
2 Chronicals 30: 6 -12
6 At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:
“People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”
10 The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people scorned and ridiculed them. 11 Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem. 12 Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord
In this passage, we see God using conditional language If you do x, I will do y, but we also see in verse 12, that it was God that gave them a heart to do it. God did not leave them to fullfill the condition by themselves, they were not unaided in fullfilling the condition. God enabled them through His grace to fullfill the initial condition.
Revelations 3:20
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Should we conclude that we are left to first fullfill the condition “open the door” by ourselves? No God is the one that enables, or inclines us to open the door.
The prayer of St.Augustine: “Command what you will, and grant what you commad”
Total Depravity
We are called to live our lives to the Glory of God
1 Corinthians 10:31
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Romans 3:23-28
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[a] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Romans 1:18-32
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.[i] 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
What is sin? Anything that is not from faith
Rom 14:22 -23
22 You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. 23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.[a]
If you are not depending on God, to enable you, to empower you, so that He gets the glory, then you are sinning.
1 peter 4:11
11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
Psalm 50:53
Then call on me when you are in trouble,
and I will rescue you,
and you will give me glory.”
Any sin you commit is an opposition to a Holy Infinte God, no matter how small you think the violation is. It is not about the tresspass, but it’s about the one that is tresspassed against.
James 2:11
10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. 11 For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.”[e] So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
The doctrine of Total Depravity
Also called Moral Inabillity
