Let's Talk Flowers...

Here’s a bit of a cut and paste history of the Five Points of Calvinism (aka TULIP):

A controversy in Dutch churches triggered by the rise of Arminianism prompted the National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618, which is more concisely known as the Synod of Dort. The main purpose of the Synod of Dort was to settle the controversy stirred up by Arminianism and its followers. After his death, the followers of Jacob Arminius expressed objections to both the Belgic Confession (Confession of Faith) and the teaching of John Calvin, Theodore Beza, and their followers. Furthermore, the objections against Calvinism were compiled together and published as The Remonstrance of 1610 (proponents of said document were thus called Remonstrants). In short, the document outlined the Five Articles of Remonstrance. In strictly basic and concise form, they appear as follows:

1. That the divine decree of predestination is conditional, not absolute;

2. That the Atonement is in intention universal;

3. That man cannot of himself exercise a saving faith;

4. That though the grace of God is a necessary condition of human effort it does not act irresistibly in man and

5. That believers are able to resist sin but are not beyond the possibility of falling from grace.

In conclusion, the Synod of Dort rejected these views. In turn they established their own set of five points based on Reformed doctrine. These points were: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints, or as we now refer to them as the mnemonic TULIP or the Five Points of Calvinsim. Furthermore, “The Canons are not intended to be a comprehensive explanation of Reformed doctrine, but only an exposition on the five points of doctrine in dispute.”

Just to expound a bit more I’d like to just take the opportunity to add some quick and most likely unsubstantial definitions to each point represented by TULIP since their titles alone can’t really answer for themselves.

Total Depravity- "Man, by his fall Into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto." -From the Westminster Confession

Unconditional Election- “God does not base His election on anything He sees in the individual. He chooses the elect according to the kind intention of His will (Eph. 1:4-8; Rom. 9:11) without any consideration of merit within the individual. Nor does God look into the future to see who would pick Him. Also, as some are elected into salvation, others are not (Rom. 9:15, 21).”

Limited Atonement- “Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not efficacious for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect. Support for this position is drawn from such scriptures as Matt. 26:28 where Jesus died for ‘many'; John 10:11, 15 which say that Jesus died for the sheep (not the goats, per Matt. 25:32-33); John 17:9 where Jesus in prayer interceded for the ones given Him, not those of the entire world; Acts 20:28 and Eph. 5:25-27 which state that the Church was purchased by Christ, not all people; and Isaiah 53:12 which is a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion where he would bore the sins of many (not all).” I know what you may be thinking; the verses mentioned are somewhat unsubstantial. I’ll try to get back to it later but I’d like to mention that the premises of this doctrine heavily rely on unconditional election, in which I believe there’s more to be sought out.

Irresistible Grace- "All those whom God has predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of death, in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly, to understand the things of God; taking away their heart of stone, and giving them a heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and by His almighty power determining them to that which is good; and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ, yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace.” “This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from any thing at all foreseen in man, who is altogether passive therein, until, being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed by it."
"Effectual calling is the Work of God's Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, He doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the Gospel." –from the Westminster Confession and the Shorter Catechism

Perseverance of the Saints- "They whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved." –from the Westminster Confession

Still working on putting together Greek definitions of sin in I John 3:9 as well as consolidating commentaries and views, but that should be up sometime tomorrow. However, it's 0500 and I'm going to get some sleep.