Earthly Schools Of Thought About The Sovereignty Of God And Human Responsibility

Today, I will present a short summation of the dominant schools of thought in the Church to help provide a cursory understanding of them.

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36 ESV)

CALVINISM

The most dominant school of thought in the Church today is Reformed Theology, also known as Calvinism, which adheres to the theological traditions and teachings of John Calvin and other preachers of the Reformation era who broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century.

Calvinism teaches that God limited atonement by ordaining every future event before creation and has selected only specific individuals for salvation based on nothing good or bad within the person. God then changes the hearts of pre-selected people to love Him because His saving grace is irresistible. It is taught that Jesus only died for the ones who had been pre-selected for salvation. In the fundamental teaching of Calvinism, it is believed that God actively causes people to sin or go to Hell.

The doctrine of salvation is defined using five points that are commonly explained utilizing the acrostic TULIP:

T - Total Depravity

U - Unconditional Election

L - Limited Atonement

I - Irresistible Grace

P - Perseverance of the Saints

Many in the church today define themselves as 5-point Calvinists. Moderate Calvinists often embrace three or four of these points, and marginal Calvinists hold to only one (eternal security).

T – Total Depravity

Adam and Eve sinned, and because of their sin, every human being is dead in their sinfulness and hates God. They are entirely unable to save themselves or accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They cannot do anything that is spiritually righteous because it is impossible for them to choose good over evil. God alone determines who will receive salvation, and cannot be offered to anyone because it is impossible.

(Mark 7:21-23; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2:14; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-3,15; Romans 3:10-12,23, 5:12,19, 7:18, 8:7 - Also Genesis 6:5, Psalm 143:2; Jonah 2:9; 2 Chronicles 6:36; Isaiah 53:6; Jeremiah 17:9)

U – Unconditional Election

God has chosen a particular group of people whom He calls His Bride and church. His choice was not based on looking down the portals of time – because God is all-knowing. Before any human being is born, God decides who goes to Heaven and who will not. God chooses to give some people eternal life without looking for anything good in them as a condition for loving and saving them. There was never a split second that God did not already know, based on His choice, who would be saved. God alone gives the faith necessary for a person to be saved, a gift of God's grace. **

(John 6:44,65,15:16; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:30,9:15-16; Ephesians 1:4-5,11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:9,2:25; 1 Peter 1:2; Revelation 13:8 – See also Psalm 65:4; Proverbs 16:4)

**John Calvin wrote in INSTITUTES, Book III, chapter 23: "...Not all men are created with similar destiny but eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say, he is predestined either to life or to death."

L – Limited Atonement

Jesus was the perfect, spotless lamb of God and the only one whose life could pay the penalty for humanity's rebellion against God. Jesus laid down His life for His sheep only, the Elect whom He planned and ordained to go to Heaven. The death of Jesus on the Cross was sufficient for the salvation of all humanity and secured everything necessary for salvation. Still, it is only effectual for those He chose and predestined before creation.

(Matthew 1:21,15:24,20:28,22:14, 26:28; John 6:37-39, 10:11,26, 17:9,19:30; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25; Hebrews 7:26-27; Romans 8:28-30,33,9:11,13 - See also 1 Samuel 3:13-14)

I – Irresistible Grace

No human being can know when a person will answer the call of the Holy Spirit, which is why evangelism is essential. The Holy Spirit will, at some point in the life of the Elect, place a special irresistible inward call that will inevitably bring them to salvation. Human Beings can't turn this call away because God is not dependent upon their cooperation and makes them willing. His grace is invincible and will never fail to save whom He has set out to save.

(John 1:12-13, 3:3, 5:21,6:27,11:38-44; Acts 9:6,13:48, 16:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6, 15:10; 1 John 5:1 – See also Psalm 110:3)