Why Christmas
It really doesn’t matter when we celebrate Christmas. I say that because Christmas is not about having a holiday, buying gifts or decorating a tree, etc. No, Christmas is about reminding us that God lowered Himself and became one of us.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1 & 14
Many times in the Old Testament we read about the word of the Lord visiting someone. As an example of this, we read in Genesis 15:1, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
The Word of the Old Testament became man in the New Testament and we call Him Jesus. In order to be one of us, at our level, He had to born as one of us, but He had to be born sin free. In order for that to happen the One from Whom the seed would come would have to be sin free. God, Himself, is the only sinless being. So, from the Holy Spirit through Mary was God in man implanted and was born without a sin nature.
God, as a man called Jesus, came and dwelt among us and we did not know Him. He came to seek and to save the lost; those whom He would save through His sacrifice of death and separation from the Father, and to give us life through His resurrection from the dead.
He became the sacrifice for sin and, because of that sacrifice, those whom He saves has eternal life through the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life because of what He has done for man. Without the Word of God coming into this world as a man called Jesus, to become sin for us and to give us His righteousness to save us from our sinfulness and from facing the wrath to come, we would have no hope of salvation.
For this reason do we celebrate Christmas. It is a celebration of the forgiveness of sin, the salvation of our souls and the promise of eternal life in Heaven with God. Unless you have been born again by the Spirit of God, Christmas is not really for you, for you have not, as yet, received the gift of life. Life that only Jesus can give.
Christmas celebrates life, love, and the forgiveness of sins, as God, born of a woman, gave to us through Himself as a man called Jesus. When Jesus was born is not important. Why He was born is. If you celebrate Christmas for any other reason you are not celebrating Christmas at all.
Why Christmas? Because God, through the person and work of the man He became – Jesus – has provided for man what man cannot provide for himself….. salvation from sin and eternal life in Heaven.
The question is… do you have the right to celebrate the day when God, born of a woman, became man; the day we call Christmas? You can have the gift of God. If you will just repent of your sins, submit to Jesus and call Him Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead… you will have been saved, and you, too, can celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
Free Will Salvation & The Rapture
The Rapture will never happen because of Free Will Salvation!
I base this on 2 Peter 3: 9 which reads, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Now, let’s take a look at this. Most so-called Theologians will tell you that the “any” in this verse refers to everyone who lived or who will ever live, because of their belief in Free Will Salvation. Free Will Salvation is where one believes that God will never save anyone unless they first, of their own free will, choose to accept Jesus as their personal Savior.
With that in mind, if God is not willing that “any” should perish think of this. Today is the day of the Rapture. However Jesus sees that tomorrow you will choose to accept Him as your personal Savior so it would not be just for Him to deny you the privilege of being saved. To do so would make Him unjust and a liar since He said that He is not willing that any should perish.
Maybe even now, there is someone who will hear the Gospel one hour from now and the Rapture has to be put on hold, for that reason, until that person chooses to accept Jesus. However, there will always be someone who will choose to accept Jesus later today, tomorrow, next week, next month or next year or even 10 years from now.
So, for God to deny any of them the opportunity to hear the Gospel for the first time and to become willing to accept Jesus would make God out to be a terrible God, for He would be denying them their rightful place in eternity. Instead they will die and go to Hell when they could have gone to Heaven.
Now you can see how the Rapture will never happen because God is not willing that “any” should perish but that all would be saved.
There is, however, one way that the Rapture could happen at any time and “all” who are to be saved will be saved and that there will be none left behind. If Free Will Salvation is not true but that the doctrine of Election is, then the Rapture could happen at this very moment.
Look at that verse again… “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
If this verse is talking about the Elect of God then you could also say this in this verse… “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward the Elect, not willing that any of the Elect should perish but that all who have been chosen to salvation should come to repentance.”
Then, when the last person, whom God has chosen to be saved, is saved the Rapture can occur and that verse will have been fulfilled. For God had been patient (longsuffering) towards His elect and waited until the very last one whom He has chosen to be saved is saved for He was not willing that any of those whom He chose would perish. Thus, all those whom He chose for salvation did come to repentance and they were “all” saved.
Then comes the Rapture.
With Free Will Salvation we will never have a Rapture but, with Election being the sound Biblical Doctrine that it is, the Rapture could occur at any moment as soon as the last person whom God Chose to be saved… is saved.
God will not leave anyone behind who is destined to be saved. He will patiently wait until the last of His elect is saved. For He is not willing that any of the Elect should perish but that all those whom He has chosen to be saved will come to repentance and so be saved.
God’s Word stands and it will be fulfilled…
What Is The Truth Of John 3:16?
So many Christians believe that John 3:16 says that God loves every individual. Is that true?
When you look at other verses in the Bible like Psalm 5:4 – 6 it makes you wonder:
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
Now, how can God love everyone if He also hates all workers of iniquity? I mean, we know that there is no one good but God and everyone is a sinful person. The word ” iniquity ” also means : a wicked act or thing : sin. So, if everyone sins that means, then, that we are all workers of iniquity, and if we are all workers of iniquity then it stands to reason that God hates us. If that is true, then who are they whom God loves?
Now let me finish… keep reading…
In Proverbs 6:16 – 19 we read:
16 These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
I just wanted for you to see that there are other verses that speak of God hating individuals and we see that again here in Proverbs 6.
Now we seem to have a conundrum. If John 3:16 says that God loves everyone then He can’t hate anyone, but if the other verses are true, that God, indeed, does hate individuals then He can’t love everyone. So how do we reconcile this?
Let’s look, for a moment, at John 3:16 itself. It reads:
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
It does speak of God’s love and that those who believe in Jesus will have everlasting life. Now we know that those who have everlasting life God has forgiven them for their sins. Since they have been forgiven then that means that they are no longer workers of iniquity. Now that would mean that the “forgiven” are the ones who will know God’s love. Now, are there other verses that back this up?
Before we look, lets finish with John:3:16. We know that Jesus is speaking with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a ruler of the Jews. You should know that Pharisees, more than all the other Jews, believed that God only loved the Jews, and they who became one of them. With that in mind, what Jesus was telling Nicodemus was that God’s love is not just for the Jews, they who were of Israel, but for anyone of any race, creed or color, no matter who they were or where they lived, if they were to believe in Jesus they would know God’s love.
In fact, in John 3:36 we read:
36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
The reason that the wrath of God abides on them is because they are workers of iniquity and God hates them for it. So now we see that God loves individuals and God also hates individuals. Lets move on and study a few other verses that speak of whom God specifically loves.
In John 13:1 we read:
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
Notice that in this verse we read that Jesus knew that the time had come and “having loved His own”, not everyone, but “His own”, “He loved them to the end.”
Then in John 14:21 – 23 we read:
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Notice that Jesus says that “He who loves me will be loved by my Father”, not is loved but will be loved. He also says that “I will love him”. Again He doesn’t say does love but will love. Then He is asked why doesn’t He manifest Himself to the world? The disciples knew what Jesus was saying and they wanted to know why He does not love everyone. See how Jesus answers? “If anyone loves Me… My Father will love him and We will come to him… ”
Clearly Jesus is saying that only they who submit to Him (obey His commandments) and loves Him only they will be the ones that God the Father and God the Son will love. He could not be anymore clear on this.
One more verse. In John 17, the great High Priestly prayer of Jesus, in speaking of they who will believe the Gospel Jesus says of them…
23…”that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
It is clear from all these verses that John 3:16 is not saying that God loves everyone. We have also seen that God hates people as well. And we have seen from these other verses that God’s love, in the words of Jesus, is only for those who believe the Gospel, submit to Jesus and obey Him and love Him. These alone are the ones whom God the Father and God the Son will love.
God loves only the true disciples of Jesus because they have been forgiven, because of what Jesus has done on their behalf, and have submitted to His Lordship. Those who do not do the same, they will only face the wrath of God because of His hatred of them for refusing to believe in His Son.
Look up these verses for yourself. Read them, study them and let the Holy Spirit speak to you from the Word of Jesus. I can only show you what the Word says, I can’t make you understand or believe; only the Holy Spirit can do that, and I pray that He does.
The 5 Points Of Calvinism
Conclusion
As we’ve seen, what we may call Calvinism was first taught by Jesus, and we saw that all of these points were covered just from chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. Calvinism can basically be summed up by the word “TULIP”, as we see here:
The 5 points can be summed up in the acronym: T.U.L.I.P.
- Total Depravity (Total Inability)
- Unconditional Election
- Limited Atonement
- Irresistible Grace
- Perseverance of the Saints
From chapter 6 of John we can see the following:
1. Total Depravity – In John 6: 44 Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;…”
2. Unconditional Election – John 6: 44, 45 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”
3. Limited Atonement – John 6:44 Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” and verse 65 , “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” Then verse 37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
4. Irresistible Grace – John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
5. Perseverance of the Saints – John 6 in various passages Jesus said the following:
- 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
Basically, in John 6 alone we see that no one can come to Jesus unless they are drawn by the Father. All who are drawn will come to Jesus and we know that not everyone will be saved so it stands to reason that God will only draw certain people of His own choosing to come to Jesus and all whom He draws will come.
In addition, all who are drawn not only will come, but Jesus also gives them eternal life so that none will be lost. If they can be lost, then Jesus has lied because He has said that He will lose none of all that the Father has given to Him.
As you check back through each section, you will also see other verses that I have used to support each section. It is clear from Jesus’ own teaching that man is totally depraved (unable) to come to Him unless they are drawn and only those whom the Father draws will come and be saved. The Father draws whom He pleases, not based on what man does, but based on God’s own will and pleasure and once drawn, they come. Morever, all whom the Father draws, not only comes to be saved but they also have eternal life given to them and they will never parish.
For those of you who would like to refute any of this, you will be arguing against Jesus and you will be showing that you really want to be saved by your own will, of your own choosing so that you can take credit for your salvation allowing you to boast how much better you are than the one who chose not to submit to Jesus.
Think about that. Do you really want to be saved based on what you do or on what Jesus has done for all who will be saved? Which one do you think will get you into Heaven and will be a lasting (everlasting) salvation?
Do you have a choice? You’ve already made a choice just by the life you are already living…
The 5 Points Of Calvinism
Part 5: Perseverance Of The Saints
Once a person is born again they cannot lose their salvation. That is a bold statement but I do believe that scripture backs that up. Before we look at some verses from John 6 think of this.
Since no one can come to Christ unless they are drawn by the Father, and since “all” who are drawn will come, you have to realize that all the work of salvation is of God. If God, then, has chosen those who will be saved and has promised them eternal life, then He is the one Who will assure that they will persevere until the end, that is death. At that point they will then enter eternal life promised to them by the Father.
Now, let us look at some quotes (promises) by Jesus from John 6:
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
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.
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.
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.
47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
These five verses alone guarantees that everyone who is saved will remain saved and will never ever lose their salvation. Otherwise God is a liar and is guilty of leading His children on. Salvation is all of God. The Father has chosen who will be saved, Jesus secured that salvation and the Holy Spirit applies that salvation. There is nothing required of the saved in order to receive salvation and there is nothing required of the saved in the work of keeping their salvation. The redeemed can do nothing to ensure they stay saved and the redeemed can do nothing that would cause them to lose their salvation.
Other verses you can look into are the following:
- John 10: 27 – 28
- Romains 8: 1
- 1 Corinthians 10: 13
- Philippians 1:6
Imagine, if you will, being the sinner that you are that God would require of you what is necessary in order to keep your salvation? If it took Jesus to do for us what we could not do in order to be saved, what makes you think you could do that and more in order to remain saved? After having begun in the Spirit you now believe that you could retain your salvation by your own righteousness?
If you are honest with yourself, and you are not, the answer to these would be “no” you could not. That is why it takes God not only to save you but to keep you saved as well.
I’d hate to think that my salvation, from start to finish, depended on me and not on God.
In my next post we will wrap all of this up and take one last look at how in John 6 the whole of “The 5 Points of Calvinism” is taught by Jesus. Yes, it is all there and it takes God to give one understanding into this for preaching Calvinism is preaching the Gospel.
The 5 Points Of Calvinism
Part 4: Irresistible Grace
This post could very well be the shortest of all the post on the 5 points of Calvinism. Why? Because of this saying of Jesus, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” John 6:37
Notice, Jesus said that ALL whom the Father gives to me WILL come. There are no conditions put on this. He doesn’t say “all whom the Father gives to me will come, if they choose to do so.” He just simply says ALL, who are drawn, WILL, come to Me. That basically settles it.
If you remember from verses 44 and 65 of John 6, Jesus said that NO ONE CAN come to me unless the Father gives them the ability to do so; read them for yourself. So, if no one can come of their own will, unless they are drawn by the Father, they will never come to Jesus, and ALL whom the Father draws, or gives, to Him WILL come to Him.
In short, only those whom the Father draws to Jesus are the only ones who will have the ability to come to Jesus and ALL whom the Father draws WILL come. That is what Irresistible Grace is all about. Man of his own will would never choose to come to Jesus, and only those whom the Father draws, or applies grace, will come and submit to Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Basically Irresistible Grace is the act of God calling those who will be saved and in receiving that call they cannot resist, because it is God’s will for the elect to be saved. Yes, there is an external call given to all mankind but there is also an inner call given only to the elect and this call cannot be resisted. Other verses you can look at are:
- Romans 9:16
- Philippians 2:12-13
- John 6:28-29
- Acts 13:48
- John 1:12-13
In conclusion, no one can come to Jesus unless they are inwardly drawn by the Father and ALL whom the Father draws will come and be saved. Since it is God’s will for the elect to be saved they cannot resist His calling. It is not that He draws them against their will but He does make them willing to respond, and they do.
In the next and final post we will look at the P of T.U.L.I.P. which stand for Perseverance of the Saints. And, as we have seen from the previous 4 posts, we will stay in John 6 to see how this is possible and what Jesus has to say about it. Should be an interesting read.
The 5 Points Of Calvinism
Part Three: Limited Atonement
There will be no one in Hell for whom Christ died and there will be no one in Heaven for whom Christ did not die. Limited Atonement is that part of T.U.L.I.P. that says that Jesus died only for the elect.
In John 6:44 Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” We’ve seen from this passage, and from its companion passage in verse 65 where Jesus also said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”, that unless the Father draws a person, not only will they not choose to come to Jesus of their own will, but they can’t come to Jesus.
This is a part of theology that is never taught. For one thing, it goes against the modern-day teaching that Christ died for everyone and that He draws everyone to Him. If these verses were the only ones with which we are to be concerned then that might be true. However, staying in John 6 and in verse 37 we read were Jesus taught, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
If this is true, if ALL whom the Father gives to Jesus comes to Him, then we know that not everyone will be drawn because everyone would be saved; and we know that this is not true. Not everyone who says to Jesus “Lord, Lord” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Everyone will not be saved. Even in verse 39 Jesus says, “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.”
Jesus makes it very clear that everyone whom the Father gives (draws) to Him will come to Him, and He will lose none of them and He will raise them up the last day. So, how is it that only the so-called elect will be saved? In verse 45 Jesus says, “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”
We see the Father, in drawing people to Jesus, will teach them the Gospel, and in teaching them their understanding is opened and they are given the ability to willing come to Jesus, to bow before Him as Lord and Savior.
Now I know you will say that only those who hear will come to Jesus. Good point. So, who they who will hear?
Leaving John 6 let’s go to John 8. Here Jesus is discussing with Pharisees about who He was. Then in verse 42 we read, “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” You notice that He points out that they do not understand His speech because they are not able to listen to His word. So, now the next question would be “Why?”
Well, Jesus answers that for them as well. He goes on to make the statement that they belong to Satan, that he is their father. Jesus states that Satan is a liar and that because they belong to him they would believe a lie and not the truth. Jesus explains it this way. Beginning with verse 44 we read, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?”
Jesus pointedly asks them “why do you not believe Me?” Then He states the unthinkable in telling them why they do not believe. In verse 47 He says, “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” Did you get that? Only those who belong to God, the elect of Christ, are the only ones who will here and understand the word of God.
This brings us back to John 6: 45 where we once again read Jesus saying, “‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” Only those who belong to God, that is the elect of Christ, are the ones who will be taught, who will hear and be given understanding and the ability to willingly come to Jesus. The elect will hear, they will be taught, they will understand and they will come to Christ to be saved.
No one can come to Jesus unless they are drawn by the Father. All those who are drawn will come and only those who belong to God, the elect of Christ, are the only ones who will hear the Gospel and they will willingly come to Jesus.
Jesus did not fail in His atoning work of salvation. All for whom He died will be saved. There will be no one for whom He died condemned to spend eternity in Hell and there will be no one in Heaven for whom He did not die. If one tries to enter under their own righteousness, and are not covered in the wedding clothes of the righteousness of Christ’s atoning work, they will be cast out of the wedding feast of the Lamb.
The atoning work of Jesus on the cross through His resurrection from the dead was efficacious only for those whom the Father has decreed or ordained to be saved. For them did Christ die and in that work He did not fail.
In our next post we will look at the ” I ” of T.U.L.I.P. which is Irresistible Grace. We have already touched on that topic in this post, but we had to in order to properly understand Limited Atonement. If you belong to the Father you will come to Jesus, and you will do so willingly.
The 5 Points Of Calvinism
Part Two: Unconditional Election
As we found out in the last post, no one can come to Jesus unless drawn by the Father. So, if no one can come to Jesus of their own will, who can come? The answer is simple – only those whom the Father draws.
In drawing one to Christ does the Father use a litmus test in doing so? There are those who will say that God chooses those whom He sees accepting Him, but that is not found anywhere in the Bible. What is seen is that in Romans 9 we are told that God chose to love Jacob and to hate Esau before they had done anything good or bad so that His purpose in election would stand. In other words God chooses whom He wills according to His purpose and for His own pleasure, and not because of what He sees that man will do or not do.
In Ephesians 1 we find that God chooses whom He wills according to the kind intentions of His will. So it is not of him who wills or runs but of God Who shows mercy. How then, does this fit in with John 6?
In John 6 we read the following, 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. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
So, those whom the Father draws to Jesus, and He does so by making them alive in their spirit, He will teach them the sinfulness of man, their condemnation because of the sinfulness and the salvation that is found in Jesus.
Now we know from these verses, 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. 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.”, that ALL whom the Father draws will come to Jesus. Because of that then, God chooses whom will be saved unconditionally because salvation is conditioned on what Jesus has done for us and not on what man has done to receive salvation.
God does not base this election on what He sees in man because man is nothing but dirty rags in the sight of God. Only when Jesus is in man does God accept Him based on what Jesus has done for man. Since man cannot come to Jesus unless drawn by the Father, there are no conditions that God puts upon man in order to be saved. Salvation is all of grace, and it is through faith that man is saved. However the faith by which man is saved is the faith of Jesus imputed to man. Man cannot generate any faith towards God for salvation.
So, man is totally depraved and un-able to come to Jesus of his own will in order to be saved, and because of that God unconditionally chooses whom He wills to save, and ALL that He draws to Jesus will come and will be saved.
If God did not do this for us there would no one be saved. That is what Unconditional Election is all about; God saving man when man cannot save himself.
In our next post we will take a look at the ” L ‘ of Tulip and that is Limited Atonement. Here we will see that the sacrifice of Jesus was only for those whom the Father has willed to be saved, and no one else.
The 5 Points Of Calvinism
Total Depravity
Many people do not like to talk about the 5 points of Calvinism. Yet, they are essential to the Gospel and can be found throughout the Bible. So, we are going to take a look at each of these points, one post at a time. The basis for this study will be found in the teachings of Jesus, specifically those found in John 6. Then, as needed, other verses will be looked at as well.
The 5 points can be summed up in the acronym: T.U.L.I.P.
- Total Depravity (Total Inability)
- Unconditional Election
- Limited Atonement
- Irresistible Grace
- Perseverance of the Saints
Now these 5 points do not comprise the totality of Calvinism but they are the basis for it. As mentioned, you can find these 5 points throughout the Bible and they are found in particular in the teachings of Paul, John, Peter and, most notably, Jesus; upon Whom this study is based. So, sit back, grab some coffee and let’s take a look at the first of these points.
Total Depravity: also known as Total Inability.
In John 6: 44 Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;…”
Note the Jesus said “no one CAN” not “no one WILL”. There is a difference. Jesus says that no one CAN come to Him unless the Father draws them. If the Father does not draw them they cannot come to Jesus, and they will never want to. It’s also interesting to note that this is not the only time Jesus says this. In the same chapter at verse 65 Jesus says, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
Again, He says “no one CAN come to me”. Now think about this. Can is different than will. Can is specific and it is an action that someone has the ability to do. Will is a choice, not an action, and it insinuates that someone has the ability to do something and all they have to do is to Will or Not Will to do so. But if no one CAN do something unless they are given the ability to do so they never will do it. In fact they will never Will to choose to do it because they cannot do so.
So, as for coming to Jesus, no one CAN come to Jesus unless they are first drawn by the Father to do so. If they are never drawn they will never be able to come and they will never choose to come.
Basically, then, man has Total Inability to come to Jesus on their own. The fact is they cannot come to Jesus unless they are drawn by the Father. One reason for this is found in Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.
Man, in his sinfulness, is dead spiritually and unless he is first made alive and shown his sinfulness, and the fact that he is going to Hell because of it, he will never see a need for salvation. Through being born again man is given the ability to come to Jesus.
Just like Lazarus being dead and in the grave. When Jesus came to the graveside He first specifically called out the name of Lazarus, and when He said “come forth” did Lazarus have the ability at the point to obey the command of Jesus and rise up and come forth? Or did Lazarus first have to be made alive in order to be able to obey the command to come forth? It wasn’t until after being given life was Lazarus able to hear and obey the command to come forth.
Unless Jesus first gave him the ability to come to Him, by making him alive in the flesh, Lazarus was unable to do so. And we are the same, unless we are first called by name, and given life to have the ability to obey the command to come to Jesus, we will never be able to do so and we never will.
Man is in a Totally Depraved state of sinfulness, dead in trespasses and sins, and has a Total Inability to come to Jesus unless he is first given the ability to do so. And by being born again is he given this ability.
In our next post we will take a look at the second in the list of T.U.L.I.P. and that is Unconditional Election. And we will see in the teachings of Jesus how this works. So, if you want to get a head start read John 6 several times, and think of Lazarus and how this might all fit together. You might even figure out for yourself what is meant by – Unconditional Election.
The Most Important Point to Remember About Christmas
Celebrating Christmas on December 25th is not important. Actually we really don’t know when Jesus was born, and having a Christmas tree, putting up lights or giving gifts are not important as well but, if you want to do so it’s OK.
The only thing you need to know, and believe, about Christmas is that in celebrating the birth of Jesus we do so knowing that He was born of a Virgin; and her name was Mary.
Now why is it important for Jesus to have been born a virgin? Simply put, Jesus needed to be born sin free. Having been conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of a Virgin is the only way for this to have been done.
Had Jesus been fathered by a human He would have been born with a sin nature as it is through the seed of man this sin nature is given. The need for Jesus to be sin free is so that He would become the perfect sacrifice that God the Father demanded.
You see, as sinful people, we either pay for the sins that we commit, or someone else must do that for us. And the penalty for being sinful people is to spend eternity separated from God, and this place of separation is in a place called Hell; where there is weeping and nashing of teeth as Jesus said.
Now if we are not able to atone for our sins then someone else, who is sin free, must pay this penalty for us. Jesus, being sin free because of His virgin birth, and having never committed a sin during His life here on earth is the only one who could take our place in paying the penalty for our sins.
Only a perfect sacrifice could atone for our sins and satisfy the justice demanded by God for the sins of man. Jesus, being born of a virgin, was this sin free atoning sacrifice for mans sin. If He had just one sin He would not have been able to atone for anyone, not even Himself. But He was perfect and He did atone for the sins of man.
The point to all of this is for you to believe that Jesus was sin free, that He paid the atoning sacrifice for mans sins, that He died and was raised from the dead. If you do believe this and you confess that you are a sinful person in need of forgiveness for you sins, that you cannot pay the penalty for your sins and will bow the knee and submit to Jesus as Lord of you life, you will be saved.
You see, either you pay the penalty for your sins by spending eternity in Hell or you confess your sinfulness and submit to Jesus as Lord, and trust in Him to be your Savior, in order to receive forgiveness from God the Father. There really is no other way. These are your only choices; actually you have no choice. All other avenues will only lead to Hell.
Only through a perfect, sinless Jesus can you have any hope of forgiveness for your sins, experience the love of God and be received into Heaven. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of a Virgin. He is the only sinless perfect sacrifice for sins.
Confess your sin, submit to Him as Lord, trust Him to be your Savor and receive the forgiveness you need for being the sinful person that you are, and be assured of knowing Gods love and of spending eternity in Heaven.
Riff's Christian Journal 