Both views teach that you must believe in Jesus Christ to be saved. But they differ in how you came to believe in Christ. In other words, how did you first believe in Christ? Was it by you yourself (Arminianism), or was it by God Himself (Calvinism)?

Because there are many outstanding and excellent reading materials on the five points of Calvinism, so each point shall be briefly explained. Let's dive in!

Sometimes this point is called "Total Inability". This means that people who are not born again are dead in sin, spiritually dead. Here are a couple of verses:

They are unable to save themselves. Imagine someone who is physically dead. He cannot give himself CPR. This means he cannot come to the phone to call for help. He cannot come to the hospital to save himself. In a spiritual sense, this is exactly the same way. He cannot come to God. This was why Jesus said in John 6:44, "No man can come to me, except the Father... draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."

Another important concept you should understand is that no man seeks God. Romans 3:10-11 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." Many have protested that they did seek for Christ before they became saved. This is explained in Irresistible Grace later. We seek God only because He made us alive. But before He made us spiritually alive, we did not bother seeking for God.

Furthermore, the minds and hearts of men are corrupt. Some think that our minds are neutral between God and Satan. This is not true. Romans 8:7 says, "The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." Some also think that some people have a good heart. Again, this is not true. Jeremiah 17:9 says that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" And "the hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead" (Eccl 9:3).

Summary of Total Depravity
Does man have free will? No (John 1:12-13). Man loves to live in sin. It is their will to live in sinful ways. God has to change the will of man (explained in Irresistible Grace below).

Four reasons why:

• Men are born in sin (Rom 3:9-10, Rom 5:12, Psa 51:5, Psa 58:3a)
• Men are spiritually dead and slaves to sin (Luke 9:60, Eph 2:5, John 3:19, Rom 6:18-20)
• Minds and hearts of men are corrupt (Rom 3:11, 1 Cor 2:14, Rom 8:7, Eph 4:18, Eccl 9:3, Jer 17:9)
• Men cannot repent, believe, or come to Christ by themselves (2 Tim 2:25, Acts 11:18, John 6:29, Heb 12:2, John 6:44, Rev 22:17)

Let me close this point with Mark 10:26-27, "And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." I want to emphasize the concept that IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR MEN to save themselves. If men can decide to save themselves, then it is possible, not impossible! We now move on to the second point...

Go to top :: Unconditional Election :: Limited Atonement :: Irresistible Grace :: Perserverance of the Saints :: Summary

---

Arminians have this silly idea of saying that God chose us because God forsaw in the future that we would believe in Christ (calling this "conditional election"). Remember the spiritually dead are unable to do anything! How can the dead believe? However a brief examination on Ephesians 1:3-6 should settle this argument.

Ephesians 1:3-6

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

Fact #1: God chose us. We did not choose Him.
Fact #2: God chose us before the world began.
Fact #3: God chose us according to the good pleasure of His will, not according to His seeing our faith in the future.
Fact #4: We were not the ones who accepted Him. He accepted us.

Need I say more?

Conclusion: There is absolutely no way the election was conditional. Making the election conditional robs the glory of His grace! Grace means nothing if it is dependent on what we did, are doing, or will do. Keep reading Ephesians 1:3-6 until it turns the light in your head on. If it's on, then let's move on to the third point!

Go to top :: Total Depravity :: Limited Atonement :: Irresistible Grace :: Perserverance of the Saints :: Summary

---

John 10:11

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

Did Christ die for everyone (sheep and goats)? Or did Christ for believers only (sheep)? Matthew 25 teaches that Jesus will divide the sheep and the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the his left. Those on his right will have eternal life. Those on his left will have eternal punishment. John 10:11 says that Jesus gave His life for the sheep. Obviously the goats do not come into play. The goats do not get any benefits of the cross. The sins of the goats are not pardoned. The blood of Christ did not wash the sins of the goats away. Therefore, we cannot say that Christ died for the goats. Jesus said that He gave His life for the SHEEP alone, not goats.

Furthermore, this fits with Unconditional Election. The sheep are His elect. Those who refuse to believe in Jesus refuse because they are NOT His sheep. Those who believe in Jesus do believe because they are His sheep. John 10:26-28 says,

26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

Saying that Christ died for everyone is not biblical. This also harms the work of true evangelism, because if we tell the lost that Christ has died for everyone, then the point of going to Christ becomes very weak. However, if we tell the lost that Christ died for believers only, then the lost will clearly know that their sin will NOT be pardoned unless they repent and believe!

Go to top :: Total Depravity :: Unconditional Election :: Irresistible Grace :: Perserverance of the Saints :: Summary

---

The Arminian believes that the word of God can be resisted. Guess what? The Calvinist agrees! Let me explain. The gospel call is given to all. This is called outward general call. Both the elect and non-elect alike will resist this outward call. Why, because they are dead in sin! Because they are all dead in sin, God has to do something. Colossians 2:13 says:

"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses."

What did God do? He made you alive! Spiritually alive! This is what being born again means. When you are made alive, you are able to see your sin. When you are made alive, you are able to repent. When you are made alive, you are able to seek Christ. When you are made alive, you are able to believe in Christ. (God can even claim that your believing in Christ is HIS work. John 6:28-29 "Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.")

1 Corinthians 12:3 says that "no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." This means that the Holy Spirit must come in FIRST, before you can say that Jesus is your Lord. Many wrongly believe that we must first believe and then the Holy Spirit comes in second. This is impossible. You cannot acknowledge Jesus as your Lord until after the Holy Spirit comes into you. God first, you second.

Did God ever fail to save anyone because of the hardness of their heart? N-O-P-E!!! Ezekiel 36:26-28 says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then... you shall be My people, and I will be your God." The only reason we can resist God is due to the hardness of our heart. And yet, God is very powerful and is able to circumcise the heart so that we will love the Lord (read Deuteronomy 30:6). Amazing!

Jesus said in John 6:37 that "all that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." All of God's elect WILL COME to Christ. Since Jesus is perfect and is never wrong, you must agree that all of those who the Father has chosen will come to Jesus.

We now move to the fifth and last point...

Go to top :: Total Depravity :: Unconditional Election :: Limited Atonement :: Perserverance of the Saints :: Summary

---

This is sometimes understood as "Once saved, always saved." This is very accurate, but often abused. Many say that they are saved and go on living in sin. Boy, I feel sorry for them because they will be very surprised to discover that they were never saved. Jesus warned in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"

It's important that you notice the words, "I NEVER KNEW YOU". It means that they were never saved at all, not even once. If they were saved once, Jesus would have not used the word "never".

It is personally hard for me to believe that there are some who believe that God can lose some of those who He saved. I wonder how they are able to rest in God's hands? How can they trust God? I can only say that they do not understand John 10:27-30, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 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. I and My Father are one."

Christians should never worry about losing their salvation. Why? Because Paul wrote in Phil 1:6 that he was "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." If anyone can lose their salvation, then Phil 1:6 becomes completely meaningless. If God is not able to finish what He started, then God is not perfect. That is IMPOSSIBLE!

Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look "unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." Note this verse carefully. It is Jesus who is the author (starter) and finisher of our faith. Is Jesus perfect? Then surely, Jesus will finish and make our faith complete!

Go to top :: Total Depravity :: Unconditional Election :: Limited Atonement :: Irresistible Grace :: Summary

---

Now in closing, how did you become saved? How did you come to Christ? It was all God's work. This is why Jesus is called the author (starter) and finisher of our faith. Jonah proclaimed that salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). In Matthew 1:20-21, the angel of the Lord told Joseph that Jesus will save His people from their sin. Calvinism is the most faithful interpretation for Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." If you do not understand or agree with Calvinism now, you have not yet understood Ephesians 2:8-9 in its fullest.

Calvinism recognizes that all the saving work belongs to God Himself, not us. This view acknowledges the three great acts of the Trinity in saving His sheep. The Father in electing His sheep, Jesus in dying for the sheep, and the Holy Spirit in bringing the sheep to God.

You must admit that Calvinism forces us to give all praise to God. Non-calvinists cannot truly and accurately give God all the praise. Because if men are credited with saving themselves, then praise must be given to them too. They cannot say with Jonah that salvation is of the Lord. This makes our worship that much more meaningful. We worship God who saved us! Isn't this really the reason why we worship Him? HE SAVED US! Amen.

Go to top :: Total Depravity :: Unconditional Election :: Limited Atonement :: Irresistible Grace :: Perserverance of the Saints

---