Theological successors of John Calvin (left) and Jacob Arminius (right) squared off at the Synod of Dort (1618-1619), which affirmed the “Five Points” or “Doctrines of Grace” identified by the “TULIP” acronym, though not in that order. Original image found here.
Today one does not have to be–or even ever have been–part of a denominational church to have been influenced, for better or for worse, by historical figures such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Jacob Arminius. In the wake of the sixteenth-century German Reformation that began with Luther, other “reformers” soon diverged from the teaching of the Bible on various points, leaving their spiritual successors in some cases quite far apart on some significant aspects of the one true teaching of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
A comparison of only five points illustrates and illuminates how the named and unnamed spiritual successors of the three historical figures differ in their teaching. Repurposing Al Dubin’s phrase, the following “tiptoes” through what is widely known as the “TULIP” theology usually associated with Calvin and his successors, as affirmed in response to the teaching of Arminius and his successors, and the following also compares and contrasts their teaching with the teaching of both Luther before them and faithful Lutherans still today.
- Total Depravity: Calvinists, like Lutherans before and after them, teach that human beings by nature are totally depraved and cannot save themselves–a depravity that affects every part of every human being, preventing true love of both God and neighbor. Arminians, on the other hand, reject such total depravity, teaching that the Holy Spirit’s graciously leading people to faith depends on people’s own cooperation.
- Unconditional Predestination: Where Lutherans, following the Bible, teach that God unconditionally elected and predestined people only for salvation (essentially putting the blame for people’s damnation on them and recognizing that the mystery of why some and not others are saved is something God does not reveal to us), Calvinists teach that God chose and determined both people’s salvation and damnation. In contrast, Arminians base God’s choice and predestination on His foreknowledge of whether or not people would use His means of grace.
- Limited Atonement: Calvinists teach that, while Jesus died to atone for the sins of the whole world, God never intended to save the whole world. Lutherans and Arminians teach that Jesus died for all, that the benefits of His death are made available to all, but that only those who believe actually benefit from His death.
- Irresistible Grace: Calvinists teach that God’s grace is irresistible when He wants to overcome people’s resistance (as He presumably wants to do in the case of the elect), while Arminians teach that God’s grace and people’s will are concurrent causes of conversion, so that people can resist God’s grace if they want to resist it. Following the Bible, Lutherans had earlier taught and still teach that God is resistible as He works through His Word and Sacraments, so someone converted by God’s monergism can fall away, but that God is not resistible when He works without means, as, for example, on the Last Day, when He will call forth all the dead from their graves.
- Perseverance of the Saints: Calvinists teach that God’s will cannot be frustrated by people, so that those whom God calls into faith will continue to the end and that those who do not continue to the end never really believed or will return before the end. Arminians teach that people’s salvation depends on God’s grace and their will, so people can reject and lose grace, and so no one can be certain of their salvation. In keeping with Holy Scripture, Lutherans teach that people once saved can be lost by their own doing but, as people daily repent and believe, they can be certain of their salvation through the proper use of God’s means of grace.
You might note that modern-day successors of Calvin may be found among Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and some Baptists, while modern-day successors of Arminius may be found among Methodists, the so-called “holiness bodies”, Pentecostalists, and some Baptists. Also note that those whose church names or confessions do not claim the name of a mainline denomination may nevertheless be unnamed spiritual successors of Luther, Calvin, or Arminius.
Finally, while the foregoing focused on the five theological points identified by the “TULIP” acronym, those points are not necessarily the be-all and end-all of Biblical teaching. Lutherans might focus more on Who the God-man Jesus Christ is, what He has done for all people in dying on the cross, and how those who repent and believe in Him receive the benefits of His death–forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation–through His Word and Sacraments, namely, Baptism, Absolution, and Communion. Ultimately, error in one aspect of teaching can lead to error in others and ultimately to eternal damnation, but doctrinal purity alone does not lead to eternal salvation, rather God-given saving faith in Jesus Christ does.
