Introduction: Our Church believes in something called "Calvinism." Most people mis-understand the term. They think it has to do with being stern Puritans, or something like that. Actually, Calvinism is simply a summary of what the Bible teaches about salvation. Some people think that Calvinism is very difficult to understand. Several weeks ago we touched on the first three points of Calvinism, which are:

I. In their natural condition, all men and women are lost sinners who are spiritually unable and unwilling to repent and believe the Gospel.

1 Cor 2:14 "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him."

II. God in mercy chose to rescue a large number of individuals from destruction, who in no way deserve salvation.

1 Th 1:4-5 "For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction."

Ephesians 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world."

III. Jesus' death powerfully purchased an actual atonement for God's chosen people, not just a possible salvation.

Eph 5:25-27 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

So today, we will briefly explain the remaining two points of Calvinism:

IV. Every individual chosen by God for salvation, without exception, will be saved.

Jesus certainly taught this doctrine:

John 6:37-39 "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day."

Luke mentions the doctrine in the book of Acts, after Paul had preached the Gospel to the people of Antioch in Pisidia:

Acts 13:48 "When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed."

The natural man is unwilling to repent and believe in Jesus, so God goes into his heart, and overcomes his will, which is in bondage to sin, and makes him/her willing to believe.

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-20) is an illustration of God changing a man's free will. Saul's natural will was overcome by God in the matter of his salvation and his ministry. He was forcibly converted by God and made into God's apostle to the Gentiles.

Other verses in the Bible remind us that God does not feel bound to honor any man or woman's free will. For example:

Prov 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

Daniel 4:35 He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"

Phil 2:12-13 "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

Theologians call this doctrine "irresistible grace," or "effectual calling."

V. Those who are saved can never lose their salvation.

Many Bible Verses teach this...

John 10:27-29 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all ; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (If you were saved in 1995, and lost your salvation in 2000, did you have "eternal" life, or "5-year" life?)

Mat 18:12-14 What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

Phil 1:6 ...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Of course we must remember: All who say they were saved, or think they have been saved, are not necessarily right. Some children get "saved" without any understanding of what they have done, and no real faith in Christ. Some adults "get saved" are are really only fooling people around them, or fooling themselves.

Conclusion: What we have discussed today is a simple summary of what the Bible says about salvation. Let's list these five points again....

1. In their natural condition, all men and women are lost sinners who are spiritually unable and unwilling to repent and believe the Gospel.
2. God in mercy chose to rescue a large number of individuals from destruction, who in no way deserve salvation.
3. Jesus' death powerfully purchased an actual atonement for God's chosen people, not just a possible salvation.
4. Every individual chosen by God for salvation will be saved.
5. Those who are saved can never lose their salvation.

Now if we take all those first capital letters and make an acrostic to help us remember the five points we come up with I G J E T. "Igjet." Several hundred years ago some English speaking Calvinists tried to come up with an acrostic for these five points; and they hit upon T U L I P, which is a lot easier to remember. TULIP is also appropriate because these five points were first outlined in 1618 at the Synod of Dordt, in Holland (home of the tulip flower).

Final Question: So what? What good is Calvinism, and why should anyone care? The answer is threefold:

1) Calvinism is good because it is simply a summary of what the Bible says about salvation, and all Christians need to know what the Bible says.
2) Calvinism is good because it gives us a handy yardstick to measure the truth of what is being preached at us by the multitude of false teachers around us, and who are confusing millions of Christians; and
3) Calvinism is good because it forces us to be humble about our salvation. Calvinism reminds us that our salvation is entirely a gift of God. If you find yourself with faith in Jesus Christ, you should get down on your knees and say "Thank you!" You didn't make that faith happen, God gave it to you as a gift. He has made you His child. He didn't have to. He could have passed over you, and chosen and saved someone else! May God be praised for His kindness and mercy which He has given to us abundantly in Christ Jesus. Amen.