Be baptized

• Greek baptize = dip, immerse
• Many baptized in Acts:
  • 3,000 in Acts 2:41
  • Acts 8:12 – numerous men and women
  • The Ethiopian man in Acts 8:38
  • Lydia and her household in Acts 16:15
  • The Philippian jailer in Acts 16:33
  • And more!
• Mark 16:15-16 – Belief is a prerequisite for baptism.
• John 3:35 – See I Peter 1:22-25
• Acts 2:36-38 – People must repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Compare the language in Matthew 26:28. Arguments have been made about the word “for” but the underlying Greek word eis always points forward.
• Acts 11:13-14; 10:47-48
• Acts 22:16 – Compare Acts 9:3-4, 8-9. Saul believed at this point but still needed to have his sins forgiven.
• Romans 6:1-4

• I Corinthians 12:12-13

Limited atonement (or particular redemption)

• The idea that when Jesus died, He died only to save those who God had already decided would be saved.

“God the Father decreed the salvation of an elect people, Christ died with the intention of redeeming those people through their union with Him and accomplished that task, and without fail the Holy Spirit brings that accomplished work to fruition in the life of the elect at the time and in the manner determined by God.” – James White, Debating Calvinism, p. 170

“Christ’s redeeming work was definite in design and accomplishment – that it was intended to render complete satisfaction for certain specified sinners, and that it actually secured salvation for these individuals and for no one else … Redemption, therefore, was designed to bring to pass God’s purpose for election.” – Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism, p. 39-40

“Christ’s saving work was limited in that it was designed to save some and not others, but it was not limited in value, for it was of infinite worth and would have secured salvation for everyone if this had been God’s intention.” – Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism, p. 40

• Proof texts used by Calvinists
  • John 17

“So clear was the particularity of His work of redemption that in His High Priestly prayer the Lord says, ‘I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours’ (John 17:9).” – James White, Debating Calvinism, p. 177

“Jesus, in His High Priestly Prayer, prays not for the world, but for those given to Him by the Father. In fulfillment of the Father’s charge, Jesus had accomplished the work the Father had sent Him to do—to make God known to His people and to give them eternal life.” – Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism, p. 47

• • • Jesus was specifically praying for His apostles here.

“Isaiah prophesied, ‘He was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people’ (Isaiah 53:8). The angel told Joseph, ‘You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21). Jesus explained, ‘The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Matthew 20:28). ‘I am the good shepherd,’ he preached. ‘The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep’ (John 10:11, emphasis added in all cited verses).” – Phillips, What’s So Great About the Doctrines of Grace?, p. 54

• Where in the Bible do we read that the “elect” is a closed group that you cannot get into?

Counter-texts

• John 3:14-16 – Whoever believes will be saved. The condition was pre-selected – not the people.
• Acts 10:43 – “everyone who believes”
• Hebrews 5:9 – “all those who obey Him”
• John 1:29
• I Timothy 2:6
• Titus 2:11
• Hebrews 2:9
• I John 2:1-2
• Matthew 7:21
• Mark 16:16
• John 3:16
• Acts 10:43
• Hebrews 5:9
• II Peter 3:9

Irresistible grace

“Just as Christ had the power and authority to raise Lazarus to life without obtaining his ‘permission’ to do so, He is able to raise His elect to spiritual life with just as certain a result.” – James White, Debating Calvinism, p. 197

“Simply stated, this doctrine asserts that the Holy Spirit never fails to bring to salvation those sinners whom He personally calls to Christ. He inevitably applies salvation to every sinner whom He intends to save, and it is His intention to save all the elect.” – Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism, p. 52

“Therefore, just as unconditional election describes the grace of the Father and limited atonement describes the grace of the Son, irresistible grace presents the grace of the Holy Spirit.” – Phillips, What’s so Great About the Doctrines of Grace?, p. 70

Counter-texts

• Acts 7:51 – “resisting the Holy Spirit”?

“The doctrine of irresistible grace does not mean that every influence of the Holy Spirit cannot be resisted. It means that the Holy Spirit, whenever he chooses, can overcome all resistance and make his influence irresistible.” – John Piper, Five Points, p. 22

• Matthew 11:28 – “all who are weary …”?
• John 7:37
• Why preach to all? (Matthew 11:28; John 7:37)
  • Calvinists claim there are two calls:
    • There’s an outward, “general call of the gospel” that goes to everyone and “often … falls on unreceptive ears.” – John Piper, Five Points, p. 22
    • But there’s a second, inward call: “the Holy Spirit, in order to bring God’s elect to salvation, extends to them a special inward call in addition to the outward call contained in the gospel message … The inward change wrought in the elect sinner enables him to understand and believe spiritual truth … the renewed sinner freely and willingly turns to Christ as Lord and Savior … the special inward call of the Spirit never fails to result in the conversion of those to whom it is made … The grace which the Holy Spirit extends to the elect cannot be thwarted or refused; it never fails to bring them to true faith in Christ.” – Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism, p. 53-54
  • Two calls in I Corinthians 1:23-24? No. There is just the call of the gospel. Romans 1:16
• Acts 13:48 – “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed”
  • When did they start to believe?
  • Is their appointment why they believed?
  • How did they believe?
  • See Romans 10:17. This is how you develop faith.
  • John 3:15-16 – Belief led to eternal life.
• Acts 16:14 – Was Lydia’s heart opened supernaturally?
  • Lydia heard Paul’s inspired words, through which the Lord opened her heart, and she was baptized. In other words, could it be that the Lord opened her heart through the inspired words of Paul? (Compare Acts 2:37; I Thessalonians 2:13.)
  • See I Timothy 2:4. The very fact that God wants ALL to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, but only SOME do, proves that God is not irresistibly causing it.
  • See also II Peter 3:9.

Matthew 23

• Compare Matthew 5:20; 6:1-5; 7:3-5, 12, 15. Jesus makes similar points here.
• Matthew 23:5-12 – Warnings against pride.
• Matthew 23:13 – See Isaiah 5:8, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22. Jesus was speaking like a prophet here, which would have surely caught their ear. It is easy to discourage others with our behavior, especially new Christians or non-Christians.
• Matthew 23:16-22 – All of these examples of oaths go back to God’s authority. Misusing God’s name in this way is essentially taking the Lord’s name in vain.
• Matthew 23:23-24 – Don’t focus so much on the details that you lose sight of the bigger picture.

Introduction

• II Timothy 2:15

John Calvin (1509-1564)

• Jacobus Arminius and his followers argued against Calvin’s teaching. The five points of Calvinism were a distillation of the arguments that Calvin and his followers made against the Arminians.

Total depravity (or total inability)

“Adam’s offspring are born with sinful natures, they do not have the ability to choose spiritual good over evil.” – Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism, p. 18-19

“Our sinful corruption is so deep and so strong as to make us slaves of sin and morally unable to overcome our own rebellion and blindness. This inability to save ourselves from ourselves is total. We are utterly dependent on God’s grace to overcome our rebellion, give us eyes to see, and effectively draw us to the Savior.” – John Piper, Five Points, p.11

“Ephesians 2:1 says that we Christians were all once ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ The point of deadness is that we were incapable of any spiritual life with God.” – John Piper, Five Points, p. 19

• Ephesians 2:1-5 – This verse is just saying that people were dead in their sins, not that they couldn’t do anything about it or that their guilt came from Adam.
• Acts 8:4-17

Unconditional election

“Election refers to God’s choosing whom to save. It is unconditional in that there is no condition man must meet before God chooses to save him. Man is dead in trespasses and sins. So there is no condition he can meet before God chooses to save him from his deadness.” – John Piper, Five Points, p. 50

“But faith is not a condition for election. Just the reverse. Election is a condition for faith.” – John Piper, Five points, p. 50

Concerning Romans 9:10-13: “God’s choice was not based upon any foreseen merit residing in those whom He chose, now was it based on any foreseen good works performed by them … Election was based on the sovereign, distinguishing mercy of almighty God. It was not man’s will, but God’s will, that determined which sinners would be shown mercy and saved.” – Steele, Thomas, and Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism, p. 32, 35

• Romans 9:10-13 – This passage is not talking about salvation at all – it is talking about God choosing a particular branch of the family for Christ to come from.
• In any investigation, you have to stand firm on what is known.
• Any time we’re studying the Bible, we need to let the plain passages help us figure out the difficult passages.
• I Peter 1:17-19 – God is an impartial judge, judging according to our works.

• Acts 10:34-35
• I Timothy 2:3-4 – God desires al men to be saved.
• II Peter 3:9 – God wants all to come to repentance.

Repent

It’s more than just being sorry.

• II Corinthians 7:8-11
• Just because someone upsets you doesn’t mean they are in the wrong.
• Matthew 27:3-5 – Judas felt remorse, but he did not repent in the true sense. Hanging himself was the worst response he could have had.
• Acts 9:1-20

It’s a change of mind that leads to a change of life.

• Acts 26:19-20
• Hebrews 6:1 – Repentance from “dead works”
• Matthew 12:41
• Jonah 3:4-10 – The people of Ninevah sincerely repented.
• We can’t just say, “That’s the way I am.” We must all humble ourselves and repent!

It’s not just a one-time thing.

• Acts 17:30-31
• Acts 8:13-24 – Do people who are already Christians still need to repent? Yes! Simon was told to repent of his sin.
• Romans 1:7; 6:3
• Romans 2:1-6 – Continue to repent! Don’t judge others for failing to repent and fail to do so yourself.
• Revelation 2:5, 16, 22; 3:3, 19 – Christians in various churches told to repent
• Our humility should be growing and maturing over time.