"...As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." Jn.1:12.
There is a segment of Christianity which calls itself "The Calvinist Corner". Calvinists claim in their own words... "There are two main camps of theology within Christianity in America today: Armenianism and Calvinism." Theirs is not a true claim. I, and a majority of other Christians are neither Calvinists nor Armenians. Besides that, Biblical doctrine does not identify itself by the name of any man. That is no reflection upon Calvin but upon identifying a Biblical doctrine by his name. Calvinists explain their theory of "predestination" by the acronym TULIP. This initialism stands for what they call "The Five Points Of Calvinism". Those 5 points are:
Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints
Total Depravity, is true. We, the human race, are Totally, hopelessly sinful and unable to save ourselves by religion, good works baptism or by any other method.
Unconditional Election is false. There is a "condition" to election, Faith in Jesus Christ".
Limited Atonement is false except for the fact that in the end the atonement will apply only to those who "believe". Jesus said in Jn.3:16 that "whosoever believeth on him shall... have everlasting life". "Whosoever" is unlimited in its inclusion of, and the degree of sin to which sinners are guilty except for blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Irresistible Grace is false. Any person who wishes can reject the grace of God, to their peril. God's grace can only pass from God "through" the receptor of faith.
Perseverance of the Saints is false. "Perseverance" infers that it is our persistent good effort and steadfast endurance that get us through the trials and the temptations of life and keep us on track for God. "Perseverance" is used just once in the Bible. Its Greek word is "proskarteresis" and means "continue steadfastly" as you would expect the word "perseverance" to mean. So "perseverance" is a human effort, a good work on our part. But we are neither saved nor kept saved by our own good works, but by God's grace through "faith" which is not a work but a spiritual belief. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Eph.2:8-9. The noun subject here is "grace" not "faith". Grace is the primary "gift of God". "Through" is a preposition meaning "By way of". It is a functional word of entering at one end and out the other. Salvation is the gift but must be accepted through faith which cometh to all who "hear" the word of God with a spiritual ear, not just a physical ear. Faith is the channel through which grace passes from God's end to your end... like a funnel or corridor. God's grace of salvation is available to all, but only those who are open receptively will hear it and receive it. Understand that "spirit hearing" is not a human "work" but an open spiritual need or spiritual hunger. Faith is not a work. The work is God's grace of redemption in Jesus Christ. And Faith only comes to us "...by the hearing the word of God". (Rom.10:17.
About a century after John Calvin's TULIP mania in around 1550, another Tulip Mania arose in Holland. Shortly after tulips were first brought to the Dutch from Turkey, a strange virus caused flames of color to appear on the pedals. Their price, already at a premium, skyrocketed upward 2000 percent like Bit-Coin. The so-called "Tulip Mania" swept across Holland rising higher and higher. Dutch citizens were selling land, homes and using life savings to buy into these strange flowers until the mania "upward" turned into a mania "downward" and down until it hit the solid ground and reality ... tulips were not worth selling the farm for. John Calvin's TULIP is another strange flower that isn't worth selling your spiritual consistency to buy into. Good works in the form of human perseverance is not what keeps you saved but it is the omnipotent perseverance of the eternal God to keep his word to you who were saved by grace through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
I propose, neither a Calvinist TULIP nor an Armenian pansy, but a Biblical AUTOGRAPH ... God's AUTOGRAPH signed upon every page of his word, the Bible. There is a better acronymic initialism, the signature of God on His written word to the human race. The Holy Bible is His ... AUTOGRAPH... signed upon the souls of all who hear His word and by faith believe on Him as Savior and Lord.
In what form of acronism is His Autograph written ... from my viewpoint?
Absolute Foreknowledge Of God. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Rom.8:29 "Foreknow" is the verb form of "foreknowledge" which is a noun meaning "to know before", to forecast what will be or happen. Predestination is more than an automatic derivative of foreknowledge. With God, it occurs at the exact same time and is the same thing. In fact, He has always known everything and, therefore, it has always been destined and predestined. If God foreknows a thing will happen, it is done, finished, absolute and cannot be otherwise. The word foreknowledge has not a scintilla of "cause" or "compulsion" in it, but means what it says ... "knowing before". God foreknew Lucifer and Adam and Eve would rebel and sin, but He did not cause or compel them to rebel and sin. He gave them a free will and let it run its course. With God, "foreknowledge" IS "predestination".
Universal Creation By God. Every person has only two options. Either God created the world, universe and us, or it all just accidentally happened on its own. But the later leaves the evolutionist with everything out of nothing. If you can't use God's air, water power and dirt, where do you start? Nothing comes out of nothing. So that everyone would know, God gave us the Creation of record in the Book of beginnings... Genesis 1... In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.... And God said, let there be .... When the Gen.1 Word of God (Jn.1:1-14) went forth and created light and all things, there may or may not have been a loud noise or "Big Bang", but the important thing is that God, not mother Nature, father Time or a tadpole in a mud hole, Created the world, the universe or us. The "power" of creation is the unlimited Omnipotence within God's Word... "Let there be..."
Total Depravity Was Not God's Perfect Will ...
"The Lord is ... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Pet.3:9.
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
1 Cor.15:22.
Grace Is Resistible By Man's Free Will To Choose.
Respect Of Persons Is Not What God Does.
Amazing Grace Is For Whosoever Will Hear God's Word.
Predestination IS Foreknowledge.
Heaven and Hell Are Determined By "Whosoever Will" Believe.
If you have Christ, you have the Autograph of God on you.
"...God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name." Acts 15:14.
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