"The Doctrines of Grace"

Why we would say we are Reformed in our theology.

1. The Sovereignty of God.

John 15:16 ESV

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Romans 9:22 ESV

22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

John 1:12–13 ESV

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Romans 1:6 ESV

6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 1:4–5 ESV

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

Jude 1 ESV

1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

In Reformed Theology which we would say is more Calvinistic than Arminian we would say that God is behind everything!

These Doctrines are the means of grace or the doctrines of Grace.

T = Total Depravity

Total Depravity means that apart from any enabling grace from God, our hardness and rebellion against God is total, everything we do in this rebellion is sin, and we deserve eternal punishment.

We don’t want to think that we are that bad of a person or that we are basically good people by nature. We must humble ourselves and appreciate the work of God.

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

1 Kings 8:46 ESV

46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near,

1 John 1:8 ESV

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Our rebellion or hardness against God is total, that is, apart from the grace of God there is no delight in the holiness of God, and there is no glad submission to the sovereign authority of God.

Romans 3:9–11 ESV

9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.

We are totally rebellious.

We don’t want to submit to God.

Our rebellion against God deserves His wrath and ultimately hell. We are totally depraved, but because of His grace, God’s elect can come to salvation.

I = Irresistible Grace

You can also call this doctrine “Effectual Calling”

1. Fatih and Repentance are a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 12:3 ESV

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

2. We cannot come to Christ unless God draws us.

John 6:44 ESV

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:63–65 ESV

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

3. God’s effectual calling overcomes resistance to the gospel.

4. The new birth enables us to receive Christ.

1 John 5:1 ESV

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

5. Who can resist God’s will?

Romans 9:14–23 ESV

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—

L = Limited or Definite Atonement

The atonement is the work of God in Christ. Christ was obedient to the Father by his death, in which he cancelled the debt of our sin, appeased his holy wrath against us, and won for us all the benefits of salvation.

So, why do we need this atonement?

Romans 3:23–26 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The Argument here is limited versus unlimited. Where Arminians have to be careful is that of Universalism. That because God died for all, all will come to salvation. Everyone will be saved. Clearly we know from Scripture that this is not true.

Arminians believe that Christ’s Atonement is for all.

Arminians would use these texts:

1 Timothy 2:6 ESV

6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

1 John 2:1–2 ESV

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Hebrews 2:9 ESV

9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV

19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Arminians would say that God’s atonement is for all people but is effective and saving only for those who believe and become part of the “us” or sheep or family, children of God. Christ’s atoning death becomes effective only when accepted by the individual.

But then you could still say that it is limited to those who believe or trust in Christ, because there are many who still don’t.

U = Unconditional Election

God choose us in Christ apart from any for seen faith or good works on our part. If God ordains the ends He will ordain the means.

For Arminians they would say Election is of the church. Election has reference to a class of people (the church) rather than specific individuals.

1 Timothy 2:4 ESV

4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Ezekiel 13.

However the problem is that Election is Individual because it is “in Him”

Ephesians 1:3–6 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

P = Perseverance of the Saints

As God’s Saints we continue to persevere in our faith until the end. How many times do we see so Called Christians fall away from the faith? They give into the world and fall away. Therefore we would say they were never true believers. That is why we see the call to continue or persevere in our faith to the end.

1 Corinthians 15:1–2 ESV

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

Colossians 1:21–23 ESV

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

2 Timothy 2:11–13 ESV

11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

Mark 13:13 ESV

13 And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Falling away from the faith shows that someone never belonged to Christ.

1 John 2:19 ESV

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Therefore, let us be earnest to make our calling and election sure.

2 Peter 1:10 ESV

10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

1 Timothy 6:12 ESV

12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.