Theological Term of the Week: Five Points of Calvinism

five points of Calvinism

Five points summarizing the major doctrines affirmed in the Canons of Dordt (1618) to counter the errors of Arminianism; also called the doctrines of grace, or TULIP (an acronym formed from common names for the five points—total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints).

• From Reformed Confessions Harmonized edited by Joel R. Beeke and Sinclair B. Ferguson, page xi:

The Synod of Dordt was held to settle a serious controversy in the Dutch churches initiated by the rise of Arminianism. Jacob Arminius (1560-1609), a theological professor at Leiden University, differed from the Reformed faith on a number of important points. After Arminius’s death, forty-three of his ministerial followers presented their heretical views to the States General of the Netherlands on five of these points in the Remonstrance of 1610. In this document and even more explicitly in later writings, the Arminians, who came to be called “Remonstrants,” taught (1) election based on foreseen faith; (2) the universality of Christ’s atonement; (3) the free will and partial depravity of man; (4) the resistibility of grace; and (5) the possibility of a lapse from grace. They asked for the revision of the Reformed church’s doctrinal standards and for government protection of Arminian views. The Arminian-Calvinism conflict became so severe that it led the Netherlands to the brink of civil war. Finally in 1617 the States General voted four to three to call a national Synod to address the problem of Arminianism.

The synod held 154 formal sessions over a period of seven months (November 1618 to May 1619). Thirteen Arminian theologians, led by Simon Episcopius, tried to delay the work of the synod and divide the delegates. Their efforts proved unsuccessful. Under the leadership of Johannes Bogerman, the Arminians were dismissed. The synod then developed the Canons which thoroughly rejected the Remonstrance of 1610 and scripturally set forth the Reformed doctrine on these debated points. These points, known as the five points of Calvinism are: unconditional election, limited atonement, total depravity, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of saints. Though these points do not embrace the full scope of Calvinism and are better regarded as Calvinism’s five answers to the five errors of Arminianism, they certainly lie at the heart of the Reformed faith, particularly of Reformed soteriology, for they flow out of the principle of absolute divine sovereignty in saving sinners. They may be summarized as follows: (1) Unconditional election and faith are sovereign gifts of God. (2) While the death of Christ is abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole world, its saving efficacy is limited to the elect. (3, 4) All people are so totally depraved and corrupted by sin that they cannot exercise free will toward, nor effect any part of, their salvation. In sovereign grace God irresistibly calls and regenerates the elect to newness of life. (5) God graciously preserves the redeemed so that they persevere until the end, even though they may be troubled by many infirmities as they seek to make their calling and election sure. 

• From Living for God’s Glory by Joel R. Beeke, page 50:

These five points are integrally linked; they stand or fall together. They are all rooted in two inescapable truths of Scripture: man’s complete ruin by sin and God’s perfect, sovereign, and gracious remedy in Christ. These part of salvation fit together to provide us with a biblical, consistent view of grace revealing how God saves sinners to His glory. They show how great God’s grace is, how it directs everything in this world, and how salvation is ultimately not dependent on anything that man can offer. The really heart of Calvinism is that God sovereignly and graciously loves sinners fully and unconditionally in Christ.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: What are the doctrines of grace?
2. R.C. Sproul: Tulip and Reformed Theology: An Introduction
3. Sinclair Ferguson: The Doctrines of Grace
4. Reasonable Theology: What Are the Five Points of Calvinism? A Clear and Concise Explanation (video)
5. Nicholas Batzig: Five Biblical Points of Dordrecht
6. Monergism: Doctrines of Grace — Categorized Scripture List
7. Reformed Study: A Brief History of the Doctrines of Grace (pdf)

Related terms:

• Canons of Dordt (1618)
• irresistible grace
• limited atonement
• perseverance of the saints
• total depravity
• unconditional election

Filed under Reformed Theology

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured as a Theological Term of the Week? Email your suggestion using the contact button in the navigation bar above. 

Clicking on the Theological Terms button above the header will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.