After nearly 400 years of service, the Westminster Confession of Faith continues to provide Reformed and Presbyterian churches worldwide a vibrant summary of Scripture’s principal teachings. But how has this document, drawn from a strikingly different age, remained equally relevant to today’s church?
Below are explanations of TULIP (an acronym representing Calvinism’s main tenets) followed by supporting biblical texts. Remember that not all supporting texts will explicitly teach a given tenet. In such instances, the tenet of Calvinism in question will be, to borrow from an old confession, “by good and necessary consequence deduced from” the supporting texts.
Total Depravity (or Total Inability)
...if the death of Christ on the cross is the true meaning of the Incarnation, then there is no gospel without the cross. Christmas by itself is no gospel. The life of Christ is no gospel. Even the resurrection, important as it is in the total scheme of things, is no gospel by itself. For the good news is not just that God became man, nor that God has spoken to reveal a proper way of life for us, or even that death, the great enemy, is conquered.
The following quote is from the introduction of From Adam and Israel to the Church by Benjamin L Gladd
...to give God's people confidence that they are part of the restored people of God--true Israel. This may seem like an academic inquiry, but such is not the case.
I understand the Bible to say that until we are reborn we do not, in the deepest sense, seek God. We may seek His blessings; we may even seek salvation; but God Himself we reject.
Nevertheless, it is common today to refer to those who are interested in knowing more about the Christian faith as “seekers,” and since it is possible that the reader may fall into that category, I would like to say a little about the implications of the topic of this book for you.
THE CASE OF GOD THE FATHER AGAINST ______________________________ (FILL IN YOUR NAME)
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: SATAN (THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN – Zechariah 3:1)
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (1 John 2:1)
JUDGE PRESIDING: GOD, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE (Psalm 7:11)
IN ATTENDANCE: A VAST COMPANY OF ELECT ANGELS (1 Timothy 5:21)
Right now counts forever because God is in control of all things. He has created a moral universe in which our actions have consequences both now and forever. God can do all things, and none of His purposes can be thwarted (Job 42:2). In this session, Dr. Derek Thomas reminds us that this knowledge is cause for holy reverence, awe, and peace as we acknowledge God’s work in our lives and in the lives of others. He is the sovereign God, Creator of heaven and earth, and He reigns over His creation in glory and splendor.
If God testify against us, who can testify for us? If God’s opinion of man’s sinfulness, his judgment of man’s guilt, and his declaration of sin’s evil be so very decided, there can be no hope of acquittal for us on the ground of personal character of goodness, either of heart or life. That which God sees in us furnishes only matter for condemnation, not for pardon.
The Genevan Reformer John Calvin said, “Preaching is the public exposition of Scripture by the man sent from God, in which God Himself is present in judgment and in grace.” Faithful pulpit ministry requires the declaration of both judgment and grace. The Word of God is a sharp, two-edged sword that softens and hardens, comforts and afflicts, saves and damns.
ECCLES. 7:20.—For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
