Theo1689
Well-known member
Earlier today someone posted a quote from a poster which was from private correspondence, and it got removed (I didn't report it, but I noticed that it broke the rules, so I'm not surprised).
The poster claimed "there is nothing loving in TULIP", and I briefly responded that there was. Since I didn't elaborate, I thought I'd do that now.
Total Depravity - TD doesn't fall in the spectrum of "love-hate", it simply describes a Biblical fact. But it isn't so much a "lack of love" (did Arminians wish God to violate our "free will"?!), but man's rejection of God's love and his desire for independence, and the misguided idea that he could live independently of God.
Unconditional Election - We are elected for salvation unconditionally. We don't have to "jump through hoops", or do anything, God elects us just because. Do your parents force you to do something before they "love" you? Of course not, they love you just because you're you. They'll even love you through the bad times. Murderer Scott Peterson was loved by his mother until the day she died.
Limited Atonement - How can anyone try to claim that Christ's atoning death on the cross is anything but the ULTIMATE act of love? I especially like to think of this point as "Particular Redemption". And the point is that God didn't simply throw out "offers" of salvation to "whosoever" (like God doesn't care WHO is saved, as long as some are saved). He died for ME personally. He died for ReverendRV personally. He died for TibiasDad personally. That is PERSONAL love to INDIVIDUAL sinners, not some impersonal, "vanilla" talking point of "love". Non-Calvinists might think this point is unloving because it's "limited", but that's not an indication of "lack of love" on God's part, it is an attitude of entitlement and demand by sinner enemies of god.
Irresistible Grace - God loves his elect so much that He irresistibly draws them to Himself (John 6:44), to make sure that we attain the salvation that God provided for us. How loving!
Preservation of the Saints - God loves his elect so much that He sent His son to be the "Good Shepherd", to retrieve us whenever we wander off, and make sure we WILL be preserved for eternal life. How incredibly loving!
The poster claimed "there is nothing loving in TULIP", and I briefly responded that there was. Since I didn't elaborate, I thought I'd do that now.
Total Depravity - TD doesn't fall in the spectrum of "love-hate", it simply describes a Biblical fact. But it isn't so much a "lack of love" (did Arminians wish God to violate our "free will"?!), but man's rejection of God's love and his desire for independence, and the misguided idea that he could live independently of God.
Unconditional Election - We are elected for salvation unconditionally. We don't have to "jump through hoops", or do anything, God elects us just because. Do your parents force you to do something before they "love" you? Of course not, they love you just because you're you. They'll even love you through the bad times. Murderer Scott Peterson was loved by his mother until the day she died.
Limited Atonement - How can anyone try to claim that Christ's atoning death on the cross is anything but the ULTIMATE act of love? I especially like to think of this point as "Particular Redemption". And the point is that God didn't simply throw out "offers" of salvation to "whosoever" (like God doesn't care WHO is saved, as long as some are saved). He died for ME personally. He died for ReverendRV personally. He died for TibiasDad personally. That is PERSONAL love to INDIVIDUAL sinners, not some impersonal, "vanilla" talking point of "love". Non-Calvinists might think this point is unloving because it's "limited", but that's not an indication of "lack of love" on God's part, it is an attitude of entitlement and demand by sinner enemies of god.
Irresistible Grace - God loves his elect so much that He irresistibly draws them to Himself (John 6:44), to make sure that we attain the salvation that God provided for us. How loving!
Preservation of the Saints - God loves his elect so much that He sent His son to be the "Good Shepherd", to retrieve us whenever we wander off, and make sure we WILL be preserved for eternal life. How incredibly loving!
