I have been called many things in my life. Sometimes those names have been honest mistakes—people simply getting my real name wrong. More often than not, however, the names I have been called were meant to be derogatory.

One such name is fundamentalist. While some might consider that an insult, I actually take it rather positively—because it implies that the person using the term sees me as someone who sticks to his Bible and is unwilling to move away from it. Frankly, I think that is a good place to be (Jude 3).

But there is another label I have been given—one that, depending on who is using it, is often meant in a very negative way. This word will mean little to many people, but it carries a trainload of connotations for others, particularly within my own associational circles.

That term is:

I have no intention of launching into a full-blown theology lecture on the definition of the term. However, I do want to touch on a few aspects of it, so the reader might better understand why this label is sometimes used as an insult.

“Calvinism” is generally associated with the theological teachings of John Calvin, a key figure of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century and a forefather of what we know today as Presbyterianism. Calvin was a preacher, pastor, and theologian—controversial in his own day, and perhaps even more so now. When someone today uses terms like Reformed or Reformed Theology, it usually implies that a person or church holds, to some degree, theological convictions rooted in Calvin’s teaching.

Often, these views are summarized by the familiar acronym T.U.L.I.P.. While many who casually throw these terms around actually hold positions more extreme than Calvin himself ever did, the acronym still provides a helpful framework for understanding the system:

• Total Depravity – Humanity is sinful by nature (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:10–12). Often called Total Inability, this means that man cannot redeem himself because of the corruption of sin (John 6:44).
• Unconditional Election – God’s election is not based on anything He foresees in an individual, nor on merit (Romans 9:11, 15–16; Ephesians 1:4–5).
• Limited Atonement – Christ died for the elect (John 10:11, 15). While His sacrifice is sufficient for all (Hebrews 2:9), it is efficacious only for those who believe (John 6:37).
• Irresistible Grace – When God effectually calls His elect to salvation, that call will ultimately prevail (John 6:37; Acts 13:48).
• Perseverance of the Saints – Those who are truly saved will persevere (John 10:27–29; Philippians 1:6; Romans 8:30).

I believe the greatest obstacle to that peace is our tendency to view everything exclusively from a human perspective. Scripture was given by God, through men, and God has revealed all that we need to know. The Bible is sufficient (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Within its pages, we find everything necessary to answer the theological questions we are meant to answer.

God is sovereign. Very few professing Christians would deny that. Nothing—good or bad—happens outside of His sovereign will. Nothing. Even the Fall in the Garden of Eden occurred within God’s plan. That does not make God the author of sin or evil; rather, it affirms that God works all things toward His ultimate glory. The Fall demonstrates that God is not a mere puppet master, but it also raises the question: how does this relate to the “Calvinist” label?

The answer begins with God’s perspective. God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and eternal. He is not bound by time or space. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, creation, and eternity are all present tense to Him. Finite minds cannot fully grasp the infinite, but this is where we must begin.

Viewed from that vantage point, the doctrines summarized by TULIP become less contentious.

Total Depravity does not mean people are incapable of performing acts of kindness or civic good, It means we are incapable of pleasing God or redeeming ourselves. Humanity, though fallen, still bears God’s image and can do relative good, but not saving good. God demands perfection (Matthew 5:48), and while we cannot meet that standard, He has graciously provided righteousness through His Son, Jesus Christ. This point is widely affirmed among most Christians: there is no salvation apart from Christ.

Unconditional Election, when seen from God’s eternal perspective, is likewise difficult to deny. Romans 9 makes clear that God’s purposes in election precede human action or merit. At the same time, Scripture does not support the extreme view known as double predestination, often associated with hyper-Calvinism—the idea that God actively creates some people for damnation. Scripture explicitly affirms God’s patience and His desire that sinners come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

The tension remains: How can God sovereignly elect while holding humanity accountable? Scripture affirms both. Just as we accept that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man—a mystery known as the hypostatic union—we must accept that God’s sovereignty and human responsibility coexist, even when we cannot fully explain how.

Limited Atonement is perhaps the most controversial point. While I differ from strict Calvinists here, I affirm that Christ’s atonement is sufficient for all and effective for all who believe. Christ’s blood would have been sufficient had every human ever lived been saved—or if only one had. Scripture teaches that many will not believe and will face eternal judgment, not because Christ’s sacrifice was insufficient, or that God somehow fails to accomplish His will, but simply because they actively reject Christ’s atonement.

Some argue that this doctrine undermines evangelism. I strongly disagree. We do not know who will believe. Our command is simply to go and proclaim the gospel. Charles H. Spurgeon once famously said that if God had painted a yellow stripe down the backs of the elect, he would spend his time lifting shirts to find them—but since God did not do that, he preached the gospel to all and let God sort out His own. Election is God’s business; evangelism is ours (Romans 1:16).

The Holy Spirit convicts; God saves. We have no right to withhold the gospel from anyone.

Irresistible Grace is a doctrine I understand not only biblically, but experientially. When God convicted me of my sin, breaking my heart for that sin, and making it quite cleaer I was bound for eternal damnation, I saw no other option but to cry out to Christ for HIS salvation. Could I have resisted? Perhaps in theory. But in that moment, there was only one response: “Yes, Lord.” Salvation was God’s work from beginning to end.

Finally, Perseverance of the Saints (sometimes called security of the beliver or “once-saved, always saved“)vis one of the clearest teachings of Scripture. Jesus declared that no one can snatch His sheep from His hand (John 10:27–28). God finishes what He begins (Philippians 1:6). False professions may fade, but genuine salvation endures because it is upheld by God Himself.

So, am I a Calvinist?

No.

I am a Christian

I do believe God is sovereign. I believe He elects. I believe He saves. I believe He keeps. I believe salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8–9). And I believe Christ’s atoning work is sufficient for all who will believe (Romans 10:9–13).

I may be accused of “riding the fence.” I don’t see it that way. Theology often swings from one extreme to another, but truth is found in faithful submission to Scripture (Proverbs 3:5–6). Ultimately, God alone sees the whole picture.

I know whom I have believed (2 Timothy 1:12). And my desire is simple: to proclaim Christ crucified, risen, and saving—calling all people everywhere to repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15; Acts 17:30), trusting God to save whom He will (John 6:39).

Or more directly: I believe and preach the Doctrines of Grace:

Salvation is 

• By GRACE alone
• Through FAITH alone
• In CHRIST alone
• Based on SCRIPTURE alone
• For the Glory of GOD alone

Or in short:

If your theology is an excuse to be disobedient (you don’t share Christ and His saving gospel with all), you need new theology!