Category Archives: The Doctrines of Grace

TULIP – by Dr. John Gerstner

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T – TOTAL DEPRAVITY

When man first sinned he died (Genesis 2:17). Now man is spiritually dead, not well, not sick, not even terminally ill, but dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). His depravity pertaining to all aspects of his personality is total. This is not to be confused with UTTER depravity, for there is room for deprovement. Consequently this slave of sin (John 8:34), exploits every opportunity to sin in every area of his being: in thought, word and deed, by commission and omission, and even his good works are bad (Genesis 6:5). Total depravity is our one original contribution to TULIP. We are the dirty soil in which God plants His flower, and from our filth, produces a thing of divine beauty.

U – UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION
If man is as depraved as the Bible says he is, his divine election to salvation would have to be as unconditional as the Bible says it is (Rom. 9:15). How could totally depraved persons exercise faith in a God they hate, or behave virtuously while averse to virtue? If it were a matter of foreseeing, what would God foresee but sin and unbelief unless He elected to rescue some of the deservedly perishing? The election to salvation is absolutely unconditional, but the salvation is not, faith being its prerequisite and good works its post-requisite.

L – LIMITED ATONEMENT
The atonement is the means by which God brings totally depraved but unconditionally elect persons to Himself without violence to His own inexorable holiness. His mercy constrains Him to save and His holiness restrains Him from saving unjustly. So God became man in Christ that He could pay the price of sin and remained God. He did not empty Himself of deity when He became incarnate so that the purchase was infinite in value. Thus the atonement was unlimited in its sufficiency, as in its offer, and limited only in its specific design, for those who believe (John 3:16). Those who believe are the elect (Rom. 8:30). “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy” at once explains the unconditional character of election and the limited-ness of the atonement.

I – IRRESISTIBLE GRACE
The infinitely precious atonement would be of no value because totally depraved persons even though elect, are utterly hostile to God unless something was done to them in grace that corresponded to what was done for them in the atonement. Saving grace need not only to be provided but applied by means of union with Christ and regeneration. This divine grace is irresistible or efficacious because it mercifully changes the depraved soul. When a person is born again from above by the Spirit, he, as a new creature finds it as natural (that is irresistible) to come to Christ as in his depravity he finds it natural (that is irresistible) to flee from Him (John 3:3-8). Grace is irresistible not by being against man’s will but by recreating his will.

P – PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS
The purpose of God would still fail if the last one of Christ’s sheep were not brought and kept within His fold (John 17:20, 21; 2 Pet. 3:9). So the saints must be persevering and this could only be possible or certain by God’s preserving. Having put His hand to the plow God never turns back (Phil. 1:6). Because He does not, neither do His saints (Phil. 2:11, 12). The perseverance by the saints is the consequence of the preservation of the saints. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus on whom our faith depends from beginning to end (Heb. 12:2).

Blotted from the Book of Life?

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Piper11Original source the Bible mentions the phrase ‘the book of life’ about fourteen times, and quite a few of those passages mention getting blotted out of the book of life. How does this NOT mean losing your salvation?” What would you say Pastor John?

When it comes to the doctrine of eternal security or perseverance of the saints, we need to speak with precision. And I think it is not quite precise to say, as Charles does, in quite a few of the Scriptures it mentions you can be blotted out of the book of life. I don’t think it ever says you can be blotted out, at least not in the sense that sometimes God does it. It says we will be blotted out if we fail to meet certain conditions. Now whether that ever happens or in God’s sovereignty can happen is another question. I don’t think so and let me try to show why.

The book of Revelation is the book that refers to this most often and it is the book that has the text that sounds most problematical, I think. Revelation 3:5 says, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” Now some say: Well, that is a foolproof text against the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints or eternal security. They assume that when Revelation 3:5 says that God will not erase a person’s name from the book of life, it implies that he does erase some people from the book of life, and that these people would once be born again, justified, saved, and, nevertheless, in the end condemned, lost, and perish. In other words, they lose their salvation on that reading of the verse.

But is that a true assumption?

The promise: “I will not erase his name from the book of life” does not necessarily imply that some do have their names erased. It simply says, to the one who is in the book, and who conquers in faith: I will never wipe your name out. In other words, being erased is a fearful prospect, which I will not allow to happen to those who persevere. In fact, there are two other passages in Revelation that teach that to have your name in the book of life means that you will most definitely persevere and conquer and thus meet the condition not to be blotted out.

Revelation 13:8 says: “And all who dwell on the earth will worship [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” Now that verse teaches that those whose names are written in the book of life definitely will not worship the beast. That is what it says. In other words, having your name in the book of life from the foundation of the world means God will keep you from folly. He will cause you to persevere in allegiance to God. Being in the book means you will not apostatize. You won’t forsake the faith. Continue reading →