National Tulip Day

Did you know that January 20 is National Tulip Day?  Mars Hill Examiner is celebrating it and I hope that you will too.  In honor of National Tulip Day we will take a brief look at the tulip.  

Of course TULIP is an acrostic representing profound Biblical truth known as the Doctrines of Grace.  

T-Total Depravity
This does not mean that man is as bad as he can possible be, but that he is sinful in his entire being.  We are born sinners and our very nature is therefore sinful.  Man is dead in his sins and unable to choose God.  He will freely choose to reject God because his will is in bondage to sin.  Because of our sin we are under God's wrath and on the road to hell.  (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:9-12, Ephesians 2:1-3) 

U-Unconditional Election
Since we are not capable of choosing God because we are dead in our sins, by his grace God has chosen to save a people for himself, the elect.  God chooses to save people based on his will and purpose.  It is not based on anything the human being does or will do.  God chooses his elect solely by his grace.  God freely chooses whom he will save.  (Acts 13:48, Romans 9:11-16, Ephesians 1:4-5,11-12) 

L-Limited Atonement
This could also be called definite atonement. Jesus came to save his people from their sins.  Christ died to pay for the sins of believers only, he did not pay for the sins of all people.  If he paid for the sins of all people then no one would still have to pay for their sins.  All people would then be saved, that is universalism.  Christ actually accomplished salvation for his people, he did not just make it possible for all people.  (Matthew 1:21, John 10:11,14-15,24-26, Ephesians 5:25-27)  

I-Irresistible Grace
Since we are dead in our sins and unable to choose God we can only come to him by his grace.  He must make us alive or regenerate us.  God must draw us to himself.  After God causes us to be born again we will respond in faith and repentance.  Once we have gone from being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive we will freely choose God.  All people God chooses to save will respond to him with saving faith because he always accomplishes his purpose.  (John 6:37,44,63-66, Acts 11:18, Ephesians 2:1-9)

P-Perseverance Of The Saints
God preserves his people and none of them will fall away.  True Christians will not fall away because salvation is the work of God from beginning to end.  This does not mean that anyone who makes a decision for Christ is once saved always saved.  Only true Christians are eternally secure and they will persevere to the end.  Anyone who falls away was never a true Christian to begin with. (John 6;37,39, John 10:27-29, Romans 8:29-39)

Salvation is totally the work of God from beginning to end.  It is by his grace alone. If salvation was dependent upon the human being at any point it would no longer be by grace.  It is not God and man working together to accomplish salvation but the work of God alone.  Therefore the glory belongs to God alone.  God does not try to save all people and fail to do so.  He saves all he has chosen and always accomplishes his purpose.   

Who would have thought that there would be a national day celebrating the Doctrines of Grace?  

When Christians Disagree

How should we react when professing Christians disagree on an issue?  Should we consider each other fellow Christians?  Should we worship separately?  Or is it an issue that is really not that significant?  Placing the issues into three different categories can be helpful.  

Tier 1
Disagreements on issues in this category will require that we not worship together.  Also disagreements on issues in this category will not allow us to consider those who disagree to be fellow Christians.  An example of a Tier 1 issue is the deity of Christ.  If one does not believe that Jesus is the only, unique Son of God he cannot be considered a true Christian.  Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses cannot be viewed as fellow Christians.  

Tier 2
Disagreements on issues in this category may require that we worship separately but we can still consider each other fellow Christians. An example of a Tier 2 issue is baptism.  Some hold to infant baptism and others hold to believers baptism.  Baptists and Presbyterians may worship at different churches but they can still consider each other fellow Christians.  

Tier 3
Disagreements on issues in this category do not require us to worship separately.  Also we can consider each other fellow Christians. An example of a Tier 3 issue is whether one holds to a pretribulation rapture or not.  Disagreements over details of the end times does not require us to worship separately and we can most definitely consider each other fellow Christians.  

I must thank Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for this basic layout.