Can We Turn That 4 into a 5?
As I sat down across the table from my seminary neighbor, I thought the conversation was going to go a certain way. I thought that we’d get to know one another better (he’d just moved into our apartment building with his young family). I thought we’d talk about being seminary students, husbands, and new fathers–in fact, our 6-month olds were born just a few days apart! That’s how I thought the conversation would go. But as we sat down with our drinks, the first thing out of his mouth was “What doctrine offers you the most comfort, and why?” Okay…we’re diving into the serious stuff.
Had I grown up and been catechized in the Reformed Church, I likely would have answered with Heidelberg Q&A1 (‘That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.’), which now hangs on the wall in my living room. But at that time, I simply responded with the sovereignty of God. I confessed to him my tendency to want to be in control, but that the doctrine of God’s sovereignty reminds me that He has ultimate authority, ultimate control over all creation. As much as I may try to rely on myself, I am wholly dependent on him.
“Great answer,” my new friend replied. “Which leads me to my second question: I heard that you’re a 4-point Calvinist…how can we turn that 4 into a 5?” How he had heard this, I have no idea. But it was true. I was a 4-pointer Calvinist–affirming 4 of the 5 enumerated conclusions found in the Canons of Dordt, one of our Reformed standards. The Canons conclusions are usually summarized using the 5-letter acrostic TULIP, which refers to the Total Depravity of humanity as a result of sin, the Unconditional Election of God’s people by no merit of their own, the Limited Atonement of Jesus Christ for the elect, the Irresistible Grace that draws the elect towards God, and the Perseverance of the Saints, assuring us that nothing can snatch us from our Savior’s hands.
I was on board with 4 of the 5, but like many others, I struggled with the idea of Limited Atonement. I struggled with the idea that Christ’s sacrificial death was only for the elect. Did that mean that Christ’s death wasn’t enough for the whole world? Doesn’t God want all people to believe and receive the good news? This is where I was at. But with tender love and care, my new friend walked me through how finding comfort in the sovereignty of God could turn that 4 into a 5. He shared with me the assuring truths from Richard Mouw which I would again rediscover in my first year of pastoral ministry. In his explanation of the TULIP, he writes this: “Calvinists insist…that a sovereign God could not have failed to accomplish what he set out to do in sending his only Son into the world. Jesus knew ahead of time whom he would save, and he set out to make their salvation a sure thing. The success of the atonement–that those for whom Jesus died would arrive at their heavenly destination–was guaranteed from the outset.”
The Canons of Dordt may be some “serious stuff.” It may even be a topic that we tend to avoid. But ultimately, its conclusions offer us some of the greatest comfort in this life: Christ succeeded in his mission to save us. We don’t have to worry about our salvation. He’s sovereign over all.
1 Richard J. Mouw, Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport: Making Connections in Today’s World (Zondervan, 2004), 35.