What is Calvinism?

Calvinism, named after the 16th century Reformer John Calvin, is a word used for five biblical doctrines summarized in the acrostic TULIP. They include Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints. These are also called the Doctrines of Grace, biblical teaching which glorifies the sovereignty of God in salvation.

In the 17th century, a pastor named Jacob Arminius preached a series of sermons that seemed to contradict the Belgic Confession, the statement of faith adopted by the church in the Netherlands. After Arminius died, his students wrote a letter to the Dutch government asking permission to preach Arminius's objections freely. This was called the Remonstrance, meaning protest.

They summarized five doctrines from Arminius, such as: God chooses to give eternal life to those whom He knows beforehand will choose to believe in Jesus; Jesus died for everyone, but only those who believe are saved; Human beings are born in sin and must be born again; Anyone can choose to reject God's gift of salvation; and a Christian can lose their salvation.

Reformed ministers responded with these doctrinal points: God's choice of whom He will save is not conditioned upon what a person will do; Jesus died for everyone whom God has chosen to save; all are born in sin and unable to choose to believe in Jesus unless they are born again by the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit; all whom God means to save will come to Christ in faith; and once saved, no one will snatch them from His hand (John 10:28-29).

This response known then as the Canons of Dort, would later be called Calvinism, and the teaching summarized by Arminius's students was called Arminianism. John Calvin did not start a new belief system called Calvinism. It's what the Bible teaches summarized in a concise list called the doctrines of grace, or as most know them TULIP.

Romans 3:10-12 says no one does good and "no one seeks for God." Jesus said, "All that the Father gives me will come to me" (John 6:37), "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44), and "No one will snatch them from my hand" (John 10:28). 

Ephesians 1:11 says, "In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the council of His will." And that's Calvinism, when we understand the text.

What is Worship?

Romans 12:1-2 says, "I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

What is worship? Perhaps you have thought of worship as singing worship songs, or maybe going to church, reading your Bible, prayer—these are certainly ways we worship God. But true worship is loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).

Earlier in Romans, Paul talked about those who worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. But Jesus said, "You shall worship," meaning bow before, "the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve."

God is merciful, forgiving your sins through faith in Jesus. He has offered Himself as an atoning sacrifice. So you must offer yourself as a living sacrifice, "holy and acceptable to God." Turning from sin and living a life of purity and obedience, submitting to the will of the Father as Jesus did—this is worship.

"Do not love the world or the things in the world... The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15, 17). How do we know what God's will is? By reading His word, the Bible.

There Jesus says that "the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth," (John 4:23), for He is worthy of our worship, when we understand the text.

Did Jesus Say, "Blessed Are the Poor"? (Luke 6:20)

In Matthew 5:3, Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Is that what Jesus said? Blessed are the poor? No, He said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." But you probably hear it the other way more often than you hear it the right way.

"Wwutt?! In Luke 6:20, Jesus said, 'Blessed are the poor!' and it does not say 'the poor in spirit!' So Jesus did say the poor are blessed by God."

Take a closer look at that verse. Luke 6:20 says, "And He lifted up His eyes on His disciples, and said: 'Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.'" Who is Jesus addressing? His disciples. Therefore, this means, "Blessed are the poor among my disciples. Though you may lack material things, you are rich in heavenly blessings."

The Bible does not say everyone who is poor receives the kingdom of God. Do all the poor go to heaven? Below what income level? If you're saved by living in poverty, then the gospel would be meaningless. We are saved by faith in Christ, not our socio-economic level. Rich or poor, everyone needs the gospel.

But no matter how much or how little you have, no matter how popular you are or what you have accomplished, Philippians 3:8 says, "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."

If you don't have Jesus, you have nothing. But whoever has Christ has everything, when we understand the text.

Did Jesus Say "Blessed Are the Poor"? (Matthew 5:3)

In Matthew 5:3, Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Is that what Jesus said? Blessed are the poor? No, He said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," but you probably hear it the other way more often than you hear it the right way.

The poor in spirit are those who know they need God's help. To those who confess their spiritual bankruptcy to God, they will receive kingdom of God! So this is not about anyone who is poor. It's talking about a person who humbly acknowledges they need Jesus.

At the start of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:3-12 is a section referred to as the Beatitudes. These are the verses that begin, "Blessed are." Blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and so on.

Matthew was originally written in Greek, and the Greek word for "Blessed" is makarioi (mak-AR-ee-oy), which means "happy." This describes a believer who is happy because he is fortunate, approved of by God, and eternally provided for.

Blessing is connected to faith, for as Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who seek Him." The one who is loved by the Father through faith in the Son is blessed!

Many people say that the beatitudes are about the marginalized. No, the beatitudes are about the followers of Jesus, poor in spirit, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers. These are the children of God, when we understand the text.

How Black Lives Matter Divides Us?

Black Lives Matter. Of course they do! But not to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Black Lives Matter is rooted in cultural Marxism, in which people are divided by race, class, and gender into preferred minority groups. A person can gain power by claiming to represent these minority groups, and people submit to this power structure often without knowing.

Emotions are manipulated with myths and assumptions—like systemic racism or cops are hunting black men or white people are more privileged or that race is even a thing at all! The goal is not unity. It's to keep people divided for power and money. Racial disparity is a multi-billion dollar industry.

The founders of Black Lives Matter are pro-gay liberal feminists who support socialist Bernie Sanders and abortion giant Planned Parenthood. This is the agenda: the only black lives that matter are the ones that are politically beneficial. You don't hear about black police officers, nor those killed by black on black crime, nor the 400,000 black babies killed by abortion every year.

Titus 3:3 says that we were all once "slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another." But Christ is our peace, who makes us one "and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2:14).

If you truly love others and want to stamp out hatred, preach Christ and Him crucified for our sins. Love God and love your neighbor, and raise godly churches and families, when we understand the text.