These doctrines of grace emphasize God’s sovereignty over our salvation and our absolute dependence on Him to save us.

Total Depravity (Radical Corruption)

Because of Adam’s sin, all humanity is born guilty and corrupted since Adam served as our federal head/representative. Every part of human nature (mind, heart, will, desires, actions, etc.) has been affected by sin, and all creation itself groans awaiting redemption. Scripture describes us as “dead” in sin, “slaves” to sin, and spiritually “blinded.” Jesus’ call to be “born again” (John 3) and Paul’s declaration that we become a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) show that only a radical work of God can remedy this condition. Humans can still perform acts that appear morally good, but apart from faith they do not please God (Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:23). Total depravity does not mean people are as evil as possible, but rather that sin has touched every part of who we are and that we cannot turn to God apart from His grace.

Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

Romans 3:10–12 None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.

Romans 5:12,18 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

Romans 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

Romans 8:7–8 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Ephesians 2:1,4–5 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved.

Ezekiel 36:26–27 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

On the speculative question of newborn infants who die or people with severe cognitive disabilities born with the “inherited guilt of Adam,” I am inclined to trust in the righteous, gracious, and compassionate character of God who knows their frame and has the ability to unilaterally save anyone human without their approval or conscious decision.

Unconditional Election (Sovereign Election)

Election is entirely the sovereign prerogative of God. While God certainly knows all who will come to faith, I’m convinced Scripture teaches that their future faith is not the condition of His election but the natural consequence of it. God’s election is His eternal and gracious choice, flowing from His sovereign love and purpose rather than anything foreseen in us.

I think this doctrine naturally follows from Total Depravity too. If humanity is truly unable to come to God apart from divine intervention, then salvation must begin entirely with God’s initiative. If election were ultimately dependent on our independent decision to choose God, then human choice and not God’s sovereign grace would become the decisive factor in salvation. And so unconditional election affirms that salvation is “of the Lord” from start to end.

John 1:12–13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 10:26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

Romans 9:8–18, 21-24 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills…Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory - even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Ephesians 1:4–6 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

What about the passages that describe God’s desire for people to be saved? Consider passages like these:

Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

To make sense of these kinds of statements, it’s helpful to recognize that Scripture speaks about the “will of God” in more than one way. Historically, Christians have distinguished between God’s revealed (moral) will and God’s sovereign (decretive) will.

God’s sovereign will refers to His eternal purpose. What He has ordained will certainly come to pass. Nothing can thwart it.

Isaiah 46:9-10 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

Ephesians 1:11 who works all things according to the counsel of his will

God’s revealed will, on the other hand, is what He commands and delights in morally and what humans ought to do. Unlike His sovereign will, this can be resisted and disobeyed. For example,

1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

So when Scripture speaks about God not desiring the death of the wicked or wishing that none should perish, these passages reflect God’s revealed, moral will (i.e. His genuine delight in repentance and His compassion toward sinners). At the same time, Scripture also affirms that God’s sovereign purposes will surely stand. Both realities are biblical, and holding them together helps us appreciate the depth of God’s heart and the certainty of His plans.

Limited Atonement (Definite Atonement)

God sent His Son to die specifically and effectually for the elect (invisible church), and Christ’s atoning work perfectly accomplished the Father’s saving will. His death was not merely a potential provision but a fully effective redemption, securing the salvation of all for whom He died. Because we do not know who belongs to the invisible church, we faithfully and liberally proclaim the gospel to everyone, trusting that God will draw His elect through the preaching of the Word.

Every theological system “limits” the atonement in some way: either in its extent (Christ died particularly for the elect) or in its effect (Christ died for all, but His death only saves those who believe). Unlimited atonement gets confusing for me since if Christ fully bore the penalty of a person’s sins, yet that person could still be condemned, then His atonement would fail or result in a “double payment” (since the person would go to Hell and pay for their sins again)

Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Matthew 20:28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

John 10:14–15 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

John 17:9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

Acts 20:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

I recognize that there are passages which appear to teach that Christ died for every individual without exception like John 3:16, 1 Timothy 2:4-6, and 1 John 2:2. I think it all depends on how Scripture uses terms like “all” and “whole world” in their contexts. I can see how “world” could be used to describe the inclusion of the nations beyond Israel, highlighting that God’s saving purpose is not limited to the Jews alone. And “all” could refer to “all kinds of people” rather than every person without exception, particularly in passages stressing the global and multiethnic scope of God’s redemptive plan.

So going back to those texts, the passages begin to make sense:

  • John is very evangelistic and appeals to Greek thinkers and doesn’t heavily quote Jewish scriptures for a reason. He has Gentiles in mind.
  • The context of 1 Timothy 2 where Paul is exhorting prayer for kings, rulers, Gentiles, etc.

Irresistible Grace (Effectual Grace)

When God wills to regenerate a sinner (removing heart of stone and giving heart of flesh with new affections), He does it. He doesn’t ask for our opinion or our counsel or require our cooperation. He sovereignly and beautifully breathes life into our soul and completely changes us. I think the metaphors of birth, adoption, redemption, and resurrection used to describe the believer are really informative and illustrative of this. Just as a child does not choose to be born (John 3), the dead do not choose to rise (Ephesians 2:5), a slave does not choose to redeem himself (Ephesians 1:7), and children do not adopt themselves into a family (Ephesians 1:5), so God sovereignly causes us to be born again, gives us life, purchases us, and adopts us into His family. Salvation is God’s gracious initiative from beginning to end. What God purposes, He accomplishes. If grace were ultimately resistible in a decisive way, the determining power in salvation would shift from God’s will to human will. Effectual grace proclaims instead that God sovereignly overcomes our resistance by changing our hearts, so that we freely and gladly come to Christ.

John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Romans 9:19 …For who can resist his will?

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

It’s important to realize that the Spirit can still be “resisted” in the sense of grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) and quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and facing God’s painful, disciplinary wrath (Hebrews 12:7-11). The grace we are talking about here is ultimate, salvific grace purchased by Christ.

Perseverance of the Saints (Preservation of the Saints)

This isn’t “once saved, always saved” but rather “once saved, always persevering”. The one who perseveres to the end was genuinely saved. Again, perseverance is a necessary consequence of our salvation secured by Christ on the cross. But the apostate “Christian” who ultimately walks away from the faith was never truly saved to begin with. God finishes what He starts. He saves those He intended to save. He will preserve His elect.

🎵 When I fear my faith will fail, He will hold me fast.
🎵 No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand.

John 6:39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day

John 10:27–28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Romans 8:30, 35–39 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified…Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 1:13–14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 9:12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Jude 24–25 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

I understand the “warning passages” to be given to the visible church (a group of professing believers, some who are truly saved and others who are not).

Galatians 5:4: Jewish Christians tempted to return to legalism. Not a believer losing salvation, but apostasy in profession. Those who seek justification by the law were never truly justified by grace in the first place (Galatians 3:3). These are guys who are abandoning Christ for “another gospel”.

Hebrews 6: Hebrew Christians under persecution were tempted to apostasize. The language of “enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come” could describe professing believers in churches and communities who heard preaching, took communion, witnessed miracles, etc. but fell away later. Scripture seems to indicate that there is a “point of no return” for unbelievers.

Hebrews 10:26–31: Similar to the passage above, I understand this to be a warning against willful rejection of Christ and continued sin. With greater revelation (e.g. more gospel exposure and bible knowledge) comes greater judgment for unbelievers.

2 Peter 2:20: Peter is talking about false prophets and teachers here who are self-deceived and incur stricter judgment (James 3:1). They were never “of us” (1 John 2:19).

It’s also important to realize that this doesn’t mean a true Christian is incapable of committing grave sin or disqualifying themselves from ministry. It is entirely possible for a Christian to live a useless, miserable, painful, “barely saved” life (1 Corinthians 3:15, 2 Timothy 2:21, 2 Peter 1:8-9).

Overall, the age-old tension between Calvinism/Arminianism lies between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. I tend to think Arminianism puts too much emphasis on human agency, and deprives God of maximal glory and praise when He does choose to save sinful men. It also makes the omnipotent God seem less powerful since He can’t finish what He starts, His election depends on man, and His precious Son’s atonement is only effective to those who give Him permission/approval. That said, I strive to remain charitable; Arminians are still fellow brothers and sisters and co-heirs with Christ.

Both of these are “macro” level views of salvation and have their pitfalls of hyper-calvinism (no evangelism) or hyper-arminianism (fear of forfeiting salvation at any moment). So on a more practical “micro” level view, I often live in a way that blends them. e.g. I like to sleep and sing like a Calvinist and pray and evangelize like an Arminian.