Thank you for the biblical and theological question on TULIP, “Is TULIP biblical? Why does it seem to clash with the Bible?”
The acronym TULIP represents a theological understanding of salvation Bible based on one’s reading and interpretation of the Scriptures. TULIP stands for Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistable Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints.
In our modern thinking/interpretation, many churches and even seminaries no longer hold to that view of salvation. It’s more popular to think that man is born innocent and that it is the environment that causes/influences one to evil action. It is more popular to think that may choses to believe since man has free will to believe or not to believe in Jesus Christ. It is more popular to think that since God loves everyone that everyone will be saved at the end. It is more popular to think that one lifestyle doesn’t matter to God. That is our trend today that God is not needed/necessary since man is the captain of his own fate.
The theological designation of TULIP is ascribed to Calvanism and one can read about the great debates between Luther and Erasmus or St. Augustine and Pelagianism.
For one’s consideration, I believe that theological summary regarding salvation does not clash with the Bible but rather is affirmed by the Bible.
In regards to Total Depravity, the Apostle Paul writes that all have sinned and come short of the glory, that none is righteous, no not one (Rom. 1:18–21, 2:9–20. Is it possible for a man to live a sinless life so that he doesn’t need’s God’s grace? A person may be blameless according to the Law or one’s own conscience, but he can’t be perfect or sinless. There are sins of attitude, sins of omissions, and sins of commissions. If man can become perfect by his own good works, then the death of Jesus Christ is not needed or necessary.
In regards to Unconditional Election, Jesus states that no one can come to the Father except he draws him in John 6:44, “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. Unless the Spirit of God works in that person’s heart and mind, that person can’t be saved. Paul states in Rom. 8:28–30 that God is the one who foreknew as well as predestined. Since God is omnipotent and omniscient, then it is reasonable to assume that God knows who will be his children and who will not be his children (John 3:12–13.
In regards to Limited Atonement, the work of Jesus Christ on the cross is sufficient for the redemption of the whole world, but its application or efficacy is upon the one’s whom God has chosen. If salvation is unlimited then none will enter into the Lake of Fire, the final judgment. The Apostle John writes in Rev. 20:11–15 that there are those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life that those individuals will be cast into the Lake of Fire. The atoning work of Christ redeems the elected people of God, not the whole world.
In regards to Irresistible Grace, God will work in every person’s life so that those who are chosen will come to a place of faith. Jesus states this in John 10, “14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (NIV).
Jesus states that he must bring them also and they will listen to my voice. There is certainty that those whom God elected will come to faith and believe in him.
In regards to the Perseverance of the Saints, this is the belief that the person who genuinely believes will continue in their faith despite stumbling at times. Peter is a good example of a person who denied Jesus Christ 3 times and Paul had to confront him of his hypocritical behavior in Acts that he persevere in his faith. The New Testament also records that those who persist in one’s sin may experience the harsh discipline of God, but that person doesn’t lose their salvation. Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 was discipline by God for attempting to deceive the Apostles or in I Cor. 11 when God disciplined his people with sickness and even death for disrespecting the Lord’s Supper.
When a person denies Christ due to trying circumstances as horrific injury or loss of loved one even persecution, only God knows who truly believes and who doesn’t believe. If one has experience the grace of God and the working of the Holy Spirit, understanding that one is temporary on earth and that one’s citizenship is in heaven, the trials of life are more bearable. Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.” Life’s pain may cause one to question God’s actions, but those questions doesn’t necessary mean a repudiation of one’s faith.
SUMMARY: TULIP looks primary upon salvation from God’s perspective, not man’s perspective of salvation. Salvation is a work of God in a person’s heart, mind, and spirit through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:8–9).
For further insight and discussion:
https://www.quora.com/Is-TULIP-biblical-Why-does-it-seem-to-clash-with-the-Bible