The five points of Calvinism are:
Total depravity
Also called "radical depravity" and "total inability", this point means that every person is corrupt and sinful throughout in all of his or her faculties, including the
mind and
will. Thus, no one is able to do what is truly good in God's eyes. (This does not mean that every act is as evil as it could be, but rather that every good act is corrupted by sin.) As a result of this corruption, man is enslaved to
sin, rebellious and hostile toward God, blind to truth, and unable to save himself or even prepare himself for salvation.
Unconditional election
Election means "choice." God's choice from
eternity past, of whom he will bring to himself, is not based on foreseen virtue,
merit, or
faith in the persons he chooses but rather is unconditionally grounded in his own sovereign decision.
Limited atonement
Also called "particular redemption" or "definite atonement", the doctrine of limited atonement is the teaching that
Jesus'
atonement was definite and certain in its design and accomplishment. The doctrine is driven by the concept of the sovereignty of God in salvation and the Calvinist understanding of the nature of the atonement: In the Calvinist view, the atonement is viewed as a
penal substitution (that is, Jesus was punished in the place of sinners), and since, Calvinists argue, it would be unjust for God to pay the penalty for some people's sins and then still condemn them for those sins, all those whose sins were atoned for must necessarily be saved. Moreover, since in this scheme God knows precisely who the elect are and since only the elect will be saved, there is no requirement that Christ atone for sins in general, only for those of the elect. Calvinists do not believe, however, that the atonement is limited in its value or power (in other words, God could have elected everyone and used it to atone for them all), but rather that the atonement is limited in the sense that it is designed for some and not all.
Irresistible grace
Also known as "effectual grace" or the "effectual call", this doctrine does not hold that every influence of God's
Holy Spirit cannot be resisted but that the Holy Spirit is able to overcome all resistance and make his influence irresistible and effective. Thus, when God sovereignly purposes to save someone, that individual certainly will be saved.
Perseverance of the saints
Also called the "preservation of the saints" or "eternal security," the fifth point teaches that, since God is sovereign and his will cannot be frustrated by human will or anything else, those whom God has called into communion with himself will continue in faith until the end. Those who apparently fall away either never had true faith to begin with or will return. This is slightly different from the "once saved, always saved" view prevalent in some
evangelical churches in which, despite apostasy or unrepentant and habitual sin, the individual is truly saved if he or she had truly accepted Christ in the past; in traditional Calvinist teaching, apostasy by such a person may be proof that they never were saved. [Wiki]
