TULIP: The Beauty of God’s Grace
We look around us and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. We recognize that God created the flowers and He cares for them. In the book of Luke, Jesus says, “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. …how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!”[1]
We are created in God’s image;
meaning we share some of the same attributes as God such as love[2],
hate[3],
rational thought[4],
reading, writing, speaking[5],
and creativity[6].
However, we share these only in part and not in the full perfection of God. We
can recognize and appreciate beauty that God has created, but not everything is
beautiful. Roses have thorns, plants and
animals can be toxic or poisonous, and death comes in to destroy what was once
beautiful. Even so, because of His love, God shows us His grace and can clothe
us in the splendor of His righteousness and forgiveness. Let’s take a moment to
examine who God is and how He relates to us.
Who is God?
First, God is the Creator
and Author of all of life, and all things.[7]
While we enjoy making and building things, none of us can create as God did,
out of nothing. We all start with what God has already provided. God started
with nothing and created time, matter and space. God created the lilies and the
tulips, and He made the stars also; the vast space and billions of stars and
planets. He is the only one with the knowledge, and the power to create
everything and establish how all things work together. We have only begun to
scratch the surface as we discover how God has made things and how His creation
works; from the expanses of the universe down to the tiniest atoms and their
parts. It is through Him that all things are created and all things are upheld
by Him.[8]
God is also holy, He is set
apart from us in that He is perfect, He is pure, nothing compares to His glory.[9]
While we may strive to live the best life that we can, we must all admit that
we cannot attain the perfection of God. God sets the standard for holiness and
requires that we hold Him in reverence, honor, and holiness. The Ten
Commandments revealed through Moses can be split into two categories: The first
four fall under the category of the greatest commandment to love God: to hold
Him holy in worship, in His name, and His day. The last six fall under the
second greatest commandment, to love your neighbor[10]
as yourself.
God is sovereign, He is in
control of all things and works all things according to His good will.[11]
We have to admit that we desire and attempt to shape our own destiny and the
outcome of our life and efforts, but we often fall short. While the Bible does
teach that man has a will to act and decide, we also understand that God has a
will and acts in His world for His glory. When our will conflicts with God’s,
whose will is stronger?
Who am I or Who is man?
We are created by God, and
likewise we are accountable to Him. God created us in His image, separate from
the animals and the rest of His creation.[12]
God made mankind a little lower than the angels[13],
but because of sin we are unable to attain perfection in keeping God’s law. If
we break any part of God’s law, we are guilty of the whole law.[14]
The same God who said “do not commit
adultery” also said “do not murder”.
In fact, mankind is totally
effected by sin[15] and is unable to live up to God's standard of perfection. Every aspect of our
being: our mind, our strength, our desires are all tainted by the ugliness of
sin. Because of our own sin, we are unfit to stand before God; we are separated
from Him[16].
Because of our sin, we deserve the punishment of death.[17] Despite all of our efforts, we deserve God's wrath.[18] We
are unable to be reconciled to God on our own.
How does God draw us to Him?
Our natural will fights
against God, we do not want to come face-to-face with God’s holiness because of
our sinfulness. But God draws His children to Him[19]
through the work of His Holy Spirit, creating in us a new heart that overcomes
this resistance. He gives us a heart of flesh, replacing our heart of stone.
This is a gift of grace, so that His children would not have to suffer the
penalty of sin, which is death. God draws us to Himself through His Word, the
Bible, and the witness of His Son, Jesus Christ, proclaimed in the Bible. Even
in our rebellion and in our sin, God calls to us. He calls us from our life of
sin, creating in us a new man that desires Him and His righteousness. The
Christian’s new self has a desire to please God and turn away from sin.
In His wisdom, God has
chosen to show mercy to some and adopt them as His beloved children[20].
Because of His love for us, He has taken us, while we were still sinners[21]
and incapable of pleasing God by our own efforts.[22]
He has given us His gift of grace, through faith and made us alive in Christ.[23]
When we recognize our sinfulness in contrast with His holiness, our resistance
turns into a desire to come to Him because of the sacrifice He has made for us.
How does God save us?
Because of His love, God
sent His Son, Jesus[24],
also called Christ because He was the promised and prophesied Messiah. He lived
on earth facing the same temptations and struggles that all mankind faces, yet
He lived without sin or rebellion against God.[25]
He never once broke any law of God, He always did that which was pleasing to
the Father. He suffered and died a horrible death through crucifixion, dying on
the cross and paying for our sin as a substitute.[26]
His death paid the penalty for His children and satisfies, or fulfills the just
requirements of the law[27].
This idea of Christ covering our sins and appeasing the wrath of God against
sin, is called atonement. Likewise, through His death, He takes on our sin, and
by faith He also puts His righteousness on us.
But that is not the end of
the story! Not only did Christ die for us, but God has given proof of His love
for us and for His Son, Christ, by raising Him from the dead. The Apostle Paul
spoke of this before the Areopagus in Athens and said, “because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in
righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given
assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.”[28]
Christ has conquered sin and death and He gives His children the gift of
eternal life through faith. He has sealed this promise with certainty through
Jesus’ resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit.[29]
What happens when we fail?
God not only initiates the
Christian faith in His adopted children through the work of the Holy Spirit, He
also continues to help that faith grow in the Holy Spirit. We can be sure,
because of His sovereignty and His love for us, that He will keep those who
love Him to the end.[30]
He continues to pour out His love to build up the children He loves.[31]
As His children, we seek to follow His commands as a child who loves and honors
their parent in obedience.
Does that mean that Christians,
adopted by God, are perfect and never fall? Not in this life. While we live on
this earth in our flesh, we still have that natural tendency to seek our own
will and our own pleasure rather than God’s. We even find this several places
in scripture. We can look to the Old Testament and King David, one who was
described as a man after God’s own heart[32],
yet David committed adultery and murder. David recognized His sin and cried out
to God for forgiveness. We read what
David wrote in Psalm, “Against you, you
only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be
justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.”[33]
In the New Testament, Peter was a disciple of Christ yet, just as Jesus had
told him[34]
he denied Him. Later we see Jesus restore Peter after His resurrection.[35]
Even when we fail or are not
faithful, God remains faithful.[36]
He does not abandon His children, but keeps them for himself because of His
love and His faithfulness. Thankfully, it is not because of our effort, but
Gods; there is nothing nor anyone that can separate us from the love of God which
is in Christ Jesus.[37] Salvation depends on God’s sovereignty, His faithfulness, and His ability to
hold us.
Receiving His Grace
These questions describe our
relationship with God, our separation and need for reconciliation. They
describe how God works and keeps His salvation in His children through Grace.
These are known as the Doctrines of Grace
and are put together with the acronym TULIP to help us remember them.
Total Depravity
Who is man?
Despite our best intentions,
without God we fail to live up to His perfection and glory in all things.
Unconditional Election
Who is God?
God is sovereign and in His
mercy chose a people for Himself.
Limited Atonement
How does God save
us?
God saves us in grace by
sending His Son who did what we could not and paid the penalty for our sins by
His sacrificial, substitutionary death on the cross.
Irresistible Grace
How does God draw
us?
God gives this gift of grace
by sending his Holy Spirit to turn our resistance into desire for Him.
Perseverance of the Saints
What happens when
we fail?
God holds and preserves his
children and will complete his work of salvation in them as they persevere to
the end.
TULIP
These doctrines assure us
that God continues to care for us more than the lilies of the field.
Do you recognize your own
sin? Have you followed all of God's commands perfectly? None of us have, we
have all sinned and deserve His wrath and punishment.
Do you feel the guilt of
your sins? This is your conscience, convicting you because of the Law, and
drawing you to Him. Do you sense God calling, or drawing, you to himself?
If you sense God's calling
you to Him, then repent (turn from your sin) and trust that Jesus Christ is the
one and only true God who came to earth to pay the penalty for your sins.[38]
“For by grace you have been saved, through faith and that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast.”[39]
Is God giving you a new
heart, a new desire to know Him through His Holy Spirit? All who call on His
name, those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ shall be saved[40].
[1]Luke 12:27-28
[2]1 John 3:14
[3][3]1 John 3:15
[4]Isaiah 1:18
[5]James 3:8-9
[6]Exodus 35:30-35
[7]Genesis 1:1
[8]Colossians 1:16-17
[9]Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 5:13
[10]Matthew 22:36-40
[11]Romans 8:28
[12]Genesis 1:27
[13]Hebrews 2:6-7
[14]James 2:10-13
[15]Romans 3:10-12, Psalm 53:1-3, Romans 3:23
[16]Ephesians 2:12
[17[Romans 6:23
[18]Ephesians 2:1-3
[19]John 6:44
[20]Ephesians 1:4-6
[21]Romans 5:8
[22]2 Corinthians 3:4-6, Titus 3:5
[23]Ephesians 2:1-10
[24]John 3:16-17
[25]Hebrews 4:14-15
[26]1 Corinthians 15:3-5
[27]Romans 5:9
[28]Acts 17:31
[29]Ephesians 1:11-14
[30]Hebrews 10:14, Philippians 1:6
[31]Romans 5:3-5, Romans 8:28-30
[32]Acts 13:22
[33]Psalm 51:4
[34]Luke 22:31-32
[35]John 21:15-19
[36]2 Timothy 2:11-13
[37]John 10:28-29
[38]Acts 4:12
[39]Ephesians 2:8-9
[40]Acts 2:38, Romans 10:13
