John Calvin never intended to stay in Geneva. But he and friends stopped at an inn for one night’s rest on their way to Strasbourg in 1536, and word quickly leaked to William Farel, a local Evangelical pastor, that the French theologian and author was in town. Farel had been running himself ragged in his attempts to establish Evangelicalism in Geneva and knew immediately that Calvin would be a tremendous asset to his ministry. Calvin, a scholar and philosopher, had no desire to pastor a fledgling congregation. But as Farel pleaded with him to stay, Calvin became convinced that God had brought him to Geneva for a reason.

City leaders, though, felt quite differently about Calvin’s presence in Geneva. Less than two years after his arrival, they banished both Calvin and Farel. God used those three years of exile to further Calvin’s ministry experience, allowing him to serve with fellow Reformer Martin Bucer in Strasbourg and develop his skills as a pastor, which served him well upon his return to Geneva.

Perhaps Calvin’s greatest achievement was leaving us one of the best treatments of systematic theology: Institutes of the Christian Religion, an essential handbook for anyone seeking to learn the tenets of the evangelical faith. However, he is probably most well-known for his take on the doctrine of predestination:

God’s eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each man. For all are not created in equal condition; rather eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others.1

This idea disturbed many religious leaders, because they felt that it made God the author of sin, and if God had chosen some for heavenly pleasure, then, by default, He must have chosen others for an eternity of hellish torment.

God authored election, Calvin responded, but He did not author sin. By drawing some to salvation, God demonstrates his mercy, while judging others for following their evil desires shows his justice. Moral corruption makes it impossible for anyone to truly choose Christ; therefore, Christ chooses people before they choose Him. If an unbeliever’s sin has plugged his ears and covered his eyes from his need for a Savior, he cannot follow the Savior until Christ has first unplugged his ears and removed the blindfold from his eyes. Furthermore, once a person has seen Christ’s grace, he is powerless to resist it or to ever turn away from it.

Today, most associate Calvin with the popular acronym, TULIP, which summarizes a few of his main doctrinal points:

Total Depravity — Fallen man is totally unable to save himself.

Unconditional Election — God’s electionis not based on man’s actions.

Limited Atonement — Christ’s atonement is sufficient to save all men but efficient only for the elect.

Irresistible Grace — God’s gift of faith, resulting in salvation, cannot be resisted by the elect.

Perseverance of the Saints — Those who are justified by God will remain faithful until God calls them home to heaven.

However, TULIP actually arose in the seventeenth century, long after Calvin died. Arminius, a professor of theology in the Netherlands, differed from Calvin on a number of issues, especially the perseverance of the saints. He issued a challenge to the entire Calvinist view of predestination, and the term TULIP was developed at the Synod of Dort in 1618 as a response. Interestingly, these five points are as hotly debated in evangelical circles today as they were in the 1600s. Much of Arminian theology is represented in Wesleyan or Methodist churches, while Presbyterian, Reformed, and Anglican sects adhere to many of the points of Calvinism. In fact, most evangelical churches support at least one, if not three or four, Calvinist points.

Calvin tirelessly proclaimed the truth of God’s Word from the moment of his conversion until the time of his death in 1564. His pursuit to know Christ more intimately was a catalyst God used to lead others to Himself.