Tulips and Daffodils

John Calvin, the second hero of the Reformation after Martin Luther, is most famous for his emphasis of the doctrines of the sovereignty of God and of predestination.  Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion came out first in 1536, nineteen years after Luther's 95 theses, and underwent 4 revisions until the 5th edition was published in1559.  Mnemonic devices or aides-memoires can assist in the remembering of important information and the most common way to remember the essentials of Calvinism is the acronym of TULIP which stands for:

Total depravity
Unconditional election
Limited atonement
Irresistible grace
Perseverance of the saints

Nowhere in Calvin's Institutes do these expressions actually appear, but nevertheless people pick and choose what they agree or disagree with from these five tenets and maybe describe themselves as 5-point Calvinists or 2-point calvinists etc.  There are 28 different ways to choose (None, T, U, L, I, P, TU, TL, TI, TP, UL, UI, UP, LI, LP, IP, TUL, TUI, TUP, TLI, TLP, LIP, TULI, TULP, TUIP, TLIP, ULIP, TULIP) which provide well-picked bones of contention over which the people of God have divided into far more than 28 different reformed denominations.

Calvin's own warning to those who think that the doctrine of predestination can be easily comprehended by the human mind is often ignored: 

'First, then, when they inquire into predestination, let then remember that they are penetrating into the recesses of the divine wisdom, where he who rushes forward securely and confidently, instead of satisfying his curiosity will enter an inextricable labyrinth.' 

Personally I prefer DAFFODILS, much more elegant flower which stands for:     
​     Dead in sin                           Rom 6:23
     Alive in Christ                     Rom 6:8
     Free gift                               Rom 5:15-17
     Fully effective                      Rom 5:18
     Once and for all                   Rom 6:10
     Divine Initiative                   Rom 5:6-8
​     Living Sacrifices                  Rom 12:1-2

LS can also stand for loving servants (Rom 12:3-21) and loyal sitizens (Rom 13:1-8).
 
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