The Doctrines of Grace like the Five Solas are equally as foundational and have been taught since the earliest of church fathers. It was taught by the likes of the Apostle Paul, the great Augustine, Martin Luther, John Bunyan, and Mathew Henry. In more recent times we see those such as Jonathan Edwards, Charles Hodge, Charles Spurgeon, A.W. Pink, Martin Lloyd-Jones, James I. Packer and James Montgomery Boice.
Most protestant denominations that had been founded within the reformation times had been built on confessions of faith that clearly uphold these doctrines, such as the Westminster Confession (Presbyterianism), the Canons of Dort (Reformed), the Thirty-nine Articles (Episcopalianism), the Baptist Confession of 1869 (Baptists), and the Savoy Declaration (Congregationalism) to name a few.
The Doctrines of Grace also hold high the sovereignty of God and His gift of salvation to those which He alone chooses. They emphasize over and over that God is God and man is man.
There is a popular acronym for these doctrines which is TULIP, tulip like the Solas also has five main points.
- Total Depravity
- Unconditional Election
- Limited Atonement
- Irresistable Grace
- Perseverance Of The Saints
We will look at each of these doctrines individually over the next several weeks and the truth of these doctrines will become clear on the question of who is in control of the universe.
