Currently, my family lives near Pella, Iowa which was a Dutch settlement with strong Reformed Church ties and theology. Ever May, the community of Pella celebrates its Dutch heritage in what is known as “Tulip Time”. For three days, the community puts on a celebration with colorful costumes, wooden shoes, fine food, a look at a real Dutch windmill and of course tulips everywhere.

This year, my son attended Pella Christian Schools as a 7th grader, after having completed grade school at a local public school. (If a Lutheran alternative was closer, well we would have sent our son there.) He marched in the Tulip Time parades each of the past three days in wooden shoes and vowed never to do it again.

Anyway, we monitor fairly closely an theological differences that may come up in Bible class or in discussions with other children who are in our son’s classes. His homeroom teacher, who is also his Bible teacher, is aware of our Lutheran faith and how to keep away from topics where there may be difference. In considering “Tulip Time”, I remembered in our study of Lutheran Doctrine classes the acronym T.U.L.I.P. as a way to recall the differences in Reformed and Lutheran theology.

Here is a little chart of Calvinist (Reformed) doctrine positions on five key issues. After the chart, you can read the Lutheran positions. There are two areas where Reformed and Lutheran agree, but three which are disagreed upon. I also provide Bible verses to support the Biblical doctrines of the Lutheran Church’s confessions.

T.U.L.I.P. Diagram

Here are the Lutheran doctrinal positions.

T) Total Depravity – Lutherans believe man cannot effect the will of God to save him or work for himself salvation (John 15:5, Ephesians 2:8-9).

U) Unconditional Election – Lutherans believe if man is totally depraved, then salvation from God is not conditioned by anything in mankind; God does not predestine some to damnation (Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Timothy 2:3-4). Lutherans reject the Reformed believe in Double Predestination and that some are predestined to damnation.

U) Universal Atonement – Lutherans believe Christ’s atoning death was sufficient and is efficient to save all men (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Lutheran reject the Reformed belief in a Limited Atonement.

R) Resistible Grace – Lutherans believe that God’s grace can be resisted; this is sometimes called “Free Will”—though Luther would write about the Bondage of the Will to sin (Acts 7:51).

F) Fall from Grace – Lutherans believe that only by the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit can a believer persevere in faith (John 10:28), but it is possible for a believer to fall from grace; this is related to the idea of “Free Will” (John 15:6).

Here is the diagram for the Lutheran’s T.U.U.R.F.

Lutheran Doctrinal T.U.U.R.F.

So when as Lutheran educators we are faced with challenging questions on our Lutheran beliefs (turf), we can and should be sure of our T.U.U.R.F. answers with regard to these doctrinal questions. May God grant us this always. Amen.