First, it is important to recognize that the term “age of accountability” is not used in the Bible. The age of accountability is not an age at all, but a level of readiness and maturity. However, what the Bible teaches about personal responsibility for sin and the nature of salvation compels us to define this concept. Basically, the age of accountability is that time in the development of a person when he or she can and invariably does sin against God and thus stands in need of personal redemption through Jesus Christ.

Calvinism teaches that all humans have inherited a corrupt spiritual nature due to the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Due to this marred and perverse nature, the human heart is desperately deceitful, and man’s nature is therefore » Continue reading “Is There An Age Of Accountability?”

The doctrinal system known as Calvinism forms the foundation for much of the teachings of Protestant denominationalism. This system is named after the French theologian and reformer John Calvin who was born in 1509. A great deal of Calvin’s thoughts originated from and is an enlargement of the thoughts of Augustine (354-430 AD).

Calvinism has been popularized under the acrostic “T-U-L-I-P.” Let’s look at each point carefully.

1. T – Total Depravity: Calvin taught, like Augustine, that man by virtue of the Fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3 has a depraved and sinful nature from the point of conception. This doctrine holds that the entire human race has inherited the guilt of Adam’s sin, and this guilt is passed on to succeeding generations at birth. All are “born sinners” – “hereditarily, totally depraved.” Inherent in this doctrine is the idea of the total inability to do good toward their own salvation. Some » Continue reading “What Is Calvinism?”