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While John Calvin shared Luther’s commitment to justification by faith alone, he was more inclined to think centrally from union with Christ. Luther certainly depended on that union: justification by faith alone is not a “legal fiction,” as often alleged, because believers in covenantal union with Christ enjoy a glorious exchange—his benefits for their sin—as with joint marital property. Some recent scholarship also suggests that Luther’s soteriology was more ontological than previously thought.^[5] Yet Calvin, less inclined to start with Catholic commitments altered only when necessary, instead sought a wholesale, ordered biblical theology for catechesis. His soteriology placed union with Christ in the overarching position, within which justification and sanctification became double graces.

As Luther’s and Calvin’s successors battled Catholics, Radical Reformers, and each other, they developed confessions, catechisms, and elaborate scholastic systems. Such Calvinism became known for predestinarian and covenantal or federal emphases: eternally the Triune God predestined the salvation of the elect—the Father willing to send the Son, the Son agreeing to become incarnate and atone for their sin, and the Spirit agreeing to unite the elect with Christ. According to the five points of Calvinism under the acronym TULIP, all humans after the fall become (1) totally depraved (not absolutely depraved, but sinful in every aspect), which is addressed by (2) unconditional divine election (God does not merely foresee but rather determines who will be saved), (3) limited atonement (Christ dies specifically for the elect), (4) irresistible grace (the Spirit regenerates the elect, effectually calling them to faith), and (5) perseverance of the saints (regeneration preserves the elect in faith throughout their pilgrimage). Salvation’s blessings are for those elected to have Christ (rather than Adam, due to imputation of original sin) as their federal head—representing them before God.

Calvinism emphasizes God’s redemptive rule over the entire cosmos more than other Protestant traditions.^[6] Correspondingly, Calvinists often pursue more cultural transformation. Such implications of redemption, however, do not displace personal salvation from its classical centrality. Calvinism adds a third use of the law to direct believers’ pursuit of sanctification. But God’s present work of cultural transformation outside the church remains common, not specifically redemptive, grace.