5. In the same light are we to consider the law of the Decalogue, delivered by God to His peculiar people, the Jews, by the hands of Moses. For though it reveals the greatness of sin,1 and more and more convinces man . . . Continue reading →
Canons of Dort
Arminianism Or Amyraldianism?
V. They [the Remonstrants] distinguish therefore, between the obtaining of reconciliation and the application of it. They contend that reconciliation and remission of sins is obtained for all, which yet is applied only to them that believe, that all men are given . . . Continue reading →
Another Helpful Distinction: Filial Versus Servile Fear
I was fortunate to have been raised in a two-parent family. I had a great Dad. I had what today would be considered an “old school” upbringing. Mom did most (maybe all) of the spanking but Dad made his presence felt. There . . . Continue reading →
The Synod Of Dort On Election, Conditions Of Salvation, And Fruit (2)
Does The Doctrine Of Perseverance Turn The Covenant Of Grace Into A Covenant of Works?
Here the true nature of the Remonstrant doctrine of perseverance emerges: God helps those who help themselves by cooperating with his “assisting grace.” This is quite another picture of salvation. Here God has not parted the Red Sea and led us through, by the hand, as it were (Jer 31:32; Ex 14:16). Rather, according to the Remonstrants, God has covenanted to co-act with those who do what lies within them (facientibus quod in se est, Deus non denegat gratiam). Continue reading →
The Synod Of Dort On Election, Conditions Of Salvation, And Fruit (1)
The Reformed churches have endured discussions and disagreements about salvation (justification, sanctification, and deliverance from the wrath to come) before. Beginning in the late 16th century a Reformed minister in Amsterdam began offering significant revisions of the Reformed understanding of Scripture. Early . . . Continue reading →
The Synod Of Dort Opposed Funeral Sermons
Where funeral sermons are not held, they shall not be introduced; and where they already have been accepted, diligence shall be exercised to do away with them by the most appropriate means. —Church Order of the Synod of Dort (1619). RESOURCES Subscribe . . . Continue reading →
Coming Soon: The Acts And Documents Of The National Synod Of Dort
Thanks to the good work of Donald Sinnema, Christian Moser, and Herman Selderhuis (series editor), volume 1 a modern edition of Latin text of the Acts of the National Synod of Dort (Acta et Documenta Synodi Nationalis Dordrechtanae (1618–1619)) is scheduled to . . . Continue reading →
The Synod Of Dort On The Sabbath
Session 164, May 17 PM Trans. R. Scott Clark Rules on the observation of the Sabbath, or the Lord’s Day, with the agreement of the brothers from Zeeland the following concepts were explained and approved by Doctor Professors of Divinity. In the . . . Continue reading →
Good’s Brutal Assessment Of Two Delegates To Dort
Basle ought to have sent [Wollebius] to that synod [of Dort] instead of the two mediocre delegates she sent, as he would have ranked up close to Diodati in ability. —James I. Good, History of the Swiss Reformed Church Since the Reformation . . . Continue reading →
The Catholicity Of The Canons
Wherefore, this Synod of Dort, in the name of the Lord, conjures as many as piously call upon the name of our Savior Jesus Christ to judge of the faith of the Reformed Churches, not from the calumnies which on every side . . . Continue reading →
Boom! Canons Of Dort Day
This year marks the 395th anniversary of the publication of the Canons of the Synod of Dort. They were published on May 9, 1619. Canons are synodical rulings on a series of doctrinal issues and the synod published these decisions in response to . . . Continue reading →
The Canons Of Dordt
Every one knows the acronym TULIP, but not everyone knows where this acronym comes from. The Canons of Dordt are among the most famous but unread deliverances of any Reformed Synod. The canons are more than five letters. The canons teach a pastoral doctrine . . . Continue reading →
“Calvinism” Is Hip Again (Again)
Just when one might have thought that the Young, Restless, and Reformed movement(s) might be waning—they aren’t getting any younger—comes a piece in last Friday’s New York Times by Mark Oppenheimer on the Calvinist revival among evangelicals. Of course it begins with TULIP . . . Continue reading →
Synod Of Dort Day: Arminius Brought Out Of Hell
[We reject the errors of those] Who teach: That Christ by His satisfaction merited neither salvation itself for any one, nor faith, whereby this satisfaction of Christ unto salvation is effectually appropriated; but that He merited for the Father only the authority . . . Continue reading →
Do the Canons of Dort Reject Natural Law?
Jeremy writes to ask whether the Canons of Dort 3/4.4 require Reformed Christians to reject the civil use of natural law. In the Canons we confess: There remain, however, in man since the fall, the glimmerings of natural light, whereby he retains . . . Continue reading →
Dort for Kids
The good folks at Reformation Heritage Books were kind enough to send me a copy of William Boekstein’s latest, The Glory of Grace: The story of the Canons of Dort. Handsomely illustrated by Evan Hughes and published with a child-sized hardcover and . . . Continue reading →
Canons of Dort (1619)
Table of Contents Preface First Head of Doctrine: Divine Election and Reprobation Second Head of Doctrine: The Death of Christ and the Redemption of Man Thereby Third & Fourth Heads of Doctrine: The Corruption of Man, His Conversion to God, and the . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast: Does God Give Faith to the Living or to the Dead?
Heidelcast: Does God Give Faith to the Living or the Dead? Dan writes to the HC to ask about the timing of regeneration (making alive by the Spirit) and faith but he raises the question of whether God gives faith to the . . . Continue reading →
The Synod of Dort on Importance of Parents in Instructing Children
Thanks to Wes for posting this.
Text Criticism of the Canons of Dort RE 1.1
This is inside baseball but it’s important inside baseball. Wes has noted a discrepancy between the English translation of the Rejection of Errors in the CD and the Latin text and it’s not an insignificant discrepancy. It’s the difference between the Synod . . . Continue reading →