“Renewal to Repentance” -- Article Seven, The Fifth Point of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 7: Renewal to Repentance

For, in the first place, God preserves in those saints when they fall his imperishable seed from which they have been born again, lest it perish or be dislodged. Secondly, by his Word and Spirit he certainly and effectively renews them to repentance so that they have a heartfelt and godly sorrow for the sins they have committed; seek and obtain, through faith and with a contrite heart, forgiveness in the blood of the Mediator; experience again the grace of a reconciled God; through faith adore his mercies; and from then on more eagerly work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

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Article Seven is, in many ways, a summation of what was set forth in the previous articles (four through six), where much of the biblical evidence regarding these questions was introduced. Serious sin (often called “backsliding”) is indeed an issue for some at various points in their Christian lives. As set out in these prior articles, Christians can and do fall into serious sin—usually through carelessness, temptation, or rebellion.

Many branches of the Christian family, especially the Arminians, at whom these “canons” are aimed, hold that genuine Christian believers can sever themselves from Christ, fall away, and be lost. Those who are Christ’s, but who commit the unpardonable sin, the sin which leads to death, or a final act of apostasy, will indeed suffer eternal loss just as any other unbeliever would.

The Reformed do not deny that Christians can fall into serious sin and suffer temporal loss, experience God’s fatherly discipline, and feel conviction of their sins through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. But the authors of the canons do not believe such people can suffer eternal loss. This is not because it is taught that the elect are strong enough, or so spiritually attuned, that they can hang on to the end. No, the Reformed doctrine of the “perseverance of the saints” grows out of a proper understanding of Jesus Christ’s work on behalf of those chosen by the Father, for whom the Son has died, and who have been called to faith and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do not allow the elect to perish, and indeed the work of Jesus Christ as prophet, priest, and king is, in part, to preserve God’s chosen unto the end.

As the canons point out, the imperishable seed mentioned in 1 Peter 1:23, through which believers are born again, is exactly that—imperishable! The work of redemption is begun, sustained, and brought to fruition by the members of the Trinity through their joint (inseparable) actions. God will save all those whom he has chosen in Christ, Christ will save all those for whom he dies, and the Spirit will preserve all those whom he indwells (cf. Romans 8:28–30; Ephesians 1:13–14).

But the canons also address the pressing pastoral question associated with the doctrine of perseverance—where the theological rubber of this discussion meets the road, so to speak. How are those who stray or who fall into serious sin actually restored? The answer is simple—through the use of the ordinary means of grace, those things which should go on in church every Lord’s Day. This means attending to the Word preached and preparing to come to the Lord’s Table. This is where the Word and Spirit do their work of preserving God’s people unto the end in faith.

And what will those who seek to be restored discover when they engage the ordinary means of grace? The canons make this crystal clear. The Lord graciously “renews them to repentance so that they have a heartfelt and godly sorrow for the sins they have committed,” so that they “seek and obtain, through faith and with a contrite heart, forgiveness in the blood of the Mediator,” and because God is merciful, they will “experience again the grace of a reconciled God; through faith adore his mercies; and from then on more eagerly work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.”

Salvation, from beginning to end, is the work of a gracious God. Perseverance to the end is the work of that same gracious God.