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Posts in The Canons of Dort

The Error that Fallen Men and Women Can Increase Common Grace and so Achieve Salvation— The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (5)

Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

Who teach that corrupt and natural man can make such good use of common grace (by which they mean the light of nature) or of the gifts remaining after the fall that he is able thereby gradually to obtain a greater grace—evangelical or saving grace—as well as salvation itself; and that in this way God, for his part, shows himself ready to reveal Christ to all people, since he provides to all, to a sufficient extent and in an effective manner, the means necessary for the revealing of Christ, for faith, and for repentance.

For Scripture, not to mention the experience of all ages, testifies that this is false: “He makes known his words to Jacob, his statutes and his laws to Israel; he has done this for no other nation, and they do not know his laws” (Ps. 147:19–20); “In the past God let all nations go their own way” (Acts 14:16); “They were kept by the Holy Spirit from speaking God’s word in Asia”; and “When they had come to Mysia, they tried to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit would not allow them to” (Acts 16:6–7).

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Of course, Arminians do not want to say that sinful people are saved by personal merit gained through accumulated good works or human effort. But they do seek a way to affirm that God enables all people to seek grace, and then upon finding that grace, and provided they continue to seek grace, the more grace they will attain, eventually leading to the exercise of saving faith. To put this in popular jargon, “God helps those who help themselves.”

To circumvent the biblical and Reformed doctrine of total inability articulated throughout the previous articles of the canons, which teaches that that no one can come to Christ unless they are first made alive through regeneration, Arminians stress a universal, potential grace. Arminians affirmed that anyone who takes advantage of this universal grace (which they spoke of as described as “common grace,” and which has a different meaning than current Reformed uses of the term), can eventually receive sufficient grace to exercise “evangelical” or “saving faith.” Recent Arminians often base their view on contemporary notions of “fairness”— it isn’t right for God to give grace to some and withhold it from others since that would not be “fair.” So grace must be universal in some sense. But early Arminians—such as those singled out by the Canons—usually framed the matter in semi-Pelagian categories. Adam’s fall corrupted human nature. Nevertheless although remaining corrupt and sinful, humans still retain the ability to seek grace, gain more grace, and act upon it by exercising faith and repentance.

The specific issue addressed here is how Arminians understand “common grace” (the light of nature) which is an end-run around the Reformed stress upon an efficacious, particular grace. This becomes clear when the canons identify the two errors addressed here. The first error is that sinners supposedly “make such good use of common grace (by which they mean the light of nature) or of the gifts remaining after the fall that he is able thereby gradually to obtain a greater grace—evangelical or saving grace—as well as salvation itself.“ Depravity, yes. Total depravity and inability, no.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerOctober 22, 2025The light of nature, Inherited CorruptionComment

“The Error of Denying Biblical Teaching That We Are Dead in Sin” — The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (4)

Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

IV. Who teach that unregenerate man is not strictly or totally dead in his sins or deprived of all capacity for spiritual good but is able to hunger and thirst for righteousness or life and to offer the sacrifice of a broken and contrite spirit which is pleasing to God. For these views are opposed to the plain testimonies of Scripture: “You were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Eph. 2:1, 5); “The imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:5; 8:21). Besides, to hunger and thirst for deliverance from misery and for life, and to offer God the sacrifice of a broken spirit is characteristic only of the regenerate and of those called blessed (Ps. 51:17; Matt. 5:6).

This article is a summary statement of ground covered previously. Arminians do indeed acknowledge the reality of Adam’s fall into sin, but in order to preserve human freedom, they seek to mitigate the damage done to human nature as a result. Those who teach that people are merely weakened by the fall, yet are still able to do spiritual good (defined in the Canons as “hungering and thirsting after righteousness”), or who chose to follow Christ prior to regeneration, which then results in “life”, find themselves facing a tidal wave of biblical texts which teach the exact opposite. Several such passages are included in the refutation. Of course, there are many more.

Arminians teach that people are “wounded in sin” as a consequence of the Fall, but not “dead in sin.” They concede that human nature has been damaged, but also contend that people still retain the natural ability to come to faith in Jesus Christ. Knowing that Scripture is clear about grace preceding faith, the Arminians reduce grace to an enticement for the sinner to act using their ability to do so retained after the Fall. If they so choose to seek salvation, they receive more grace which God then brings to conclusion—regeneration and a change of nature. But according to Arminians, grace is not tied to prior regeneration (which, the Scriptures teach–John 3:3-6; John 6:44, 65, etc.) and therefore precedes any exercise of faith. Instead, it is taught that grace is merely offered to Adam’s fallen children who must then take advantage of it. In this scheme, fallen sinners must co-operate with such grace, but as a consequence of their operating assumptions, Arminians must overlook or ignore the fact the those “dead in sin” (as the Scriptures so clearly teach) retain neither the power nor the ability to come to faith in Christ apart from prior regeneration.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerSeptember 17, 2025The Effects of the Fall Comments

“The Error of Denying Biblical Teaching Regarding Free Will” — The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (3)

Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

III. Who teach that in spiritual death the spiritual gifts have not been separated from man’s will, since the will in itself has never been corrupted but only hindered by the darkness of the mind and the unruliness of the emotions, and since the will is able to exercise its innate free capacity once these hindrances are removed, which is to say, it is able of itself to will or choose whatever good is set before it — or else not to will or choose it. This is a novel idea and an error and has the effect of elevating the power of free choice, contrary to the words of Jeremiah the prophet: “The heart itself is deceitful above all things and wicked” (Jer. 17:9); and of the words of the apostle: “All of us also lived among them” (the sons of disobedience) “at one time in the passions of our flesh, following the will of our flesh and thoughts” (Eph. 2:3).

Building upon the previous article, the error addressed in paragraph 3 is that according to the Dutch Arminians, the human will remains largely undamaged by Adam’s fall–although human willing may be influenced by inherited corruption impacting the mind and emotions. Since the will supposedly operates independently–apart from original righteousness and holiness–despite the fall of Adam, the human will remains free possessing the power of contrary choice. This supports the unbiblical notion of semi-Pelagianism that although human nature is damaged by the fall, since the will is not part of that nature, fallen sinners retain the power to choose Christ, or not, depending upon one’s greatest inclination at any given moment. So, to summarize the error being addressed, whatever damage may have been done to human nature in the Fall, the human will was not significantly damaged.

The authors of the Canons point out that nowhere does the Bible allow for human nature to be weakened by the fall, while the human will remains largely unaffected. If the human heart is “deceitful” above all things, then the human will cannot operate “neutrally,” apart from sin’s effects upon the heart–which is but another way of saying that the person is at their core enslaved to sin. Paul says people are by nature “sons of disobedience” and apart from a work of God’s grace changing our nature (regeneration), we all follow the passions of the flesh (the sinful nature) in all our thinking and doing. The will remains enslaved by sin until acted upon by God. We have no more power if left to ourselves to choose Christ, than a dead person does to raise themselves from the dead.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerAugust 29, 2025The Arminian defense of free willComment

“The Error of Denying Biblical Teaching Regarding the Image of God” — The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (2)

Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

(II) Who teach that the spiritual gifts or the good dispositions and virtues such as goodness, holiness, and righteousness could not have resided in man's will when he was first created, and therefore could not have been separated from the will at the fall.

For this conflicts with the apostle's description of the image of God in Ephesians 4:24, where he portrays the image in terms of righteousness and holiness, which definitely reside in the will.

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As we discussed previously, this particular error of the Arminians has to do with one’s estimation of the effects of Adam’s fall upon the human race. If one believes that the human race suffered great impairment in the fall (as do the Reformed) then one must assign a proportionate amount of grace to undo these effects. If the fall brings great damage to human nature and ability, grace must repair that damage before people can come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Here, the critical question that must be asked is this: “does the fall bring about damage to essential human nature?” The authors of the Canons are careful to point out that, “yes, mankind suffered the loss of true righteousness, holiness, and knowledge in the fall, that these are part of essential (not accidental, in the sense of being “incidental to) human nature. The loss of them means that after the fall, even though humanity remains human because we retain the image of God, nevertheless, without the supernatural restoration of these essential characteristics through the new birth, men and women cannot come to faith in Christ apart from prior regeneration.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerAugust 11, 2025The imago, The Effects of the FallComment

“The Error of Teaching That Original Sin Condemns the Entire Human Race” — The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (1)

Having set forth the orthodox teaching, the Synod rejects the errors of those

(I) Who teach that, properly speaking, it cannot be said that original sin in itself is enough to condemn the whole human race or to warrant temporal and eternal punishments.

For they contradict the apostle when he says: Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death passed on to all men because all sinned (Rom. 5:12); also: The guilt followed one sin and brought condemnation (Rom. 5:16); likewise: The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).

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The first error of the Arminians addressed by the Canons under the third and fourth head of doctrine is the teaching that although the human race is fallen in Adam, Adam’s act of rebellion and the resulting “original sin” is not the basis upon which the unbelieving members of the human race will be condemned.

According to the Arminians, Adam’s sinful act plunged the human race into sin and condemnation, but the death of Jesus Christ (they contend) remits the guilt of that original sin. Since people are actually condemned to eternal punishment, however, it is not because of imputed or inherited guilt from Adam’s sin that such punishment comes about. Having remitted the guilt of Adam’s sin and removed the grounds for God’s just condemnation of the entire human race, it is now left up to the individual sinner to believe in Jesus Christ (as enabled by prevenient grace secured by Jesus Christ) and thus be saved. Should the sinner reject the Savior, they are lost.

Arminians teach that those who are condemned, reject Jesus Christ and are punished for actual sins only, not because of the imputed guilt and inherited corruption resulting from Adam’s act. “Fairness” supposedly dictates that we can only be held responsible for our own acts, not for the actions of another. This denial of the imputation of the guilt of Adam’s sin to all of his descendants sets up a very serious theological precedent, which, as we will see, has grave consequences for the gospel.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJuly 14, 2025Original sin, Orginial guiltComment

“God's Use of Means in Regeneration” -- Article Seventeen, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 17: God's Use of Means in Regeneration

Just as the almighty work of God by which he brings forth and sustains our natural life does not rule out but requires the use of means, by which God, according to his infinite wisdom and goodness, has wished to exercise his power, so also the aforementioned supernatural work of God by which he regenerates us in no way rules out or cancels the use of the gospel, which God in his great wisdom has appointed to be the seed of regeneration and the food of the soul. For this reason, the apostles and the teachers who followed them taught the people in a godly manner about this grace of God, to give him the glory and to humble all pride, and yet did not neglect meanwhile to keep the people, by means of the holy admonitions of the gospel, under the administration of the Word, the sacraments, and discipline. So even today it is out of the question that the teachers or those taught in the church should presume to test God by separating what he in his good pleasure has wished to be closely joined together. For grace is bestowed through admonitions, and the more readily we perform our duty, the more lustrous the benefit of God working in us usually is and the better his work advances. To him alone, both for the means and for their saving fruit and effectiveness, all glory is owed forever. Amen.

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Article 17 points out to us that the Scriptures themselves connect the divinely appointed ends (the salvation of God's elect) to the divinely appointed means (the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments).

Therefore, as Christians, we must not only believe the correct things about God and his grace as taught us in his word, but we must also ever be on our guard not to separate that which God has joined together. God does not effectually call his elect to faith in Jesus Christ, nor does he give us the new birth, through any means other than those which he has prescribed in his word.

This means that there is a spiritual marriage between divinely appointed means and ends, a marriage in which we dare not attempt to divide what God has so clearly joined together. This, of course, was the error of the Anabaptists at the time of the Reformation, who sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit apart from the text of Holy Scripture, the same error made by many Charismatics and Pentecostals today. Everything we need to know about how God saves sinners has been revealed in God's word and is confirmed through the two divinely appointed sacraments.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJune 24, 2025Ends and MeansComment

“Regeneration’s Effect” -- Article Sixteen, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 16: Regeneration’s Effect

However, just as by the fall man did not cease to be man, endowed with intellect and will, and just as sin, which has spread through the whole human race, did not abolish the nature of the human race but distorted and spiritually killed it, so also this divine grace of regeneration does not act in people as if they were blocks and stones; nor does it abolish the will and its properties or coerce a reluctant will by force, but spiritually revives, heals, reforms, and—in a manner at once pleasing and powerful—bends it back. As a result, a ready and sincere obedience of the Spirit now begins to prevail where before the rebellion and resistance of the flesh were completely dominant. It is in this that the true and spiritual restoration and freedom of our will consists. Thus, if the marvelous Maker of every good thing were not dealing with us, man would have no hope of getting up from his fall by his free choice, by which he plunged himself into ruin when still standing upright.

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In article sixteen we are reminded yet again that without the grace of God acting upon us and in us (when we were dead in sin), we would forever remain unbelievers. Even though the effects of sin are all-pervasive, nevertheless, the imago Dei remains in us, although badly defaced.

That the remnant of the imago remains can be proven from a number of biblical texts. In Ephesians 4:24, Paul speaks of the Christian “putting on the new self”—which is clearly a reference to the regenerate “new man” being restored to the true righteousness and holiness which were lost in the Fall. In Colossians 3:10, Paul reiterates much the same thing, this time mentioning that putting on the new self includes the restoration of true knowledge. In some sense then, regeneration restores particular aspects of the imago Dei which had been lost in the fall. These include true righteousness, knowledge, and holiness. Therefore, “putting on the new-self” is descriptive of the process of restoration of fallen human nature.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJune 2, 2025Regeneration, The effect of regeneration Comments

“Responses to God’s Grace” -- Article Fifteen, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 15: Responses to God’s Grace

God does not owe this grace to anyone. For what could God owe to one who has nothing to give that can be paid back? Indeed, what could God owe to one who has nothing of his own to give but sin and falsehood? Therefore the person who receives this grace owes and gives eternal thanks to God alone; the person who does not receive it either does not care at all about these spiritual things and is satisfied with himself in his condition, or else in self-assurance foolishly boasts about having something which he lacks. Furthermore, following the example of the apostles, we are to think and to speak in the most favorable way about those who outwardly profess their faith and better their lives, for the inner chambers of the heart are unknown to us. But for others who have not yet been called, we are to pray to the God who calls things that do not exist as though they did. In no way, however, are we to pride ourselves as better than they, as though we had distinguished ourselves from them.

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Article fifteen deals with the attitude that we as Christian are to have about our salvation from sin and its consequences. Given the fact that it is God alone who saves–because human sinfulness renders us incapable of saving ourselves–salvation originates not in an act of the sinful human will, but in the gracious decree of God who loved the fallen world so much that he sent Jesus Christ to die for those unworthy sinners whom he has graciously decreed to save (cf. John 3:16).

The point the canons make here is that grace is not truly gracious if we define grace as something which God owes us. In other words, those who teach that God’s grace is a reward based upon something we have done which places God under obligation to respond to wicked and sinful creatures are in error. With Adam’s fall the human race has collectively rebelled against his majesty and holiness (Romans 4:16). We must be very careful not to base our theology of sin and grace upon the presuppositions of American democracy, which teaches us that we are all equal and able, and that those who act righteously get what they deserve in the end—a reward.

As we have seen repeatedly, the Bible does not begin to discuss redemption from the perspective of human worth, ability, or equality, as Arminians and semi-Pelagians would have us to believe. Instead, the Bible begins with the fall of the human race into sin. This includes universal human sinfulness, inability, and guilt. The Reformed have often charged that in the Arminian system, grace cannot be truly gracious, because we supposedly have it in our power to act in such a way that God must respond by granting us eternal life.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerMay 14, 2025God's grace, response to graceComment

“The Way God Gives Faith” -- Article Fourteen, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 14: The Way God Gives Faith

In this way, therefore, faith is a gift of God, not in the sense that it is offered by God for man to choose, but that it is in actual fact bestowed on man, breathed and infused into him. Nor is it a gift in the sense that God bestows only the potential to believe, but then awaits assent—the act of believing—from man’s choice; rather, it is a gift in the sense that he who works both willing and acting and, indeed, works all things in all people produces in man both the will to believe and the belief itself.

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In article eight, the Canons introduced the subject of effectual calling—the objective call of God through the preaching of the gospel. This gospel call is sincerely offered to all, but only realized in God’s elect. In article ten, we saw that conversion (a person coming to faith and its fruit, repentance), is the result of a prior act of God enabling them to believe and trust in the Savior. Article eleven assigned the work of conversion to the Holy Spirit, not to an act of the fallen human will, as taught by the Arminians. It is the Holy Spirit who “makes us alive with Jesus Christ when we were [formerly] dead in sins and trespasses.” Finally, in article twelve, the Canons set out in a bit more detail the fact that the Holy Spirit works regeneration in God’s elect, and that this subconscious regeneration, or “new birth”, precedes the exercise of faith, logically, if not temporally. We are born again, and then exercise faith and repentance.

In article fourteen, the Canons turn to a discussion of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in calling, converting, and regenerating those same sinners whom God has decreed to save from before the foundation of the world, and for whom Christ has died. It is to these individuals that God gives faith. The Reformed speak of this as redemption decreed, redemption accomplished, and here, as redemption applied.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerApril 28, 2025Faith is God's giftComment

“The Incomprehensible Way of Regeneration” -- Article Thirteen, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 13: The Incomprehensible Way of Regeneration

In this life believers cannot fully understand the way this work occurs; meanwhile, they rest content with knowing and experiencing that by this grace of God they do believe with the heart and love their Savior.

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Article Thirteen of the Canons of Dort reminds us of the fact that God does not fully explain the mechanics of the way in which he gives new life (regeneration) to people who are dead in sin. Scripture simply speaks of the fact that God does regenerate sinners, and ties this to the work of the Holy Spirit through divinely appointed means–the preaching of the gospel.

The Canons echo very loudly what our Lord told Nicodemus as recounted in John 3:7-8, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

If regeneration is an act of God which occurs at the level of the subconscious, and in which the believer is strictly passive (God acts upon us while we were still dead in sin), then we may not “experience” the new birth at all, even though we may have received it, and cannot enter heaven without it. If we are looking to Jesus Christ alone to deliver us from the guilt of our sin, we are thereby assured of the fact that we are justified by his death and resurrection and that we will spend eternity in heaven because this is the sign that regeneration has already taken place. People who are dead in sin do not trust in Jesus Christ until they have been given the new birth. And once given the new birth they cannot but believe the gospel. What is important here is not that we may have had a “conversion experience,” but that we presently trust in Jesus alone for our salvation and repent of our sins. Therefore, it is not the experience of the new birth which matters, but the fact that it has occurred.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerApril 14, 2025Regeneration precedes faithComment

“Regeneration a Supernatural Work” -- Article Twelve, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 12: Regeneration a Supernatural Work

And this is the regeneration, the new creation, the raising from the dead, and the making alive so clearly proclaimed in the Scriptures, which God works in us without our help. But this certainly does not happen only by outward teaching, by moral persuasion, or by such a way of working that, after God has done his work, it remains in man’s power whether or not to be reborn or converted. Rather, it is an entirely supernatural work, one that is at the same time most powerful and most pleasing, a marvelous, hidden, and inexpressible work, which is not lesser than or inferior in power to that of creation or of raising the dead, as Scripture (inspired by the author of this work) teaches. As a result, all those in whose hearts God works in this marvelous way are certainly, unfailingly, and effectively reborn and do actually believe. And then the will, now renewed, is not only activated and motivated by God but in being activated by God is also itself active. For this reason, man himself, by that grace which he has received, is also rightly said to believe and to repent.

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Having established that conversion (defined as the exercise of faith and repentance) is closely connected to effectual calling and is the direct result of the Holy Spirit working upon a person through the proclamation of the Word of God, the Canons go on to make the point that regeneration, likewise, is not the result of an act of human will. Rather, regeneration is the direct result of the supernatural action of God upon the heart of the sinner before the sinner comes to faith in Jesus Christ. Indeed, it is regeneration which enables the sinner to come to faith. Regeneration is brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit and precedes faith. To use a biblical metaphor, a bad tree must become a good tree in order to exercise the good fruit of faith and repentance.

It might be helpful to recall the important distinctions made by Reformed theologians when considering effectual calling, conversion, and regeneration. These are closely related and are connected to the prescribed means by which God calls his elect to faith—the proclamation of the gospel. Effectual calling is that act of God, when, through the preaching of the gospel, God’s elect are summoned (called) to faith in Christ. Effectual calling is, therefore, an objective act of God occurring through the proclamation of the message of reconciliation—the gospel. Conversion, though directly connected to effectual calling and regeneration, strictly speaking, is a conscious act when the sinner who has been effectually called, then, in turn, exercises faith in Jesus Christ and turns from his or her sin (repentance). All of God’s elect are effectually called and converted.

Regeneration, on the other hand, is subconscious. A person may not be aware that regeneration has taken place. It occurs when God supernaturally acts upon the sinner, implanting in them the principle of new life which now becomes the governing disposition of the soul.

Logically speaking, both effectual calling and regeneration must precede conversion (the exercise of faith and repentance). However, the sinner who comes to faith in Christ may not experience these things in such a precise manner. To put it another way, because elect sinners have been effectually called through the preaching of the gospel, the sinner suddenly becomes conscious of his or her sins, and their need of the merits of Christ. Yet the sinner may not be aware that regeneration has already occurred, even though the sinner could never exercise faith in Christ, if they had not been made alive when formerly dead in sin.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerMarch 31, 2025Regeneration, The work of the Holy SpiritComment

“The Holy Spirit's Work in Conversion” -- Article Eleven, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 11: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Conversion

Moreover, when God carries out this good pleasure in his chosen ones, or works true conversion in them, he not only sees to it that the gospel is proclaimed to them outwardly, and enlightens their minds powerfully by the Holy Spirit so that they may rightly understand and discern the things of the Spirit of God, but, by the effective operation of the same regenerating Spirit, he also penetrates into the inmost being of man, opens the closed heart, softens the hard heart, and circumcises the heart that is uncircumcised. He infuses new qualities into the will, making the dead will alive, the evil one good, the unwilling one willing, and the stubborn one compliant; he activates and strengthens the will so that, like a good tree, it may be enabled to produce the fruits of good deeds.

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Scripture assigns the role of working conversion (faith and repentance) in elect sinners to the Holy Spirit. One of the most important passages in this regard is John 3:1-12:

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

According to Jesus, the new birth comes not as a result of obeying a command to be born again as many of our contemporaries understand Jesus to be saying– “born yourself again!” – but the new birth comes before one can see the kingdom of God. Such vision of what was previously unseen is the result of the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit, who like the wind, operates sovereignly as he sees fit.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerMarch 17, 2025conversion, Faith and repentanceComment

“Conversion as the Work of God” -- Article Ten, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 10: Conversion as the Work of God

The fact that others who are called through the ministry of the gospel do come and are brought to conversion must not be credited to man, as though one distinguishes himself by free choice from others who are furnished with equal or sufficient grace for faith and conversion (as the proud heresy of Pelagius maintains). No, it must be credited to God: just as from eternity he chose his own in Christ, so within time he effectively calls them, grants them faith and repentance, and, having rescued them from the dominion of darkness, brings them into the kingdom of his Son, in order that they may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called them out of darkness into this marvelous light, and may boast not in themselves, but in the Lord, as apostolic words frequently testify in Scripture.

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When it comes to the matter of people coming to faith in Jesus Christ, the Reformed place their confidence in the power of God, rather than in the natural ability of sinful men and women. It is quite appropriate at this point for the authors of the Canons to set forth the fact that conversion (which is defined as a person’s coming to faith, as well as the subsequent exercise of the fruit of faith, repentance) is not the work of the sinner, but is solely the work of God upon the sinner.

In this, we see yet again the Trinitarian emphasis of the Reformed ordo salutis (order of salvation). The Father has chosen those whom he will save (redemption decreed). The Father has sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross as the satisfaction for the guilt of the sins of those that he has chosen (redemption accomplished). When the gospel is preached, those whom the Father has chosen, and for whom Christ has died, are effectually called to faith in Christ by the Holy Spirit (redemption applied).

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerMarch 3, 2025conversion, God's act, Faith and repentanceComment

“Human Responsibility for Rejecting the Gospel” -- Article Nine, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 9: Human Responsibility for Rejecting the Gospel

The fact that many who are called through the ministry of the gospel do not come and are not brought to conversion must not be blamed on the gospel, nor on Christ, who is offered through the gospel, nor on God, who calls them through the gospel and even bestows various gifts on them, but on the people themselves who are called. Some in self-assurance do not even entertain the Word of life; others do entertain it but do not take it to heart, and for that reason, after the fleeting joy of a temporary faith, they relapse; others choke the seed of the Word with the thorns of life’s cares and with the pleasures of the world and bring forth no fruits. This our Savior teaches in the parable of the sower (Matt. 13).

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The authors of the Canons have been very clear from the very beginning that the only reason why any are delivered from God’s wrath stems from something good in God and not because God sees anything good or meritorious in us. We are sinful creatures.

The theology of the Canons relates to our contemporary situation in that we cannot begin any discussion of human sin and God’s grace with the presuppositions typical of American democratic egalitarianism, namely, that everyone is equally entitled to a chance at heaven and that it would not be fair for God to elect some or bypass others because this would mean that God’s decree in election somehow prevents people from receiving that to which they are supposedly entitled, a chance at heaven.

The Scriptures teach that all of Adam’s children fell into sin when he did (Romans 5:12-19), and we suffered all of the consequences of Adam’s act on our behalf—sin and death. The Scriptures do not teach that everyone has an equal chance to go to heaven. Rather, Scripture teaches that the entire human race equally deserves eternal punishment. The entire human race is under God’s curse, since each one of us have sinned in Adam (the biological and federal head of the human race), in addition to the fact that we have each personally sinned against God’s infinite majesty. God owes us nothing but judgment.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerFebruary 17, 2025Responsibility for UnbeliefComment

“The Serious Call of the Gospel” -- Article Eight, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 8: The Serious Call of the Gospel

Nevertheless, all who are called through the gospel are called seriously. For seriously and most genuinely God makes known in his Word what is pleasing to him: that those who are called should come to him. Seriously he also promises rest for their souls and eternal life to all who come to him and believe.

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The doctrine of calling occupies a major place in Scripture. To put it simply, when the gospel is proclaimed God’s elect are called to faith. The Canons have described this call as the “ministry of reconciliation,” based upon Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21. As a result of being called, the elect embrace Jesus Christ through faith, trust in him and in him alone, for their salvation.

Throughout the Scriptures, calling is directly connected to regeneration. “Calling” precedes the exercise of faith. In other words, no one can come to faith in Christ, unless they are first “called,”" as in John 6:65 when Jesus says, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

There are a number of important considerations here. The first thing that we need to consider is that the Reformed make a distinction between the so-called “general call” which goes out without exception to all men and women (elect and non-elect alike) whenever the gospel is preached, and the “effectual call” which is made to God’s elect only.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerFebruary 3, 2025Calling, Effectual calling, The general callComment

“God’s Freedom Revealed in the Gospel” -- Article Seven, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 7: God’s Freedom in Revealing the Gospel

In the Old Testament, God revealed this secret of his will to a small number; in the New Testament (now without any distinction between peoples) he discloses it to a large number. The reason for this difference must not be ascribed to the greater worth of one nation over another, or to a better use of the light of nature, but to the free good pleasure and undeserved love of God. Therefore, those who receive so much grace, beyond and in spite of all they deserve, ought to acknowledge it with humble and thankful hearts; on the other hand, with the apostle they ought to adore (but certainly not inquisitively search into) the severity and justice of God’s judgments on the others, who do not receive this grace.

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While Arminians place much emphasis upon human freedom, the Canons are clear that Christians must begin any discussion of God’s saving purposes where Scripture begins the discussion. This is not with human freedom, but with the freedom of God.

As we have seen throughout prior articles, Scripture informs us that the human race has fallen in Adam and is described as dead in sin, unable and unwilling to exercise faith in Jesus Christ (i.e., Romans 3:9-20). Yet because he is loving and gracious God has chosen to elect a vast multitude unto salvation based upon reasons known only to himself. Furthermore, God has also determined how he will call those to faith whom he has chosen—through the preaching of the gospel (Romans 10:17). God ordains both the ends (those whom he will save) and the means by which he will save them (the preaching of the gospel).

In article 7, the Canons make the point that God’s hidden decree (in eternity past) is carried out in time and space, of which the Scriptures are the divinely-inspired account. God’s plan to save fallen sinners–otherwise hidden in the shadows of eternity–is revealed in ordinary human history as God brings to pass the very things that he has decreed would come to pass, and which accomplish our salvation.

The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJanuary 20, 2025God's Freedom, The preaching of the gospelComment

“The Saving Power of the Gospel” -- Article Six, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 6: The Saving Power of the Gospel

What, therefore, neither the light of nature nor the law can do, God accomplishes by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the Word or the ministry of reconciliation. This is the gospel about the Messiah, through which it has pleased God to save believers, in both the Old and the New Testament.

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How do people come to faith in Jesus Christ, if the light of nature only serves to render those of every race, tribe, and tongue without excuse (cf. Romans 1:20)?

Furthermore, how do people come to faith in Christ if the law was given, in part, to be the means of exposing our wickedness and inciting us to sin all the more, thereby demonstrating to us that we are guilty sinners who desperately need a savior?

Recall that under the first head of doctrine the authors of the Canons were very careful to point out that if there is nothing good which resides in us which motivates God to act on our behalf and deliver us from our sins, then the only reason why any of us come to faith in Jesus Christ is to be found solely in God’s goodness and graciousness. We have also seen that God elects to save a multitude of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam so vast that no one can count them. God delivers his elect from the guilt and power of their sins.

The only reason why any of those who are rendered without excuse by the light of nature and demonstrated to be guilty through the law come to faith in Christ at all, is to be found in God’s decree to save those he has chosen based upon reasons known only to himself.

But God not only ordains the ends—who will be saved—he also ordains the means by which he will save them. God graciously calls his elect to faith in Jesus through the foolishness of the preaching of the gospel—the point made here in article six.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJanuary 6, 2025The preaching of the gospel Comment

“The Inadequacy of the Law” -- Article Five, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 5: The Inadequacy of the Law

In this respect, what is true of the light of nature is true also of the Ten Commandments given by God through Moses specifically to the Jews. For man cannot obtain saving grace through the Decalogue, because, although it does expose the magnitude of his sin and increasingly convict him of his guilt, yet it does not offer a remedy or enable him to escape from his misery, and, indeed, weakened as it is by the flesh, leaves the offender under the curse.

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Since the purpose of natural revelation is not to redeem humanity but to provide a natural knowledge of God as well as to further expose fallen humanities’ sinfulness, the authors of the Canons now turn to the question of the ability of Adam’s fallen race to satisfy God’s righteous requirements as they are revealed in the law.

Though it is absolutely clear from Scripture that the law is written upon the hearts of all of humanity—Paul makes this point in Romans 2:14-15—it is equally important for us to take note of the fact that the Ten Commandments give concrete and explicit content to that which is implicitly revealed in natural revelation. God’s revelation of the law to Moses at Mount Sinai (which is a republication of the terms of the covenant of works God made with Adam in Eden) is God’s act in making explicit (through publication) what had been only implicit (i.e. in the human heart) in general revelation.

It has been argued by some that, even after the fall, humanity can earn sufficient merit to attain a right standing before God on the basis of obedience to the law of nature (i.e. the light which God has given to all). But if the purpose of natural revelation was to give a natural knowledge of God and further expose humanities’ sinfulness, the same is certainly the true purpose of the law, only more so! The law can only condemn, not give life.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerDecember 16, 2024Inadequacy of the LawComment

“The Inadequacy of the Light of Nature” -- Article Four, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 4: The Inadequacy of the Light of Nature

There is, to be sure, a certain light of nature remaining in man after the fall, by virtue of which he retains some notions about God, natural things, and the difference between what is moral and immoral, and demonstrates a certain eagerness for virtue and for good outward behavior. But this light of nature is far from enabling man to come to a saving knowledge of God and conversion to him—so far, in fact, that man does not use it rightly even in matters of nature and society. Instead, in various ways he completely distorts this light, whatever its precise character, and suppresses it in unrighteousness. In doing so he renders himself without excuse before God.

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The Reformed understanding of total depravity and total inability raises the nagging question about what happens to those who live apart from the light of Holy Scripture and who may have never heard the gospel. This is a common question and is often framed as follows: “What happens to the `innocent person’ in distant lands who has never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ?”

Historically, Arminians have charged that it is not fair for God to hold people accountable for Adam’s act of rebellion in Eden. Therefore, it is certainly not fair for God to hold those accountable for not believing in Christ who have never even heard the gospel. Recall that the Arminian has argued that prevenient grace is universal, so there must be some divine provision for those outside of Christ.

In light of this charge, the authors of the Canons take up the subject of the purpose and consequences of natural revelation, or the “light of nature.”

Given the fact of total depravity, what does the Scripture say about natural revelation, or what is more commonly spoken of as general revelation? This is best done by contrasting the purpose of general revelation (“the light of nature”) and special revelation (Holy Scripture). This puts us in a position to ask “what do fallen men and women do with the knowledge of God they that derive from `general revelation”? Does general revelation lead men and women to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ?

The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerDecember 2, 2024The Light of Nature, General RevelationComment

“Total Inability” -- Article Three, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 3: Total Inability

Therefore, all people are conceived in sin and are born children of wrath, unfit for any saving good, inclined to evil, dead in their sins, and slaves to sin; without the grace of the regenerating Holy Spirit they are neither willing nor able to return to God, to reform their distorted nature, or even to dispose themselves to such reform.

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Whenever we address the subject of “total inability,” we need to be clear that we are speaking of but one of the major consequences of the Fall. The Bible clearly teaches that all are born guilty for Adam’s act of rebellion in Eden, since Adam acted for us and in our place as both the federal and biological head of the human race as God’s chosen representative for humanity (cf. Romans 5:12-19). Because of Adam's sin, the entire human race is under the just condemnation of God, and guilty (by imputation) for Adam’s act of rebellion from the very moment of our conception.

As we have seen throughout the prior articles, the biblical data demonstrates that we are born with what is called “original corruption.” As a consequence of Adam's fall, we are inclined toward all evil, we are darkened in our understanding, we are ignorant of the things of God, and separated from God at birth. We are without God and without hope in the world (Ephesians 2:12-13). We are “turned in on ourselves” and, left to our own devices, we are unable to do any good (from God’s perspective) whatsoever. As the Canons indicate, we are unfit "for any saving good, inclined to evil, dead in [our] sins, and slaves to sin.”

Total inability refers to the fact that our wills are in bondage to our inherited sinful nature, as well as weakened by the darkness of our intellectual faculties (Ephesians 4:17-19). The Reformers spoke of this in terms of “the bondage of the will” to the flesh (our sinful orientation). None of the fallen children of Adam are born “innocent,” nor are they “neutral” toward the things of God—as though the moral direction of each individual depends upon an act of the human will to follow either Christ’s good example or Adam’s bad one. This is, as the Canons point out, the heresy of Pelagianism.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerNovember 15, 2024Total inability Comment