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Posts in The Canons of Dort

“The Danger of Serious Sin” -- Article Four, The Fifth Point of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Yes, God preserves those whom he has chosen and called to faith in Jesus Christ unto eternal life as stated in Article 3. But this does not in any sense mean that the struggle with indwelling sin ceases because Christ preserves us unto final salvation. Indwelling sin (or the habit of sin) is a stark reality of the Christian life and remains a constant struggle until we die or Christ returns, whichever comes first. Such sin is ever-present and a Christian must be conscientious of this fact and strive to resist the three great enemies of God’s people identified here—the world, the flesh, and the devil.

First and foremost, Article 4 wisely directs those struggling with sin to rely upon the power of God which is given to God’s people through the preached word and the administration of the sacraments—the so-called means of grace. Vigilant prayer for the forgiveness of these sins is vital as John reminds us,

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 1:5-2:2)

Jesus knew the danger of indwelling sin (the flesh) his people will face as his disciples. He instructs us to pray “lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). He later exhorts his disciples to “watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). James reminds us that, “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (1:14). Sin arises within, we are not tempted by God.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerMarch 16, 2026Indwelling SinComment

“God Preserves His Own” -- Article Three, The Fifth Point of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 3: God’s Preservation of the Converted

Because of these remnants of sin dwelling in them and also because of the temptations of the world and Satan, those who have been converted could not remain standing in this grace if left to their own resources. But God is faithful, mercifully strengthening them in the grace once conferred on them and powerfully preserving them in it to the end.

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Here, the Canons summarize the teaching of Jesus and the apostles to the effect that those whom God calls to faith in Christ are preserved in that faith until they enter glory. If, as taught in the prior two articles, that indwelling sin remains in Christians after they come to faith in Christ, is it possible that Christians can commit a “mortal sin” and be severed from Christ as taught by Rome? Or, are the Arminians correct to assume that if people become Christians through an act of the will, can they cease to be Christians by choosing to renounce Christ and fall away (apostasy)?

The Reformed teach the perseverance of the saints (that the elect will not fall away from Christ) unto final salvation precisely for the reasons spelled out in Article Three. Jesus, who is at the right hand of the Father, is presently interceding for all his people (1 John 2:1). He is our advocate–praying for us, that our faith does not fail (cf. Luke 22:32), and that those sins we continue to commit after we come to faith in Christ will not severe us from the Father. Jesus himself was clear to his disciples in John 6:37-40 that none of those who are his will be lost on the day of judgment.

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

The reason why believers can have confidence that they will persevere to the end and be saved is because Christ’s intercession for us cannot fail. Yes, as discussed in article four, through carelessness believers can and do fall into serious sin, but Christ preserves his people (the elect) preventing them from perishing in those sins. And yes, there are serious consequences when this occurs. But the elect are indeed kept in faith by the very Savior who died to redeem them.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerMarch 2, 2026Perseverance and preservationComment

“The Struggle With Indwelling Sin” -- Article Two, The Fifth Point of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 2: The Believer’s Reaction to Sins of Weakness

Hence daily sins of weakness arise, and blemishes cling to even the best works of God’s people, giving them continual cause to humble themselves before God, to flee for refuge to Christ crucified, to put the flesh to death more and more by the Spirit of supplication and by holy exercises of godliness, and to strain toward the goal of perfection, until they are freed from this body of death and reign with the Lamb of God in heaven.

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In the first article, the authors of the Canons established the fact that the Bible teaches that indwelling sin remains in the believer even after one is regenerated (born again). In light of this point, article two deals with the reality that the Christian life entails a constant struggle with such indwelling sin. These sins, which are a daily and perpetual occurrence, ought to push Christians to continually return in humility to the cross of Christ for forgiveness. The presence of such sin lies behind John’s exhortation in 1 John 1:5-2:2 regarding the need to acknowledge such sin and continually confess it, knowing that Jesus Christ’s death is a propitiation which turns aside God’s anger toward our sins. This forgiveness is part of our Lord’s ongoing priestly work in making intercession for his people.

Likewise, the Psalmist describes this struggle with indwelling sin in several places. Psalm 32:1-6 comes to mind, as does the entirety of Psalm 51. Steeped in the Psalter, Paul describes the Christian life as an intense struggle between the flesh and the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). While in Romans 7:14-25 (echoing both the Psalmist and John, as well as his prior comments in Galatians), Paul again speaks of hating the sin and sinful impulses within him (the flesh), yet still giving into them anyway. This prompts the cry of every Christian who honestly looks within themselves and finds such sin, “wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (v. 24).

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerFebruary 16, 2026Indwelling Sin, Psalm 32, Pslam 51, Galatians 5:17, Romans 7:14-25Comment

“Sin Remains in Believers” -- Article One, The Fifth Point of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 1: The Regenerate Not Entirely Free from Sin

Those people whom God according to his purpose calls into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord and regenerates by the Holy Spirit, he also sets free from the reign and slavery of sin, though in this life not entirely from the flesh and from the body of sin.

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The fifth and final head of doctrine as framed by the Canons of Dort deals with challenges raised by the Arminians to the Reformed doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. The focus in article one is upon the presence of indwelling sin in all regenerate believers. The Reformed reject all forms of Christian perfectionism–the erroneous view that it is possible for Christians to attain a state of sinless perfection in this life. This view was held by the fourth century heretic Pelegius and has resurfaced in the evangelical bloodstream periodically through works such as John Wesley’s A Plain Account of Christian Perfection and later through the revivalistic efforts of Charles Finney.

American evangelicals–many of whom understand the idea of the perseverance of the saints through the lens of decisional regeneration, will find the Reformed view of perseverance quite foreign. Decisional regeneration (“once saved always saved”) is a popular view that once someone “accepts” Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, their salvation is eternally secured and they cannot lose their salvation, although they will lose rewards if they do not live a godly life post-conversion.

As indicated in the first four heads of doctrine, the Reformed see things quite differently. God sovereignly regenerates his elect through the preaching of the gospel (the effectual call), that they believe and are justified (declared righteous) and are set apart for God’s purposes (sanctification). All those justified and definitively sanctified (i.e., “saints”) will begin the lifelong process of progressive sanctification, wherein the power of sin over them is steadily broken and they begin to live godly and holy lives (e.g., Romans 8:28-30; 1 Corinthians 1:30). Yet, the Christian life is characterized by the struggle with indwelling sin. According to Galatians 5:17, the Christian life is, and remains until death, a struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. Likewise in Romans 7:7-13, Paul speaks of the power of the law to condemn as no longer in effect for believers, although he goes on to describe the intense struggle with indwelling sin in Romans 7:14-25.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerFebruary 2, 2026Indwelling SinComment

The Error of Synergism – Sinful Humans Cooperate With God’s Grace in Salvation—The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (9)

Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

Who teach that grace and free choice are concurrent partial causes which cooperate to initiate conversion, and that grace does not precede—in the order of causality—the effective influence of the will; that is to say, that God does not effectively help man’s will to come to conversion before man’s will itself motivates and determines itself.

For the early church already condemned this doctrine long ago in the Pelagians, on the basis of the words of the apostle: “It does not depend on man’s willing or running but on God’s mercy” (Rom. 9:16); also: “Who makes you different from anyone else?” and “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7); likewise: “It is God who works in you to will and act according to his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).

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Although a bit more subtle, this error is similar to those addressed in articles 7-8 of the rejection of errors under the Fourth Head of Doctrine. The Arminians seemed willing to confess that sinners must cooperate with God’s grace for conversion to take place—conversion being the exercise of faith and repentance. But when pressed, they contend that human willingness to act is necessary and prior to obtaining that grace necessary for someone to come to faith in Jesus Christ and repent of their sins. Human freedom is therefore logically prior to grace, which is why the authors of the Canons associate this view with “Pelagianism.”

But regardless of the subtleties here, the Arminian view is that human freedom, not the grace of God, is key. So God’s grace remains merely a “partial” cause, not the sole cause of conversion. And this brings us to the critical issue in the Reformed-Arminian debate; who initiates salvation, God or humanity? The Arminian says fallen sinners must “co-operate” with the grace of God, which make human initiative the basis of salvation. In the Arminian scheme, a universal grace with only the potential to save is said to be prior to all human initiative. But since that grace actually saves no one until we act upon it, Arminians have painted themselves into a corner–no one can be saved until they exercise their wills so as to “appropriate” the grace of God. This is synergism at best (God and humans co-operating in salvation), and Pelgianism at its worst (God only reveals to us what we need to do to be converted), and both are in serious error.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJanuary 19, 2026The error of synergismComment

The Error that God’s Grace in Regeneration Can Be Thwarted—The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (8)

Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

Who teach that God in regenerating man does not bring to bear that power of his omnipotence whereby he may powerfully and unfailingly bend man’s will to faith and conversion, but that even when God has accomplished all the works of grace which he uses for man’s conversion, man nevertheless can, and in actual fact often does, so resist God and the Spirit in their intent and will to regenerate him, that man completely thwarts his own rebirth; and, indeed, that it remains in his own power whether or not to be reborn.

For this does away with all effective functioning of God’s grace in our conversion and subjects the activity of Almighty God to the will of man; it is contrary to the apostles, who teach that “we believe by virtue of the effective working of God’s mighty strength” (Eph. 1:19), and that “God fulfills the undeserved good will of his kindness and the work of faith in us with power” (2 Thess. 1:11), and likewise that “his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3).

This error appears in the Remonstrance of 1610 (the Arminian articles)—which affirm that grace is not irresistible. As the authors of the Canons have pointed out previously, faith and repentance have their origin in a prior act of God’s regeneration of the sinner while he or she remains dead in sin (cf. Colossians 2:13). Yet, Arminians insist that faith and repentance spring from the human will even after Adam’s fall. They reject the biblical teaching that faith and repentance are acts of the will made free after a prior sovereign act of God (regeneration). But if tied to an act of the human will (and not prior regeneration) then, of course, Arminians can contend that the grace of God can be resisted until such time as the sinner chooses to take avail of that universal, provisional grace, which God makes available to all. For the Reformed, regeneration precedes faith. For the Arminian regeneration results from faith—understood as an act of the human will—the choice to believe and repent.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJanuary 2, 2026Irrestible grace Comments

The Error that Grace Is Mere Persuasion—The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (7)

Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

Who teach that the grace by which we are converted to God is nothing but a gentle persuasion, or (as others explain it) that the way of God’s acting in man’s conversion that is most noble and suited to human nature is that which happens by persuasion, and that nothing prevents this grace of moral suasion even by itself from making natural men spiritual; indeed, that God does not produce the assent of the will except in this manner of moral suasion, and that the effectiveness of God’s work by which it surpasses the work of Satan consists in the fact that God promises eternal benefits while Satan promises temporal ones.

For this teaching is entirely Pelagian and contrary to the whole of Scripture, which recognizes besides this persuasion also another, far more effective and divine way in which the Holy Spirit acts in man’s conversion. As Ezekiel 36:26 puts it: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; and I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.…”

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A modern illustration of this 17th century error can be seen in a famous Christian tract which reflects similar confidence in the human will, claiming: “God has voted for you; the devil has voted against you. Your vote decides” whether you’ll spend eternity in heaven or hell. If the Synod of Dort had been conducted today, they’d have spent countless hours considering similar appeals from Evangelical pulpits proclaiming the same error as the Arminians. Instead of proclaiming Christ and him crucified and trusting the Holy Spirit to grant the new birth and create faith, contemporary preaching often centers around enticements such as the promise of a better and happier life, or even financial prosperity. It is not an accident that testimonies of celebrities are prominently featured. You can have the same spiritual experience they have, if only you are willing. Peer pressure too is used—everyone else is accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior! What are you waiting for . . .

In many ways the refutation of this error addressees the heart of the Arminian system–the denial of the efficacy of grace, which is replaced by “gentle persuasion.” The Arminian system is grounded in the unbiblical assumption that after the fall of the human race into sin, people still retain the ability to respond favorably to the gospel. People are not dead in sin, but are understood to be “wounded in sin.” Evangelism often amounts to attempting to persuade people to believe in Jesus since they can do so if only they are willing to do so.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerDecember 8, 2025Persuasion as faithComment

The Error that Faith Is Merely a Human Act — The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (6)

Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

Who teach that in the true conversion of man new qualities, dispositions, or gifts cannot be infused or poured into his will by God, and indeed that the faith [or believing] by which we first come to conversion and from which we receive the name “believers” is not a quality or gift infused by God, but only an act of man, and that it cannot be called a gift except in respect to the power of attaining faith.

For these views contradict the Holy Scriptures, which testify that God does infuse or pour into our hearts the new qualities of faith, obedience, and the experiencing of his love: “I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33); “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring” (Isa. 44:3); “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:5). They also conflict with the continuous practice of the church, which prays with the prophet: “Convert me, Lord, and I shall be converted” (Jer. 31:18).

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The Dutch Arminians (the Remonstrants) were seeking to establish several points in opposition to the Reformed. The first was to affirm that salvation is a gift from God, and is freely available to all who will choose it. But in order to establish the first point, the Arminians sought to deny the Reformed distinctive that people are dead in sin and inclined toward unbelief and self-interest—the manifestation of the “flesh” or fallen human nature. Therefore, the Arminians must contend that Adam’s Fall did indeed impact the entire human race, but God’s grace was universally available to all, and sufficient to save any willing to believe, provided they exercise their willingness to do so. According to Arminians, the Fall left Adam and his progeny wounded and sickened by sin, but nevertheless still able to seek grace, and once having done so, would find more grace available until such time as they are able and now willing to exercise faith in Christ (see the prior refutation of errors, number five). This is often framed as truism which is agreeable to many Americans, “God helps those who help themselves.” To put the matter in theological terms, Arminians speak of sin as act (not condition), so they also understand coming to faith as a human act.

But as the authors of the Canons have been pointing out from the opening article (and responding with appropriate biblical passages), such an optimistic and rosy view of human nature is contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture. We are dead in sin, we cannot come to faith in Christ unless and until we are given the new birth and called to trust in Christ through the preaching of the gospel. Human nature is thoroughly corrupt and Adam’s children are all sinful from head to toe. As dead in sin, we retain no natural ability nor desire to come to faith in Christ if left to ourselves. This ability and desire was lost in Adam’s Fall. For anyone to exercise faith in Jesus Christ (i.e., trust in him to save us from the guilt and power of sin) they must be born again through the power of the Holy Spirit, regenerated, and effectually called to faith through the Gospel. Regeneration (the new birth) precedes faith.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerNovember 19, 2025Faith as act Comments

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