"Reprobation" -- Article Fifteen, First Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort
Article 15: Reprobation
Moreover, Holy Scripture most especially highlights this eternal and undeserved grace of our election and brings it out more clearly for us, in that it further bears witness that not all people have been chosen but that some have not been chosen or have been passed by in God’s eternal election—those, that is, concerning whom God, on the basis of his entirely free, most just, irreproachable, and unchangeable good pleasure, made the following decision: to leave them in the common misery into which, by their own fault, they have plunged themselves; not to grant them saving faith and the grace of conversion; but finally to condemn and eternally punish them (having been left in their own ways and under his just judgment), not only for their unbelief but also for all their other sins, in order to display his justice. And this is the decision of reprobation, which does not at all make God the author of sin (a blasphemous thought!) but rather its fearful, irreproachable, just judge and avenger.
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If the biblical teaching about election is difficult for us to grasp, the biblical teaching about reprobation is that much more difficult. Like it or not, we must face the fact that if God chooses to save a vast multitude of sinners (Revelation 7:9), but not all of Adam’s fallen children, then God must also in some manner deal with those whom he has not chosen. This brings us to the doctrine of reprobation.
Before we define the doctrine (below) several cautions are in order. Although many try to avoid the subject at all costs, the fact of the matter is that we must wrestle with the biblical teaching about reprobation (cf. Romans 9:1-23) because this is a revealed doctrine every bit as much as is election.
It is wise to begin by pointing out if sinful human curiosity is a problem when we talk about election, such speculation is a far greater problem when we come to the subject of reprobation. Here, of all places, we must be very careful to teach only what Scripture teaches, and we must go no further.
Such a limit upon human curiosity and speculation is important for several important and practical reasons. For one thing, there are many in our midst who are weak in faith, or who, perhaps, are struggling with certain besetting sins. Oftentimes, such people, upon hearing any discussion of reprobation, will immediately wonder if, somehow, they are numbered among the reprobate. They take their weak faith, or their struggle with sin, as a reason to assume the worst–they are not Christ’s and can do nothing to change that. Sadly, such people are unduly robbed of the assurance of their salvation.
A second group who must be cautioned are those who are prone to speculation, and who, perhaps inadvertently, communicate to others that they take great delight in the fact that God has not chosen all, and that the reprobate will ultimately get what is coming to them in the end. There are indeed people in our churches who appear to feel a sense of smug satisfaction that they are numbered among the elect while others are not.
But let us not forget that God takes no delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). Although God’s justice and glory are manifest in the eternal punishment of those who have rebelled against him, and who willingly die in sin rather than confess “Jesus Christ is Lord,” the famous saying is indeed true; “there, but the grace of God go I.” The biblical teaching about reprobation cannot be seen as a matter of pride on the part of the elect. Apart from the grace of God, we too, would remain enslaved to sin and death and would prefer to die in rebellion and unbelief. The teaching of election and reprobation should absolutely humble us, because it removes from beneath our feet any and every ground for boasting.
What do we mean when we speak of reprobation? It is important to carefully define our terms. There are four elements to the biblical teaching about reprobation set forth in the Canons.
First, as the Canons note, reprobation means that God does not choose all to receive eternal life, and those not chosen are left “in the common misery into which, by their own fault, they have plunged themselves.” This fact is important to grasp. God does not prevent those not chosen from believing. Nor does God prevent people from coming to faith in Christ, who otherwise would do so. The Canons have already established the fact that if left to themselves, all those fallen in Adam do not want to believe the gospel and come to faith in Christ. When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, his lament was “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not” (Matthew 23:37). God passes over the non-elect and he leaves them where they are—dead in sins and trespasses (cf. Ephesians 2:1). He does not treat them unjustly. In fact, all those not chosen get exactly what they deserve.
The second aspect of this is that God does not “grant them saving faith and the grace of conversion.” Again, by not choosing them, God is not preventing those already fallen in Adam from believing. He is not robbing people of something to which they would otherwise be entitled. Rather, God wills not to incline their sinful hearts to believe the gospel. He chooses not to effectively call them to faith when the gospel is preached to them. God leaves them where they already are–in sin (both their own and Adam’s). Such people will not believe because they remain sinful by nature and by choice. They won’t come to Christ, because they do not want to come to Christ.
Third, since such people are not chosen, nor are they inclined to believe, they are finally condemned. God will “eternally punish them (having been left in their own ways and under his just judgment), not only for their unbelief but also for all their other sins, in order to display his justice.” This point is vital to grasp because it means that those not chosen do indeed get what their actions deserve! God does not treat them unjustly. He does not show them mercy, nor in any sense is he obligated to do so–or else grace would not be grace (cf. Romans 4:16).
Finally, it should also be pointed out that this teaching in no way makes God the author of sin—which the Canons note would indeed be a blasphemous thought. God is Holy. In him there is no shadow of turning. As James says (1:13-15), “Let no one say when he is tempted, `I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” We must never even entertain the thought that God is the author of human sin.
Yet, at the same time, we must grasp the fact that God is the holy avenger of sin. The reprobate will get what is due them as a matter of divine justice. The elect, on the other hand, do not get what is due them, because God chose them in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ satisfied God’s holy justice on their behalf in suffering and dying for his elect upon Calvary’s cross. The elect receive mercy. The reprobate receive justice. The former do not get what they deserve, the latter do. But no one is treated unjustly.
This is a hard doctrine, but a biblical doctrine, nonetheless.