As Bob Godfrey has well illustrated in his new book on the Canons of Dort, Saving the Reformation, the theology of the Synod of Dort was eminently pastoral. Synod was. . . Continue reading
Canons of Dort (24): Synod’s Pastoral Concern For Assurance
election
Canons Of Dort (13): Predestination Is A Mystery
It is a remarkable thing that, outside of Reformed circles, it seems to be widely assumed that the attraction of the doctrine of predestination is that it is reasonable. This. . . Continue reading
Canons Of Dort (12): We Judge God’s Will From Scripture
The doctrine of unconditional election and conditional reprobation has often met with resistance in the church. The early post-apostolic church spoke of the elect and of God’s election and found. . . Continue reading
Canons Of Dort (11): The Doctrine Of Predestination Is Edifying And Should Be Taught Wisely
We would expect those outside the Augustinian mainstream of the Western church to object to the teaching of doctrine of predestination (i.e., the doctrines of election and reprobation) since they. . . Continue reading
The Canons Of Dort (10): Unconditional Grace Gives Assurance
The Remonstrants were convinced that the Protestant doctrine of salvation by grace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide) did not and could not produce sufficient sanctification (holiness) and. . . Continue reading
Canons Of Dort (9): The God Who Elects Unconditionally Does Not Change
One of the most remarkable developments in late modern evangelical theology was the rise of the so-called doctrine of “Open Theism.” This doctrine holds that the future is genuinely unknown. . . Continue reading
Canons Of Dort (8): There Is Only One Kind Of Election
The Remonstrants were dissatisfied with the basic insights of the Reformation and thus of the Reformed faith. They did not agree with the Protestant articulation of the gospel, that Christ. . . Continue reading
Canons Of Dort (7): God Graciously Chose His Elect Out Of The Mass Of Fallen Humanity
The Synod of Dort gathered for several reasons but among them two were chief: to defend basic Augustinian anti-Pelagian theology and preserve the Protestant Reformation doctrines of salvation by grace. . . Continue reading
Canons Of Dort (6): God Is The Cause Of Salvation But Not Of Reprobation
Perhaps the most fundamental complaint of the Remonstrants against Reformed theology, the concern that most animated Arminius’ desire to revise Reformed theology, was the charge that the Reformed view makes. . . Continue reading
Canons Of Dort (5): God Ordains Means To Call His Elect
The first thing that the Reformed churches said in response to the Remonstrants, whom the Reformed saw as seeking to take the churches back toward the medieval system of salvation. . . Continue reading