The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article Nine

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 perfectly 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 the sinful creature. As we have repeatedly emphasized, 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 by-pass 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 very clearly teach that all of Adam’s children fell into sin when he did (Romans 5:12-19), and they suffered all of the consequences of Adam’s act on their 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! This means that the entire human race is under God’s curse, since everyone of us have sinned in Adam, and because we have each personally sinned against God’s infinite majesty. God owes sinners nothing but judgment.

Since God does not in any sense owe any of us a “chance” at heaven, before we even talk about why some believe and others do not, we must keep in mind that not one single person ever born deserves to go to heaven, that all alike are dead in sins and trespasses.  Therefore, the only reason why any are saved must be sought in the goodness and mercy of God, not in the worth or ability of the sinner.

We have also seen that God ordains the ends as well as the means—that is, God has determined to call his elect to faith in Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel.  As we saw in article eight, God does indeed sincerely call all those who hear the gospel to faith in Christ without exception.  This is the so-called “general call,” or the well-intended free offer of the gospel, which is addressed to all men and women alike.  And, as we have seen, it is the divine mandate of the church to proclaim the gospel to all of the nations of the earth.

The Reformed also make a distinction between the “general call,” which is sincerely addressed to all of Adam’s fallen children, and the “effectual call” which is addressed to God’s elect, and which we have seen, is directly connected in the Scriptures to regeneration and the exercise of saving faith. The Canons are clear about this—the only way anyone can come to faith in Jesus Christ is because it has been granted them by the father (John 6:44, 65). All those whom God has chosen from before the foundation of the world will, in fact, be called to faith in Christ when the gospel is proclaimed to them. God will providentially ensure it. Therefore, the reason we must give when we are asked about why some believe and others do not must be located in God’s decree and the power of God unto salvation, which the Scriptures says resides in the gospel, and not in the human will, or natural ability as the Arminians teach.

At this point, the Canons now deal with the question as to why it is that certain people reject the gospel when it is preached to them. The Canons contend that “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.” In other words, the general call is indeed a sincere call and constitutes a genuine offer of the saving merits of Jesus Christ to everyone who hears the gospel without exception.

There is one gospel and it is to be proclaimed to sinners everywhere.  And if sinners do indeed turn from their sins and place their trust in Jesus Christ, God will forgive them and give them eternal life! There will not be anyone in hell who wanted to get to heaven and couldn’t, as though they were among the elect but God would not let them believe!  But as we have seen, the fallen children of Adam do not want to place their trust the Savior. Since they are sinful and he is holy, Jesus Christ is repulsive to them.  When the gospel is preached, Christ is sincerely offered.  The reason why people do not except the Good News is not because the gospel is flawed, but because people are sinful and they are unwilling to believe.  Adam’s fallen children would rather perish eternally than bow the knee before the Savior in faith.

We clearly see this set forth in Matthew 23:37-39, when our Lord Jesus laments Israel’s continuing unbelief, even in the presence of the very one sent to save them. Jesus cries out, “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! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Clearly our Lord did not cry crocodile tears of insincerity over the city, for he plainly attributes their failure to believe directly to the fact that they “were not willing.”

Does the fact that Israel did not believe mean that our Lord’s offer to save them was not sincere or that his gospel was flawed? Or should we simply take Jesus at his word and attribute unbelief to human sinfulness—i.e., the unwillingness to believe connected to the slavery of the will to the sinful human nature and impairment by the darkened understanding. It is clear from John’s Gospel that if anyone does indeed respond to the gospel it because God draws them to faith in Christ. But the fact that God must draw someone does not mean that the gospel is ineffective. Instead, the fact that people do not believe means that because of sin, people are unwilling to believe even though the offer of forgiveness of sin and eternal life be a sincere offer. The problem lies with us, not with God or his gospel.

The Canons go on to elaborate on this a bit further. “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” At this point we would be wise if we took a minute and worked through the parable mentioned here by the authors as a proof-text. In Matthew 13:1 and following we read,

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Notice that in the parable, Jesus speaks of the seed as the same, the difference in the resulting crop lies in the varying condition of the soils. In verse 10, however, before Jesus begins to explain the meaning of the parable to them, he gives us a very illuminating series of comments about why he is speaking in parables.

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Jesus tells the disciples that the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven is not given to all men and women, even though the parable is addressed to all in the sense of a “general call.” Those who gather see, but they do not perceive, or make sense of what they are seeing. Those who have gathered, are said “to hear,” but they do not understand what is being said. The reason for this is not that Jesus’ teaching is ineffective, but because the hearts of the audiences have become calloused and these people have closed their spiritual eyes to the Messiah who stands in very their midst declaring to them the word of life. Otherwise, says Jesus, they just might see and hear and understand, and if they did he would “heal them.”

The problem in hearing and perceiving lies with the audience, however, and not with our Lord’s teaching. They have hardened their hearts and they make no attempt to discern what it is that Jesus is saying. Thus the problem is not with the gospel, but within the human heart. The gospel is sincerely offered to all, and all those who are not of the elect will inevitably reject it, unless God effectually calls his elect through that very same gospel. This is why Jesus speaks in parables. His word brings blessing and curse and while his words are heard with the ear, his meaning is hidden from those who are not his sheep and who do not hear his voice.

Finally, in verse 18 and following, Jesus goes on to explain the meaning of the parable.

“Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Notice, that in every case described here, the seed, the gospel, i.e., the message about the kingdom, is the same. The determining factor as to whether a crop is produced is the varying condition of the soil, which is characteristic of the varying conditions of fallen and sinful human heart. The “good soil,” is the heart made new by the Spirit of God, prepared to receive the gospel, and which does indeed bear a crop much greater than what was sown. On the other hand, the other varying soils do not produce a crop, even though they may for a time, actually demonstrate some small growth and signs of life before withering up and dying.

This, then, is why the authors of the Canons locate the source of unbelief not in a defective or ineffectual gospel, but instead in the wickedness of the human heart. Though the gospel offer of the general call indeed be a sincere one, unless God changes the human heart through the effectual call, people will reject the “Good News” and will not bear true fruit in keeping with repentance.

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article Eight

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.  Simply stated, when the gospel is proclaimed (what the Canons have described as the `ministry of reconciliation,’ following Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 5) God’s elect are called.  As a result of being thus called, they embrace Jesus Christ through faith and trust in him, and in him alone, for salvation.

Throughout the Scriptures, calling is directly connected to regeneration.  This notion of "calling" clearly 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.”

The 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” that 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. 

This “general call” is what is in view in Matthew 22:14, when our Lord is describing the great wedding banquet yet to come, and he says “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  The general call is utterly sincere (as the Canons point out), meaning that all who come to Christ in faith will indeed be justified and granted eternal life. 

But the general call cannot heeded by those who are still described as “dead in their sins.” This why we now speak of what is called the “effectual call.”  This is the call of God which results in regeneration and faith.  It is typified by Jesus standing outside the tomb of Lazarus and declaring “Lazarus, come out!"  And Lazarus does.

The Scriptures always speak of calling as God’s act and repeatedly connect it to the Spirit’s working through the word.  One important Old Testament text to consider here is found in Ezekiel 37:1-14, where the prophet is granted the vision of a valley of dried bones of the house of Israel, and when the breath of God enters them the bones come to life. Says Ezekiel:

37:1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Here we have a very clear picture of the Holy Spirit working through the word to call God’s elect to faith and to grant them eternal life—a promise which is fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit indwells God’s true temple, which is the church, the mystical body of Jesus Christ.

The doctrine of calling is clearly found in the New Testament, and is also directly connected to preaching.  An important text in this regard is Romans 10:13 ff., where Paul writes,

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. 18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” 19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” 20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” 21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Here we see the general call (“I held out my hands all day long”) and the effectual call (faith comes by hearing) in the same text.

We see the effectual call clearly described in Acts 16:14, we are told by Luke that when Paul proclaimed the gospel to Lydia and her family, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”  In Romans 4:17, Paul speaks of God’s sovereign call of Abraham— “`I have made you the father of many nations'—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.”  The connection between calling, regeneration and the word of God is made by James (1:18): “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”  The apostle Peter affirms the same thing (1 Peter 1:23 ff.)— “since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for `All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.  The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”

In John 1:12-13, we read, “ But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”  And in John 5:24 ff. we read the following: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. `Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.”

Even from this very short survey it is very clear that calling is God’s act, specifically the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is also clear that effectual calling comes through the proclamation of the gospel of Christ crucified.

Finally, it is important to note that calling is also directly connected to faith and regeneration. This means those who effectually called are given the new birth, they are born of God, they are made alive when formerly dead in sins and trespasses, and that faith in Christ arises only after calling and regeneration.  Faith is not the cause of regeneration, but the fruit of it.

The authors of the Canons are absolutely correct to place their confidence in the power of God the Holy Spirit to bring men and women to faith, and to have no confidence in the fallen wills of sinful men and women.  God not only ordains the end (who will be saved), but also as the means by which he will save them (the preaching of the gospel). It is only through the gospel that men and women are given the new birth and come to faith in Christ.

Arminians, on the other hand, place their confidence in the ability of Adam’s fallen race to come to faith in Christ, even though the Scriptures teach that we are all “dead in sin.”  There is simply no biblical support for the Arminian view of “ineffectual calling,” since the call is supposedly of no avail, unless the sinner exercises their will and chooses to believes, because of the work of Christ in supposedly securing prevenient grace for everyone in general, but for no one in particular.

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article Seven

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 the Arminian champions the freedom of man, the Canons are clear that Christians must begin any discussion of God’s saving purposes where Scripture begins the discussion. This is not with the freedom of humanity, but with the freedom of God!

As we have seen throughout our discussion of prior articles, Scripture very clearly teaches that 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.  This means he has ordained both ends (those whom he will save) and means (the preaching of the gospel).

In article 7, the Canons now 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 record.  This means that God’s plan–otherwise hidden in the shadows of eternity–is revealed publically in ordinary human history as we see God bring to pass the very things that he has decreed would come to pass!

In terms of a logical order, of course, we must begin with God’s eternal decree.  But when we view things historically in the Scriptures (i.e. as the things God has decreed unfold in redemptive history), we must begin where the Scriptures begin, which is not with what was hidden, but with the execution of that decree as it is revealed in the history of God’s people. This means that the Bible is both the explanatory record of God bringing to pass what he has decreed, as well as the history of the covenants (indeed, the covenant documents themselves!).  Since Jesus is the elect one (i.e., that the one in whom God’s elect are chosen), Jesus is also the mediator of God’s gracious covenant.  This means that redemptive history (the Bible) will be the record of Christ’s mediatorial work from beginning to end, and it will focus exclusively upon the unfolding drama of redemption.

The first point that is made in article seven is that God’s plan of redemption (i.e, the covenant of grace) was initially revealed “to a small number.”  Beginning with promise of a redeemer made to Adam immediately after the Fall in Genesis 3:15, running on through the elect line of Abel, Seth, Noah, and so on, until we get to Abraham, slowly and over time God revealed the gospel in more detail to each of the successive generations.  Jeremiah, who was one of the later prophets, prophesied the coming of a “new covenant.”  Jeremiah certainly knew more about the coming redeemer than did Adam.  This is why we must see the Bible as the record of this progressive unfolding of the one gospel of Jesus Christ described in article six.

The second point made in article seven is that this progressive revelation in the Old Testament finally culminates in the coming of Jesus Christ, when, in the fulness of time, the one mediator between God and man, formerly hidden deep within type and shadow, now enters center-stage of human history to accomplish those things necessary for our redemption (Galatians 4:4-6).  Since Jesus Christ has stepped out of eternity past into human history, this means that “in the New Testament (now without any distinction between peoples”—such as Jew and Gentile) God now reveals the gospel to a large number of people, namely to all the nations and peoples of the earth.

The mission of Israel, which Calvin called the church in its infancy, was very narrowly focused. Israel was that chosen nation to provide God’s people with a savior and to preserve God’s word.  But now that the Savior has been revealed, the gospel is now to go out to all the nations of the earth.

While in the Old testament the primary focus of redemption was limited to national Israel, in the New, the focus is now universal.  It was our Lord Jesus who gave the great commission to his church in Matthew 28:18-20—“And Jesus came and said to them, `All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  This indicates that it is the mission of Christ’s church to take the message of reconciliation to all the earth.  The preached gospel is God the Holy Spirit’s means to call all of God’s elect to faith in Jesus Christ.

As the Canons go on to point out, God is perfectly free to decree whatsoever comes to pass according to his own pleasure and purpose.  He is equally free to execute that decree in ordinary history as he sees fit.  It is God’s will that he chose Israel to be the apple of his eye—it was certainly not because he foresaw Israel’s faithfulness and desire to do his will. Indeed, the Old Testament is in many ways the story of God’s faithfulness despite Israel’s repeated unbelief and unfaithfulness.  God chose Israel not because of anything good he foresaw in his people.  Rather, he chose Israel because it was his purpose to do so.

When we turn to the New Testament it is clear that it is God’s will that he chose a people in Christ from before the foundation of the world.  In fact, he chooses a multitude so vast that no man can number them.  This is why the authors go on to state “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.” God will certainly bring what he has decreed to pass and accomplish his purposes and this means that history itself is God’s decree being executed in time and in space.

By now it should be clear that God does not simply set things in motion—as the Deists (and some Arminians contend)—and then steps back and watches things play out, and only then, does he elect some unto salvation based upon his foreknowledge of what his creatures will do when the gospel is preached to them.  Those whom God foreknows will believe are then elected, while those who will not believe are not-elected.

However, this is nothing but a practical deism, in which God is bound to act based only upon what his creatures do.  For many Arminians, man has free will, but God’s will is bound by the responses of his creatures.  It is simply amazing that the Arminian system is based upon the myth of the human will’s freedom from bondage to human sin, while at the same time predicating that God’s will is in bondage to the “free” will of man.

This should once and for all remove any ground for human boasting. In the Old Testament, God chose Israel because of sovereign pleasure and purpose, while in the New Testament, we are told that God has chosen a multitude so vast the no one can count them, also based upon his pleasure and purpose.  This is why the Canons conclude, “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."

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article Six

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 then, do people come to faith in 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 own goodness and graciousness and not in ourselves. We have also seen that God elects to save a multitude of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam so vast that no man can count them, and then delivers them from the guilt of their sins.

This means that 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—that is, 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 very point being made here in article six.

The gospel is not found in natural revelation, nor is the gospel somehow hidden deep within the Ten Commandments.  Rather, according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, the gospel is the account of the saving work of Jesus Christ—his death, burial and resurrection according to the Scriptures.  As Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 1:18 and Romans 1:18, the gospel is the revelation of the power of God.  In the gospel, Christ’s righteousness is clearly revealed.  The gospel is not given to us in the sunset, nor is the gospel given in the command that “we shall not have any other gods than the one true God.” 

Rather, the gospel is recorded for us in the historical events in the New Testament regarding the doing and dying of Jesus Christ—which is hidden in type and in shadow in the Old Testament, and made then clear, when in the fullness of time, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law (Galatians 4:4).  The gospel is therefore, only revealed in the Scriptures and cannot be found in nature or the law.

Given the fact that we are born in sin, guilty for Adam’s act of rebellion in Eden, totally depraved and unable to believe, that we are turned in upon ourselves, darkened in our understanding, unable and unwilling to submit to God’s law, the question quite naturally arises, “how then, are any saved?”  Here the canons affirm without equivocation that salvation is entirely of the Lord. This is God’s doing, not ours!  Since God has ordained the ends (those who will be saved) and the means (the preaching of the gospel) this indicates that it is through the message of reconciliation (the preaching of Christ crucified) that God the Holy Spirit calls his elect to faith in Jesus Christ.

In other words, redemption has been decreed by God. In addition, satisfaction for our sins has been rendered by Christ upon the cross, and now, we are told that God himself ensures that all those who the Father has chosen and for whom the son has died, will indeed come to faith in Jesus.  The Holy Spirit does this, we are told, by working through the word, specifically, through the message of reconciliation, which is simply the proclamation of the gospel.

The canons, therefore, are careful to point out that the persons of the blessed Trinity work in unison to provide for the salvation of sinners. The Father elects, the Son redeems and the Spirit calls—redemption decreed, accomplished and applied. The Arminian, on the other hand, ends up with God wanting to save all but not being able to bring it to pass, the Son dying for everyone yet saving no one in particular, and the Spirit calling all those who are willing to let him have their way with him.  This certainly does not accord with Paul’s conception of this as spelled out in Ephesians 1:3-14.

The canons go on to point out that there is one only gospel, that it is found only in Holy Scripture.  In fact that gospel runs from beginning to end—from Genesis 3:15-Revelation 22:21. This means the Scriptures are about Christ the mediator and Christ the reconciler, and that it is only through the message of reconciliation that God’s elect come to faith in Christ.  This is accomplished not by the power or ability of the human will—which is, as we have seen, enslaved to the guilt and power of sin—but through the action of God the Holy Spirit in calling God’s elect to faith in Christ through the message of the gospel.

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article Five

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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Having dealt with the fact that the purpose of natural revelation is not to redeem 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 law.

Though it is absolutely clear from Scripture that the law is written upon the hearts of all 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.

Consider the brief survey of the following texts from Romans and Galatians which address the true purpose of the law. In Romans 3:19, Paul argues that the law was given, not as a way of salvation, but in order that every mouth might be shut and the whole world held accountable to God. According to Romans 3:20, the purpose of the law is to give us a knowledge of sin. In fact, in Romans 5:20, Paul tells us that the law makes sin increase! Furthermore, the law serves to bring us under judgement (4:14) and no one will be justified by law (3:20). According to Paul, sin brought about all kinds of lust, aroused by the commandment, and says Paul, sin is dead apart from the law (7:8). It was “through the commandment” that sin deceived and brought Paul under condemnation and death (7:11). Our sinful passions work through the law (7:5) and the law is weak because of the flesh (8:3).

In Galatians, Paul says the same thing. The law never justifies people (Galatians 2:16; 3:11), because the law is sin’s strength (1 Corinthians 15:56). The law was given to lead people to Christ (Galatians 3:24); those under the law were in need of forgiveness, and Jesus Christ came as one under law in order to redeem those under the law (Galatians 4:5). As is the case with natural revelation, the law was given not as a means of salvation, but as to show us our sinfulness and need of a Savior.

According to John Murray’s helpful summary of this (Principles of Conduct, 184-186), there are a number of things the law can do and cannot do, and it might be helpful to summarize them here.

First, what the law can do:

1. Law commands and demands; it propounds what the will of God is. The law of God is the holiness of God coming to expression for the regulation of thought and conduct consonant with his holiness. We must be perfect as God is perfect; the law is that which the perfection of God dictates in order to bring about conformity with his perfection.

2. Law pronounces approval and blessing upon conformity to its demands. The commandment was ordained to life (Romans 7:10), and the man that does the things of the law will live them (Galatians 3:12). Law not only enunciates justice; it guards justice. It ensures that where there is righteousness to the full extent of its demand there will be corresponding justification and life. Only when there is deviation from its demands does any adverse judgement proceed from the law.

3. Law pronounces the judgement of condemnation upon every infraction of its precept. The law has nought but curse for any person who has once broken its sanctity; he who is guilty at one point is guilty of all. `Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them' (Galatians 3:10).

4. Law exposes and convicts of sin. It exposes the sin that may lie hid in the deepest recesses of the heart. The law is spiritual and as the word of God it is living and powerful, searching the thoughts and intents of the heart (cf. Romans 7:14; Hebrews 4:12). It is this discriminating and searching function of the law that Paul describes when he says `I had not known lust except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet' (Romans 7:7); the law lays bare the self-complacency that blinds us to the depravity of our hearts.

5. Law excites and incites sin to more virulent and violent transgression. Law, of itself, so far from renewing and reforming the depraved heart, only occasions more intensified and confirmed expression of its depravity. `But sin taking occasion through the commandment wrought in me all manner of lust' (Romans 7:8; cf. verses 9, 11, 13). The law, therefore, instead of relieving or relaxing our bondage to sin, intensifies and confirms that bondage. The more the light of the law shines upon and in our depraved hearts, the more the enmity of our minds is roused to opposition, and the more it is made manifest that the mind of the flesh is not subject to the law of God, neither can be.

Second, what the law as law cannot do:

1. Law can do nothing to justify the person who in any particular has violated its sanctity and come under its curse. Law, as law, has no expiatory provision; it exercises no forgiving grace; and it has no power of enablement to the fulfillment of its own demand. It knows no clemency for the remission of guilt; it provides no righteousness to meet our iniquity; it exerts no constraining power to reclaim our waywardness; it knows no mercy to melt our hearts in penitence and new obedience.

2. It can do nothing to relieve the bondage of sin; it accentuates and confirms that bondage. It is this impossibility to alleviate the bondage to sin that is particularly in view in Romans 6:14. The person who is `under law', the person upon whom only law has been brought to bear, the person whose life has been determined exclusively by the resources and potency of sin. And the more intelligently and resolutely a person commits himself to law the more abandoned becomes his slavery to sin. Hence deliverance to the bondage of sin must come from an entirely different source.

This is exactly what the authors of the Canons intend, when they declare: “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.”

The law exposes our sin and should point us to Christ!

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article Four

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.  “What happens to the `innocent person’ in distant lands who has never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ?’

Arminians have historically 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.  

Therefore, the authors of the Canons now turn to the subject of the purpose and consequences of natural revelation, or the “light of nature.”

In light of 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). Then we are 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?

First, according to general revelation, God’s power [δυναμις] and divinity [Θειοτης], are “made known” to all of Adam’s descendants universally, regardless of race, culture and geographical locale.  According to Paul’s account of this from Romans 1:18-32, God is indeed known by all of Adam’s fallen race, without exception.  General revelation is universal.  But when we contrast this with special revelation, it is clear that the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ is only “made known” to his people, who are are given understanding of the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit and effectually called to faith in Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel.

Special revelation, then, is not universal, it is particular in a sense. While the gospel is to be taken to all nations—the evangelistic task of the church—only God’s people are granted faith in Christ and come to a saving understanding of God’s word.

Second, general revelation is given exclusively through the means of natural phenomena, or as Paul puts it in Romans 1:20, “through that which has been made.”  That is, God makes himself known to all men and women through his creation and the natural order itself.  This species of revelation is called “general” or “natural” revelation, for this very reason.  Through this general revelation, all men and women do, in fact, know that God exists from the fact that all of creation itself testifies to God’s very existence and pushes all of humanity to acknowledge the creator.

Special revelation is, however, by way of contrast, distinctly supernatural and culminates in the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Special revelation is directly connected to God’s redemptive acts and to the explanation of those redemptive acts in Holy Scripture, which—it is important to point out—itself is a distinctly redemptive act.  Redemptive act and redemptive word are linked together in special revelation.

Third, according to Paul’s account in Romans 1, general revelation is given continuously—“for since the creation of the world . . .”  Special revelation, on the other hand, is given exclusively in and through redemptive history and God’s mighty acts of redemption on behalf of Adam’s fallen race.  As general revelation is perpetually given through exclusively natural means, special revelation is given through exclusively supernatural means and is, therefore, limited to Holy Scripture.  This is why the Reformed argue not only for the infallibility of Scripture, but also for its sufficiency.

Fourth, general revelation is given to humanity as God’s creatures.  That is, general revelation supplies all men and women with the knowledge that God exists, that he is their heavenly father, and that they owe their very life and breath to him since he is their creator.  General revelation demonstrates to us that “God is,” and that all of his creatures owe him homage and obedience to his will.

Special revelation, on the other hand, is given to humanity as sinners, and is intended by God to supply men and women with a redemptive knowledge of God—specifically the law and the gospel—a knowledge which is not, and indeed cannot, be derived from general revelation.  Thus no one can be redeemed on the basis of general revelation alone, since the gospel is not revealed in the natural order!  While a pagan might come to know that God exists by watching a sunset or contemplating earth’s beauty, they cannot deduce from that the contents of the gospel!

Fifth, according to Scripture, general revelation was given specifically for the purpose of rendering the fallen children of Adam without excuse as Paul puts it quite plainly in Romans 1— “so that men are without excuse.”  This was God’s intended purpose in revealing himself in nature and through the created order, because in doing so, God thereby renders all of Adam’s fallen children guilty and without any excuse whatsoever!  This means that there is no one who will be able to stand before God in the judgement on the last day, and say “I didn’t know that I was a sinner who needed a savior.”

Thus the express purpose of general revelation is to leave all men and women without excuse. It was given not to save those apart from the gospel, but to condemn those who know that God is, but who, because of inherited sinfulness will inevitably suppress the truth in unrighteousness.  It is equally clear that special revelation points the sinner to salvation in Jesus Christ.  God—the creator and judge—is known through natural revelation, but Jesus Christ—God the savior—is only known through special revelation.

This, then, is the background needed to understand the Reformed conception of natural revelation in contrast to that of the Arminians.  As the Canons state: “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.”  Natural revelation grants unto Adam’s fallen race a knowledge of God which explains the fact that such virtues as love, justice and so on exist in virtually all cultures, even those not yet reached by the gospel.

The fact that this natural knowledge of God is sinfully suppressed, also explains the phenomena of humanity’s universal religious nature.  Suppressed knowledge of God, inevitably manifests itself in idolatry.  Rather than provide a means of salvation, as the Arminians have often argued, natural revelation only condemns.  Thus, as the Canons point out, “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.”

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article Three

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 of us 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 human race as God’s chosen representative for humanity (cf. Romans 5:12-19). This means that because of Adam's sin, the entire human race is under the just condemnation of God, and are 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 completely inclined toward all evil, we are darkened in our understanding, we are ignorant of the things of God, and separated from God from birth.  We are “turned in on ourselves” and left to our own devices, we are unable to do any good (from God’s perspective) whatsoever.  In fact, as the Canons point out, we are unfit "for any saving good, inclined to evil, dead in [our] sins, and slaves to sin.”

Total inability refers to the teaching that our wills are in bondage to our inherited sinful nature, as well as weakened by the darkness of our intellectual faculties.  The Reformers spoke of this in terms of “the bondage of the will,” or more accurately, the “bondage of the choice.”  This means that 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 Pelgianism.

Instead of being innocent of guilt and neutral toward God, the Scriptures teach that we born positively hostile to God, unable, and unwilling to obey his law, unable to submit to his will, and unwilling to trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.  As I have pointed out, in the democratic and egalitarian context of modern America, the biblical notion of total inability makes little sense, especially given our culture’s stress upon individual freedom and the emphasis upon choice as a means of self-authentication and self-actualization.  Here we have a important instance of contemporary culture influencing how we read and understand the biblical text.  Americans are incurably and hopelessly Pelagian by spirit and temperament. Pelagianism is our national religion and Charles Finney our patron saint!

But the Scriptures are very clear in this regard.  No one can come to Christ and believe the gospel, unless God acts upon them first, drawing them, and effectually calling them, and regenerating them, so that they come to faith in Jesus Christ!  To be perfectly blunt, dead men and women are not able to resurrect themselves!

We have all heard evangelistic appeals along the lines of the gospel being God’s means of rescuing people who are drowning, or else God’s means of helping sick people recover from a fatal illness.  In all of these well-intended but unbiblical appeals, the saving work of Jesus Christ actually saves no one.  Rather, Jesus has provided us with what we need so that we can save ourselves, if we only we will!

In the Arminian scheme of redemption—which the Canons were written to refute—it is the sinner who must “appropriate” the work of Christ, so the work of Christ moves from the category of potentiality to actuality!  In other words, the cross of Christ has the potential to save us, but the sinner must meet certain conditions such as faith and repentance for the cross to avail.  This is typical of Arminianism, wherein it is argued that God’s grace is universal and non-specific.  In other words, God’s prevenient grace enables all sinners to come to Christ by restoring to them “free will.”  Now, even after the fall, it is argued that it is up to the drowning or dying sinner to “reach out” and take avail of the means of deliverance, or else these means remain otherwise ineffective.  The sinner must grasp the life-ring before they submerge for the last time.  The sinner must take the medicine that God has provided before the potentially fatal disease finally overcomes them.

This approach, which places its confidence in the ability of the members of Adam’s fallen race to save themselves—with God’s help, of course—makes perfect sense given American democratic culture, where the individual’s decision is everything.  But there is not a single passage anywhere in Scripture which even hints at such a scheme.

In contrast to this Arminian notion, the doctrine of salvation as taught in Holy Scripture, is completely and totally monergistic.  That is, as the Scriptures present the way in which we are redeemed from the guilt of our sins, there is but one active party who secures our salvation. There is only one party who has the power to save—this of course, is the sovereign and gracious God, not the fallen and sinful individual.  This means that the analogies of drowning and sickness make no sense whatsoever according to biblical data, because it is far too late for someone to toss us a life-ring or give us a powerful medicine or wonder drug.  It is too late for that.  Instead of calling the paramedics, it is time to call the coroner!  We are already floating face-down, lifeless in the river of Adam’s sin as well as our own.

The disease Adam has passed on to us by natural generation has already brought about its fatal consequences.  Our spiritual hearts have already stopped beating and the physician has already pronounced the time of our spiritual death—the moment of conception.  We don’t need a life-ring or a wonder drug.  We need to be raised from the dead by a sovereign act of God!  Just as our Lord stood at Lazarus’ tomb and cried out “Lazarus, come out!” so too, God must pronounce the new birth upon us through his word in the power of his Holy Spirit.

If this is true, the only conclusion we can reach is that we as the fallen children of Adam are completely unable to exercise faith in Christ—hence, total inability—and it is Jesus Christ who must come to us and act upon us while we are dead in sin, so that, we do indeed come to life. And once we have been raised from death by the power of God, we now freely and willingly trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ on our behalf, because we now for the first time we desire to do so! We now see our peril and our need of redemption—something which was oblivious to us when we were dead in sins. 

As the authors of the Canons correctly point out, total inability and monergism [regeneration and effectual calling preceding faith] are necessary correlatives. We cannot come to faith in Christ because we are dead in our sins and trespasses and completely unable and unwilling to do so!  But God in Christ, comes to us through the preaching of the gospel, resurrecting us from the dead and calling us to faith in his dear Son.  The Canons put it this way:  without the grace of the regenerating Holy Spirit they are neither willing nor able to return to God.  It is God who must act upon us when we are dead in sin, if any are to be saved!  We have seen that God has ordained the ends (who will be saved) as well as the means (which is the preaching of the gospel).

Now we have seen that it is God who must raise his elect from spiritual death by applying to them the saving merits of Christ so that they do in fact, believe the gospel.  Apart from this act of God, we remain “totally unable.”

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article Two

Article 2: The Spread of Corruption

Man brought forth children of the same nature as himself after the fall. That is to say, being corrupt he brought forth corrupt children. The corruption spread, by God's just judgment, from Adam to all his descendants-- except for Christ alone--not by way of imitation (as in former times the Pelagians would have it) but by way of the propagation of his perverted nature.
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When Adam fell into sin, all those in Adam fell with him.  Article 2 of the third/fourth head of doctrine deals with the way in which the effects of Adam’s sin are passed on to his descendants.  Having lost “original righteousness”—including true righteousness, holiness and knowledge (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10)—and now having come under the curse and death as a result of his act of rebellion, the question must be settled as to whether or not Adam’s descendants are born in sin and are likewise under its condemnation. 

Here there are many biblical texts which immediately come to mind, although we have space to briefly survey but a few of them.  In Psalm 51, the Psalmist declares, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5).  In Psalm 58:3, the Psalmist reminds us that “the wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.”  In Genesis 6:5, we learn from Moses that the reason that God sent the flood as judgment upon the earth was that “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

The Apostle Paul is equally clear about the human condition throughout his writings. In Romans 5:12, 18-19, Paul declares “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin [that is, through Adam’s act of rebellion], and so death spread to all men because all sinned [when Adam sinned]—Therefore, as one trespass [namely Adam’s] led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men [Christ's active obedience].  For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made [or regarded, or reckoned] sinners, so by the one man's obedience [Christ's] the many will be made righteous.  In Ephesians 2, Paul puts it this way: We are “by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind,” and dead in sin and transgressions until made made alive by God.

It is with this in mind that the authors of the Canons summarize the voluminous biblical data as follows: "Man brought forth children of the same nature as himself after the fall. That is to say, being corrupt he brought forth corrupt children."  And as unpopular as this is in contemporary America, this is what the Scriptures clearly teach.

But the Canons go on to make another important point.  No one escapes the effects of Adam’s fall.  The effects of Adam’s Fall are universal.  "All of humanity has gone astray.  The corruption spread by God's just judgment from Adam to all his descendants--except for Christ alone--not by way of imitation (as in former times the Pelagians would have it) but by way of the propagation of his perverted nature."  Here the point is made that Adam acted as the federal [or representative] head of the human race.  God chose Adam as the first man to represent all of humanity as Adam was the appointed representative as well as the biological head of the entire human race. 

Therefore, when Adam sinned, in a real sense the entire human race sinned “in Adam” and “with Adam.”  Once Adam shook his fist in God’s face and said “I will eat from any tree that I want,” he started a process in motion which is irreversible and ultimately damning, apart from the grace of God and the coming of Jesus Christ.  There are three aspects of this “original sin” that we need to identify and discuss.

First, since Adam is our representative and was acting as our legal agent, the entire human race is guilty for what Adam did, since the guilt of Adam’s sin is reckoned or credited to all those he represents.  This means that God sees us as if we had committed the act ourselves. This is called “original guilt,” and indicates that I am guilty for Adam’s act of sin because he acted for me, in my place, as my divinely appointed representative.

The ramifications of this are obvious.  There is no one “innocent” after Adam, including the cutest of babies, or the sweetest of old ladies.  It was Augustine who correctly noted that babies are not innocent, they only appear that way since they are physically unable to sin!  Any parent will tell you children do not have to be taught to sin!  This also means that the popular evangelical doctrine of an “age of accountability” is a myth, and finds no support whatsoever in the Scriptures.  We are never innocent until a certain age—we are born guilty for Adam’s sin and under God’s just condemnation.

Second, after the fall, Adam came under the curse and the sentence of death.  In the day that Adam ate from the forbidden tree he was aware that he was naked and that sentence of death had immediately passed upon him.  Adam had been truly innocent before the Fall, but now he was sinful and painfully aware that what he had done could not be undone by his own efforts.  Apart from the coming of a second Adam, a Savior who could “unscramble the egg,” so to speak, Adam lost his “original righteousness.”   Adam was now guilty, and this guilt was passed on to all his natural descendants by natural generation. 

Therefore, the entire human race is born with what is called a sinful nature.  We are all born enslaved to the fallen nature we have described earlier.  This sinful nature produces a countless stream of personal sins for which we will likewise be judged and held accountable to God.  This is called inherited corruption.  We sin because we are sinners.  We sin because we like our sin.  We sin because we want to!

Third, this inherited sinful nature is itself under God’s just condemnation since we are fallen and guilty and subject to the curse, which is death.  We are also subject to God’s wrath, which is judgment.  This means that everyone who has ever been born, will die.  Death is inevitable! In fact, death is the great empirical proof of the doctrine of original sin.  Not one born has yet escaped its clutches. 

To put it mildly, after the fall, the entire human race is in very bad shape!  We are born guilty for Adam’s act of rebellion, as well as for all of our own sins.  We are born with a sinful nature and apart from God’s grace we can do nothing but sin, further increasing our guilt.  We are under the curse of death, since we are born with a corrupt nature which brings us under God’s wrath for our own actual sins.  This is why there must be a prior act of grace on God’s part if any of Adam’s fallen children are to be delivered from judgement.  We are helpless, completely unwilling and unable to save ourselves.

The Pelagians, on the other hand, champion human freedom even after Adam’s fall and sought to limit Adam’s sin strictly to the bad example that Adam introduced into the world when he rebelled against God.  According to the Pelagians, we sin because Adam showed us how to sin! We do not inherit a sinful nature from our parents.  Rather, like Adam we are born innocent, but we lose that innocence immediately when we sin.  This is nonsense. 

The Scriptures everywhere teach what is summarized in the Canons, namely that we sin because we are sinners and that Adam’s sinful nature was passed down to all humanity by natural generation.  Though the Pelagians maintain a rosy estimation of fallen human nature, the Scriptures are crystal clear that apart from God’s grace, there is no hope.  Death, guilt, and God's judgment are inevitable.  Human innocence and free-will is but a figment of the fallen and sinful human mind.

For the Pelagian, all the children of Adam really need is correct information so that we no longer follow Adam’s bad example and instead follow Christ’s good example.  But this simply ignores the biblical record, which teaches us that we are enslaved to sin, can do nothing to save ourselves.  We need much more than correct information.  We need a God-man to die for our sins, and to fulfill the law so that we might be rescued from our helpless condition.

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article One

The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine

Human Corruption, Conversion to God,
and the Way It Occurs


Article 1: The Effect of the Fall on Human Nature

Man was originally created in the image of God and was furnished in his mind with a true and salutary knowledge of his Creator and things spiritual, in his will and heart with righteousness, and in all his emotions with purity; indeed, the whole man was holy. However, rebelling against God at the devil's instigation and by his own free will, he deprived himself of these outstanding gifts. Rather, in their place he brought upon himself blindness, terrible darkness, futility, and distortion of judgment in his mind; perversity, defiance, and hardness in his heart and will; and finally impurity in all his emotions.
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As William Shakespeare once said, “that word 'grace' in an ungracious mouth is but profane” (King Richard II, Act II, Scene III). In the previous two heads of doctrine, the Synod of Dort carefully dealt with the fact that our salvation begins with something good in God (his love toward lost and fallen sinners), and not something good in the creature (foreseen faith or obedience). And having demonstrated from Scripture that God directs his saving grace to the specific individuals he intends to save–not to the world generically or impersonally–the Canons now move on to turn attention to the fact of human sinfulness, and how it is that the saving merits of Jesus Christ are applied to God’s elect.

Approaching this matter in both a logical and redemptive-historical order, the Canons move from God’s decree in eternity past, to Christ’s redemptive work for his people on Calvary’s cross, and then finally to the way in which the benefits of Christ’s doing and dying become ours. This is what we as Reformed Christians mean when we speak of “redemption decreed, redemption accomplished and redemption applied.” As we have seen, this is the pattern set out by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Without a sufficient awareness of the sinful human condition according to the Scriptures, there can be no real appreciation of God’s graciousness to us. Unless we come to realize the gravity and depth of our offences against the infinitely holy and righteous God, and unless we understand that we deserve his eternal and unending punishment because of our sins, we cannot even begin to appreciate that word “grace.” That word `grace’ is indeed profanity on the lips of one whose self-righteousness is not yet crushed by the awareness of their sin and their eternal peril.

It is only when we see ourselves as we truly are—sinful and under God’s just condemnation—that we begin to understand the wonder of the fact that God has chosen us in Christ from before the foundation of the world, and that God sent Jesus Christ both to die for our sins, as well as to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law, so that we can be justified and adopted into God’s family. We who were strangers and aliens, instead become heirs to all the glorious promises of God (cf. Ephesians 2:11-22).

Before we proceed further, the canons remind us that we need to stop and back-up a step, because we cannot understand the present sinful human condition if we do not first of all understand the human condition as it was before the Fall. Men and women were not created sinful, nor was death simply the result of human finitude. On the contrary, death is a result of Adam’s sin and is the fruit of the curse that comes upon the human race because of our collective rebellion against our creator in Adam.

When God created Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him, Adam became a living being. According to Genesis 1:26-27, Adam was created in God’s image. In fact, the creation account ends with these words, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” The creation of Adam in God’s image is the culmination of God’s creative activity, and is the high point and crowning glory of all that God has made.

This notion of Adam being God’s “image-bearer” entails a number of important things connected with what is called “original righteousness,” that is, the righteousness possessed by Adam before the Fall. According to the Apostle Paul’s comments in Ephesians 4:24, “original righteousness” includes both “righteousness” and “holiness.” Adam was created without sin and was “innocent,” in the sense that sin was not a necessary part of his finitude and humanity, nor was his sin connected to the fact that Adam was created from the dust, i.e., that he had material form and a body.

In Colossians 3:10 Paul adds “knowledge” to righteousness and holiness, an indication that in the garden (before the fall), Adam who enjoyed intimate fellowship with God. He certainly had true “knowledge” of God’s will, and was fully aware of God’s righteous requirements under the covenant of works, namely, God’s command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. This is what the Canons mean when they declare that “Man was originally created in the image of God and was furnished in his mind with a true and salutary knowledge of his Creator and things spiritual, in his will and heart with righteousness, and in all his emotions with purity; indeed, the whole man was holy.” The creation of Adam is the culmination of the creation account.

It is easy to grasp the fact that someone who falls from a great height is likely to suffer serious harm upon landing. A skydiver—who’s parachute fails to open—will suffer far greater injuries than one who falls three feet to earth from a step-ladder. So it is in the Fall of Adam. Adam was created to be like God in every way that a creature can be like God. By virtue of being created in God’s image, Adam possessed all of the so-called “communicable” attributes of God; things such as love, justice, holiness, truth, righteousness, and so on. Created in the image of God and like God in every way that a creature be like God—the very pinnacle of God’s creative activity—Adam stood at the height of creation. He was appointed by God to be king and vice-regent over all of creation. When Adam fell, he fell a great distance, and the consequences of that fall are indeed horrific for all of us. The fall unleashed upon Adam and all of creation, the twin principles of death and decay.

This point—that Adam’s fall brought horrific damage upon the race—has several very important theological ramifications. First, as the Canons note, “rebelling against God at the devil's instigation and by his own free will, [Adam] deprived himself of these outstanding gifts.” This means that Adam’s fall and its effects come about because of Adam’s sinful and intentional rebellion against God, not because of any defects inherent in Adam being created in God’s image. Sin and death comes from Adam’s fall, not from anything intrinsic to human nature. Adam fell a long, long, way and the damage is great.

Second, as the authors of the Canons go on to point out, this original righteousness of which we have been speaking was just one casualty of Adam’s rebellion. “Rather, in the place [of these outstanding gifts, Adam] brought upon himself blindness, terrible darkness, futility, and distortion of judgment in his mind; perversity, defiance, and hardness in his heart and will; and finally impurity in all his emotions.”

At this point we introduce the doctrine of “total depravity.” It has been said that this is a doctrine which the Reformed have not only taught with great vigor, but have often proven to be true! The doctrine of total depravity does not mean that human beings after the Fall are at all times as wicked as they possibly can be. The worst among Adam’s race do not continually rape, pillage, burn, spit at old ladies, or kick puppies. Total depravity means that as sinful men and women, fallen in Adam and consequently deprived of original righteousness, sin now effects us in our totality as human beings from the moment of conception. There is no part of human nature that is not tainted, stained, corrupted, and effaced by the effects of sin. Hence, we are “totally” depraved. We suffer from spiritual blindness to the things of God, and unless illumined by the Holy Spirit, the things of God remain hidden from us.

But this is not all that is in view. As fallen in Adam, the Scripture says our minds are now darkened (Ephesians 4:17-24), and we don’t think clearly nor do we fully grasp the things of God as they are revealed in creation and the Scriptures. This also means that we find ourselves in a continuous state of futility and frustration. Apart from the aid of divine grace, our sinful proclivities continually force us to attempt to deny those things that we know to be true about God, ourselves, and the world.

As sinners, we become intellectual schizophrenics. But the problem is not only intellectual, it is also moral. Since we are sinful in our very essence, we cannot stand to live in light of God’s revelation to us. As John puts it, men love darkness rather than light because their deed are evil (John 3:19). We prefer to live in the darkness where our wickedness goes on unnoticed. As the fallen children of Adam, we have no proper sense of judgment. We are not able to weigh matters from God’s perspective. Instead, we see things only through the grid of human sinfulness and self-centeredness.

In addition, we become perverted, twisting the good, the true, and the beautiful into the ugly, the false, and the erotic. Our hearts are hardened, not only to the things of God, but to the plight of our neighbors. We become indifferent and apathetic to those in need. The old-fashioned term for this is selfishness! We are now turned in on ourselves as Luther once put it. Even worse, we are incapable changing ourselves. Unless God acts upon us, no one will be saved.

The most important thing to consider in this context–when we are talking about the doctrine of sin and salvation–is that our wills are now enslaved to our sinful natures and passions, further impaired by our darkened understanding. This is an important point and the authors of the Canons conclude the list of the effects of human sinfulness by pointing this out.  Although we are fallen, our wills still function and we make choices.  The faculty of choice is certainly an important aspect of the essence of what it means to be human.  But our wills are no longer free to choose the good, since the sinful, darkened, and rebellious human nature holds the will in bondage.

Therefore, all choices that we do make, are made from the perspective of our sinful depravity. This is what Reformed theologians mean when they speak of “total inability,” a subject which addressed in more detail in Article 3. Since our wills are held captive by the sinful nature, we do not, (indeed will not), choose to trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.  A bad tree cannot bear fruit in keeping with repentance. We do not embrace Christ and his gospel through faith, because we do not want to!  Christ is repugnant to the fallen children of Adam. In order for us to come to faith in Christ, we must be changed from a bad tree into a good tree, and this is something only God can do—a point made in great detail under the first head of doctrine.

The Canons of Dort, Second Head of Doctrine, Refutation of Errors, Article Seven

Synod condemns the error of those . . .

VII Who teach that Christ neither could die, nor had to die, nor did die for those whom God so dearly loved and chose to eternal life, since such people do not need the death of Christ.

For they contradict the apostle, who says: Christ loved me and gave himself up for me (Gal. 2:20), and likewise: Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? It is Christ who died, that is, for them (Rom. 8:33-34). They also contradict the Savior, who asserts: I lay down my life for the sheep (John 10:15), and My command is this: Love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends (John 15:12-13).
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As the authors of the Canons conclude the second head of doctrine (which deals with the death of Christ), they make the point that the Arminian error regarding the cross is most easily and effectively refuted by simply looking at those biblical texts which explicitly teach that Jesus Christ died for specific individuals.

Remember that for the Arminian, Jesus Christ did not need to die to satisfy God’s justice.  Accordingly, he did not die for specific sinners, but only potentially for everyone in a general and non-effectual sense.  As we have seen, the Arminian scheme is completely arbitrary, since Christ's redemptive work is not about satisfying the retributive justice of God, but is instead a demonstration of God’s moral governance of the universe and love for sinners.  The cross was not a necessity, but the result of God’s arbitrary decision to save in this manner.  This means that Jesus does not die for the elect so as to satisfy God’s wrath towards them and to secure their salvation (as taught by the Reformed).  Rather, Jesus dies to make everyone savable upon the condition of the exercise of their wills, as manifest in their personal faith in Christ.

The "indefinite" atonement of the Arminians is easily refuted when we look at what the Scriptures teach and as summarized by the Canons:  “Christ loved me and gave himself up for me (Gal. 2:20), and likewise: Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? It is Christ who died, that is, for them (Rom. 8:33-34). They also contradict the Savior, who asserts: I lay down my life for the sheep (John 10:15), and My command is this: Love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends (John 15:12-13).”

What more can be said?