The Canons of Dordt, 2ND
Head of Doctrine
Introduction
to this 2nd Head of Doctrine.
The Second Head of
doctrine of the Canons of Dordt deals with the nature and extent of the death
of Christ. His death was Definite Redemption. By definite (particular) we mean that
He died for the number of the elect, and by redemption we mean that by
His death He endured the penalty for their (the elect) sins and thus removed
their guilt forever. (We prefer the term Definite Redemption to Limited
Atonement, not because the latter is false, but the former is a clearer and
better statement of the truth. The term “limited” might cause one to think that
Christ’s death was not infinite in its merits.)
Those chosen of the Father and given
to the Son must be redeemed if they are to be saved. In order to secure their
redemption, Jesus Christ came into the world and took on Himself human nature
to be their legal representative or substitute. Through what he did they are made righteous before God and freed
from all guilt and condemnation (Romans 8:1). They are saved, not because of
what they themselves have done or will do, but solely on the ground of Christ’s
redeeming work. Christ’s redeeming work was definite in its design and intent.
It was intended to render complete satisfaction for the elect and for no one
else. Christ did not simply die to make
it possible for God to pardon sinners. Nor does Christ leave it up to the dead
sinner to choose whether or not His redemption will be effective for them. To the contrary, all for whom Christ
sacrificed Himself will be saved infallibly because he died for them.
The Arminian error places a limitation
on the atoning work of Christ. It holds
that Christ’s saving work was designed to make it possible that men be saved on
the condition that they believe.
Further, it teaches that Christ’s death in itself did not actually
secure or guarantee the salvation of anyone.
The Canons will show the Biblical truth that the Atonement of Christ
secured the salvation of the elect and that we are saved exactly and surely
because Christ died for us. Mathew 1:21, Luke 19:10, II Cor. 5:21, Galatians
1:3,4, I Tim. 1:15, Titus 2:14, I Peter 3:18.
The Canons teach that the death of our
Lord Jesus Christ is to be understood in the following terms that we should be
acquainted with.
·
Satisfaction: “to do enough,” that is to do what is
necessary to satisfy the justice of God regarding our sins.
·
Substitution: (vicarious) “in the place of,” That is
Christ actually stood in the place of all given Him of the Father and endured
the punishment that they had coming to them
·
Particular: He represented a specific number of men and
women, that is; those given to him of the Father.
·
Redemption:
“to purchase back,” that is; he secured our release from the sentence of
condemnation for sin.
·
Atonement:
“to make one,” by His sacrifice he has reconciled us to the Father.
Article
1: The Necessity for Satisfaction.
Forgiveness of sins can only be realized
through full satisfaction (Ex. 34:6-7, Ezekiel 18:20). If we are to be restored to God’s favor a
sacrifice must be brought for our sins, a payment must be rendered for our debt
of transgressions.
This
necessity lies in God’s own Being. God
is supremely righteous and just. This
means that He always rewards the good and punishes the evil (Ps.11: 5-7). God requires that the same human nature that
committed sin also make payment for that sin (Heb. 2:16,17). Sin deserves punishment, and God will certainly
inflict the punishment that sin deserves for He is the holy and righteous God
(Ps. 5:5, Gal. 3:10).
This justice of God does not
contradict His mercy. God’s virtues are
not at war with one another. He is not
torn and twisted between opposing inclinations and feelings. But God is a God of peace (Romans 16:20,
Duet. 6:4). All his virtues are in
perfect harmony with each other. His
mercy is a righteous mercy, and his justice is satisfied in the way of His
mercy providing Jesus Christ (Romans 3: 25,26).
This article should be studied in
connection with Lord’s Day 4-6 of the Heidelberg Catechism and Articles 20 and
21 of the Belgic Confession
Questions:
1. Why
must sin be punished and can never simply be forgotten?
2. Discuss
this statement: If God did not punish
sin, He would no longer be God.
3. How
are the justice and mercy of God often played against each other in such a way
to mean that God does not require payment for sin?
4. Would
the pardon of sin, in a way that would not require payment for sin, be
merciful? Is it ever merciful to simply
set aside the demands of justice that require sin to be punished?
5. Explain
the basic difference between Arminianism and Calvinism concerning the nature of
Christ’s death, or to put it another way: is the difference between them that
one says Christ died for many and the other for just a few? Or is there more to it than that?
6. How
one views God makes all the difference in life. Show how this is true with respect to the question of what needs
to be done to reconcile the sinner with God.
Article
2: The Revelation of God’s Mercy.
This article emphasizes the inability
of man to make satisfaction for his sin (See Lord’s Day 5,6 and Job 9). It does
so to point us to the only way out of our misery of sin, namely; God showing a
just mercy in providing a substitute for us.
God
reveals His mercy by giving us His only begotten Son for our surety. We could never make satisfaction for sins in
our own persons. We can never merit
anything with God (Luke 17:10). We
could never bear the infinite punishment our sins deserve. We are able only to increase our debt and
worthiness of punishment (Psalm 143:3).
God Himself must make the
satisfaction. He must provide the way
for our sins to be paid for and our debt erased. Mercy is the motive for God’s
doing this for us. In His mercy He sees
us in our misery and gives his Son to stand in our stead and answer for our
guilt (II Cor. 5:21, Galatians 3:13). Atonement for our sin can only be made in
the way of vicarious substitution or substitutionary sin bearing.
Questions:
1. Explain
the meaning of God’s mercy and find texts that extol this wonderful attribute
of God.
2. What
does it mean that God provided Christ to be our “surety”?
3. Discuss
the truth that God reveals that His mercy is infinite in that He gives His only
begotten Son.
4. 4.
Explain why man cannot make payment for his sins. How is Roman Catholicism and Arminianism alike in this that they
both posit man’s work as constituting the ground, or part of the ground, for
his acceptance with God.
5. How
do we often show that our nature believes that we can make satisfaction for our
sins.