Vol 95 Issue 15

The ruling body in the Netherlands at the time of the Synod of Dordrecht was the States General—a gathering of delegates representing the seven provinces that comprised the Netherlands in that day. The seven provinces were Gelderland, Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, Overijssel, and Groningen, of which Holland was the largest and dominant. Called “the states of Holland” (North Holland and South Holland), it controlled much of the coast and contained many of the major Dutch cities including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Leiden, and the Hague. Each of the seven provinces had but one vote in the States General. Initially, a motion...

In Latin there is a bit of doggerel that goes like this: omne trium perfectum (“every set of three is perfect or complete”). In English it is referred to as the “rule of three” or “good things come in threes.” Examples could be given from world history (think, the Big Three in World War II) and literature (think, Tolkien’s trilogy). But especially does this rule hold true for Reformed believers in our Three Forms of Unity. The Holy Spirit has entrusted to us a precious triad, a confessional triumvirate: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dordt....

“Know the history of the church!” was an oft-repeated phrase throughout my seminary training. Officebearers and the people of God in the pew must know church history. We are not so arrogant as to cast aside this history and start anew every generation in our study of doctrine. When we wrestle with different issues, we must ask: “Has the church dealt with these matters in the past?” Specifically, this is a question we ask regarding the subject of the Sabbath, a subject that generates a fair amount of questions and debate. We Reformed people are perhaps most familiar with instruction...

[Believers] truly worship God by the righteousness they maintain within their society.—John Calvin, Commentary on Matthew 12:7 (1558) Since for the building up of the churches, the republic, and the welfare of the country it is especially important that the youth from childhood on be well instructed in the knowledge and fear of God, languages, and liberal arts.it is above all necessary that for our time good attention and oversight be given to [the schools, so that they] may be reformed together with the reformation of the churches in the clarity of the Gospel and may become fitting in spirit.—From...

One of the lesser known yet very important labors of the great Synod of Dordt was to adopt a Church Order to unite all the Dutch Reformed churches. This was done at one of the later sessions of the synod. It was not until the 137th sitting of the Synod, in ear­ly May 1619, that the Remonstrants were finally condemned as heretics and perturbateurs of the state and church. A list of preachers from the Remonstrant camp was drawn up, together with the Formula of Subscrip­tion to which every faithful officebearer would have to subscribe.1 On May 13, 1619, at...

Among all the items that needed to be treated at the great Synod of Dordt, the matter of Bible translation was first on the agenda. After the Synod began, it spent nine days discussing the need for and the execution of a new translation of the Bible into the Dutch language. The final result would be a new authorized Bible version known as the Statenvertaling (States’ Translation). This Bible would have the same significance and prestige in the Dutch language as the Authorized Version (King James Version) would have in the English language. In fact, the Statenvertaling and the King...

Sometimes an army has won a major battle during a war, but lost the war in the end. The Synod of Dordt marked a decisive victory for Reformed orthodoxy and a blow to Arminianism. But Dordt’s victory appears to have been short-lived. Did Reformed orthodoxy win the battle at Dordt, only to lose the war? In answering that question, this article surveys the history of the Remonstrants and of Arminianism after the Synod of Dordt. Synod’s outcome: The battle won Dordt’s victory was doctrinal: the Synod expressed its condemnation of Arminian theology in the Canons of Dordt. This victory was...

The synod approved the canons on April 23, 1619, and two days later adopted a preface to the canons as a brief historical and theological introduction to the work of the synod and the canons. This preface has seldom been reprinted and is not regarded as an official part of the canons. Nevertheless, it is a useful introduction to them and is included here in a new translation.1 Preface In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Among the many comforts which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gave to His church militant in its troubled sojourn,...

Welcome to our second commemorative issue on the Synod of Dordt (1618-19). This Synod is best known for its defense and de­velopment of the truth of sovereign, particular grace in the Canons. Aspects of this truth were set forth in the November 1, 2018 issue of the SB. The current issue focuses on the work of the Synod in five other significant areas. With these two issues, as well as Prof. Kuiper’s writings (in his brief SB articles on the Synod through the year and in the blog posts at dordt400.org), we hope that you are getting a broad view...