In our last article we were busy with Calvin’s presentation of the atonement in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book II, Chapter 16. We noted that he does not emphasize the particular character of the suffering and death of Christ, but also observed that this was not a burning issue in his day. We did call attention to the fact that the Genevan reformer stressed the elements of satisfaction and the vicarious nature of the passion of our Lord.
THE SYNOD OF DORDT THE CANONS In our preceding article we were calling attention to Article VI of the Rejection of Errors of Head II of the Canons. It may not be amiss to quote this article once more:
Continuing to call attention to the doctrine of the atonement as set forth in the Protestant creeds, we first quote from the Gallican or French Confession, A.D. 1559. We note that in the articles we quote the emphasis is laid upon the truth that Christ upon the cross accomplished all righteousness, reconciled us to God, and that our justification rests solely upon this work of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary, refuting the error of the Romish church that man’s works are meritorious. We quote Articles 16-18:
We now call attention to what we read in the Belgic Confession, also called the Confession of Faith or the Thirty Seven Articles, concerning the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Belgic Confession was composed in French by Guy De Bres, who died a martyr in 1567. It was composed in 1561, was adopted by a Reformed Synod at Emden in 1571, and by the National Synod of Dordt in 1619, which subjected the text to a careful revision by a comparison of French, Dutch and Latin copies. Articles 20 and 21 treat this subject of the atonement of...
Art. III of the second Head of the Canons reads: “The death of the Son of God is the only and most perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for sin; and is of infinite worth and value, abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole world.”
In our preceding article we remarked that it would be well to call attention to the Arminian controversy before setting forth the Reformed position as set forth in our Canons of Dordrecht. And we concluded this article with a quotation on Arminius and Arminianism from the New Schaff-Herzog Religious Encyclopedia.
THE SYNOD OF DORDT THE CANONS The seventh and final article of the Rejection of Errors of Head II of our Canons, relative to the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, reads as follows: Who teach: That Christ neither could die, needed to die, nor did die for those whom God loved in the highest degree and elected to eternal life, and did not die for these, since these do not need the death of Christ. For they contradict the Apostle, who declares: “Christ loved me, and gave Himself for me,”
Discussing the seventh and final article of the Rejection of Errors of Head II of the Canons, dealing with the atonement of Christ, we were calling attention in our preceding article with the governmental theory of the cross as set forth by the Remonstrants. And we noted, among other things, that this theory is a corruption and perversion of the justice and righteousness of God. It implies the error that God executed an innocent man upon the cross of Calvary. And this could never be a display of the righteousness of the living God.
In our last article we were calling attention to Article V of the Second Head of the Canons, dealing with Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary. This article reads as follows: Moreover, the promise of the gospel is, that whosoever believeth in Christ crucified, shall not perish, but have everlasting life. This promise, together with the command to repent and believe, ought to be declared and published to all nations, and to all persons promiscuously and without distinction, to whom God out of His good pleasure sends the gospel.
Continuing our brief discussion of the Canons in connection with the Second Head which treats the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, we now call attention to Article VI of the Second Head of these Canons: And, whereas many who are called by the gospel, do not repent, nor believe in Christ, but perish in unbelief; this is not owing to any defect or insufficiency in the sacrifice offered by Christ upon the cross, but is wholly to be imputed to themselves.
