All Articles For The Voice Of Our Fathers

Article 11. The Scripture moreover testifies, that believers in this life have to struggle with various carnal doubts, and that under grievous temptations they are not always sensible of this full assurance of faith and certainty of persevering. But God, who is the Father of all consolation, does not suffer them to be tempted above that they are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that they may be able to bear it, I Cor.

Article 9.

As we have seen from the example cited last time, the adherents of mediate regeneration appeal to this article of our Canons for support. We said this is not correct. For the Canons themselves do not give any such indication in, the article. Actually, what the adherents of mediate regeneration do is to appeal to the passage from I Peter 1:23, quoted by the Canons, in order to support their view.

The first element in this personal assurance of perseverance is presented in Article 10 as follows: “This assurance . . . springs from faith in God’s promises, which he has most abundantly revealed in his Word for our comfort.” We may immediately notice three aspects of this proposition. In the first place, our assurance has its source in the promises of God. This is the key to all assurance.

EXPOSITION OF THE CANONS  THIRD AND FOURTH HEADS OF DOCTRINE  OF THE CORRUPTION OF MAN, HIS CONVERSION TO GOD, AND THE MANNER THEREOF  Article 3. Therefore all men are conceived in sin, and by nature children of wrath, incapable of saving good, prone to evil, dead in sin, and in bondage thereto, and without the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit, they are neither able nor willing to return to God, to reform the depravity of their nature, nor to dispose themselves to reformation.

Article 13. The sense and certainty of this election afford to the children of God additional matter for daily humiliation before him, for adoring the depth of his mercies, for cleansing themselves, and rendering grateful returns of ardent love to him, who first manifested so great love towards them.

Article 8. For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation: that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation,

The question faced in this tenth article is: in what way, how, do the saints have and enjoy this rich and precious assurance of their perseverance, without which they would be in the midst of the world of all men the most miserable? 

PART TWO EXPOSITION OF THE CANONS THIRD AND FOURTH HEADS OF DOCTRINE OF THE CORRUPTION OF MAN, HIS CONVERSION TO GOD, AND THE MANNER THEREOF 

Article V.