The Two Dirty Words of Christian Doctrine
A while back, our small group had been tackling the untouchable doctrine of sovereign predestination. Most Christians prefer the “hands off” or a “don’t ask, don’t tell” ministry when it comes to this subject.
It is gravamen for too many believers because of the cycles of generational neglect. In other words, there are many who have never even heard of these doctrines, and thus, without understanding, they object to them.
Sovereign predestination is an embarrassment to the ignorant, exacerbated further when the cell is split and the two parts are named. These are the two dirty words of Christian doctrine from the Bible: “election” and “reprobation.”
My task here is to present a cogent summary of notes taken from the first head of doctrine, Articles 1–18, in the Canons of Dordrecht 1619. This is is actually the “U” in the Calvinist’s response to the Arminians (Remonstrants) in the acronym: T.U.L.I.P. “U” stands for “Unconditional Election.” Unconditional Election means God is completely sovereign and free in choosing a people for Himself (Ps 115:3; 135:6; Jn 1:12–13; Rom 11:5; Eph 1:4–5; 2 Thess 2:13; 2 Tim 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Pet 1:1; 2:9; Rev 13:8; 17:8).
In essence, from the few concepts you will read here, one could write a book. Fortunately, someone has already done that, and my reflections here are greatly indebted to Homer Hoeksema’s, “The Voice of Our Fathers” 2nd edition (Jenison: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2013).
As a subject novice, thinking through and writing to a small group of subject novices, in preparation for our group’s next meeting, I was humbled by so lofty a subject matter. Still, my reason for writing was because each one of our group of twelve felt stunted in our knowledge. Simply put, our fathers in the faith denied us a reasonable treatment of these two doctrines.
Because these two doctrines are so intimately connected with the mind and work of God, let us begin with God.
First, God has always existed. He is eternal, and unlike us, not constrained by time.
Second, the ultimate thing we can ever say about God, with regard to His actions, pertains to His eternal good pleasure. God does what He does out of His good pleasure. We cannot inquire of God beyond this point.
Third, God, revealed in three Persons, has counseled in eternity, within this self-enclosed community of the Godhead, to determine, purposefully, all things that shall come to pass. Surely, we must pause to meditate on this with utmost awe and wonder.
Fourth, the purpose of God, also being eternal, is to bring glory to Himself, by having all things be from Him, through Him, and to Him (Rom 11:36).
Fifth, in setting His purpose in motion, God has decreed all that will happen. His eternal decree is unchanging, and nothing that happens will ever happen apart from His decree.
Sixth, God has decreed to elect some people, and God has decreed to pass by some people with His eternal salvation. In this, the entire false scheme of Arminianism is destroyed. This is why Arminians have such objection to these two dirty words.
Seventh, God elected His eternal Son, who has emanated from God the Father, to be mediator and head of His chosen people (Col 1:18; 1 Tim 2:5). In this, Christ is the first of the elect (Lk 23:35). Therefore, to deny the doctrine of divine election is to deny Christ.
Eighth, in God’s eternal will, He gave the definite number of His chosen people to His elect Son before creation (Eph 1:4–5; Rev 13:8; 17:8). As God the Father knows the name of each person, so the Son, the Good Shepherd, knows His sheep by name (Jn 10:3–4).
Ninth, after all these things God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1–2). When the Bible speaks of, “In the beginning…” it is referring to time, which is encompassed by eternity. Along with the material/physical universe, time is a product of God’s decretive power.
For our final musing, today, God then created Adam and Eve. Male and female humanity is the manifestation of God’s purpose to bring glory to Himself through His image bearers, ruined in the fall (Gen 3).
Eternal election is realized through some people being redeemed, observed in regeneration, resulting in faith. Eternal reprobation is realized through some people being left to perish in the way of their sin. This is God’s good pleasure — His will — as decreed from eternity (Rom 9:22).
I do pray these writings will help fill the void that so many of us feel, resulting from neglect by pastors, professors, and teachers. May God richly bless you with the true knowledge of His sovereign, eternal, free, unchangeable, and awe-inspiring work.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
March 3, 2022
