History of the Reformation and Reformed Churches — Unit 6: The Synod of Dort (1618-19)

Key Verse

"just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love" (Ephesians 1:4, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Describe the Dutch Reformed setting in which the controversy over Jacobus Arminius arose.

2. Name the five points of the Remonstrance of 1610.

3. Explain what the Synod of Dort was, who attended it, and when it met.

4. State the five heads of doctrine in the Canons of Dort and the Scripture behind each.

5. State the main objections to Dort, including those of historians, and explain how the Reformed tradition answers them.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the Reformed tradition for students who belong to it, or who wish to understand it from the inside. It is conservative and confessional. When it says "we," it means the Reformed and Presbyterian churches that hold the Bible to be the inspired and inerrant Word of God and confess the doctrines of grace. Other Christians, including many who love the Lord and the Bible, read these matters differently. We state their views fairly and then give our answer. Scripture says, "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

The Dutch Church Before the Controversy

The Reformed faith came to the Low Countries in the sixteenth century, under heavy pressure from Spain. Many believers suffered and died for their faith. In 1561 Guido de Brès wrote the Belgic Confession, and he was put to death for his faith a few years later. In 1563 the Heidelberg Catechism was written in the Palatinate by Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus, and the Dutch churches received it warmly. These two documents became the doctrinal standards of the Dutch Reformed Church. Both are warm, pastoral and clear on grace. The Catechism begins with the believer's one comfort in life and in death: that he belongs, body and soul, to his faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

The Dutch won their independence from Spain through a long war, and the Reformed Church became the public church of the new nation. This was a gift, but it also brought a danger. In a country where church and state were close, a disagreement among theologians could become a disagreement among politicians.

Arminius and the Rise of the Controversy

Jacobus Arminius lived from 1560 to 1609. He studied in Leiden and in Geneva, served as a minister in Amsterdam, and in 1603 became a professor of theology at the University of Leiden. There he came into conflict with his colleague Franciscus Gomarus. The dispute began over the doctrine of predestination, and in particular over whether God's decree of election depends on His foreknowledge of who will believe.

Historians still discuss how far Arminius himself departed from the Reformed faith. He said that he was Reformed and that he wished to keep the confession of the church. Some historians therefore treat him as a loyal reformer who asked fair questions. Others point out that he taught that God elects those whom He foresees will believe, and that grace can be resisted in a way the Reformed confessions deny. We should treat Arminius with respect. He was a serious pastor and scholar. But the question is not whether he was sincere. The question is whether his teaching agrees with Scripture, and our tradition answers that it does not.

Arminius died in 1609. In 1610 his followers presented a statement of their views to the States of Holland. It was called the Remonstrance, and its supporters were called Remonstrants. Their opponents, who held to the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism as they were understood, are known as Contra-Remonstrants. Leading Remonstrants included Johannes Uytenbogaert and, later, Simon Episcopius.

The Five Articles of the Remonstrance

The Remonstrance set out five points. In plain words, they said:

1. God elects to salvation those whom He foresees will believe and persevere, and condemns those who will not.

2. Christ died for all people, though only believers actually enjoy the forgiveness of sins.

3. A person cannot have saving faith from himself, but needs to be born again by God's grace.

4. Grace is necessary for every good work, but it can be resisted.

5. Whether believers can fall from grace was left as a question to be studied further in Scripture.

Notice that the Remonstrants did not deny every Reformed truth. They affirmed that people need grace. This is why the controversy was serious but not simple. The question was not whether grace is needed. It was whether grace is the cause of faith, or whether God's choice waits on faith that He sees beforehand.

The Political Setting

The controversy spread beyond the universities. A twelve-year truce with Spain began in 1609, and with the pressure of war reduced, the Dutch leaders turned on one another. Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, a leading statesman of Holland, supported the Remonstrants and wanted each province to control its own church affairs. Prince Maurice of Nassau, the military leader, sided with the Contra-Remonstrants. Oldenbarnevelt was arrested in 1618 and executed in 1619, while the Synod was meeting.

Some historians conclude from this that Dort was mainly about politics. Politics did matter, and we should say so honestly. But the doctrinal questions were real and they were old. They concern what Paul wrote in Ephesians 1 and Romans 9, and what Augustine and the Reformers had taught. A church can be pressed by politics and still have to answer what Scripture says. The Synod did not invent its subject. The subject had been put in front of it.

The Synod

The States General called a national synod to meet in the city of Dordrecht, which English speakers call Dort. It opened in November 1618 and finished its work in May 1619. Its members were ministers, elders and professors from the Dutch provinces, together with theologians from Reformed churches in Britain, Germany and Switzerland. This gave it a wide character. It was not only a Dutch meeting, but a gathering of the Reformed family of its time.

The Remonstrants were summoned, but they were treated as persons whose teaching was on trial, not as full members. Episcopius and his companions argued that they should be allowed to present their case in their own way. Early in 1619 they were dismissed from the proceedings, and the Synod then examined their writings and judged their teaching. Afterward, Remonstrant ministers who would not accept the decision were removed from their pulpits, and some were forced to leave the country. Within a few years the Remonstrants were allowed to organize their own churches.

The Synod also did other useful work. It prepared the church order that governed Reformed churches for many years, it confirmed the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism as standards, and it arranged for a new translation of the Bible into Dutch, published in 1637.

The Canons of Dort

The Synod's chief statement is called the Canons of Dort. Together with the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism they are known as the Three Forms of Unity, which Course 3 will study. The Canons answer the five Remonstrant points in five heads of doctrine. Because the third and fourth heads are joined, they are set out in four chapters.

Many today remember these teachings by the English word TULIP. That word was made later and does not come from the Synod. The Canons themselves are fuller and more pastoral than any list of five slogans.

Head 1: Divine election and reprobation. All people are sinners and deserve condemnation. God in His mercy chose some to salvation. This choice is unconditional. It is not based on foreseen faith or good works, because faith itself is a gift. Paul says that God "chose us in Him before the foundation of the world," and he adds that this choice was "that we should be holy," not because we would be (Ephesians 1:4). See also Romans 8:29-30 and Romans 9:11-16. The Canons teach that this doctrine gives believers comfort and assurance, and they warn that it must be taught with care.

Head 2: Christ's death and the redemption of men by it. The death of Christ is of infinite worth and is enough to pay for the sins of the whole world. But the Father's purpose in sending the Son was that He should effectively redeem all the elect and no others. We call this particular redemption, or definite atonement. Christ is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11, 15). At the same time the Canons insist that the promise of the gospel, with the call to repent and believe, must be proclaimed to all people without distinction.

Heads 3 and 4: Human corruption and conversion to God. Since the fall, every part of man is damaged by sin. This is called total depravity. It does not mean that every person is as wicked as he could be. It means that sin has touched every part of him, so that he cannot turn himself to God. Paul writes that we "were dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). Therefore God must act. In effectual calling He gives new life by the Holy Spirit through the Word, and the person freely believes. Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44). The Canons teach that this work is not forced on an unwilling person. God makes the will willing.

Head 5: The perseverance of the saints. Those whom God has called are kept by Him to the end. Jesus says of His sheep, "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:28). Paul is "confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). The Canons also say that believers may fall into grievous sins, and that they must watch and pray. Perseverance is never an excuse for carelessness. It is God's keeping of weak people.

Objections and Answers

A teacher must state the objections honestly. Here are the main ones.

Objection 1: Election based on foreseen faith is more just and more loving. Arminians argue that God loves all, wills all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9), and chooses those who respond. Our answer. We agree that God's offer is sincere and that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But Scripture teaches that faith is itself God's gift: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). If God chose us because He saw our faith, then the cause of our salvation would be in us and not in Him. We also hold that the "all" texts must be read with the whole of Scripture, which speaks of a chosen people (Acts 13:48; Romans 8:33).

Objection 2: Particular redemption limits the gospel and silences the evangelist. Our answer. The Canons say that the gospel is to be preached to everyone. We do not know who the elect are, so we call all people to repent. The preacher's confidence is that God has people to call, and that His Word does not return empty. Course 2 will study this more fully.

Objection 3: The Amyraldian view. Some Reformed people, following Moyse Amyraut of France, taught that Christ died for all in a hypothetical sense, on the condition of faith, while God elects only some. They considered themselves Reformed. Our answer. This view arose in the seventeenth century and was debated among Reformed people. Many Reformed theologians have held that the Canons of Dort and the Westminster Standards teach a definite atonement, and that the Amyraldian position creates problems about God's intention. We treat this brother's view with respect but do not teach it as the confessional position.

Objection 4: Dort was political and unfair, and the Reformed churches persecuted the Remonstrants. This is the historians' objection and it has some force. Removing ministers from their pulpits and sending some into exile was harsh. Our answer. We do not defend every action of the seventeenth-century authorities, and we do not believe that the state should compel conscience. Reformed churches today do not seek such penalties. But we distinguish the doctrinal judgment from the civil penalties. A church must be able to say what it believes the Bible teaches. The doctrine of the Canons stands or falls by Scripture, not by the conduct of the authorities.

Objection 5: The Canons teach a harsh God. Our answer. The Canons do not begin with a hidden decree but with the gospel and with God's mercy to sinners. They teach that those who believe should be sure of God's love, and Paul himself says, "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies" (Romans 8:33). The doctrine is meant to humble the proud and comfort the weak.

Pastoral Application

A pastor in a small Presbyterian congregation in Mexico has a young man in his church who has been visiting a friend at another church. The friend said, "If Calvinism is true, then God does not love everybody and there is no reason to evangelize." The young man is troubled.

First, the pastor listens to find out exactly what troubled him: love, evangelism, or the character of God.

Second, he opens Scripture with him and reads Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 2:8-9 and John 6:44. He shows that salvation is wholly God's gift.

Third, he shows from the Canons that the gospel is to be preached to everyone, and he reminds the young man that Paul, who taught election, was the greatest missionary of the early church.

Fourth, he speaks kindly of the friend, who is a brother in Christ. The pastor stands on what the church believes, and he invites the young man to pray and to study further.

Summary

The Synod of Dort met in Dordrecht from November 1618 to May 1619 to answer the Remonstrance of 1610, a statement by followers of Jacobus Arminius. The Remonstrants taught conditional election, universal atonement, resistible grace and an open question about perseverance. Dort, with delegates from Britain, Germany and Switzerland, answered with the Canons in five heads of doctrine: unconditional election, particular redemption, total depravity, effectual calling and perseverance of the saints. The Synod also prepared a church order and arranged a Dutch Bible translation. Historians rightly note the political setting and the harsh treatment of the Remonstrants, and we do not defend the penalties. But we hold that the doctrine of the Canons is the teaching of Scripture, and that it gives glory to God and comfort to believers.

Further Reading

• The Canons of Dort (1619), with the Belgic Confession (1561) and the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), the Three Forms of Unity.

• The Remonstrance of 1610, a primary source for the Arminian position.

• Jacobus Arminius, Works, in the public-domain English translation.

• John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 3, chapters 21-24, trans. Henry Beveridge (1845).

• Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), chapters 3, 10 and 17.

• Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (1872-73), on election and effectual calling.

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