Sermon Series – Canons of Dort

The Canons of Dort is a document created in the years 1618-19. It was written as an answer to what the Reformed churches of the Lowlands (present-day Holland and Belgium) were facing in the teachings of Jacob Arminius and a group called the Remonstrants. Although the Canons are often associated with Dutch churches, the document is actually the work of Reformed delegates from across Europe with a third of the members coming from countries such as Great Britain, Switzerland, Romania, Germany and France (It should be noted that the King of France refused to allow the French delegates to attend). In 1610, the Remonstrants published a document stating that God’s choice to save people was based on God knowing who was going to believe (forseen Faith), that Christ’s earned forgiveness forgives everyone their sin, that people are only partially corrupt, that we can resist the grace of God and finally that even though we may be saved, we can still lose our salvation. Although this is an historical reality, the fact is that we face some of these same misunderstandings today which we believe do not faithfully reflect the Word of God. The Reformed churches responded with these teachings of unconditional election, limited atonement, total depravity. Irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints. Over the course of this series we will unpack these 5 terms and understand how the Canons of Dort speak to us today in terms of comfort and confidence of our salvation in Christ Jesus.