Journal: Reformed Presbyterian Theological Journal
Volume: RPTJ 06:1 (Fall 2019)
Article: The First Heading: Divine Election And Reprobation
Author: Thomas G. Reid, Jr.

RPTJ 6:1 (Fall 2019) p. 16

The First Heading:
Divine Election And Reprobation

Thomas G. Reid, Jr.

Librarian

Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary

The Arminian heresy promulgated by the Dutch Remonstrants and answered in the Canons of Dort may be expressed in the acronym LILAC:

L = Limited Depravity

I = I Choose Christ

L = Limitless Atonement

A = Arrestable Grace

C = Carnal Security

The Reformed truth summarized in the Canons of Dort may be remembered in the acronym TULIP:

T = Total Depravity

U = Unconditional Election

L = Limited Atonement

I = Irresistible Grace

P = Preservation of the Saints

Neither acronym follows the order of either the five points of the Arminians or the five points of response by the Calvinists. The First Heading of the Canons, entitled “Of Divine Predestination,” concerns itself with the second subject in each of these acronyms. But the First Heading does concern itself with the First Heading of the Remonstrance of 1610. The First Heading of the Canons is the longest, by far, of the five Headings, which fact silently emphasizes its importance in the crucial debate between the two theological viewpoints. The First Heading was designed to confront head-on the dominant error of the Arminians: God’s election depended on the condition of foreseen faith, a frontal attack on the truth of Scripture and the Reformation. As Dr. Fred Klooster, for many years professor of theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, used to observe, “Arminianism is characterized by conditionalism.”1 In contrast, the First Heading defends the blessed doctrine of Unconditional Election.

RPTJ 6:1 (Fall 2019) p. 17

This paper consists of a description of the contents of each of the eighteen articles in the First Heading, with a mention at the appropriate Heading for each of the nine Errors and Rejections, followed by an analysis of the work of our Reformed Fathers of Dordt in the First Heading.

Description

In Article 1, the Synod immediately addresses one of the most common of the charges made by the Arminians: it is unjust for God to have elected any to everlasting woe. The Fathers counter that, it is not unjust, for everyone is deserving of judgment to hell. In other words, “God is obligated to save no one.”2 Mankind is not God’s judge anyway, as th...