It is not the
fault of the gospel nor of Christ,
offered therein, nor of God, who calls men by the gospel, and confers on
them various gifts, that those who are
called by the ministry of the Word refuse to come and be converted. The
fault lies in themselves, some of whom when called, regardless of their danger,
reject the word of life; others though they receive it, suffer it not to make a
lasting impression on their heart; therefore, their joy arising only from a
temporary faith, soon vanishes, and they fall away; while others choke the seed
of the word by perplexing cares and the pleasures of this world, and produce no
fruit. This our Saviour teaches in the parable of the sower, Matthew 13 (Canons of Dordt III/IV, 9).
(I)
Rev. Herman Hoeksema
[Article 9]
teaches that the fault of rejecting the gospel, the sin of refusing to turn, to
come to God through Christ and to believe, cannot and may not be attributed to
the gospel, to Christ, or to God. The calling of the gospel is sufficiently
clear. It speaks unambiguously. It reveals very plainly what is acceptable to
God. If anyone refuses to turn to God, he cannot blame the gospel, as if it
were not sufficiently clear and rich to lead him to repentance. Nor can the
unbeliever blame God for his unbelief, for the Most High clearly reveals to him
in the gospel that disobedience and unbelief displease him most terribly and
justly. Christ is fully and rightly proclaimed, presented in the gospel, so
that the fault of unbelief cannot be sought in him.
The teaching of article
9 is that all the responsibility is the sinner’s. The fault lies in his wicked
and unrepentant heart, the evil nature, which under and through the preaching
of the gospel is revealed to be more terrible. The guilt of the sin of unbelief
is only his. Is this the same as the doctrine that those who reject the gospel
were always the objects of God’s grace in and through the preaching and
ministration of the word to them? Does this article even suggest such a thing?
The contrary is true. If the gospel manifests the perversity and darkness of
the sinful heart and mind, it certainly does not serve this purpose as a
revelation of God’s grace to that particular heart. It would have been better,
according to Scripture, that those who reject the gospel had never known the
way of righteousness and life. The gospel to them is a fearful judgment. It
aggravates their guilt and punishment. They will be beaten with double stripes,
for they reveal plainly that they do not will what is acceptable to God.
Article 9 does not teach a certain grace of God in the preaching of the gospel
for the ungodly reprobate.
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(II)
More
to come! (DV)
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