[Jean Chauvin]

PY DeJong is a retired Reformed minister who has pastored many churches in the Christian Reformed Church.

He also is a former professor at Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI.

He Ministerial Credentials are now held by the United Reformed Church.

The Belgic Confession of Faith is one of the Three Forms of Unity accepted by the Synod of Dordt in 1618-19. It continues to be one of the Three Forms of Unity of the Christian Reformed Church, the United Reformed Church, the Protestant Reformed Church and several other Dutch and German Reformed congregations.

The Belgic Confession was written by Guido de Bres who was martyred in the year 1569.

[Jean Chauvin]

This is taken from the book The Church's Witness to the World which is an exposition of the Belgic Confession of Faith.

This is not available on-line. I had to make some minor edits of form as well as some corrections for spelling and verse citations.

Jean

[Jean Chauvin]

It's a bit long, but its a ~GREAT~ read!

Print it out and spend some time on it, you will enjoy it!

Jean

[Jean Chauvin]

Belated Bump

Jean

[ksen]

Bookmarked, thanks Jean.

[RnMomof7]

Thought you might like to read this

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[ksen]

...so that nothing happens in this world without His appointment; nevertheless, God neither is the Author of nor can be charged with the sins which are committed.

On the face of it this statement seems contradictory. How can someone who appoints everything to happen NOT be charged(blamed) with what happens?

If an author writes a book, isn't he responsible for what his characters do? If I were somehow to be able to appoint that our local bank would be robbed, why wouldn't I be responsible for it happening?

Ok, back to working my way through the post...

[ksen]

...keeping all creatures so under His power that “not a hair of our head (for they are all numbered), nor a sparrow can fall to the ground without the will of our Father,” in whom we do entirely trust....

Is that what the verse says? I'm not familiar with the Greek, but here is the verse in the original KJV[ ;^) ]:

Matt 10:
[29] Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
[30] But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Does that verse say that it is God's Will for the sparrow to fall, or that the Sparrow didn't fall without God knowing about it?

[ksen]

He[Spengler] was convinced that the western world had entered its winter season.

I don't know about the western world, but after listening to France and Germany the past few months makes me think that Europe at least is probably in its "winter season."

[ksen]

But when these people faced the fears and frustrations of daily living, they sought refuge for their minds and hearts by explaining the hard facts of life as the fruits of fate and chance.

This seems to be what the author is arguing against, the belief that the course of Men's lives are ruled by fate and chance. That's nice, but I have never heard a Christian Minister/Pastor/Whatever teach that. I'm getting through the article and it seems so far that the author is spending his time beating up this straw man.

Now I agree that the 21st century Christian needs a healthy dose of teaching about God and His Sovereignty, but I don't think the two choices are God's Sovereigny and capricious fate.

[ksen]

Here we confess that he so acts in and through all his creatures, according to the laws of their being which he himself has created and maintains, that he both causes them to act and to act precisely as they do....The problem, indeed, assumes a different shape when we face the insoluble riddle of sin and its entrance into the world.

What riddle? According to the author God causes them(us) to act as precisely as they(we) do. Given that and given that Man commits sin, Who causes(-ed) sin?

There is no riddle. Given the statements made by this author God caused sin to enter this world.

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time swallowing that.

[ksen]

In the words of Berkouwer, “That is the terrible seriousness of history, that God works in it, and that man is responsible for it.” [5]

Hmm, sounds like someone wants to have his cake and eat it too.

[ksen]

All Reformed believers, in spite of repeated accusations and calumnies hurled against them and their view of divine providence, reject categorically that God is in any sense the author of sin.

So when someone takes the doctrines espoused by Reformed Believers to their logical conclusions they are guilty of calumny?

[ksen]

We refuse to regard God merely as a passive spectator much less a hapless bystander.

*cough*strawman*cough*

So does everyone else I know, even Arminians.

[ksen]

He is never forced contrary to his mind and will to do that which is evil. Rather, he commits sin by his own decision.

True, but the author stated earlier that it was God who gave Man his mind and will in the first place.

My son loves Hot Wheels, especially the race tracks. Let's say I build a race car track that leads the car out into the middle of a busy road. I place the car onto the track and let it go. The Hot Wheels car goes out into traffic and gets smushed. Who is responsible for the car getting smushed? The car or the one who built the track in such a way that the car, by its nature, went out into traffic?

[ksen]

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man; but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.” (Jas. 1:13,14)

That's a good passage.

What about this one?

I Cor 10:
[13] There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

[ksen]

I think I understand what the author is reacting against. The thought that God created the universe and then has left it alone ever since. That should be reacted against because says that is not true in His Word.

However, I think Pastor DeJong, and the Reformers in general, has, in reacting against this bad doctrine, gone too far the other way. I believe they offer us a false choice when they tell us it is either fate/chance or God ordering every little thing everyone does.

RnMom, sorry, I should have been pinging you to my comments above.