Dordt in Amsterdam

Samenvatting

This essay answers the question: Can a confessional statement written 400 years ago be relevant in secular city such as Amsterdam? Although it can be discouraging to meet people who regard the gospel indifferently, this experience, paradoxically, brings out the relevance of the Canons of Dordt: it is God’s grace that converts people, not human effort. It is also painfully true that many Christians view the doctrine of election to be a
hindrance, rather than a ‘doubling’ of God’s love. By his doubling love, God seeks and reaches people who are in no way prepared to accept it. At the same time, however, it should be acknowledged more strongly than do the Canons of Dordt, that God uses the ‘organic’ structures of life to bring people into his covenant.