This is an excerpt taken from the Canons of of the Synod of Dordt pertaining to the sure salvation Christ has purchased on behalf of His people. Far from being dry old dusty doctrines, these statements are full of life, hope and great to meditate over to give us a deeper sense of what has been accomplished by Christ in the work of Calvary. Whenever we sing the song When I Survey the Wondrous Cross by Isaac Watts at church, well, this is what it means to survey it. We consider and stand in awe at what Christ endured on our behalf and how great His love is to do such a thing for wretched sinners. If you have not taken the time to ever read through this excellent statement affirming the great wonders of God’s grace and denying those ideas that attempt to subvert the Gospel’s greatness, I would highly suggest this.
Article 1: The Punishment Which God’s Justice Requires
God is not only supremely merciful, but also supremely just. His justice requires (as he has revealed himself in the Word) that the sins we have committed against his infinite majesty be punished with both temporal and eternal punishments, of soul as well as body. We cannot escape these punishments unless satisfaction is given to God’s justice.
Article 2: The Satisfaction Made by Christ
Since, however, we ourselves cannot give this satisfaction or deliver ourselves from God’s anger, God in his boundless mercy has given us as a guarantee his only begotten Son, who was made to be sin and a curse for us, in our place, on the cross, in order that he might give satisfaction for us.
Article 3: The Infinite Value of Christ’s Death
This death of God’s Son is the only and entirely complete sacrifice and satisfaction for sins; it is of infinite value and worth, more than sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world.
Article 4: Reasons for This Infinite Value
This death is of such great value and worth for the reason that the person who suffered it is–as was necessary to be our Savior–not only a true and perfectly holy man, but also the only begotten Son of God, of the same eternal and infinite essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Another reason is that this death was accompanied by the experience of God’s anger and curse, which we by our sins had fully deserved.
