RFPA Blog News

The Pastoral Character of the Canons

There are, undoubtedly, many reasons why wholesale departure from scripture truth is so characteristic of Reformed churches today, but not least among those reasons is the fact that churches and denominations often forget that they are part of the church of all ages, and that, also with regard to doctrine, they stand in organic connection with the church of the past. If the church is faithful to the truth then she is built on the foundation of apostolic doctrine and prophetic teaching, and by the grace of God that doctrine and that teaching is an inheritance received from the faithful church of years past. It is not only to her disgrace but to her own ruin that the church forgets this. 

For Reformed churches, perhaps more than any others, this heritage of truth is to be found in their creeds. Those creeds or confessions are the fruit of hard study, careful interpretation, and life-long defense of the word of God by those who have gone before, and it is through faithful use of those creeds that we as Reformed Christians “come into” our inheritance. The trouble is that Reformed churches today, almost without exception, are churches without a heritage, not because they have discarded their creeds but because they have neglected them. The creeds are useful and profitable only in so far as they are used in the preaching, the teaching, and in all the work of the church. Through neglect of her creeds, a church cuts herself off from the organism of the church and lays herself open to the withering influence of false teaching and worldliness. 

MP3 of Radio Interview with Rev. Martyn McGeown on 'Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt'

On Friday, December  7, 2018, Rev. Martyn McGeown had a radio interview with Chris  Arnzen, the national, religious radio host of Iron Sharpens Iron, on his book, Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt.  If you did not have an opportunity to listen to Rev. McGeown's interview on Iron Sharpens Iron, you can do so now by clicking the link below.   Click on the icon to listen.

TODAY! Radio Interview on 'Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt' with Rev. Martyn McGeown

TODAY from 4-6pm EST, Rev. McGeown will be interviewed by Chris Arnzen on his radio program Iron Sharpens Iron. The subject will be Rev. McGeown's recent book, Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt.  Visit www.ironsharpensironradio.com and click on the livestream box to tune in and listen from any device. The program can also be listened to by phone at (563)999-9206; press #3 for Christian Radio when prompted. Be sure to tune in later today!    

Radio Interview on 'Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt' with Rev. Martyn McGeown

  NEXT WEEK Friday, December 7, Rev. Martyn McGeown will be interviewed by Chris Arnzen on his radio program Iron Sharpens Iron from 4:00-6:00 pm EST.  The subject will be Rev. McGeown's recent book, Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt.  Be sure to tune in next week Friday!

Book Review: Grace and Assurance

Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt, by Martyn McGeown. Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2018. Hardcover. 384 pages. [Reviewed by Derrick Span, a member of Immanuel Protestant Reformed Church]

Rev. Martyn McGeown's book, entitled Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt, emphasizes the necessity, as Reformed Christians, to thoroughly understand our creeds and confessions. These creeds and confessions exhibit what heresies our fathers fought against and what they clung to with ardent zeal. We might ask what value there is in reading a book about the Canons, or we might object that the Canons, Belgic Confession, and Heidelberg Catechism are only creeds. Should we be spending our time studying these old creeds and confessions when we have big enough problems understanding our Bible? Are we not supposed to hold to sola scriptura? While these areas of concern are essential, they express a misunderstanding that we cannot learn from those who came before us. We must be careful in speaking in that way. Instead, we ought to read and listen to those who fought for the truth, seeking the truth from them. By hearing them, we will be better equipped to read God’s word through an informed outlook. So I encourage the use of this book not just for informing us of what our fathers taught, but as a means to examine what we hold to and whether we maintain the understanding of God’s word. To encourage this mindset, a brief explanation of the book is necessary.

The author’s explanation of the Canons begins with the intent, namely to expose Arminianism as erroneous from the ground up. To accomplish this purpose, our fathers had to explain many different doctrines as clearly as possible to leave no room for Arminianism to stand. Where would they begin? Would they start with the main point that Arminian fought against, i.e., reprobation? As a reading of the Canons would illustrate, they did not begin with reprobation; in fact, they did not for some time. The Canons began with who God is and who man is in relation to God. McGeown and our forefathers teach us a crucial bit of wisdom by starting with God in their explanation.

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Grace and Assurance has arrived!

Rev. McGeown's new book, Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt, has arrived at the RFPA.Book club members will be automatically receiving this book within the next couple of weeks.Order your copy today if you are not a book club member! https://bit.ly/2MhJUP8 Rev. McGeown's second book published by the RFPA. A lovely sight.  She's a beauty.

Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt

Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt by Rev. Martyn McGeown   Four hundred years ago (1618) the great Synod of Dordt met to examine the doctrine of the Arminians. The fruit of their deliberations was the Canons of Dordt, which have defined the Calvinist, Reformed faith for four centuries. Readers unfamiliar with the great Synod might be tempted to think that the Canons would be cold, scholastic theology, the work of hard-nosed theologians and heresy-hunters. Younger readers...

Four Hundred Years

For four hundred years, the Canons of Dordt, the product of the seven month long Synod of Dordt, have served as one of the three major creeds of Reformed churches around the world. The Canons have served these churches well. They have been and still remain a bulwark against those who seek to undermine the doctrines of sovereign, particular grace. They have preserved faithful, Reformed believers from the onslaughts of those who wish to inject man’s work into the work of...

Synods and General Assemblies: The Reformed Church in America (part 1)

The RCA’s Commitment to the Belhar Confession The summer vacation season is over. That means school is about to begin or has begun. It also means that meetings of synods and general assemblies have convened and adjourned. Since the idea of this blog is to write about a variety of topics, not just books, I have decided to write some posts about several of these synods and general assemblies. My purpose is not to write a thorough summary of the activities...

The Voice of Our Fathers

Available Summer 2013 in print and eBook formats! Perhaps you've noticed that the popular commentary on the Canons of Dordrecht, The Voice of Our Fathers, has been out of print for well over a year. We're pleased to announce the new revised edition will be available this summer in both print and eBook formats!   This book is an extensive commentary on the articles drawn up by the great Synod of Dordrecht (1618–19). The articles stated and defended the doctrines of...