Conclusions of Utrecht

The Conclusions of the Synod of Utrecht were the result of a 1905 synod of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands.

The Synod addressed theological questions including justification from eternity, presumptive regeneration/immediate regeneration and Infralapsarian/Supralapsarian;[1] this came after the publication of books by preacher Dr Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck and theses by Professor Lucas Lindeboom. The men disagreed on several issues and there was much debate over these for the many years.[2]

The consistory of the Reformed Church in Hoorn appealed to the 1905 Synod about Lindeboom’s main five theses, urging that the RCN put a stop to their teachings, and a committee was put together to look at these.[1] The committee agreed with Lindeboom’s views, with some caveats,[2] and the official ‘Conclusions of the Synod of Utrecht’ were adopted.

The Conclusions were updated in 1942 and 1946.[3][4]

Official Conclusions

  • The Synod adopted the infralapsarian presentation of election, but did not condemn the supralapsarian presentation.[5]
  • The Synod did not confirm or disprove eternal justification.
  • The Synod confirmed both immediate regeneration (especially with regard to children), and the necessity of preaching from the Bible.
  • Synod confirmed that the idea that every elect child is regenerated even before baptism cannot be proved from reading the Bible; it stated that every person must both believe in God and be baptized in order to be saved.[6]

USA and Canada

The Christian Reformed Church in North America adopted the Conclusions of Synod Utrecht from 1908-68.[7]

In 1968, the CRC Synod stated that the Conclusions would no longer have the status of binding doctrinal deliverances.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Defence of the Truth website, Church History for the Young and Old section, 111A. From Union 1892 till Liberation 1944 (1)
  2. ^ a b Mid-America Reformed Seminary website, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, and ‘The Conclusions of Utrecht 1905’ , by J. Mark Beach, 2008
  3. ^ Spindle Works website, The Confessional History of the Canadian Reformed Churches, by Dr. J. Faber, dated March 19, 1999
  4. ^ Reformed Free Publishing Association website, O, Shades of 1905!, by Herman Hoeksema, dated February 15, 1947, published in The Standard Bearer, Volume 23, Issue 10
  5. ^ Reformed Forum website, The Canons of Dort as a Standard for Teaching and Preaching, by Arjen Vreugdenhil, dated February 9, 2017
  6. ^ Heidelblog.net website, The Conclusions of Synod Utrecht (1905), by R. Scott Clark, dated September 3, 2012
  7. ^ Heidelblog.net website, A Pastor’s Plea: Let The Church Help You Think Through Difficult Issues, by R. Scott Clark, dated January 7, 2022
  8. ^ Google Books website Missionary Baptism & Evangelical Unity: An Historical, Theological, Pastoral Inquiry, by J. Cameron Fraser (page 5)