James Schaap, an English professor at Dordt College says the people in the Protestant Reformed Church “write history in a different way than subsequent CRC historians might” so therefore there are different ways that the history is told. Schaap goes on to say, “We are all influenced by our history and biases” (245). Some books say Hoeksema and other pastors left, and other books say they were kicked out.

This issue of common and particular (or special) grace was discussed in the Synod of 1924 which split up the church and started the Protestant Reformed church. Then there was the aftermath of

There were three points of common grace in the Christian Reformed Church that Hoeksema and others thought were wrong and caused the spilt. In the pamphlet Grace Uncommon, Barry Gritters, a pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church, states that the first point of common grace teaches that God has a general grace for all men, elect or unbelievers. The Protestant Reformed Church believes that just because God gives some unbelievers good things does not mean that He favors them. Protestants find difficulty with the first point because it teaches God gives unbelievers good things because of His love or favor to them (6).

What is common grace and particular grace?

As the CRC and the PCRC were drifting apart from each other, the appeal that Rev. Hoeksema and the others sent to synod was looked over, but the synod refused to deal with the protests. The break with the CRC was finalized.

In 1924 he was Pastor of Eastern Avenue Chr. Ref. Church, which was the largest church in the CRC with more than 500 families. Hoeksema devoted any extra time to studying and writing. According to the Standard Bearer the Protestant Reformed Church believes that Rev. Hoeksema was a powerful reformer who “purified the church of the destructive heresy of common grace” (31). But is common grace a destructive heresy? Schaap points out “it is important to allow some legitimacy to both sides [. . .] because no one side holds the whole truth” (247).

So what is the right answer? Is the grace of God common to all men, or is it for the elect alone? This is a tough question but Schaap gives a good answer stating that “no human being can offer completely satisfactory answers” (252). Only God knows the right answers so it is not of great importance if one believes in common or particular grace because man does not know the one perfect truth.

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