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Amen. We can turn in your confession 
of faith to chapter 3 of God's decree, of God's decree. If there were no chapter 3, we 
couldn't sing the hymn that we just sang. Actually, if there 
was a chapter 3, we still could, because the Bible teaches of 
God's decree. The divine simply synthesized 
and systematized what scripture says concerning this most important 
doctrine. So I'll read beginning in chapter 
3 at paragraph 1. God hath decreed it himself from 
all eternity by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, 
freely and unchangeably all things whatsoever comes to pass. Yet 
so as thereby is God neither the author of sin, nor hath fellowship 
with any therein. nor is violence offered to the 
will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency 
of second causes taken away, but rather established, in which 
appears his wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness 
in accomplishing his decree. Although God knoweth whatsoever 
may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions, yet 
hath He not decreed anything because He foresaw it as future, 
or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions. By 
the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels 
are predestinated, or foreordained, to eternal life through Jesus 
Christ, to the praise of His glorious grace. others being 
left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise 
of his glorious justice. These angels and men, thus predestinated 
and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and 
their numbers so certain and definite that it cannot be either 
increased or diminished. Those of mankind that are predestinated 
to life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according 
to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel 
and good pleasure of His will, hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting 
glory, out of His mere free grace and love, without any other thing 
in the creature as a condition or cause moving Him thereunto. As God hath appointed the elect 
unto glory, so He hath, by the eternal and most free purpose 
of His will, foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore, 
they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, 
are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working 
in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept 
by His power through faith unto salvation. Neither are any other 
redeemed by Christ, or affectionately called justified, adopted, sanctified, 
and saved, but the elect only. The doctrine of this high mystery 
of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, 
that men attending the will of God revealed in His Word, and 
yielding obedience thereunto, may from the certainty of their 
effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election. So 
shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration 
of God, and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all 
that sincerely obey the gospel. Amen. Well, a good summary statement 
of what the Bible teaches concerning God's absolute comprehensive 
sovereignty. Now there is a catechism, and 
a catechism is simply a series of questions and answers designed 
to teach biblical truth, a catechism based on the Westminster Confession 
of Faith, the confession that our confession is based on, and 
in that catechism it summarizes, it asks the question, what are 
the decrees of God? The answer? The decrees of God 
are, His eternal purpose, according to the counsel of His own will, 
whereby for His own glory He hath foreordained whatsoever 
comes to pass. And then the next question, number 
eight asks, how doth God execute His decrees? God executeth his 
decrees in the works of creation and providence. So if you look 
at chapter 3, you'll notice God's decree. Chapter 4 follows of 
creation, and then chapter 5 of divine providence. So there is 
this idea behind creation and providence that is referred to 
as the decree of God. In essence, or in Psalm, it's 
His plan. It's His purpose. And whatever 
we say about that plan, whatever we say about that purpose, or 
whatever we say about that decree must be consistent with what 
we find in chapter 2. In other words, the God defined 
or described for us in chapter 2 is the God of the decree. So 
when it comes to this, the idea of sovereignty, the idea of freeness, 
The idea of Him not being tied to anything outside of Himself 
in order to act. Those things are preeminent, 
or come to the surface often in this particular chapter. A 
sovereign God, a glorious God, the God described in chapter 
2, is the God who has purposed all things according to the counsel 
of His will, whereby for his own glory he hath foreordained 
whatsoever comes to pass." So when we look at chapter 3, it 
is the outflow of chapter 2 and who God is. And then as we consider, 
we'll not only see that creation and providence, but things that 
are addressed in Chapter 3, Paragraph 6, will come out later in the 
Confession in terms of what we'll call the Ordo Salutis or the 
Order of Salvation. We may not get to Chapter 6 or 
Paragraph 6 this morning, but let's go ahead and start with 
the Confession. Notice the statement of God's 
decree is in Paragraphs 1 and 2. Secondly, you have the details 
of God's decree in Paragraphs 3 to 6. And then finally, you 
have the practical use of God's decree in paragraph 7. I'll just 
jump to that for a moment with a quote by Dr. Dale Ralph Davis. If you notice, at the end of 
paragraph 7, it says, "...and abundant consolation to all that 
sincerely obey the gospel." in his commentary on 2 Kings 19, 
which deals with the Assyrian invasion of Judah, led by Sennacherib. And of course, a great threat 
to Israel at that particular time, because of God's grace 
and Hezekiah's actions, we see that the calamity is averted. But in addressing the idea of 
this man, Sennacherib, Davis says, predestination, because 
as you read through the Old Testament, just like the New Testament, 
you will see predestination. You will see sovereignty. You 
will see this emphasis on the decree of God. It says, predestination, 
of course, makes some Christians nervous. They shudder at the 
mention of the P-word. All I can say is, if you don't 
want predestination, well then, go ahead and live a comfortist 
life. Bite your nails and swallow your 
tranquilizers and eat your guts out as you watch the evening 
news. Some of us prefer, however, the pillow of predestination, 
that is, of having a God big enough that He is never surprised 
by the blathering Sennacheribs of this age. So while it is a 
theological doctrine to be sure, as we move through the confession, 
theology is always practical. It should produce and promote 
comfort in the hearts of God's people. abundant consolation 
to all that sincerely obey the gospel. How do we sing the hymn 
that we just sang if there is not a sovereign God in heaven 
doing whatever He pleases? How do we find comfort in this 
age or in the reality of a Psalm 46 text? Be still and know that 
I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. 
I will be exalted in the earth. A God who is not sovereign, a 
God who is not absolutely, positively glorious, is not able to reassure 
his people with that sort of comfort. So let's look first 
at the statement of God's decree, paragraphs 1 and 2. Notice the 
statement in paragraph 1. God hath decreed in himself, 
from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of his 
own will, freely and unchangeably, all things whatsoever comes to 
pass. Not some things whatsoever come 
to pass, but all things. Every jot and tittle of everything 
around us has been ordained by God, right down to the leaf that 
is blowing across Wellington at this present time. And the 
scripture is clear at this point, so I want to spend a little time 
here just establishing this truth. The whole system of God's creation 
is in view. You can look at Ephesians 1, 
where there is this comprehensive statement, or a statement concerning 
the comprehensiveness of God's decree over all things. Ephesians 
1, specifically at verse 11. In Him also we have obtained 
an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him 
who works all things according to the counsel of His will. Notice, 
in Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined 
according to the purpose of Him who works all things according 
to the counsel of His will. So when we look at this catechetical 
definition in the Westminster Shorter, when we look at the 
confessional description here in our confession, you'll notice 
they didn't make this up. They're not spitballing here. 
They're not just envisioning what it would be like to have 
a sovereign God. They're reflecting upon the scripture. 
These are exegetically driven statements, and you see the comprehensiveness 
here in verse 11. being predestined according to 
the purpose of Him, who works all things according to the counsel 
of His will. It's important, again, for us 
to not disconnect chapter 3 from chapter 2. Sometimes people hear 
this emphasis in what we commonly call Calvinism as something that 
is similar to fate or fatalism. Fatalism is when blind chance 
or impersonal forces are in control of all things. The God described 
and defined in chapter 2 is the one responsible for the decree. He's a loving God. He's most 
wise. He's good. He's glorious. He's 
excellent. He has purposed all things for 
His own glory and for the good of those who love Him, those 
who are the called according to His purpose. So it is not 
arbitrary, it's not capricious, it's not built upon some impersonal 
force out there, but rather it is rooted in or originates from 
this sovereign God described in chapter 2. Now notice, go back to the book 
of Proverbs just to see now some details. So it's not just a comprehensive 
statement in Ephesians 1.11, but if we scratch our heads and 
wonder, well, how far does that actually apply? How far does 
that actually affect? Well, in Proverbs 16, and then 
again in Matthew 10, we'll look at in just a moment, we see that 
even the fortuitous events in the world are under God's comprehensive 
sovereignty. In other words, it's not the 
case that there's chance or luck or any sort of a thing. Rather, 
everything is determined by God according to what we see in the 
Confession. Notice in Proverbs 16 at verse 33. The lot is cast into the lap, 
but its every decision is from the Lord. The lot is cast into 
the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. So if you took 
a pair of dice and you rolled them on the table today, what 
happens as a result of their fall is according to God's decree. Again, we don't typically think 
like this, especially when we're whining about a traffic light 
that's still red when it should have turned green, but it's the 
way we should think about things as God's people. And then turn 
over to the Gospel of Matthew, specifically chapter 10. Matthew 
chapter 10, Jesus makes this statement concerning the comprehensiveness 
of God's decree. God's knowledge of that will 
be addressed in paragraph 2, but for now just looking at the 
fact that all things have been ordained by God to take place. Notice in Matthew 10 at verse 
29, "...are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin, and not 
one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will?" 
If you comprehend that, again, you should be afforded with a 
great deal of comfort. God is not as concerned, and 
I speak in the manner of men, with a sparrow as He is for us. I think that's Jesus' point. 
If a sparrow doesn't fall, or rather if not one of them falls 
to the ground apart from your father's will, think about yourself 
in relation to God. The whole context is that he's 
encouraging the people of God to not fear. Notice in verse 
28, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the 
soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul 
and body in hell. are not two sparrows sold for 
a copper coin and not one of them falls to the ground apart 
from your father's will. If that's the case, then certainly 
he's able to stabilize you and secure you and fortify you in 
the face of the various assaults upon you or your faith. And then 
notice in verse 30, But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 
Do not fear, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. So right down to sparrows falling 
out of the sky, our God has a decree that is all-inclusive. As well, 
the free actions of men. And you'll see that as we move 
through this particular confession. Persons hear this idea of God's 
decree, and they immediately conclude that that reduces us 
to the level of robots, that we're just animatronic, you know, 
things that work at Disneyland and look like Joe Biden and that 
sort of thing. But the bottom line is, is that 
with reference to the decree of God, it establishes the responsibility 
of man. Persons do what they want to 
do. Everybody in the world ultimately does what they want to do. God 
doesn't have a gun to their head. That's the beauty of God's decree. It works in such a way that He 
maintains His absolute comprehensive sovereignty and that man retains 
his responsibility. And that's the emphasis in paragraph 
1. But in terms of what we call 
the free actions of man, look at Proverbs 21. Proverbs 21.1 
tells us the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. Like 
the rivers of water, he turns it wherever he wishes. The Sennacheribs 
of the world make their decisions. The government in the world today 
makes their decision. But God restrains, God directs, 
God orchestrates all things to accomplish His sovereign plan 
and His sovereign purpose. That's why when it comes to the 
government right now, we need to be careful. On the one hand, 
what they're doing in terms of their responsibility is wicked 
and vile, but on the other hand, it is under the purview of God's 
decree. And it may be the case that we're 
facing a Romans 1, 24, 26, and 28 situation. where God has given them over. 
Well, in light of that, what is our marching orders? It's 
to be faithful. It's to be persevering. It's 
to be consistent even in the midst of it. So we know that 
God is over even the king's heart. Notice in Ephesians chapter 2, 
again, the free actions of men. In this particular case, the 
free actions of redeemed men. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10, 
for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, 
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 
Suffice to say that when we do a good work, we've done a good 
work. But it wasn't just sort of out there. It wasn't just, 
hey, I've got a great idea. God leads and directs us according 
to his plan and purpose and decree. Notice in Philippians chapter 
2, Philippians 2.12. The apostle says, therefore, 
my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence 
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation 
with fear and trembling. Notice he doesn't say work for 
your own salvation, but work out. You work it out because 
God has saved you. You work it out because God has 
given it to you. So you work out your own salvation 
with fear and trembling, then notice in verse 13, A good rule 
of thumb is this, when you do something bad, you deserve the 
blame. When you do something good, God gets the glory. Now you may think, well that 
doesn't seem right, but it is right, and that's what scripture 
testifies. When we come to this decree of 
God, it's the whole system. Comprehensively, we have the 
fortuitous events in the world, things like lots being cast, 
things like sparrows falling out of the sky. Things like the 
number of hairs on our head, or the receding number of hairs 
on our head, as I was reminded this morning. And then the free 
actions of man. But also the sinful actions of 
man are under God's decree. Turn to the book of Genesis. 
The book of Genesis, chapter 50, makes this very clear. In the words of an excellent 
theologian, Joseph, Joseph had been very sorely mistreated by 
his brothers. You all know the story. I mean, 
when we look at the Hall of Faith, for instance, in Hebrews chapter 
11, and we see by faith, by faith, by faith, we need to understand 
that the persons that are in that particular chapter had a 
tough lot in life. They had faith even in the midst 
of harsh circumstances and difficult trials. Well, Joseph understood 
that all too well. I remember going through the 
book of Genesis in our Wednesday night study. Remember that time 
when he's in the pit and they're sitting having their lunch on 
the edge of the pit. I mean, that's just as vicious 
and vile as you can get because later on they say, did we not 
hear his cries of distress? I mean, these guys were eating 
their bologna sandwich while they were selling their brother 
into slavery. Notice how Joseph interprets 
this with a Godward perspective. Notice in chapter 50, verse 19, 
Joseph said to them, do not be afraid for I am in the place 
of God. But as for you, you meant evil 
against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring it 
about as it is this day to save many people alive. I think it 
was Pascal. Was it Pascal, if God is good? No, it wasn't Pascal. One of the philosophers says 
it can't be the case that God is both good and sovereign. Because 
if he's good and sovereign, then why is there evil in the world? 
He may be good, but that goodness can't actually overcome the evil 
that is in the world. And of course, if he's sovereign 
over every affair and every detail and every jot and diddle, then 
he can't be good, because there's a lot of wretched things that 
are out there. I think Greg Bonson supplies an excellent additional 
premise to that particular syllogism. Yes, God is sovereign. Yes, God 
is good. And yes, God has a morally sufficient 
reason for the evil that exists. And you see that fleshed out 
in Joseph's statement here. He had his purpose in view, to 
separate Joseph, to exalt him in Egypt, to provide safe haven 
for his people, to first feed them, and then to provide safe 
haven for them, so that they could be nourished. Now turn 
over to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 2. Again, God is over 
the sinful actions of men, and when we look at the crucifixion 
of our Lord, it was the most heinous crime that's ever happened. 
The apostle describes Jesus in Hebrews 7 as holy, harmless, 
and undefiled. Even Pontius Pilate said three 
times, I find no guilt in this man. Even Pilate's wife you know, 
pleaded with him and said, have nothing to do with this just 
man. It was evident to Pilate himself that the Jews had handed 
him over because of envy. So it was a crime. It was wicked. 
It was horrific. But you notice what Peter says. 
Verse 22 of chapter 2. Men of Israel, hear these words. 
Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, 
and signs, which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves 
also know. Him being delivered by the determined 
purpose and foreknowledge of God. The crucifixion was not 
fortuitous. The crucifixion was not a plan 
B. The crucifixion was not a response 
or a reaction to the Jews who didn't want their Messiah. No, 
it was always the purpose and plan of God. You see this announced 
in Genesis 3, that the skull-crushing seed of the woman would do so 
by his own suffering and death. You see it as well in that symbolism 
of atonement in Genesis chapter 22, where the Lord will provide 
a lamb. You see it throughout the sacrificial 
system. You see it in the prophet Isaiah. 
The Lord was pleased to bruise him, putting him to grief. But 
with reference to the absolute comprehensive sovereignty of 
God, notice that it doesn't mitigate the responsibility of man. They 
willingly and happily chose to take Jesus and to deliver him 
up to Pontius Pilate. Pilate gave the kill order, the 
Roman soldiers nailed him to the cross, and then he was executed. Notice what he goes on to say 
in verse 23. You have taken by lawless hands, 
have crucified and put to death. Notice that Peter doesn't get 
into some theodicy and some explanation as to how all of these things 
transpire. The reality is that God is comprehensively 
sovereign, and the reality is that you are sinful and lawless, 
and you need to repent. Notice that in verse 36. Therefore, let all the house 
of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom 
you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, when they heard 
this, they were caught to the heart and said to Peter and the 
rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? And 
Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized 
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. You see, 
the problem of Hyper-Calvinism is not only that it removes God 
or removes Christ from the sinner, but it removes the responsibility 
of sin from the sinner. Because in hyper-Calvinism, you're 
only doing what you were decreed to do. You're only doing what 
God planned for you to do. It's to minimize the responsibility 
of the sinfulness of man. Perhaps that's why more persons 
aren't coming to a knowledge of the Savior, because they don't 
see themselves as sinful before God. They've accepted the hyper-Calvinistic 
lie, oh yeah, God's decreed everything, that part's not a lie, but therefore 
it doesn't matter what we do. But that's not how the scripture 
deals with the second half. God is absolutely, comprehensively 
sovereign. He has decreed whatsoever comes 
to pass, but you are responsible. When you act the way you do, 
say, as a Jerusalem sinner, and you cry, away with him, away 
with him, crucify him, that's your sin. You need to repent. 
You need to believe the gospel. And then notice in Acts chapter 
four, the apostles' prayer. Beginning in verse 23, and being 
let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that 
the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they 
heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord 
and said, Lord, you are God who made heaven and earth and the 
sea and all that is in them, who by the mouth of your servant 
David have said, why did the nations rage and the people plot 
vain things? The kings of the earth took their 
stand and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and 
against his Christ. Now notice the specific contextual 
application of this against the Lord-ness and against His Christ. Notice in verse 27, For truly 
against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod 
and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, 
were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your purpose 
determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats 
and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak 
your word, by stretching out your hand to heal, and that signs 
and wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant, 
Jesus. So when we come to this idea 
of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, the answer cannot 
be that of hyper-Calvinism. stress sovereignty, and mitigate 
responsibility? The answer cannot be Arminianism. 
Stress responsibility and mitigate sovereignty. The answer must 
be what Scripture says. God is sovereign and you are 
responsible. God is comprehensive in terms 
of the decree, and with reference to that decree, the choices, 
the decisions, the sins that we make are ours, willingly, 
happily, and joyfully. And that's what the Confession 
goes on to say. Go back to chapter 3, paragraph 
1. So it gives this statement in 
paragraph 1. God has decreed in himself from 
all eternity by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will 
freely and unchangeably all things whatsoever comes to pass. Now 
notice the qualification. It's threefold. There is a three-fold 
qualification in the first place with reference to God. Yet, so 
as thereby is God neither the author of sin, nor hath fellowship 
with any therein. This wasn't the first time or, 
you know, when you've started reading about or learning about 
Calvinism, or sovereignty, or the Reformed faith, or perhaps 
you've talked to people about that. They've usually said things, 
or a typical response is, well then, God's responsible for sin, 
or God is the author of sin. That's not just a 21st century 
idea. The divines here deal with that. 
It was a perennial issue in the history of the church in terms 
of theology. If God is sovereign, and there's 
sin in the world, can we ultimately say that God is the author of 
that sin? Especially the decree. I mean, 
we just saw God decree the deliverance of Joseph into the hands of those 
traitors. Is it God's decree that is over 
the very crucifixion of his only beloved son? But notice what 
the Confession says, and again, rightly underscoring what Scripture 
says. Now, I mentioned the word theodicy 
earlier. The word theodicy simply means 
justification of God. And again, theodicy is not new 
in the 21st century. And by justification of God, 
it has to do with questions like these. It has to do with the 
ultimate sort of questions that present themselves theologically 
and philosophically when you deal with a sovereign God. there 
are ways to respond to this charge about God being the author of 
sin or not being. But right now, because I don't 
want to go far afield from this confession of faith study, notice 
what it says. It simply distances God from 
that charge. is God neither the author of 
sin nor hath fellowship with any creature, with any therein. And of course the obvious passages 
are James 1.13 and 1 John 1.5. The confession gives those very 
specifically to combat the notion that God is in fact the author 
or at the supposition that God is the author of sin. The second 
qualification is with reference to men. So the statement concerning 
his comprehensive sovereignty, the comprehensiveness of his 
decree, notice about the middle of the paragraph, nor is violence 
offered to the will of the creature. In other words, you can't say, 
well, you know, God had a gun to my head, or God, you know, 
put my arm behind my back, he forced me, he compelled me. When 
we come to consider the nature of man, and later when we look 
at free will, for instance, It's not enough to just say man has 
free will. You have to locate man in the 
theological spectrum. Man was innocent in his creation. Man fell into sin. Man's redeemed 
by grace and man will ultimately be glorified. Free will looks 
differently in each of those particular places. It looks differently, 
not because it's a shifting fluid doctrine, but with reference 
to man. You can't just say, oh yeah, 
the Bible teaches that we have free will. It does, but we need 
to qualify that. Now when man, with his free will, 
does what he wants to do, that's an expression of his free will. 
You see it in the Garden. Man, in this state of uprightness, 
did that which was pleasing to God. He wasn't violently compelled 
to do that which was pleasing to God. When he falls into sin, 
he wasn't violently compelled by God to fall into sin. When 
we, in a state of grace, say with the Apostle Paul, the good 
that I wish to do, I don't do, the evil I don't want to do, 
I find myself doing, is it God putting a gun to our head? Is 
it God putting our arms behind our backs and making us do those 
things? No. We choose willingly and happily 
in a manner that is consistent with our will, with our heart. 
And as well, when it comes to man in a state of glory, he'll 
only ever choose that which is good. Think about that. Free 
will in the state of glory is consolidated to only ever do 
what is pleasing to God. So we just want, oh, we want 
free will. I think Whitefield was right. 
It's free will that got us into the mess that we're in. And if 
we don't understand that and the nature of free will, and 
perhaps I'm jumping ahead here, but the point is simply this. 
Nor is violence offered to the will of the creature. You can't 
blame God for your sin. You can't blame God for your 
wickedness. The Jews at the time that Peter 
was preaching didn't say, well, you know, God overruled it for 
good in the case of Joseph, and we sort of knew He was going 
to do the same thing with us, so that's why we crucified the 
Lord of Glory and put Him to open. No, they didn't do that. 
See, this is a problem with Arminianism and Hyper-Calvinism, but it's 
never a problem in the Bible. It's not a problem with Reformed 
theology. It's not a problem with what we call popularly Calvinism. God is absolutely sovereign, 
and man does what he does consistent with his own will, and he's responsible 
for that. So there's not violence offered 
to the will of the creature. Then notice the qualification 
with reference to second causes. the reference or the qualification 
with reference to second causes. The very fact that God is sovereign, 
the very fact that God has decreed whatsoever comes to pass, not 
only exhibits or demonstrates Him as the first cause, but is 
the rationale or the origin or source of the doctrine of second 
causes. Notice. nor yet is the liberty 
or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established." 
In other words, what the confession is saying is what the Bible says. God is comprehensively sovereign. When you sin, you're responsible 
for that sin. Now when we look at scripture, 
it's clear. Spurgeon was once asked to reconcile 
divine sovereignty and human responsibility. And he said something 
to the effect, why would I have to reconcile friends? They're 
both taught in the Bible. The attempt to reconcile typically 
mitigates or neglects one of the other. That's the problem 
with hyper-Calvinism. There's no responsibility, or 
a little bit of responsibility, but there's not the responsibility 
that Peter lays upon the Jerusalem sinners in Acts chapter 2. And 
then, of course, Arminianism, because their view of free will 
and their view of man's responsibility is at a fever pitch, they have 
to mitigate the sovereignty of God. So either attempt is ultimately 
destructive of biblical truth. Now, I'm not suggesting that 
every single one of them is going to end up in hell. I'm simply 
suggesting in the context of doing theology, we should seek 
to be true to what the scriptures teach, and I believe that our 
confession does that in this place. And then notice, after 
the qualification, it highlights or underscores in paragraph one 
the harmony with reference to God's perfections. in which appears 
His wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in 
accomplishing His decree." You see, all of what we see in chapter 
2 when it's fleshed out vis-a-vis the decree of God, brings us 
to a fresh appreciation of what chapter 2 says. In other words, 
when you consider God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, you 
should come away saying, that demonstrates his wisdom. It demonstrates 
His wisdom in the disposing of all things. It shows His power 
and His faithfulness in accomplishing His decree, in upholding and 
maintaining His glory, His honor, His praise, and as well in doing 
good for those that love God and those that are the called 
according to His purpose. Now notice in paragraph 2, you've 
got a statement concerning the decree in paragraph 1, and then 
you have the nature of it in paragraph 2, or a bit of further 
description, in terms of God's knowledge. How does His knowledge 
relate to this decree? Notice, although God knows whatsoever 
may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions. It's 
kind of an interesting statement, right? We don't typically think 
in these terms. I think the closest passage that 
sort of gets at this is Matthew 11 in a more illustrative sort 
of a way. In Matthew chapter 11 at verses 
20 and following, the Lord upbraids the people of his day for not 
repenting when they saw his mighty works. Notice in Matthew 11 at 
verse 20. Then he began to rebuke the cities 
in which most of his mighty works were done, or had been done, 
because they did not repent. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to 
you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you 
had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long 
ago in sackcloth and ashes. That's kind of a statement surrounding 
contingency. If they had seen it, they probably 
would have repented. Verse 22, But I say to you, it 
will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment 
than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will 
be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works which 
were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained 
until this day. But I say to you, that it shall 
be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment 
than for you. Now there's probably a lot that 
could be said concerning Jesus' approach in this particular instance. 
I don't know that his endgame is to teach contingency and conditionality 
and the degree of God's knowledge relative to these things. It's 
more of an ethical pronouncement. He's a prophet upbraiding sinful 
people. You're so bad. How bad are you? Well, if Sodom and Gomorrah would 
have been exposed to what you've seen, they would have repented. 
So that's the focus of the endgame of Jesus' discourse in this particular 
instance. But back to paragraph 2. Some 
have suggested that the decree runs according to what God foresaw. 
In other words, God looks down the tunnel of time, sees what's 
going to happen, and then he establishes the decree based 
on that. This is what is supposed to be 
disabused, or that notion is being disabused by this particular 
paragraph. Although God knows whatsoever 
may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions. That's 
just definitionally true. God has, or God is, knowledge, 
right? If there was a particular eventuality 
that could possibly occur, then God would know exactly concerning 
that thing. But that's not how He established 
His decree. There's a group called Calvary 
Chapel associated with Chuck Smith. And Calvary Chapel was 
founded, I think, in the 60s. And Chuck Smith kind of appealed 
to the hippie surfers and started a massive denomination. I don't 
know where they are all over the world or if it was just sort 
of a Southern California phenomena. But I remember talking to people 
from that church. And they had that sort of mindset 
in terms of predestination or election. I mean, there are those 
out there that will deny absolutely the concept of predestination 
or election, which is hard, brethren. Come on, right? If you've ever 
read Ephesians 1, you can't deny it's there. He speaks about choosing 
us in him before the foundation of the world, in love, having 
predestinated us unto adoption as sons. So be assured, there's 
those people out there that, oh, there's no election or no 
predestination in the Bible. But then there are others, vis-a-vis 
the Calvary Chapel types that I met, and they would say things 
like, yeah, yeah, there is election and there is predestination. 
And they, working on a bad interpretation of Romans 8, would say, well, 
you know, God foreknew, so he looks down the tunnel of time, 
he saw that Isaac was going to believe the gospel, so he chose 
him or predestined him unto salvation. As far as they're concerned, 
that just deals with the whole situation. That's what this particular 
paragraph is combating. Although God knows whatsoever 
may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions, yet 
hath He not decreed anything because He foresawed His future, 
or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions? See, they could have left paragraph 
2 out, because paragraph 1 essentially says, well, it does say that. 
He has decreed or has, yeah, has decreed in himself from all 
eternity whatsoever comes to pass. But because of these sorts 
of arguments, and probably in the context, it's Molinism or 
what's called Middle Knowledge. There are persons out there following 
not Al-Molina, but what's Molina? So they follow this theologian 
Molina, who posited something called middle knowledge. Again, 
we're not going to get too far off the field here, but that's 
most likely what they're combating, or things like that. That God 
looks down the tunnel of time, sees the supposed conditions, 
and then makes his decree in accordance with that. No, that's 
not the understanding that the divines had with reference to 
what scripture taught. And when we look at scripture, 
we have to conclude the divines were right. It's not the case 
that God looks down the tunnel of time, sees who's going to 
believe, and as a result elects them or predestines them unto 
salvation. Election doesn't find us in Christ, 
as John Gill says. Election puts us in Christ. That is a very important distinction 
that we need to maintain. Election doesn't find us there, 
oh, that person's gonna believe, so God elects them unto salvation. No, they believe because God 
elected them for salvation. And in His time, they believe 
the gospel. And the confession is going to 
deal with that. The confession is going to go 
through the contours of God's decree as it is applicable to 
men and to angels, primarily men, to be sure, but as well 
it includes angels. Remember, it's comprehensive. 
So back to the confession. So that's the statement of God's 
decree in paragraph 1. You have the declaration or statement 
in paragraph 1, and then the nature relative to knowledge. 
Is it the knowledge of God that He sees these things and therefore 
foreordains? No. No, that's not it. It's not 
that tunnel of time. It's not a middle knowledge. 
It's not Molinism. It's not any attempt to sort 
of disregard what Scripture says concerning the falling of sparrows, 
the numbering of hares, and the election of sinners unto salvation 
by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. How some of 
these things have arisen in the history of theology is really 
bonkers in my mind. How do you get from just as He 
chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to the view that, 
well, you know, because of His free will, He chose and therefore 
God had elected Him. Those things are absolutely contrary. Those are two different ways 
of approach in terms of exegesis of scripture. Now notice the 
detail of God's decree in paragraphs three to six. We have the reality of predestination 
and reprobation in paragraph three. Notice, by the decree 
of God, for the manifestation of his glory. See, that's a passage 
or a statement that the divines use often, and the apostles use 
often, and the prophets use often, and Moses, at least, if he doesn't 
use it often, that's his drift, that we really don't take into 
consideration. In other words, the main emphasis 
in the Bible is not our happiness. That's a corollary, and we bless 
God for it, but the main emphasis in the Bible is God's glory. 
In fact, look at Ephesians 1, where this is obvious, this is 
conspicuous, this is preeminent. Ephesians 1 is a celebration 
of the triune God saving sinners. In verses 3 to 6, the emphasis 
falls on the Father. In verses 7 to 12, the emphasis 
falls on the Father who sent the Son. In verses 13 and 14, 
the emphasis falls on the Father who sent the Spirit. It's blessed 
be the God and Father, verse 3, of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly 
places in Christ. Remember? The economy of salvation 
teaches us something about theology proper. The sending of the Son 
and the Spirit reflect something in terms of those eternal relations 
of origin that obtain between Father, Son, and Spirit. But 
if you notice, what punctuates this anthem of praise to God 
is God's glory. Look at verse 6, "...to the praise 
of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in 
the Beloved." Verse 12, "...that we who first trusted in Christ 
should be to..." what? "...to the praise of His glory." 
The end of verse 14, "...to the praise of His glory." It is the 
manifestation of the glory of God Most High that the Bible 
sees as the first priority. Man's blessing, man's felicity, 
man's end in heaven, man's ability to glorify God and enjoy Him 
forever, that's secondary. The Bible is first and foremost 
theological in nature. It's about God. It's about His 
glory. It's about the magnification 
of His honor and praise through the salvation of sinners. And 
I think that if we keep that in mind, then it helps us to 
understand the emphasis in scripture. If we see man as paramount, if 
we see our happiness or our beatitude as the chief end of God, then 
we're going to read the scripture in that light and we're gonna 
twist things around. Well, God looked down the tunnel 
of love and he so loved me and he so cared for me and he saw 
me as the delicate snowflake that was gonna believe on his 
son that he chose me and predestinated me. Well that has a lot to do 
with me then, doesn't it? It says something about my goodness, 
my right response. No! The beauty of the Christian 
gospel is that God is in Christ reconciling the world to himself. 
You've probably heard Arminian preachers talk to sinners or 
tell sinners, accept Jesus into your heart. That is not gospel, 
brethren. The glory of the gospel is that 
God accepts sinners through the Beloved, the Son of His love. It's not some man-centered, man-oriented, 
man-sort-of-emotional plea. Oh, go ahead and accept Jesus 
into your heart. And once you do that, God had 
already seen that, and as a result elected you or predestined you. 
It is to put the cart before the horse. It's to get things 
exactly opposite. It's to get things exactly wrong. 
That's why going through John 3, I think it's been important 
to say, regeneration comes before faith. It's not the case that 
we believe and then God makes us born again. We're born again 
so that we may believe the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ. So back to paragraph 3, by the decree of God, for 
the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated, 
or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the 
praise of His glorious grace. See, where do you think the divines 
get that? Did they just make that up because it was so good 
theologically? They're coming from it, from 
the position of Ephesians 1, this recurring emphasis in verses 
6 and 12 and 14. Why does God do what He does? 
It is to the praise of His glory. It's such that when we get to 
the book of Revelation and we see the saints before the throne 
of God, they cry out, salvation belongs to our God and to the 
Lamb who sits upon the throne. They're not patting their backs. 
They're not congratulating themselves. They're not saying to one another, 
man, we sure made good decisions. We sure exercised our free will. 
No, the apostle destroys that notion. 1 Corinthians 1, another 
statement concerning this reality. 1 Corinthians 1 at verse 26, 
for you see your calling, brethren. Then not many wise according 
to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But 
God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame 
the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world 
to put to shame the things which are mighty. And the base things 
of the world, and the things which are despised, God has chosen. 
And the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things 
that are. That no flesh should glory in 
His presence. Now notice in verse 30. But of 
Him you are in Christ Jesus. Not of you. It wasn't your faith, 
it wasn't your goodness, it wasn't your free will, but of Him. That's why I said Gil's right 
on. Election doesn't find us in Christ, election puts us in 
Christ. But of Him you are in Christ, 
Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God. and righteousness, 
and sanctification, and redemption, that as it is written, he who 
glories, let him glory in the Lord. I had a discussion recently 
about Christian testimony. Now in the history of Christian 
testimony, if I were to ask you, which ones really impressed you? 
Was it the kid that came under conviction in Sunday school at 
10, believed the gospel, and led a pretty normal, controlled 
life? Or was it the guy who at 25 sold everything, and smoked 
crack, and shot heroin, and ran with hookers, and all that sort 
of thing? Well, in the history of the church, we all tend to 
gravitate toward that. But what does that ultimately 
do? I think it somehow locates more blessedness in the salvation 
of that sinner versus the 10-year-old kid. It's the same power of God. It's the same grace of God. It's 
the same goodness of God. It's just we like a sensational 
story. It's sensational when God saves 
a 10-year-old as a result of a faithful Sunday school teacher 
who brought the truth to bear upon those little ones. But we 
like the being dazzled. And it does display God's grace 
in the conquest of a heroin addict or a guy who ran with prostitutes, 
to be sure. When we read of the prodigal 
son, we rejoice in the goodness and the kindness of the father. 
But at the same time, we should rejoice in the ten-year-old, 
or in the God of the ten-year-old, who, you know, without crisis, 
or without, you know, this time and this obvious hog pen of rebellion 
and wickedness, is nevertheless confessing faith in Jesus. I 
think that's Paul's emphasis in 1 Timothy chapter 6. It's 
a beautiful statement that he gives to Timothy. Verse 11, you, 
O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, 
faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, 
lay hold on eternal life, to which you are also called and 
have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 
Paul doesn't ever look at Timothy's suspect and say, well you didn't 
have a road to Damascus experience like I did. You didn't ever go 
out trying to kill the people of God like I did. I had this 
mind-shattering experience when I saw the risen Lord. He doesn't 
do that. Timothy got faithful tutelage 
at the feet of a godly grandmother and a godly mother. He passed 
imperceptibly from death unto life. The same grace, the same 
power, the same glory. It's all about God, and that's 
how salvation needs to be understood. I'm not saying if somebody was 
the crack addict, we'd say, well, you know, that's chump change. 
No, no, no, no, that's still a display of God's grace. But 
in my perception, the church seems to exalt the one over the 
other, forgetting that it's God who's over both, right? There 
was nothing in you as a crack addict, you know, prostitute 
visiting person that got himself to this place. It's the grace 
of God. But the same holds for the 10-year-old that passes imperceptibly 
from darkness into light through that same grace of God. So back 
to our confession. So by the decree of God, for 
the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated. Some people have a problem with 
this. Some say, well, what do you mean some? It should be all. That one is saved. is a testimony 
to the grace, the glory, the majesty, and the excellence of 
God. None of us deserve it, not a 
single one. That there's a sum that the Bible 
actually amplifies as many in Matthew 26, and a great multitude 
that no man can number in the book of Revelation is absolutely 
mind-blowing. It is glorious that there are 
some, because no one deserves it whatsoever. So some men and 
angels are predestinated or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus 
Christ, to the praise of his glorious grace, others being 
left to act in their sin, to their just condemnation, to the 
praise of his glorious justice. So the doctrine of predestination 
unto life, and then the doctrine of either reprobation or preterition. Divines or theologians have been 
sort of conflicted or divided on whether the decree of God 
in terms of the damnation of sinners is as positively treated 
as is the decree of God to the election of sinners unto salvation. We typically refer to that as 
reprobation. So predestination unto life, 
reprobation means that God actively purposes some going to hell. But there's others who suggest, 
and the Confession sort of reads that way here, that there's a 
passing over. That word means, the word is 
preterition. I think it originated with Augustine, 
from what I understand. Fesco says some theologians, 
such as Calvin, Posit a double decree, one decree of election 
and another decree of reprobation. The elect and the reprobate are 
the subject of separate decrees. Other reformed theologians argue 
for a single decree of election and maintain that God passes 
by the non-elect. This view dates back to Augustine 
who explains reprobation in terms of preterition. And then there 
comes to the forefront something concerning what's called lapsarianism. Again, I don't want to get too 
far afield, but the way that God decrees in terms of the decree. Some are infralapsarian and some 
are supralapsarian. And before I super confuse us 
all, we'll bring this to a close. The confession at this point 
does seem to suggest preterition. 5.4, however, seems to suggest 
non-preterition. Notice in 5.4, the almighty power, 
unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest 
themselves in his providence that his determinate counsel 
extends itself even to the first fall and all other sinful actions, 
both of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission. Now 
it's a different sort of an argument. The idea is not that Adam fell 
by bare permission. But the decree comprehensively 
includes Adam's fall into sin. This again causes great consternation 
in the hearts of people. But brethren, Adam didn't function 
autonomously. The morally sufficient reason 
for the fall into sin is the salvation of sinners by the last 
Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ. So when it comes to this idea 
of predation or reprobation, I hold to reprobation because 
I believe that the Bible teaches that. So next time when we gather 
together, we'll look at the doctrine of reprobation. I know that's 
not the happiest topic in the world, but again, get the end 
game. Notice, the end of paragraph 
three, others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, 
notice, to the praise of his glorious justice. So he displays 
his grace in the salvation of sinners, he displays his justice 
in the damnation of sinners. So the perfections of God, the 
glory of God, the maintenance or demonstration of his power 
and honor are seen, not only through salvation, but also through 
damnation. Well, let's close in a word of 
prayer. Our Father, these are heavy subjects or topics to be 
sure, and yet we know the Bible speaks concerning them. So help 
us to understand these things. Help us to ultimately see the 
praise and the glory and the honor of God that is due for 
Your great name. We know it wasn't our faith, 
it wasn't our works, it wasn't anything that we did in order 
to put us in Christ. But of Him, You are in Christ 
Jesus, and we rejoice in that. We ask that as we go into worship 
now, you would bless the word as it goes forth. We pray for 
those who are dead in their trespasses and sins, that you would awaken 
them, that they would be born from above, that they would know 
that new birth, and they would believe the gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. And we pray in His most blessed 
name. Amen. Well, there's about 30 seconds 
for a quick question and comment. Actually, just question and comment. I would refer you, it's from 
Colossians 1, and I think Dr. Barcelos has sort of the definitive 
exposition on that. I have the article if you're 
interested in reading it. that he dealt with that. And 
I think Hodgins as well may have touched on this. Well if you 
can find the lecture that Barcelos did on that, because I'm pretty 
sure he did. Didn't he do it? Yeah, he did 
it on this chapter. Yeah, Artin opened it. I don't 
think he touched on angels, but... Varcelos specifically touched 
on that clause. Right now, I could say it is 
the case, but to give you all the jots and tittles, I think 
that Varcelos' argument, whether the lecture, I'm sure it would 
be Based on that art. I mean typically Right one day. Yeah, so I have the written article 
if you'd like or it's it's a Lecture that I'm sure Isaac will find. 
Yeah, he's good at that He'll probably send it to your email 
before you get down to the to the pew there All right