Theological term
Immutability of the Decree
2 sermons · All terms
2LCF Chapter 3 - Of God's Decree
God's decree — his eternal, free, and unchangeable foreordination of all things whatsoever come to pass — is grounded in his absolute sovereignty and is comprehensive in scope, extending to the free acts of men, chance occurrences, sinful acts, the affairs of nations, and the final destinies of both the elect and the reprobate. This confession-study exposition of 1689 London Baptist Confession Chapter 3 works through five aspects of the decree: its foundation in divine sovereignty, its inviolable and unfrustratable character, its comprehensive reach, its unconditional nature (contra Arminian foreseen-faith schemes and Molinist middle-knowledge frameworks), and its relation to redemption through election and reprobation. The decree of election terminates not upon election itself but upon the praise of God's glorious grace, while the decree of reprobation terminates not upon damnation itself but upon the praise of God's glorious justice. Listeners are called to rest in a God whose sovereign will is the first and final cause of all things, leaving nothing to chance or creaturely contingency.
Sheep Don't Hit the Fence
Romans 8:28–39 serves as the launching text for a defense of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints — that true Christians do not totally or finally fall away from the faith, but are certainly kept unto eternal salvation. The sermon addresses common objections (biblical admonition to persevere, and texts such as Hebrews 6:4–8) before tracing five objective grounds of perseverance: the immutability of God's eternal decree of election, the perfection of Christ's cross work and intercessory work, the oath of God, the abiding of the Holy Spirit as seal and guarantor, and the nature of the covenant of grace as expressed in the New Covenant. The hearer is called to rest assurance not on inward evidences but on these objective, Trinitarian, and covenantal foundations, and the unbeliever is urged to believe on Christ and so enter into that certain keeping.