THE DECREES OF GOD

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THE DECREES OF GOD
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THE WORKS OF GOD
Opera Ad Intra- God in himself
Opera Ad Extra- God in relation
to creation
Ad Extra
Emanent Execution of Decrees
Works of God
Ad Intra
Immanent Decree
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THE DECREES OF GOD

• Definition The decrees of God are his eternal
  purpose, according to the counsel of his will,
  whereby for his own glory he hath foreordained
  whatsoever comes to pass. S.C. Q. 7

• The Final Cause of all is the Glory of God,
  Antecedent Will
• The means towards those ends are the Consequent
  Will of God
• The Decree is the determination to employ those
  ends

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BIBLICAL DATA FOR THE DECREE OF GOD

• Psalm 13916, All the days ordained for me were
  written in your book before one of them came to
  be
• Psalm 3311, the plans of the Lord stand firm
  forever
• Isaiah 1424, the Lord Almighty has sworn,
  Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as
  I have purposed, so it will stand
• Ephesians 15,11 he predestined us . . . In
  accordance with his pleasure and will . . . .
  having been predestined according to the plan of
  him who works out everything in conformity with
  the purpose of his will

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THE DECREES OF GOD

• Includes even the minute details, Matthew
  1029,30, not one of them sparrows will fall .
  . . apart from the will of your Father
• Includes the wicked acts of men
• Luke 2222, the Son of Man will go as it has
  been decreed
• Acts 223, this man was handed to you by Gods
  set purpose and foreknowledge
• Acts 427-28, They did what your power and will
  had decided beforehand should happen
• Are Immutable, Isaiah 1424,27, I have purposed,
  so it will stand
• Isaiah 469-10, my purpose will stand

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THE DECREES OF GOD

• Human responsibility WCF 3.1 God from all
  eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel
  of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain
  whatsoever comes to pass yet so, as thereby

neither is God the author of sin, nor is
violence offered to the will of the creatures,
nor is the liberty or contingency of second
causes taken away, but rather established.
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HYPER-CALVINISM
100
The sovereignty of God
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ARMINIANISM
100
Human Freedom
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COVENANTAL CALVINISM
100
Human Freedom
200 Solution
The sovereignty of God
100
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WORKS OF GODPROVIDENCE

• Gods works of providence are, his most holy,
  wise, and powerful preserving and governing all
  his creatures, and all their actions. S.C. Q 11

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PROVIDENCE

• Creation anticipates Providence
• All Christians profess belief in providence
  Calvinists extend it to every detail of life
• Providence means that God enters into his
  creation and upholds it- preservation and
  government
• Providence is universal and all-inclusive
• Ordinary Providence, Jonah 13, the boat
• Extraordinary Providence, Jonah 14, great wind
• Supernatural Providence, Jonah 117, the fish

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MYSTERY OF PROVIDENCE

• Agency and Responsibility (second causes) are
  established by Gods providence
• Biblical Examples
• Genesis 5020, You intended to harm me, but God
  intended it for good
• Isaiah 105ff, Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of
  my anger . . . I send him against a godless
  nation . . . But this is not what he intends,
  this is not what he has in mind
• Acts 2722-25, keep up your courage, because not
  one of you will be lost . . . it will happen just
  as he (God) told me

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MYSTERY OF PROVIDENCE

• The Moral (Revealed) Will of God- tells us what
  pleases God
• The Decretive (Secret) Will of God- this is what
  God has decreed to come to pass
• Choices ordained by God are nonetheless real
  choices- herein lies the paradox!
• Necessity versus Compulsion, ICR 2.3.5,
  Therefore if the fact that he God must do good
  does not hinder Gods free will in doing good if
  the devil, who can do only evil, yet sins with
  his will- who shall say that man therefore sins
  less willingly because he is subject to the
  necessity of sinning?

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FREEDOM OF THE WILL

• A Wesleyan speaks
• Human choosing is governed by its Orderer as
  having rational freedom, not as stock or stone.
  Providence acts not only through natural
  causality but amid a freewheeling, proximately
  indeterminate history, hedging and persuading and
  constraining human folly.
• T. Oden, Wesleys Scriptural Christianity, 114.

• A Calvinist speaks
• That Calvin regards everything that occurs as
  embraced in the eternal decree of God lies on the
  face of his teaching at every point . . . . While
  repudiating the Stoic doctrine of necessity, . .
  . He is insistent that God is the arbiter and
  governor of all things.
• J. Murray, Collected Writings, 4,192.

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WESLEY ON FREE WILL

• Now if man be capable of choosing good or evil,
  then he is a proper object of the justice of God,
  acquitting or condemning, rewarding or punishing.
  But otherwise he is not. A mere machine is not
  capable of being either acquitted or condemned.
  Wesley, Works, X.233-4

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WESLEY ON GRACE

• First, God worketh in you therefore you can
  work- otherwise it would be impossible. On
  Working Out Your Own Salvation, 3.3
• Everyone has a greater or less measure of this
  (i.e., preventing grace), Ibid., 3.4
• . . . there is a measure of free-will
  supernaturally restored to every man.
  Predestination Calmly Considered, sec. 45.

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CALVIN ON FREE WILL

• Because of the bondage of sin by which the will
  is held bound, it cannot move toward the good,
  much less apply itself thereto for a movement of
  this sort is the beginning of conversion to God,
  which in Scripture is ascribed entirely to Gods
  grace. ICR, 2.3.5

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CALVIN ON GRACE

• I do not tarry over those fanatics who babble
  that grace is equally and indiscriminately
  distributed.
• The ambiguity in the second part offends me, for
  it has given rise to a perverted interpretation.
  They thought we cooperate with the assisting
  grace of God, because it is our right either to
  render it ineffectual by spurning the first
  grace, or to confirm it by obediently following
  it.
• ICR, 2.2.6

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HUMAN NATURE IN ITS4-FOLD ESTATE

• Innocent Good, but able to fall
• Fallen Bad, Not able to do good
• Regenerate Mixed, able to do good or evil
• Glorified Good, not able to do evil

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SCRIPTURE ON NATURE AND FREE WILL

• No one comes to me unless the Father draws him
  John 644
• For the sinful nature is always hostile to God
  Romans 87
• The natural man does not receive the things of
  the spirit I Corinthians 214

• A bad tree cant produce good fruit. Matthew
  718
• An evil person produces evil words out of an
  evil heart Matthew 1233
• Whatever is in your heart determines what you
  say Luke 645

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THE PROBLEM OF SIN
How Does This Fit?
Sin Exists In Gods Universe
God is Good
God is All Powerful
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SIN AND SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
All the reformers of the sixteenth century,
including even the gentle Melanchthon and the
compromising Bucer, under a controlling sense of
human depravity and saving grace, in extreme
antagonism to Pelagianism and self-righteousness,
and, as they sincerely believed, in full harmony
not only with the greatest of the fathers, but
also with the inspired St. Paul, came to the same
doctrine of a double predest- ination which
decides the eternal destiny of all men. Nor is it
possible to evade this conclusion on the two
acknowledged premises of Protestant orthodoxy-
namely the wholesale condemnation of men in Adam,
and the limitation of saving grace to the present
world. -Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, 1,451.
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ELECTION

• Biblical Language
• bachar, rxB, choose, elect, decide for 198x
  Deut. 76,7 Deut. 437 Ps. 1354 7868 I
  Kings 816 I Chr. 285 I Sam. 1024
• eklegomai, Pick for oneself, choose 22x, Eph.
  14
• eklektos, elected, chosen 22x, I Peter 11,
  24,6,9
• eklogh, election, choosing 7x, Rom. 911
  115,7,28 I Thess. 14
• airew, take, choose II Thess. 213
• tassw, appoint, ordain Acts 1348

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ELECTION

• Biblical Language
• proginwskw, foreknow 5x Romans 829, 112
• prognwsij, foreknowledge 2x Acts 223, I
  Peter 11-2
• proorizw, decide upon beforehand, predestine 6x
  of Gods decree, Romans 829-30 I Cor. 27 Eph.
  15 11
• protiqhmi, plan, propose, purpose 3x, (Rom.
  113 325) Eph. 19
• proetoimazw, prepare before Rom. 923 Eph.
  210

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EXTENT OF ATONEMENT

• Arminian. Christ died for all people equally. It
  is Arminian doctrine that Christ came to save
  all men that he died for all that he atoned for
  all, even for those that finally perish. Wesley,
  Works, X,215
• Calvinistic. Christ died for the elect. The
  extent of the atonement is identical with the
  intent of divine election
• Hypothetical Universalism. Moses Amylraut
  (1596-1664) made a distinction between objective
  and subjective grace. The former rendering
  salvation objectively available to all men, he
  held was universal. The latter, which give the
  gracious ability to accept the gospel, he
  admitted was designed for the elect alone. This
  is often referred to as 4-Point Calvinism.

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EXTENT OF ATONEMENT

• Did Christ offer himself a sacrifice for the
  whole human race, for every individual without
  distinction or exception? Boettner, Reformed
  Doctrine of Predestination, 150.
• This question does not involve the nature of
  Christs work it is a satisfaction for sin
• It does not involve the value of Christs
  satisfaction which is deemed by all to be of
  infinite value
• It does not involve the suitableness of the
  atonement, for it is appropriate for and adapted
  to all
• It does not involve the application of the
  atonement- which all (except Universalists)
  limit!
• The whole question, therefore, concerns simply
  the purpose of God in the mission of His Son.
  Hodge, ST, II,544-5.

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EXTENT OF ATONEMENT

• There are many passages which teach particular
  atonement
• John 1011, the good shepherd lays down his life
  for his sheep 14-15, I know my sheep
• Acts 2028, the church of God, which he bought
  with his blood
• Eph. 525, Christ loved the church and gave
  himself up for her
• There are passages which limit the extent of the
  atonement
• Matt. 2028, give his life a ransom for many
  2628, my blood of the covenant, which is poured
  out for many
• Heb. 928, sacrificed once to take away the sins
  of many

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EXTENT OF ATONEMENT

• There are additional passages of importance
• Rom. 833-34, gave him up for us all . . . Whom
  God has chosen
• I Cor. 153-4, Christ died for our sins
  according to the Scriptures
• Eph. 14-7, in him we have redemption
• Matt. 723, I will tell them plainly, I never
  knew you
• John 1026, you do not believe because you are
  not my sheep
• Rom. 924-32, even us, whom he also called, not
  only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles

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OBJECTIONS TO DEFINITE ATONEMENT

• Election violates my free choice to accept or
  reject Christ
• I am not a robot!
• What about my free will?
• The Devil votes against you, God votes for you-
  you cast the deciding vote!
• BUT, APART FROM THE REGENERATING WORK OF GOD, YOU
  WILL ALWAYS VOTE THE WRONG WAY! See Rom. 118-25
  310-18
• Election is unfair
• This stacks the deck!
• BUT- ISNT THAT THE WHOLE POINT OF GRACE? IT
  ISNT FAIR OR JUST!

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OBJECTIONS TO DEFINITE ATONEMENT

• God only expects of me what I am able to give him
  
• But, cf. Ezekiel 371-4. Were the bones capable
  of doing what God required?
• God loves everyone alike
• BUT, Cf. Luke 2231 with John 1327
• God is no respecter of persons!
• Indeed- Rom. 310, 323- in reference to sin 
• Election removes any reason for evangelizing
• So- God ordains ends without necessary means?
  Does that make sense? 
• Election means the free offer of the gospel not
  sincere

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SINCERETY OF THE FREE OFFER OF THE GOSPEL

• The Scriptures clearly teach that the gospel
  must be preached to all. Whether we can square
  this with particular election is another
  question. But the rule for our preaching must
  always be the revealed will of God. In the last
  analysis, it is Gods business to bring into
  harmony the predetermined outcome of the
  preaching of the gospel with the general offer of
  salvation. A. Hoekema, Saved By Grace, 68.

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ARMINIANISM

• An abstract concept of Justice governs how God
  may dispense his grace. A major part of
  Christendom has never been able to accept the
  concept of the unconditional election of
  individuals as biblical. They declare that
  Scripture just does not teach such an idea, which
  appears to be unjust and arbitrary on Gods part
  and seems to lead to pessimism and quietism on
  mans part. Cottrell, Grace Unlimited, 56.
• Re abstract notions, Calvinists argue we must get
  our concepts of justice and freedom of the will
  from the biblical data- not from some other
  philosophical or a-prior source. The concrete
  biblical teaching on this issue must be
  determinative for the Calvinist.

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ARMINIANISM

• Based on several concepts
• Some passages appear to teach universal
  atonement, John 651 II Cor. 519 Col. 120 I
  Tim. 26, 410 Titus 211 Heb. 29 II Peter
  21, 39 I John 22
• An abstract notion of Free-Will is usually played
  off against the notion of Divine sovereignty. So
  when a theory comes along, whether philosophical,
  theological, or psychological, which endeavors to
  deny this intuition of freedom, it is up against
  a basic human self-perception that will
  eventually overwhelm it. Clark Pinnock, Grace
  Unlimited, 96.

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ARMINIANISM

• Nevertheless, Arminianism results in a limited
  atonement as well as does Calvinism
• All people are salvable, since the atonement is
  not limited
• Not all are saved, since not all choose to
  believe
• Furthermore, even those who will not believe are
  created and allowed to rebel, according to
  Arminian doctrine. They are just as certain of
  damnation as the reprobate in a Calvinistic
  construct
• To interpose foreknowledge only moves the
  problem back one level- it does not remove the
  problem!

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FOREKNOWLEDGE

• Knowledge, to know, often means intimate personal
  relationship Gen. 41 Jer. 15 Amos 32 Matt.
  125 723 I Cor. 83 Gal. 49 II Tim. 219
• Foreknowledge is more than merely knowing
  beforehand Acts 223 Rom. 829, 112 I Peter
  12, 19-20
• In Acts 223, by Gods set purpose and
  foreknowledge tou/ton th/ wrisme,nh boulh/
  kai. prognw,sei tou/ qeou/
• In I Peter 11-2, Chosen according to the
  foreknowledge of God the Father, by the
  sanctifying work of the Spirit unto obedience
  and the sprinkling with the blood of Jesus
  Christ.
• What is NOT asserted here is the idea that
  foreknowledge is foreknowledge of (ek) or on
  account of (dia) but unto (eij) obedience. kata.
  pro,gnwsin qeou/ patro,j evn agiasmw/
  pneu,matoj eivj upakoh.n kai. rantismo.n
  aimatoj VIhsou/ Cristou/(

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CALVINISM

• Christ did make salvation, as an objective fact,
  possible to all men to whom it is offered, if
  they will believe
• A purpose to make salvation objectively available
  to those for whom it was never intended (purpose)
  must not be an independent purpose in itself
• Rather, this availability of salvation for all is
  subsidiary to the main design of entirely
  effecting the salvation of those for whom it was
  intended

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CALVINISM

• Calvinism Argues
• No one is saved except God intends his/her
  salvation
• Ultimately, all Gods people (eschatologically)
  will be saved
• Broad or general passages in Scripture (all)
  are limited by the more detailed and specific
  passages (his sheep, the elect)
• The practical impact of Arminianism is not
  significantly different from Calvinism it
  explains the universal offer by another, less
  consistent means

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ELECTION AND DECREE

• Supralapsarian View (Beza, Pink)
• To Predestine some to life, others to death
• To Create mankind
• To Ordain the fall (lapsus)
• To Redeem the elect
• Infralapsarian View (most Calvinists)
• To Create mankind
• To Ordain the fall
• To Elect some to eternal life, pass by others
• To Redeem the elect

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ELECTION AND DECREE

• The Arminian View (Arminius, Works, II,719)
• To Appoint Christ as Redeemer
• To receive into favor those who believe/persevere
• To render all means necessary for
  faith/repentance
• To save those whom God foreknows will believe
• Amyrauldian View (Hypothetical Redemptionism)
• To Create mankind
• To Ordain the fall
• To Send Christ to redeem all
• To Elect some to eternal life, pass by others
• To Send H.S. to apply salvation to elect.

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THE DECREE OF GOD