Doctrine: The Decrees of God

Order of Service

• Sermon

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Sermon Title: The Decrees of God

Scripture: Westminster Confession of Faith 3.1

I. Review of Previous Lessons

A. God's eternal decree: he ordains whatever comes to pass B. Providence: God powerfully preserves and governs all creatures and their actions toward his glory C. God works through secondary means but is free to work apart from them D. Transition from general providence to particular providence — the doctrine of election

II. Definition of Election

A. From the Canons of Dort, First Head of Doctrine:

Election is the unchangeable purpose of God whereby before the foundation of the world, out of the whole human race which had fallen by its own fault out of its original integrity into sin and destruction, God has according to the sovereign good pleasure of his own will out of mere grace chosen in Christ a definite number of persons to redemption, neither better nor more worthy than others. B. Before treating election directly, the lesson addresses the order of decrees and the doctrine of permission

III. The Order of the Decrees

A. The order of decrees refers to the logical (not chronological) sequence of God's purposes — there is no unfolding of time in God B. Most theological traditions agree: logically, God permits the fall before he elects a people to salvation C. To speak of election is to speak of being chosen out of something — namely, fallen sinful humanity

1. Romans 3:23 — all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
2. Sin levels the playing field; there is by nature only one kind of person: sinners

IV. How God Made Man Originally

A. Ecclesiastes 7:29 — "God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes" B. Ephesians 4:24 — the new self created in true righteousness and holiness reflects the original pre-fall state C. Westminster Shorter Catechism Q. 13: Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created by sinning against God D. Adam and Eve were made righteous and holy, able to do God's commands perfectly — yet mutable, able to fall

V. God's Sovereignty and Man's Responsibility — The Central Tension

A. Westminster Confession of Faith 3.1:

God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will freely and unchangeably ordain whatever comes to pass; yet he ordered all things in such a way that he is not the author of sin, nor does he force his creatures to act against their wills. B. God's will is free

1. Romans 11:34 — "Who has been his counselor?"
2. He ordains all things without consulting or depending on any outside source C. God's will is unchangeable
3. He does not react, adjust, or get caught off guard
4. Psalm 33:11 — "The counsel of the Lord stands forever" D. God's will is comprehensive
5. Ephesians 1:11 — God works all things according to the counsel of his will
6. If comprehensive, sin must be included in some manner in his decree E. God's will is always good — he is holy and righteous; what he wills is perfect

VI. Scripture Testimony to God's Goodness and Holiness

A. Job 34:10–12 — "Far be it from God that he should do wickedness… God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice" B. Habakkuk 1:13 — "You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong" C. 1 John 1:5 — "God is light and in him is no darkness at all" D. 1 John 2:16 — the desires of the flesh, the eyes, and pride of life are not from the Father but from the world

VII. God Permits Sin — But Not by Bare Permission

A. Westminster Confession of Faith 5.4:

The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God manifest themselves so completely in his providence that it extends even to the first fall and all other sins of angels and men — not by a bare permission, but by a permission which has joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering and governing of them to his holy ends; however, the sinfulness comes from the creatures alone and not from God, who being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin. B. Geerhardus Vos: "We are unable to explain how a cause can exist in the holy nature of Adam that turned him to sin… the relationship of God's decree to this first free sin is also inexplicable. Sin, as far as its reality is concerned, did not come from God. Although it receives its certainty from God's decree, the cause of sin lies in man." C. We must approach with humility — some things cannot be fully explained or resolved

VIII. God's Powerful Bounding and Governing of Sin

A. Sin does not run as free as it could — God limits and orders it B. 2 Kings 19:28 — God speaks to Sennacherib: "I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth and I will turn you back on the way by which you came"

1. Sennacherib acts out of his own sinfulness, yet God restrains and governs him
2. God's bounding of sin is meant to be a comfort to his people

IX. Classic Passages Illustrating God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility Together

A. Genesis 50:20 — Joseph to his brothers: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good"

1. The brothers acted freely and sinfully — sold Joseph into slavery, deceived their father
2. God was always at work through and in those actions — never absent, never surprised
3. Both realities are true simultaneously: human guilt and divine purpose B. Acts 2:22–23 — Peter at Pentecost: "This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men"
4. The cross was God's definite plan and foreknowledge
5. The men who crucified Jesus are charged with guilt — lawless men C. Acts 4:27–28 — The believers' prayer: Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, and the peoples of Israel gathered "to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place"
6. All the human players acted freely and sinfully
7. Yet all of it was predestined by God's hand and plan D. Matthew 17:12 — Jesus on John the Baptist: "They did to him whatever they pleased" — men are free to act E. John 19:11 — Jesus to Pilate: "You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin"
8. Pilate's authority comes from God
9. Judas is still guilty — responsible for the greater sin — even though it was all within God's plan

X. Man's Will in the State of Sin

A. Westminster Confession of Faith 9.4 — fallen man is in "natural bondage under sin" B. Romans 8:7 — "The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot" C. 1 Corinthians 2:14 — "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them" D. Titus 3:3 — "We ourselves were slaves to various passions and pleasures" E. We are free willing agents — responsible for what we do — yet under sin our will is in bondage

1. Luther's The Bondage of the Will — in the state of sin and misery, we do not have the full freedom God intended
2. Full freedom of the will is found ultimately in glory, but begins with regeneration and redemption

XI. Setting Up the Doctrine of Election

A. If we are responsible for our sin and our will is truly in bondage to sin, what hope is there? B. None but the grace of God — which leads directly to the doctrine of election in coming weeks C. Application: when others sin against us, we can trust God's sovereign hand is over it and it is ultimately for our good — a source of real comfort (Romans 8:28)