Doctrine: The Decrees of God

Order of Service

• Sermon
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: The Decrees of God

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-11

I. Man's Fallen Condition

A. Sin has separated man from God and brought spiritual death

1. Westminster Confession of Faith, ch. 6: Adam and Eve "fell from their original righteousness...became dead in sin and wholly defiled in all the parts and faculties of soul and body"
2. Their guilt and corrupted nature conveyed to all posterity — Adam as federal head
3. Original corruption makes us "utterly indisposed, disabled and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil"

B. Key Scripture passages on man's fallen state

1. Romans 3:10-11 (quoting Psalm 14 and Psalm 53): "None is righteous, no not one...no one seeks for God"
2. Ephesians 2:1: "You were dead in your trespasses and sins"
3. Ezekiel 37 — the valley of dry bones: an image of spiritual deadness
4. Romans 6 and Romans 8:7: slavery to sin, hostility toward God

C. Two questions arising from man's fallen condition

1. Must God have anything to do with fallen man except as objects justly deserving his wrath?
2. What hope is there for man in this condition?

II. The Doctrine of Effectual Election

A. Definition of election (Canons of Dort, Article 1)

1. "The unchangeable purpose of God whereby before the foundation of the world...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"
2. Salvation is one whole work of God from beginning to end — entirely of his grace

B. Election in Ephesians 1:3-6, 11

1. Timing: chosen "before the foundation of the world" — before creation, before time
2. The person and means: chosen in Christ — never apart from him; union with Christ is central
3. Purpose: "that we should be holy and blameless before him" — Christlikeness is the goal
4. Manner: "according to the purpose of his will" — sovereign and gracious, not based on foreseen merit
5. Motivation: predestined in love (Ephesians 2:4) — at the heart of election is a loving God
6. Goal: "to the praise of his glorious grace"
7. Ephesians 1:11: "having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will"

C. Key Greek terms

1. Proorizo (predestine): to decide beforehand
2. Eklegō (elect): to make a choice in accordance with significant preference

D. Election is effectual — God works it out completely

1. Romans 8:30: "Those whom he predestined, he also called...justified...glorified" — the golden chain
2. Westminster Confession: effectual call is "of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, who is altogether passive in it"
3. John 15:16: Jesus himself says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you"
4. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14: chosen to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit, called through the gospel

III. The Doctrine of Reprobation

A. Definition and two components

1. Preterition: God's determination to pass over some
2. Condemnation: God's determination to punish those who are passed over for their sin
3. This is not arbitrary — God wills to punish the guilty, not the innocent

B. Romans 9 — scriptural basis for reprobation

1. Romans 9:10-13: Jacob and Esau — before birth, before doing good or bad, God chose Jacob; quoting Malachi 1: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated"
2. This is not merely about national lineage but about sovereign mercy — who God will extend his mercy to

C. Paul anticipates two objections

1. Is God unjust? (Romans 9:14-18) — "By no means!" God says, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy"; mercy depends not on human will or exertion but on God alone; Pharaoh raised up and hardened for God's purposes
2. Why does God still find fault? (Romans 9:19-23) — "Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?" The potter has the right over the clay; vessels of wrath prepared for destruction reveal God's wrath and power; vessels of mercy reveal the riches of his glory

D. Conclusion (Kevin DeYoung)

1. Election and reprobation are not arbitrary — they reveal the holiness, power, and glory of God
2. We cannot see the full glory of God's mercy apart from the backdrop of his wrath
3. Righteousness is not about our opinions of fairness — it is about God's character and purposes as revealed in Scripture
4. The only right response: humility, praise, and faith in God's sovereign mercy