"God is unchangeable in his purposes and decrees, there is a purpose for every thing, and a time for that purpose; God has determined all that ever was, is, or shall be; all come to pass according to the counsel of his will, and all his decrees are unchangeable. . . . the purposes of God are always carried into execution, they are never frustrated; it is not in the power of men and devils to disannul them; whatever devices and counter-workings to them may be framed and formed, they are of no avail. . . . and his purposes are called counsels, because designs wisely formed by men, are with consultation, and upon mature deliberation: and such are the decrees of God, they are made with the higher wisdom by him, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working, and so are unchangeable. . . ." - John Gill, The Body of Divinity, Pg. 38
Notice that if you read John Gill, in his Divinity, how he is so systematize every doctrine presupposes another. God's immutability presupposes his knowledge and his counsel.
Showing posts with label Decree. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Decree. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Nothing is outside of God's governing control He does as he pleases
Does God Determine Sin?
by
Monty L. Collier
Whenever we discuss God’s absolute predestination of all things, the following question is often raised: Did God determine sin?
The Bible answers this question very clearly.
Let’s begin with the worst sin ever created, then, let’s move on to the rest.
If you have read your Bible, you know the worst sin ever committed was determined by God. The murder of Jesus, which is simultaneously the vicarious sacrifice for God's elect, was determined by God almighty!
"For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done."
(Acts 4:27-28)
If the worst sin was determined by God, then what of all other sins?—were they also determined by God?
The Bible says: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things" (Isaiah 45:7).
No evil deed is done without God's absolute predestination! Consider the following rhetorical question from Scripture:
"Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?"
(Lamentations 3:38)
"Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?"
(Amos 3:6)
Job knew that God determined both good and evil deeds:
"What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips."
(Job 2:10)
Consider false prophets; they are not merely deceived by chance, but rather: God causes them to believe lies!
"And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet."
(Ezekiel 14:9)
"Now, therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."
(1 Kings 22:23)
In short, God determines all the events of history, both good and bad, and if you don't like it, too bad. The Bible says:
"Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?"
(Romans 9:19-21)
So, let us remember, when we say the God of the Bible is sovereign, we are claiming the God of the Bible determines all things. From the smallest and seemingly unimportant events to the greatest events in history, God determines them all. Old School Primitive Baptist Gilbert Beebe correctly stated:
“By the term sovereign, as it applies to God, we are not to understand an arbitrary or tyrannical being, but quite the reverse; an all-wise disposer of all events, an independent, self-existent, and omniscient God; one who holds the eternal destiny of his creatures in his own almighty grasp, working all things after the counsel of his own will, even as he has ordained all things for his own glory; and being independent of and superior to all beings in heaven or on earth, has an incontestable right to do his pleasure in heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; having a right to make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor; to have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will to harden; to reveal his gospel unto “babes and sucklings,” and to hide the same from the “wise and prudent,” to love Jacob and to hate Esau, to save his people with an everlasting salvation, and to turn the wicked into hell, with all the nations that forget God.”
(Editorials of Gilbert Beebe, Volume 1, pages 13-14)
Consider how God is independent of and superior to all beings. Sinful man may dream of being independent of God, but God alone is self-existent and independent. While commenting on Psalm 50:9-13, John Calvin stops to discuss Isaiah 66:1-2. These two verses from Isaiah read: “Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made” (Isaiah 66:1-2). Calvin comments:
“In these words God asserts his absolute independence; for while the world had a beginning, he himself was from eternity. From this it follows, that as he subsisted when there was nothing without him which could contribute to his fullness, he must have in himself a glorious all-sufficiency.”
(Calvin’s Commentaries, Volume V, page 269)
Hence, it is impossible for man to ever be independent from God. Man would cease to exist, if he could become free from God. The Bible says:
“For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.”
(Acts 17:28)
Obviously, all of this implies that God has free-will, while man does not. The comprehensive teaching of the Bible is clear: at no point has man’s will ever been free from God’s determination. Martin Luther correctly wrote the following:
“For if we believe it to be true, that God fore-knows and fore-ordains all things; that He can be neither deceived nor hindered in His Prescience and Predestination; and that nothing can take place but according to His Will, (which reason herself, there can be no “Free-will”—in man, in angel, or in any creature!
“Hence: if we believe that Satan is the prince of this world, ever ensaring and fighting against the kingdom of Christ with all his powers; and that he does not let go his captives without being forced by the Divine Power of the Spirit; it is manifest, that there can be no such thing—as “Free-will!””
(The Bondage of the Will, Section 167, page 241 [Henry Cole Translation])
But does not God’s absolute predestination of all things imply that men are not responsible for their thoughts and deeds?
No, for the Bible teaches there are two primary things which make men responsible before God:
1) God's sovereign ability to call men to give a response for their thoughts and deeds (see Romans 9:19-21)
2) Man's knowledge of God's moral law, which makes him / her responsible (see Luke 12:47: "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.")
Finally, even our conversational English has been determined to reflect basic Calvinism, for parents tell their children: "You’re going to be punished, for you KNEW not to do that." No parent says: "Now, Johnny, you have free-will, and you will be punished for using your arbitrary-power-of-contrary-choice incorrectly"--LOL!
by
Monty L. Collier
Whenever we discuss God’s absolute predestination of all things, the following question is often raised: Did God determine sin?
The Bible answers this question very clearly.
Let’s begin with the worst sin ever created, then, let’s move on to the rest.
If you have read your Bible, you know the worst sin ever committed was determined by God. The murder of Jesus, which is simultaneously the vicarious sacrifice for God's elect, was determined by God almighty!
"For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done."
(Acts 4:27-28)
If the worst sin was determined by God, then what of all other sins?—were they also determined by God?
The Bible says: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things" (Isaiah 45:7).
No evil deed is done without God's absolute predestination! Consider the following rhetorical question from Scripture:
"Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?"
(Lamentations 3:38)
"Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?"
(Amos 3:6)
Job knew that God determined both good and evil deeds:
"What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips."
(Job 2:10)
Consider false prophets; they are not merely deceived by chance, but rather: God causes them to believe lies!
"And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet."
(Ezekiel 14:9)
"Now, therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."
(1 Kings 22:23)
In short, God determines all the events of history, both good and bad, and if you don't like it, too bad. The Bible says:
"Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?"
(Romans 9:19-21)
So, let us remember, when we say the God of the Bible is sovereign, we are claiming the God of the Bible determines all things. From the smallest and seemingly unimportant events to the greatest events in history, God determines them all. Old School Primitive Baptist Gilbert Beebe correctly stated:
“By the term sovereign, as it applies to God, we are not to understand an arbitrary or tyrannical being, but quite the reverse; an all-wise disposer of all events, an independent, self-existent, and omniscient God; one who holds the eternal destiny of his creatures in his own almighty grasp, working all things after the counsel of his own will, even as he has ordained all things for his own glory; and being independent of and superior to all beings in heaven or on earth, has an incontestable right to do his pleasure in heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; having a right to make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor; to have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will to harden; to reveal his gospel unto “babes and sucklings,” and to hide the same from the “wise and prudent,” to love Jacob and to hate Esau, to save his people with an everlasting salvation, and to turn the wicked into hell, with all the nations that forget God.”
(Editorials of Gilbert Beebe, Volume 1, pages 13-14)
Consider how God is independent of and superior to all beings. Sinful man may dream of being independent of God, but God alone is self-existent and independent. While commenting on Psalm 50:9-13, John Calvin stops to discuss Isaiah 66:1-2. These two verses from Isaiah read: “Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made” (Isaiah 66:1-2). Calvin comments:
“In these words God asserts his absolute independence; for while the world had a beginning, he himself was from eternity. From this it follows, that as he subsisted when there was nothing without him which could contribute to his fullness, he must have in himself a glorious all-sufficiency.”
(Calvin’s Commentaries, Volume V, page 269)
Hence, it is impossible for man to ever be independent from God. Man would cease to exist, if he could become free from God. The Bible says:
“For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.”
(Acts 17:28)
Obviously, all of this implies that God has free-will, while man does not. The comprehensive teaching of the Bible is clear: at no point has man’s will ever been free from God’s determination. Martin Luther correctly wrote the following:
“For if we believe it to be true, that God fore-knows and fore-ordains all things; that He can be neither deceived nor hindered in His Prescience and Predestination; and that nothing can take place but according to His Will, (which reason herself, there can be no “Free-will”—in man, in angel, or in any creature!
“Hence: if we believe that Satan is the prince of this world, ever ensaring and fighting against the kingdom of Christ with all his powers; and that he does not let go his captives without being forced by the Divine Power of the Spirit; it is manifest, that there can be no such thing—as “Free-will!””
(The Bondage of the Will, Section 167, page 241 [Henry Cole Translation])
But does not God’s absolute predestination of all things imply that men are not responsible for their thoughts and deeds?
No, for the Bible teaches there are two primary things which make men responsible before God:
1) God's sovereign ability to call men to give a response for their thoughts and deeds (see Romans 9:19-21)
2) Man's knowledge of God's moral law, which makes him / her responsible (see Luke 12:47: "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.")
Finally, even our conversational English has been determined to reflect basic Calvinism, for parents tell their children: "You’re going to be punished, for you KNEW not to do that." No parent says: "Now, Johnny, you have free-will, and you will be punished for using your arbitrary-power-of-contrary-choice incorrectly"--LOL!
Sunday, May 31, 2015
God ordains all things whatsoever happens
"God's decree, in as much as it concerneth man, is called predestination: which is the decree of God by the which he hath ordained all men to a certain and everlasting estate, that is either to salvation or condemnation, for his own glory. (1 Thessalonians 5:9) 'For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.' (Romans 9:13) 'As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.' (Romans 9:22, 23) 'What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.'
The means of accomplishing God's predestination are twofold:
The Creation and the fall." - William Perkins, A Golden Chain
The means of accomplishing God's predestination are twofold:
The Creation and the fall." - William Perkins, A Golden Chain
The Decree of God is first in order and time
"The decree of God is that by which God in himself hath necessarily, and yet freely, from all eternity determined all things. . . . The same decree of God is the first and principal working cause of all things, which also is in order and time before all other causes. For with God's decree is always his will annexed, by the which he can willingly effect that he hath decreed. And it were a sign of impotency to decree anything which he could not willingly compass. And with God's will is conjoined an effectual power by which the Lord can bring to pass whatsoever he hath freely decreed.
The first and principal cause, howbeit in itself it be necessary, yet it doth not take away freedom of will in election, or the nature and property of second causes, but only brings them into a certain order; that is, it directeth them to the determinate end, whereupon the effects and events of things are contingent or necessary, as the nature of the second cause is. So Christ according to his Father's decree died necessarily, (Acts 17:3) but yet willingly (John 10:18); and if we respect the temperature of Christ's body, he might have prolonged his life; and therefore in this respect may he said to have died contingently." - William Perkins, A Golden Chain
The first and principal cause, howbeit in itself it be necessary, yet it doth not take away freedom of will in election, or the nature and property of second causes, but only brings them into a certain order; that is, it directeth them to the determinate end, whereupon the effects and events of things are contingent or necessary, as the nature of the second cause is. So Christ according to his Father's decree died necessarily, (Acts 17:3) but yet willingly (John 10:18); and if we respect the temperature of Christ's body, he might have prolonged his life; and therefore in this respect may he said to have died contingently." - William Perkins, A Golden Chain
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