On the Decrees of God

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Q. What are the decrees of God?
A. 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.

The Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Confession of Faith glorifies God by placing all things under His sovereign decree. This is what the Scriptures clearly teach that God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph 1:11) As G.I. Williamson writes in his study of the Catechism,

“What we see happening in the world is not just a matter of chance or accident. Things do not just work out the way they do for not reason at all. No, there is a reason for everything. and the ultimate reason for everything is the great plan of God. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom 11:36).

Williamson, GI, The Westminster Shorter Catechism

When we say that God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, we certainly do not mean that God is the author of sin. While God’s plan for all things certainly includes the sin that takes place, the Scriptures are clear that God is not the author of sin (1 John 1:5; James 1:13; Proverbs 8:13). God created angels and men, and they were very good when God made them. But, as free agents, sin arose in those creatures, and they rebelled from God. In fact, the Bible says that Satan is the author of sin (John 8:44; 1 John 3:8).

Neither does the decree of God rob man of his personal responsibility. God’s eternal decree does not make us automatons, so predetermined that what we say and do have not lasting consequence. It is true that God has chosen His people unto salvation, and not one will be lost from those whom He has called. God has determined from the beginning the destiny of every man and woman, some to eternal glory (Eph 1:4), and others to eternal damnation (Jude 4). Still, the scriptures also teach that those who are ultimately lost are lost by their own choice.

Look to the story of Pharaoh and the people of Israel. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, bringing about the oppression of the people of Israel, so that greater glory would be revealed in their deliverance. But Pharaoh also hardened his own heart, and acted viciously.

The point is this: God controls by divine decree and sovereign power everything that happens to His own purposes, but that does not remove any responsibility from those who sin. Sinners sin because they are sinners. Evildoers do evil not because they are forced to, but by their own evil intent.

Let us uphold the glory of our Sovereign God who has ordained all things according to the counsel of His will, learning always to seek His will and live in righteousness for His praise and honor.

SDG

Where is my assurance?

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I was asked recently by a young believer struggling in his faith, “How can I really know if I’m saved?”

I don’t know if it was any comfort to him, but I shared that this is a question that every believer will wrestle with at some point in their walk with Christ – sometimes quite often.

My guess is that our wavering faith often results from misdirected roots. 

  • We look to the times when all is well as the standard of what the Christian life is meant to be, so that when we are called to carry our cross we are convinced something is wrong.
  • We place our trust in our ability to figure things out, but when faced with difficult providence from the hand of God we begin to question His sovereignty and provision. 
  • We rest our confidence in our own ability to tame our wicked hearts, and are absolutely crushed when we fall into sin and our hearts accuse us with a long list of our many failings.

Our can-do attitude drives us to these things. If you want to have assurance, then you must do this. If you want to have assurance, you must not do that. If you want to have assurance, be a better Christian. Isn’t that essentially a doctrine of salvation by works?!?

When we hang our sense of assurance in salvation upon anything or anyone other than Christ and His perfect and completed work for us, we will always be disappointed. When you are struggling to find the comfort of assurance in salvation, the answer is not to look at what you’ve done, but who Christ is. If your assurance is in anything other than the perfect and completed work of Christ for you, whatever it is your basing your assurance upon has become your savior.

I was thinking through this while I was reading Wilhelmus à Brakel’s, The Christian’s Reasonable Service. In writing about the person and work of the Holy Spirit, à Brakel reminds us that,

Prior to their regeneration the elect are by nature as all other men, “sensual, having not the Spirit” (Jude 19). As it is only the Spirit who makes alive, they are dead in sins and trespasses, living in total separation from God, having neither perception of their sinfulness and damnable state nor of salvation and spiritual life, and having no desire for these things. That which is of the earth is the focus of all their soul’s activity and of all the members of their body. All their religious activity is of a mechanical nature, in order to quiet their conscience. They rest in what they have done, and hate all that which resembles light, spirituality, and true godliness—especially when their encounter with them is too close for comfort.

However, when the moment of God’s good pleasure arrives for the elect, God grants them the Holy Spirit, who illuminates and regenerates them and by faith makes them partakers of Christ and all His benefits. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6); “Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15); “Now we have received the Spirit which is of God” (1 Cor. 2:12).

Do you see how this is our assurance?

Apart from the love of God, the sovereign grace Christ, and quickening power of the Holy Spirit, we are without life, in total separation from God… resting in what we have done, and hating all that which resembles light, spirituality, and true godliness. But when God grants the working of His Spirit in the life of the elect, they are illuminated, regenerated, and made by faith to be partakers of Christ and all His benefits.

Salvation is God’s gift, given in Christ, and applied to our lives by the Holy Spirit. It is His work, not ours. We are simply to rest in and receive Christ as He is revealed in God’s Word. He is our assurance, our confidence, our eternal hope of glory.

In this life, our confidence can often be shaken. Like Peter, who stepped out of the boat to walk on water with the Lord, our eyes turn from the Lord to the waves, and we begin to sink. Sin lingers in our lives, causing us to stumble. Doubt plagues our minds, keeping us in darkness. Trials make us tremble, and our trust in God is shaken. 

Let us remember: Even the wind and waves obey him, so fix your eyes upon Him. He came into the world to save sinners, and he bore the punishment for every sin upon His cross. He is the light of the world, and has given His word to shine as a light upon our path. He is the Rock, the Cornerstone, upon whom we can stand. Whatever creeps into cause us to doubt, whatever difficulties we face, whatever accusation lies heavy upon your soul, these are meant to drive you deeper into the arms of the one who saves, Jesus Christ. Put your hope, not in anything you have done, but in His atoning work. Then you will rest in full assurance and peace.

SDG