Transcript Document

THE DECREES OF GOD
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THE WORKS OF GOD
Opera Ad IntraGod in
himself
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Opera Ad ExtraGod in relation
to creation
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THE DECREES OF GOD
• 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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• 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
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BIBLICAL DATA FOR THE
DECREE OF GOD
• Psalm 139:16, “All the days ordained for me were written in your
book before one of them came to be”
• Psalm 33:11, “the plans of the Lord stand firm forever”
• Isaiah 14:24, “the Lord Almighty has sworn, Surely, as I have
planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand”
• Ephesians 1:5,11 “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 10:29,30,
“not one of them [sparrows] will fall . . . apart from the
will of your Father”
• Includes the wicked acts of men
– Luke 22:22, “the Son of Man will go as it has been decreed”
– Acts 2:23, “this man was handed to you by God’s set
purpose and foreknowledge”
– Acts 4:27-28, “They did what your power and will had
decided beforehand should happen”
• Are Immutable, Isaiah 14:24,27, “I have purposed, so
it will stand”
• Isaiah 46:9-10, “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
100%
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The sovereignty of God
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WORKS OF GOD:
PROVIDENCE
• “God’s 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 1:3, the boat
– Extraordinary Providence, Jonah 1:4, great wind
– Supernatural Providence, Jonah 1:17, the fish
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MYSTERY OF PROVIDENCE
• Agency and Responsibility (second causes) are
established by God’s providence
• Biblical Examples:
– Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God
intended it for good”
– Isaiah 10:5ff, “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 27:22-25, “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 choicesherein lies the paradox!
• Necessity versus Compulsion, ICR 2.3.5, “Therefore if
the fact that he [God] must do good does not hinder
God’s 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:
• A Calvinist 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, Wesley’s Scriptural
Christianity, 114.
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– “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 God’s
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 ITS
4-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 6:44
• “For the sinful nature
is always hostile to
God” Romans 8:7
• “The natural man does
not receive the things
of the spirit” I
Corinthians 2:14
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• “A bad tree can’t
produce good fruit.”
Matthew 7:18
• “An evil person
produces evil words
out of an evil heart”
Matthew 12:33
• “Whatever is in your
heart determines what
you say” Luke 6:45
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THE PROBLEM OF SIN
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 predestination 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. 7:6,7;
Deut. 4:37; Ps. 135:4; 78:68; I Kings 8:16; I Chr. 28:5; I
Sam. 10:24
– eklegomai, “Pick for oneself, choose” 22x, Eph. 1:4
– eklektos, “elected, chosen” 22x, I Peter 1:1, 2:4,6,9
– eklogh, “election, choosing” 7x, Rom. 9:11; 11:5,7,28; I
Thess. 1:4
– airew, “take, choose” II Thess. 2:13
– tassw, “appoint, ordain” Acts 13:48
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ELECTION
•Biblical Language
– proginwskw, “foreknow” 5x; Romans 8:29, 11:2
– prognwsij, “foreknowledge” 2x; Acts 2:23, I Peter 1:1-2
– proorizw, “decide upon beforehand, predestine” 6x of God’s
decree, Romans 8:29-30; I Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:5; 11
– protiqhmi, “plan, propose, purpose” 3x, (Rom. 1:13; 3:25)
Eph. 1:9
– proetoimazw, “prepare before” Rom. 9:23; Eph. 2:10
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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 Christ’s work; it is a satisfaction
for sin
– It does not involve the value of Christ’s 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 10:11, “the good shepherd lays down his life for his
sheep”; 14-15, “I know my sheep”
–Acts 20:28, “the church of God, which he bought with his
blood”
–Eph. 5:25, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for
her”
•There are passages which limit the extent of the
atonement:
–Matt. 20:28, “give his life a ransom for many”; 26:28, “my
blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many”
–Heb. 9:28, “sacrificed once to take away the sins of many”
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EXTENT OF ATONEMENT
•There are additional passages of importance:
–Rom. 8:33-34, “gave him up for us all . . . Whom God has
chosen”
–I Cor. 15:3-4, “Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures”
–Eph. 1:4-7, “in him we have redemption”
–Matt. 7:23, “I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you’”
– John 10:26, “you do not believe because you are not my
sheep”
–Rom. 9:24-32, “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. 1:18-25;
3:10-18
•Election is unfair
–This stacks the deck!
–BUT- ISN’T THAT THE WHOLE POINT OF GRACE? IT ISN’T
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 37:1-4. Were the bones capable of doing
what God required?
•God loves everyone alike
–BUT, Cf. Luke 22:31 with John 13:27
•God is no respecter of persons!
–Indeed- Rom. 3:10, 3:23- 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 God’s 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 God’s part
and seems to lead to pessimism and quietism on man’s
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 aprior 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 6:51; II Cor. 5:19; Col. 1:20; I
Tim. 2:6, 4:10; Titus 2:11; Heb. 2:9; II Peter 2:1,
3:9; I John 2:2
– 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. 4:1; Jer. 1:5; Amos 3:2; Matt. 1:25;
7:23; I Cor. 8:3; Gal. 4:9; II Tim. 2:19
• Foreknowledge is more than merely “knowing
beforehand”: Acts 2:23; Rom. 8:29, 11:2; I Peter 1:2,
19-20
– In Acts 2:23, “by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge” tou/ton th/|
w`risme,nh| boulh/| kai. prognw,sei tou/ qeou/
– In I Peter 1:1-2, “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 a`giasmw/| pneu,matoj eivj u`pakoh.n
kai. r`antismo.n ai[matoj 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” God’s 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)
–
–
–
–
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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
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