 The Decrees of God Part Two
Last month we introduced the subject of God's decrees. This is the truth that God sovereignly plans and brings to pass all things that happen. In this issue we will continue our study of this essential biblical doctrine. VII. The Extent of God's Decrees. "…He is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth" (Job 23:13 KJV). This text states that:
It is obvious that God's plan is universal and includes all things without exception. This fact is a great comfort to a child of God, especially in times of trial. Spurgeon has pointed this out.
One of my favorite hymns sets forth this glorious truth better than I ever could.
This hymn is describing the God of the Bible. Dear child of God, the God who is so described is your heavenly Father. Dear non-Christian friend, the same God is the Judge you must face and to whom you must give an account of your rebellion. Isn't it amazing that the very truth that brings comfort and hope to a believer is the same thing that brings terror and fear to a lost man? The truth we are discussing is what makes texts like Romans 8:28 and Habbakuk 2:20 to be more than platitudes. The absoluteness and unchangeableness of God's decrees make everything fit together. When tragedy strikes and the devil paints the worst possible scenario, the child of God can say, "Wait a minute, you are forgetting that God is in control. He brought this to pass and he will use it for my good and his own glory." This is exactly what our Lord experienced as he hung on the Cross. The crowd taunted him, saying, "Where now is your God?" And exactly where was God that awful Friday afternoon? He was "in his holy temple" (Habakkuk 2:20) working out his sovereign purposes. It was the Father who put Christ on the Cross. Calvary was not a failure, but the greatest victory the world ever saw. It may have looked like God's plans and purposes had gone astray, but every single event of that day was happening right on schedule. God's sovereign decrees were being carried out down to the smallest detail. Let me remind you of three texts that all teach this same truth. The first verse, Romans 8:28, presents the assurance and hope that comes when we understand and apply the other two verses.
You might be tempted to think that the words all things are not quite big enough to include the specific painful situation that you face right now. The second text expands that phrase "all things" in a way that makes it impossible not to include every event without exception.
In our last issue, we noted that there are three different prepositions used in this verse.
The third text adds the finishing touches. God really knows what he is doing. His plans and works are not purely arbitrary. God plans and brings to pass the particular things that he does simply because they are all, as Spurgeon said, 'wise and good.' God's plans are the best possible plans. Paul, in this text, is emphasizing that God's purposes grow out of the "counsel of His will."
Someone has said, "If I were as sovereign as God, I would change a lot of things. If I were as wise as God, I would not change a single thing." VIII. Outline of the Extent of God's Decrees. All Christians believe that God's plans have something to do with affecting the future. However, they disagree with what those plans are and whether God is going to be able to bring them to pass. The Pelagian, those who originally did battle with Augustine, denies that God has a plan, and the Arminian denies that the plan is specific and inclusive of all things. We believe that the Confession expresses accurately what the Bible teaches when it says, "God from all eternity did, by His most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeable ordain whatsoever comes to pass…" (Westminster & Philadelphia Confessions, Chapter 3, Section 1). Here are six specific areas clearly covered by the decrees of God. Let me list them and then cover them one at a time.
First of all, God ordains every event in life, including the day of both our birth and death.
Does a hired man decide when his employment starts and when it ends or is that totally determined by the one doing the hiring? The writer acknowledges that his time on earth, whatever time God ordains, has been 'allotted' to him.
Death is an appointment set by God that no man can change in any way. See also Ecclesiastes 8:5-9. Secondly, God's decrees extend even to the smallest detail.
Is Jesus being facetious or is he being dead serious? Does God really know how many hairs are on your head? Does he know how many come out each morning when you brush your hair? Most people do not even read verse 29 correctly, let alone understand it correctly. They somehow think the text is saying that not a single sparrow falls to the ground without God taking notice that it happened. That is not what the text says. Jesus is saying that even an insignificant sparrow cannot fall if God has not decreed it to happen at that time. Jesus is not joking or stretching a point for effect. He is stating a fact and then making an application. If God is concerned whether a sparrow lives or dies will he take care of you? Can you not trust him in all things and at all times? Thirdly, the decrees of God include the sinful acts of men. We will look at one very familiar Old Testament text and one well-known New Testament text.
There is no question that Joseph's brothers had an evil motive. They hated Joseph and fully intended to do him harm. God purposed to use this very event to ultimately catapult Joseph into such a position of power that he would be able to save his whole family from famine. It is thrilling to read the whole sequence of events right down to the time when Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers. They were afraid Joseph would 'get even,' but instead they heard the words of grace recorded above. Joseph is saying that a sovereign God purposed to use their sin to accomplish his purpose. God's sovereignty in no way excuses them for their sin.
The death of our Lord was neither an accident that could not be stopped nor was it a victory of the devil over God. Peter tells us that Christ had all of the credentials to prove he was the promised Messiah. God himself 'handed Jesus over' to wicked men knowing full well those men would crucify him. The Cross only happened because of God's 'set purpose and foreknowledge.' Men argue about who was responsible for the death of Christ. The men who engineered Christ's death and the people who knew he was innocent will be held accountable on the day of judgment, but at the same time it was God who was in total charge that day. I can imagine the Jews who helped crucify Christ responding to Peter's words this way: "Are we ever glad to hear you say it was all God's fault. That means we are not accountable for what we did." But Peter does not stop with acknowledging God's sovereign purpose, he immediately says, "you, with the help of wicked men." No one can deny that the death of Christ was the event that brought this world the greatest blessing it has ever known, namely, the forgiveness of sins. That death was planned in eternity. Jesus was born in order that he might die on the Cross. His death was his highest act of obedience to his Father. Everything that had to happen in order to bring the Cross to pass was done willingly by wicked men out of a hateful motive, but at the same time it all perfectly fulfilled exactly what God had sovereignly ordained. If you struggle with understanding the sovereign providence of God as it is related to the free agency and responsibility of man, I urge you to get our booklet entitled The Sovereignty of God in Providence.1. Fourthly, God's decrees relate to our plans. Does the fact that God decrees all things mean or imply that I am not to plan for the future as wisely as I can? Not at all. Consider these texts that speak to this issue.
The point in all three of these texts is that man plans as best he can, but he should do so knowing full well that he must always add, "If the Lord wills." A Christian man knows it is his duty to make decisions which are good, holy, and wise. He also knows that he cannot outwit God or beat his decrees. We pray for guidance, at the same time we use all available information in making choices for the future. If, in spite of all our best efforts, the roof falls in we say, "Bless the Lord." There is a belief among many Christians that if trouble and difficulty follow a decision then that proves you are out of God's will and made a wrong choice. What bad choices did Paul make that caused him to get beat up and left for dead? What bad choices caused Jesus to wind up on a Cross? What did the early Christians do wrong that caused them to be fed to the lions? Fifthly, are there such things as "Accidents"? This can be a most difficult point to get into your mind and heart. I beg of you to "gird up the loins of your mind" and follow the texts carefully. The first text, Deuteronomy 19:4-6, instructs the Israelites to establish three cities of refuge. The idea behind these cites is spelled out in verses 4-6.
The purpose of the cities of refuge was to protect a man who had 'accidentally' killed someone from being killed in anger by that person's relatives. Moses gives the illustration of an ax head slipping off the handle and killing a neighbor or friend. A modern illustration would be this: A man and his 14 year-old son go deer hunting. The son sees a deer in a bush and shoots it. He rushes over and discovers he has shot and killed his father. We would say, "That was a horrible accident" and we would be correct from one point of view. Let's look at another verse that is speaking about the identical kind of occurrence, but from a different perspective. Again, the same city of refuge is the subject.
This is the same type of event as that depicted in Exodus 19:4-6, except this time it is explained from God's point of view. To view things only as accidents is to have the same mindset as pagan fatalism. A Christian must see the hand of God in all things. The NIV says, "God lets it happen" and the KJV says, "If God deliver him into his hand." I admit that is a tough verse, but it is consistent with the rest of Scripture on the subject of decrees. You can say that the death of that father was a tragic accident or you can say that God delivered that father into the hand of his son. Both of these things are true. We must acknowledge them both. The sixth example, luck and the decrees of God, could be a sub-set of the fifth, but we will treat it separately. The first chapter of the Book of Acts records the apostles choosing someone to take the place of Judas. The context and the method of choice are interesting.
First of all, we must see that casting lots was not "trusting luck," but was a method ordained by God to assure that God's will was accomplished. They prayed and acknowledged the sovereignty of God. They wanted to be sure the will of God was accomplished. That is why they used the method of casting lots. They knew God controlled the lot. It is sometimes argued that the apostles rushed ahead of God, since he had already chosen Paul as the twelfth apostle. I do not think we can prove that either way. I am not sure if they were right or wrong in choosing a replacement, but the method of casting lots was surely a biblical method. Proverbs 16:33 is very specific, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD." Casting lots was ordained by God as a means for Israel to know the Lord's will in some situation. On the Day of Atonement, they cast lots to choose which goat died and which one was taken into the woods and lost. When it came time to divide up the land, God insisted they do it by casting lots. The reason for this was that he controlled the lot and this method would assure that his will was done. Casting the lot had nothing to do with luck, but everything to do with God's control. By the way, our congregation does not have "pot-luck" suppers. We have "pot-providence" suppers. I am sure you see the difference. You come to a pot-luck supper and see what you are lucky enough to get. You come to a pot-providence supper and see what your heavenly Father has provided for you. IX. Texts that Teach God's Sovereign Decrees.
A classic illustration of the above truth is found in 2 Samuel 17:1-14. In verses 1-3, Ahithophel gives Absalom good and wise (from a worldly point of view) counsel. In verse 4, the king is ready to act. If he had followed that advice, it would have been the end of David. In verses 5-13, Absalom is deliberately given bad counsel, and verse 14 tells us that it was God who was behind the bad advice. God had purposed that Absalom would believe a lie. God used this method to preserve David's life. God 'used' Abaslom's vanity and pride to overcome his good judgement. 1 Kings 22:19-23 gives us another example of the extent and involvement of God's decrees in the affairs of men:
Verse 23 could be written into the minutes of a lot of church business meetings! How many times have manipulators and pressure groups received exactly what they wanted, only to suffer the consequences of God's judgment! The old saying is true, "Be careful what you pray for, you might get it." Let me give one more example of how the decrees of God are carried out by God using ordinary means. This sordid story begins in 1 Kings 21:1-24:
Ahab's wickedness lies in the fact that he is asking Naboth to sin against God's commandment. An Israelite was not allowed to sell the ground allotted to his family by God. He could mortgage it, but every fifty years all the land returned to the original owners.
If ever there was a pathetic couple that deserved each other it was the spineless King Ahab and his treacherous wife Jezebel. What a pair of reprobates!
It looked as though the wicked plan had succeeded. However, Ahab's joy did not last long. God sent the prophet Elijah with a message of judgement.
Notice exactly what is decreed by God against Ahab and his family. First, Ahab is not only going to die, but dogs are going to lick up his blood on the very spot that Naboth's blood was shed (verse 19). Can you imagine how many things God would have to control in order for such a decree to be fulfilled in every detail? Secondly, Ahab and the males of his family will be completely destroyed (verse 21). Thirdly, dogs will devour Jezebel at Jezreel's wall and those of Ahab's family who live in the city, and birds will feed on the carcasses of those who live in the country (verses 22-24). Three years pass and nothing happens to either Ahab or Jezebel. 1 Kings 22 records the episode of Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, going together to war against the king of Aram, who held Ramoth Gilead. Read the dialogue between the prophet Micaiah and Ahab, especially the final word (verses 8-28). Ahab says, "Put this man in prison with only bread and water until I return." Micaiah responds, "If you come back alive, then I am not a prophet." Ahab disguises himself before he goes into battle and it appears to work.
It would appear that Ahab has outwitted God and frustrated his decree. The next verse is one of those amazing statements that cause us to stand in awe of the greatness of God's power:
"Someone drew his bow at random" and the arrow went through the "sections of Ahab's armor." Perhaps the man had broken his bowstring and put a new one in place. He wanted to check it out so he shot an arrow over the hill "at random." The king had apparently loosened his armor a bit and that arrow went right into that small space where the two pieces were tied together, and Ahab was mortally wounded. The story is not over yet, though:
Still the story is not over. What about the prophecy concerning that wicked Jezebel? Some time later Jehu is anointed king of Israel. He is told to wipe out Ahab's whole family just as Elijah had said. He is also going to fulfill the prophecy uttered by Elijah years before concerning Jezebel. The story continues in 2 Kings 9:30-37:
Every jot and tittle of God's Word will be fulfilled down to the smallest detail. Isn't it amazing how God accomplishes his sovereign decrees by ordinary means? He does this because he sovereignly controls each and every 'ordinary' event, including an arrow "shot at random" and dogs licking up blood. X. Relating God's Decrees to His Revealed Will. This is an important aspect of our subject. Deuteronomy 29:29 teaches us that God has both a secret and a revealed will. The secret will consists of his decrees and it belongs to God alone. We have no way of unlocking secrets that God has not revealed. It is a great comfort to know that God has decreed all things, but we do not try to understand God's decrees as a means of discerning God's will for us today. For instance, we are sure that God has decreed when the world will end and when Jesus will return. However, we have no way of knowing when that is going to happen; therefore, we live each day as if it were going to happen today. God's revealed will is a different situation. The text says that it belongs to "us and our children" and it is given to us so that we might obey what God has revealed. We are responsible to understand what God has revealed and order our lives in accordance with the principles he has laid down. Our HOPE is in God's sovereign but secret decrees. Our rule of faith and duty is recorded in his revealed will. His revealed will includes the law and the gospel. Someone has well said, "Providence is a good DIARY but a very poor BIBLE." The hyper-Calvinist, through pride of intellect, tries to use God's decrees for his rule of faith and practice, and the Arminian, through confidence in man's "free will," denies the reality of God's decrees. We dare not do either of these two things.
XI. Difficulties in This Subject. When we discuss the decrees of God, we realize that there is an inscrutable relationship of the eternal to the temporal. We, as temporal beings, cannot see, for certain, anything beyond the immediate moment. God, who is eternal, does not operate in the sphere of yesterday, today and tomorrow. With God there is nothing but "is." There is no "was" or "will be" with the everlasting God. We also cannot totally see the relationship of the infinite to the finite. God's thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways and purposes are beyond our comprehension. Even with all of our understanding, God's absolute sovereignty in relationship to man's true and total free agency is still beyond our grasp. We do not question any of these things, but we confess we do not understand them very clearly. One of the most vexing of all questions is the origin of evil as it relates to the holiness, goodness, and power of God. How could a holy God deliberately choose to use evil as a means of revealing and magnifying his grace? These [the above problems] are peculiar to no system that acknowledges the existence and moral government of God, and the moral agency of man. They have perplexed heathen philosophers of old, Deists in modern times, and Socianians, Pelagians, and Arminians just as sorely as Calvinists. (A.H. Hodge, Outlines of Theology, p. 201). XII. "Means" Fulfill Ordained "Ends". God sometimes uses miracles to accomplish his decree, but his usual method is to use ordinary means. A careful reading of Acts 27:9-44 will show this fact. Paul warns against sailing, but the captain rejects his advice and misinterprets providence and proceeds to sail. A storm arises and makes control of the ship to be impossible. After many days, they begin to run out of food and water. Paul proceeds to give them assurance:
The decree of God, according to Paul, was that no one would be lost even though the ship would be destroyed. Paul believed it would be just as God said. The ship started to come into more shallow water. Some of the sailors tried to flee the ship.
I am sure some of the sailors said, "Look Paul, you are contradicting yourself. You told us for certain that no one would perish and now you tell us that if we flee the ship we will die." I do not know if Paul gave them a lesson on human responsibility and divine sovereignty or not. I do know they had to stay on the ship to be saved and I also know they did stay on the ship. Staying on the ship was the means God had ordained to save them. Someone may ask, "What would have happened if some of the sailors had gotten off the ship?" I would reply, "That is a nonsense question. It is a question contrary to fact because nobody got off the ship." Don't ever get into a discussion about what would happen if something God decreed did not happen; because that is simply impossible. I am sometimes asked, "What would have happened the night you got saved if you had not believed the gospel?" I smile and say, "But I did believe. You are talking nonsense." There were two-hundred seventy-six people on board that ship. Paul assured them not a single person would "lose a hair from his head." The boat finally hit a sandbar and all those who could swim jumped into the water and swam to shore. The last verse is both interesting and amusing.
I have no idea how many of those on board could not swim. But if the decree is to be fulfilled they too must reach land safely. God very conveniently arranged to not just stick the ship on a sandbar, but also break it up so there were enough wooden life preservers to go around. God really does take care of all the details. XIII. Conclusion. The concept of the decrees of God answers the age-old question of why events happen as they do. The Bible teaches that all things that come to pass are ordained by God, and this includes even the smallest details of life. Joy and tragedy, obedience and sin, and "luck and accidents" all alike fall under the sovereign control of God. He is both transcendent over his creation and immanent in it. Man is still a responsible moral agent; required to obey what God has revealed, and held accountable when he does not, but God is ultimately the governing agent in the entire universe. Our good and wise God makes his plans, his power assures that they will be carried out, and his activity in his creation brings them to pass in the manner and time he has ordained. With the Apostle Paul, we say, "To him be the glory forever! Amen."
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