Romans 9. I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh.
They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
But it is not as though the word of God has failed, for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. And not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but through Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said about this time next year: I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.
And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls. She was told, the older will serve the younger.
As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
Amen. Would you pray with me? Our Father and our God, we ask now that you help us, help us as we seek to understand this passage and this doctrine of predestination. Lord God, we ask that you open our hearts to receive all you have for us this day, and help us to give you the glory. We ask this in Christ’s name, amen. Okay, so the Westminster Confession of Faith. We are continuing our study this morning. We just read that, Romans 9, verses 1 through 18. By the way, what is this picture of? Yes, what happened there in the 1600s? Yes, yes, that is the place where it was written, so to speak. All right, so we just read that.
So at the beginning of this chapter, Paul writes this: “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers.” Why did he write that? Yes, my kinsmen. Then he says, “according to the flesh.” What does that mean? According to the flesh, they were in his bloodline. They were Israelites. But he is wishing that he could be accursed, that he could be cut off from Christ. Could Paul actually have been accursed? Could he have been cut off from Christ? No, he could not. It is impossible. That is the point we are going to be discussing this morning. The impossibility for Paul to be cut off from Christ. It is interesting that he begins this way. What we have now is chapter 9. He is recognizing that it is impossible for him to bring his brothers into the kingdom, and it is impossible for him to exchange himself for them. This leads to the doctrine of predestination. So what have we learned so far?
Just one thing from the Westminster Confession. Just one thing that you recall. Just one. Scripture is the word of God. That is very good. That is chapter one. Does anyone remember anything from chapter two? Yes, sir. God is spirit. That is correct. God is spirit. Excellent. Excellent.
So we are learning. Good. That is encouraging for me to hear that we are learning. So we have learned about Scripture and about God. We covered God quite briefly last time. Now, as we continue through the Westminster Confession, what do you think comes next? Scripture and God? Well, almost, but not quite. We will now learn about what God has done, in a sense.
Where does creation come from? From God. God made a decision to create. Where does humanity come from? From God. God made a decision to create humanity. Where does salvation come from? From God. God made a decision to save. Therefore, all of this ultimately comes back to the decree of God. So we have learned about Scripture and about God. Now we will learn about what God has done, in a sense, particularly in making decisions.
This church building— I assume that at some point a decision was made to build it. There was a plan developed before the building was constructed. I was not present at that time. Perhaps some of you were. So there was a plan. We had a plan to build the building, and then the building was constructed. In the same way, God had a plan to create and to save before He actually created and before He saved. That is what we are learning about today—the plan.
The decrees of God are the focus for today. This is found in chapter three of the Westminster Confession of Faith. One, two, three, okay. So what are the decrees of God? This is the seventh question of the Shorter Catechism. It is important that we establish this baseline to understand the concept. When we speak of decrees, we do not often use this word. What are the decrees of God? They are His eternal purpose according to the counsel of His will. I was going to say it. Okay. All right. Good. Well, here is the answer.
The decrees of God are His eternal purpose according to the counsel of His will. For whose glory? For His own glory. He has foreordained whatever comes to pass. So God makes a decision, and then events occur in accordance with what He has decided. This is what the statement means. All things happen according to His will, which is very important, right?
And for His glory. So you may ask, why do we exist? The Shorter Catechism answers this question. Why do we have cars? For His glory. This answers that question, does it not? Yes, you are nodding. I appreciate that. Good. Okay, so this is the baseline. This is what we are discussing today: the decrees of God. In Isaiah 14, as we are reading through Isaiah in the evenings, we have already passed this chapter, but it is helpful for us.
The Lord of hosts has sworn: As I have planned, so shall it be; as I have planned, it shall stand. This is what we are discussing: the decrees of God, His plan. And it will happen according to His plan. It shall stand that I will break the Assyrian in My land and on My mountains trample him underfoot, and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder. This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth. And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations, for the Lord of hosts is purposed.
And who will annul it? What does it mean to annul? To cancel it completely, to erase it. In the past, people in the Catholic Church spoke of a marriage being annulled, meaning it was declared not to have occurred, not to have existed. This process required a fee. Pardon me? It cost money. Oh, yes, of course. Yes. His hand is stretched out.
Who will turn it back? Isaiah asks this question rhetorically: who will turn back the hand of God? No one, right? No one can do it. His purpose will stand. The decrees of God remain firm. According to the Westminster Confession, chapter three, the first paragraph: God, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass. When did eternity begin? It had no beginning, right? No beginning, no end. We cannot truly grasp this, can we? I cannot.
God, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass. Yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin—this is important—nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures. Nor is liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.
There is much in this first paragraph. Often, the first paragraph of the confession serves as an overview, and the following paragraphs explain it in detail. This is a significant statement. How many doctrines are contained in this declaration? At least three. There may be more. Three truths: God has ordained or decreed all things.
Secondly, God is not the author of sin, and God establishes liberty. What did we celebrate yesterday? And do not say independence. Are we independent? No, we are not. In a sense, we celebrate freedom—ultimately, freedom in Christ, do we not? God establishes liberty. Does anyone question these points now? Should I proceed to chapter four? All right, we will review them. So, God has ordained all things.
Psalm 33, for he spoke and it came to be. He commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever. So in this psalm, you see the truth that God ordains, God decrees, He speaks, He determines, He plans, and nothing hinders His plans.
When we speak about decrees, this is what we mean. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart, to all generations. He has ordained all things, and I will use the words ordain, decree, decide, and determine interchangeably. There are subtle differences among these words, but for our discussion this morning, we may use them interchangeably. He decided, He decreed, He planned, He ordained. He has ordained everything.
Now, here is the question: What has God not ordained? Nothing? Come on, there must be something. Wait—I heard a word from the back. Sin. God did not ordain sin. Do you agree with that? No. Actually, we will show that God did ordain sin as well.
But He is not its author. These are two different things. We will address this shortly. Ordaining something, planning it, and being its author or the one who brings it about are not the same. It is a mystery, but they are distinct. So we will hold to this.
God has ordained everything. Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” Do I have plans? Do you have plans? Yes. We make plans, do we not? Whose plan will actually come to pass? God’s. God’s plan. Does He stop you from making plans? He can prevent your plan from succeeding. Does He stop you from making plans? No. Are you free to make your plans? Yes. Do they always come to pass? Not usually. The purpose of the Lord will stand.
This is at the end of Genesis. Do you remember that Joseph’s brothers were not kind to him? Do you recall one thing they did to him that was wrong? Yes, you’re helping the front row. That’s fine. You cannot use that one. What was one thing Joseph’s brothers did to him that was wrong? They threw him into a pit. That was not kind. Then they sold him.
But at the end of Genesis, beginning around chapter 36, the focus is largely on Joseph. Now we reach the end, and Jacob has died, the father. His brothers come to him and say, “Our father asked you to forgive us.” We do not read this in Scripture, but this is the message they bring. They say, “Our father wanted you to forgive us.” So what does Joseph say? “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?” Why does he say that?
As for you, you meant evil against me. The things they did were harmful. They intended to kill him. They intended at least to remove him from their lives. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. What does this mean? The plans of people and the plan of God. How did God bring Joseph to be second in command in Egypt, the most powerful nation on earth at that time? He used the sins of men to bring Joseph there. Did God cause those men to sin?
They had their own plan. They carried out their plan. They meant it for evil, but God used it for good. Yes, God has ordained all things. Yes. To bring about the survival of many people, as they are today. Was it good for Joseph to become second in command? Yes. He stored up grain, sold it back to the people, and they were fed. People were saved. Not spiritually, but physically. God meant it for good.
This may be the most important verse presenting this doctrine, found in Acts. Peter’s preaching is nearing its end. He has revealed to them that they were the ones who crucified Jesus Christ. They are the ones who put Jesus to death. He says, “Men of Israel, listen to these words.”
Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God through miracles, wonders, and signs that God performed among you, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. You crucified him by the hands of lawless men and put him to death. So who put Jesus to death?
I could say, “I did,” because of my sin. In a sense, that is what Luke is recording here. This is what Peter was proclaiming. But Peter also says that there were lawless men who crucified Jesus Christ. Pontius Pilate condemned him to death unjustly. Pilate knew he was innocent. These were lawless men. The Roman soldiers who came and mocked Jesus Christ, placing a crown of thorns on his head, dressing him in a robe, mocking him, striking him, beating him—these were lawless men. He was put to death by them.
Yet this was part of God’s predetermined plan. You see, they intended it for evil. But God intended it for good. God has ordained all things, including Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. You see, the one who caused the sin of killing Jesus Christ is not God. These lawless men are the ones responsible. This man was handed over according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. You were the ones who crucified him. Peter does not say that God crucified him. Peter does not preach that God the Father sinned against His Son by causing His death.
No, but he planned it. He purposed it. Therefore, there are two concepts here: the author of sin and the one who ordains sin. Yes, you must recognize both, and you must keep them separate. Put it another way: did God force those men who put Jesus Christ to death to act against their will, so that they said, “I do not want to do this, but he is making me do it”? No, it was their own desire. You can also think of it in this way.
In Calvin’s section on providence in the Institutes, he discusses how human pride influences people’s motives for their actions. For example, in Isaiah, God calls the Assyrians the rod of his anger when he uses them to judge his own people. Then in Isaiah 10, he says he will punish the Assyrians. They did not act because they saw themselves as the rod of his anger or as instruments used by God. They acted because of the pride and wickedness in their own hearts.
Yes. Very good. Thank you. Are you beginning to understand this distinction? The one who ordains all things versus the author of sin, the doer of sin, the one who sins. Are you making this distinction? That is what we must make here. At this point, we are simply considering that God has ordained everything. Now we come to the truth that God is not the author of sin. So we begin with the fact that God is pure, God is holy. God is light. In him there is no darkness. So we begin with creation. At the end of creation, at the end of chapter one, we read this: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”
Now what does that mean? Was it good like a good maple tree compared to a not-so-good maple tree? Could you say it was very good because everything glorified him? I think you could say that, yes. And I think everything glorified him because he made it. It was perfect in his sight. It was good. It was righteous.
This is after man is made, right? Adam and Eve exist at the point at which Moses now records, but they are dead at the point in time he records this. Yet he is recording the very words of God, and God is looking upon his entire creation, and he is concluding that it is very good. Could he conclude that his creation was very good if, in fact, sin was in the heart of Adam at this point?
No, absolutely not. It would be impossible. How could God conclude that it was all very good if sin was in Adam’s heart? He could not say that it was very good if that were the case. Does that make sense? All right. God is not the author of sin. He saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. So then what happens? Well, chapter three, not too many words after these words emanate from God’s mouth.
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, she saw that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise. She took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Pronouns are important in Scripture. Where is God in this? The woman saw, she took, she ate, she gave, and he ate. Yes, God is watching. Did God ordain this eating of the forbidden fruit? No. Did He force Eve to do it? No. Who did it? Eve did it. Can we blame the woman? No. Adam was there the whole time. He failed in his duties. What was he supposed to do?
Watch and keep the garden. From what? It was all very good. From what? There were no pests present. I am not a skilled gardener, but I often encounter pests and other problems that damage vegetables before I can harvest them. There were none here. What was he supposed to guard it from? From sin entering. He ate. God is not the author of sin. Who is the author of sin here? The woman? The man? You are the authors of sin. If you are not a God who delights in wickedness, evil cannot dwell with you. God is not the author of sin. There is no darkness in God. God did not create sin. In fact, I will say this: sin is not a thing that was created.
You may reflect on this if you wish. When you use the phrase “sin was around,” you treat it as if it were a thing, like something that exists independently, as if it were placed in a box. Then, somehow, it is released later. But where did it come from? How did it enter the box? It comes from creatures. It is present. It originates from the human heart.
Yes, ma’am? I have always been amazed that Adam and Eve were with God, and God was with them. It is written that He walked with them. They had everything in perfect order. God declared it good. Yet they chose. They had the ability to choose yes or no, and they chose to sin. I believe this is profoundly sad. I agree.
Of course. But also remember that Adam was the perfect one to be placed in the garden. This is a side point, and we will return to it shortly. When I was working in a law firm, one of the associates was at the door with me. God had just changed my heart. We were discussing spiritual matters.
And he said, well, it’s wrong that God made Adam the federal head. He probably didn’t use that language. But that was wrong. He should have put me there. He should have given me the chance. He should have made me perfect, and then I would have had the opportunity, not Adam. Well, that fails to recognize federal headship. Well, maybe a little bit.
But yes, Adam was the perfect choice for God to place in the garden, and if any of us had been there, we would have done exactly the same thing. Adam is the perfect choice, because everything was very good. We participated in that sin because of his federal headship. We are in his loins, yes. So we would have made the same choice. Yes. It is as if, by representation, we would have done the same. So in that sense, yes, it is sad. But we would have done the same thing. Yes. Yes.
Praise God for the second federal head, the Lord Jesus Christ. To me, this also points out a general truth: our sin is irrational. There is a certain incomprehensibility to it. I think the scripture refers to it as foolishness, and it is. I’m sorry.
None of this would have happened if Eve had realized that serpents do not speak. That is correct. What you were saying earlier about sin and existence, I think it is helpful to consider as well, what you pointed out earlier, that when God created everything, He said that it was very good. Something must have been brought into creation. But sin does not truly have existence. It eats away at existence and the things that God has made in creation. It destroys. It does not exist. It destroys what exists. Yes. Yes. So I like that phrase. I like that phrase. You indicated it is a choice. It is a choice. Yes, good.
For you are not a God who delights in wickedness. Evil does not dwell in you. There is nothing dark in God, so He cannot be the author of sin. In 1 John 1:5, this message we have heard from Him and proclaimed to you: God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
He cannot be the author of sin; it is impossible. In Genesis 6:5, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. This is a result of the fall, the corruption that Adam caused, which we have inherited as sons and daughters of him. The thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. God is not the author of sin. Then Jesus said this: there is nothing outside a person that, by going into him, can defile him. But the things that come out of a person are what defile him. What was the context in which Jesus said this? In Matthew 15, we read that the disciples were eating with unwashed hands. Is that the issue? Is that the same thing? Yes, it is the same thing. The Pharisees were saying, what are they doing? They are not clean. It was a ceremonial practice. They are not clean. Jesus, come on. Wait a minute, you are completely wrong. It is not what goes into you that defiles you. It is what comes out of you that defiles you.
But the way this is stated—there is nothing outside a person that, by going into him, can defile him—Jesus is saying, and I have never understood it this way before, but there is nothing outside. God does not cause anyone to sin. Nothing outside. It is all within. Therefore, God is not the author of sin. This aligns with what you said earlier: sin is not a thing that exists independently. It is not merely present somewhere outside. No. Finally, in this first paragraph, God establishes liberty. God has ordained everything. God is not the author of sin, yet God establishes liberty. Nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures. What does it mean that violence is offered to the will of the creature? Sometimes the language used is expressed in ways that we do not commonly speak.
Right. Twisting your arm is just a way of saying he’s not forcing your will. Do you have free will? Are you able to make choices today? Did you choose to put on that blue jacket? You did. You had freedom to do that, right? Do you have freedom to make other choices? Some choices, but not all choices. What do you mean by that? You are not free to save yourself or redeem yourself unless God does the work. There is a limit on your freedom. When the gospel goes out, you have the freedom to choose. You just will not choose, because you are depraved and do not desire God.
Yes. I think that’s right. And so from that it follows that we just do not and will not. And so we see that as a limit on our freedom. But actually, we are free. Was Adam free to choose not to eat? He absolutely was. Are you free to obey God? Yes. Will you? As a believer, yes. Not always, but yes. Well, because I am united with Christ. Yes, indeed. You have His righteousness. Let’s just talk about another topic for a moment, but we’ll come back.
Edwards writes about the freedom of the will and he narrows it down to your desire. All right, what is your desire? You will always act in accordance with your desire. When your heart is not changed, when you are in an unregenerate state, when you still have that stony heart, your desire will always be to sin.
That is your inclination, that is your bent. It is like the leaning of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. By the way, is it really true that the tower leans? Yes, thank you. The Leaning Tower of Pisa leans in one direction because the foundation was not properly constructed, and the engineers at that time lacked the knowledge to prevent it.
I do not know for some reason, but our hearts are inclined in only one direction. When we have a stony heart, we are bent in one direction only—away from God and toward sin. That is our desire. That is what we want. We do not want anything to do with Jesus Christ. We do not want anything to do with God. Our desire is constantly directed toward sin. So we have freedom. Do we have freedom to choose God? We do have freedom, but we will not choose Him.
In the regenerate state, once your heart has been changed from stone to flesh, that inclination shifts. How difficult is it to pull the leaning tower of Pisa over so it leans the other way? It is extremely difficult. They tried to do it, but they could not. We cannot either. But as Arnie was saying, God does this work. He reorients our heart. Now we are inclined away from sin and toward God. We always have freedom. But it is the change of heart that changes the direction. It changes our inclination. So God establishes liberty.
Even though God ordains all things, He is not the author of sin, nor does He force anyone to sin. Nor is violence offered to the will of creatures, nor is liberty or the contingency of second causes taken away. Who is the first cause? Yes, that is the ordination we are discussing—the decree. He is the first cause. Nor is liberty or the contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established. That is what we are talking about. He establishes liberty. Where does that come from? What verse can you go back to and say, well, that is where that liberty is established? It is in chapter one of Genesis.
Something about being created in the image of God. That is where that liberty is established: we are created in the image of God. We have liberty because we are made in His image, because we are moral creatures, because He has given us the ability to make decisions—moral decisions—not merely whether you will wear a blue or brown coat today.
Deuteronomy 30: I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life. And that is what we are discussing in terms of liberty. Moses is writing at the end of the Pentateuch, just before the Israelites enter the Promised Land. He says, choose life, for you have a choice. As Zarni said, we will not choose life unless our hearts are changed. Without that change, we will always choose death rather than life. But here it is: therefore choose life. This is the liberty that has been established, so that you and your descendants may live.
In Matthew, chapter 17, Jesus speaks these words: “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased.” Who is he referring to? John the Baptist. He has come, and John the Baptist was beheaded. They did to him whatever they pleased. So the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands. People will do as they please. God establishes liberty.
James, chapter one: “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” This is where Edwards draws his understanding. The idea is that each person has desires, and it is these desires that drive our actions. Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire, not by God pushing him. Then, when desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it brings forth death. God establishes liberty.
James recognized this truth. OK, questions? Yes, sir? If God is not the author of sin, do you think that means He is not the author of evil? Where does evil come from? It must come from the antichrist. Yes. Absolutely. Questions? Could you make the case that the first sin was the desire to eat the apple, the seeing of it as good, rather than the act of eating the apple? I think so.
I mean, I think Eve was sinning as she was evaluating. She was listening to the serpent. I would think that this could be considered the first sin. Because in order to listen to the serpent, what must she do? She must begin to doubt the Word of God. As she listens to the serpent and receives his words, she is in the process of rejecting the Word of God. Not only does she doubt it, but she then denies it.
The serpent said, “You will not surely die.” This reverses God’s words, “You will surely die.” So yes, there is sin in all that Eve is doing. But the first sin is actually Adam’s, as he fails to protect his wife. He allows her to be in an environment with the serpent, who is seeking to tempt her away from God, and he does not intervene.
So many times in Scripture, the most powerful verses are the shortest. And he ate. Adam was with her the whole time this was happening. He did not intervene. He did nothing. He did not say, “Look, Eve, remember what God said.” Not a word. At least that is nothing that is recorded by Moses. So I think there is sin in that entire scenario, first by Adam. Then his wife is tempted, led away, and deceived. Yes, that is correct.
What about Satan and his fallen angels prior to that? Your question is, or your statement is…
They certainly sinned against God. Again, they made a choice. Satan made a choice to replace God with himself. Now he is trying to destroy what God has made—moral creatures made in His image, humans, whom God created to worship Him. And certainly the angels worship him as well. But to say that sin originated with Satan, I think we can say from Scripture that the first indication of sin is in Satan, as he determines to reject God and to replace God with himself. Then that sin, which has now taken root in Satan because of his choice, becomes evident.
Angels can make choices. They cannot be redeemed, however. Not as federal heads. No. That sin, which has now arisen, has welled up within him because he has made that choice. He seeks to cause others to make the same choice. We see this in Romans as well. As Paul writes in the first chapter, they not only rebel against God, but they urge others to do the same. We are now speaking of humans, not of angels. Was Satan the first creature to determine to sin? It appears that the answer is yes. And then he desires that others follow him on that path.
When we speak of Satan as the originator of sin, I would say, once again, we are approaching the idea of sin as a reality, rather than merely a choice we make. That is a good question. OK, I have more slides, but we are out of time. Question? Just Isaiah. Yes. Yes.
I take all the scripture verses we have already examined today, and I must overlay them upon this understanding. I must conclude that in order to understand that verse, I cannot interpret it in a way that suggests God forces people to commit evil acts. I cannot understand it in that way. Therefore, I must understand it in another way, so that I can read all these verses together.
It would not be in the way that says, God is the author of sin. No. But are there calamities that come from God? Certainly. Hurricanes occur, and we can read about them in that way. But we would not interpret them as meaning that God is the author of sin. Yes, good.
Let me pray for us. Father, we come to this doctrine, and it is so deep, yet it is so clear in Scripture that You have chosen a people for Yourself, and Lord, You have passed over others. And so we ask, Lord God, that You would help us to be careful with this particular doctrine and see that You are glorified in and by and through it. And that it is a glory to us. So help us to be careful with it, yet help us to praise You for it. And now we ask, Lord God, help us, prepare us to come before You in worship and service and praise.