LBC1689 Article 3
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1. God hath decreed in himself[1], from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably, all things[2], whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither[3] the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein[4]; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature[5], nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established; in which appears his wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree[6].
- [1] 1689 Adds this to WCF and Savoy; the source is the 1644 London Baptist Confession.
- [2] 1689 adds this to WCF and Savoy; the source is the 1644 London Baptist Confession
- [3] 1689 adds this to WCF and Savoy
- [4] 1689 adds this to WCF and Savoy; the source is close, but not exact to the 1644 London Confession.
- [5] 1689 makes “creatures” from the WCF and Savoy into singular “creature.”
- [6] 1689 adds this to WCF and Savoy; the source is the 1644 London Baptist Confession (1644 LBC)
Read these Scriptures: Isaiah 46:10; Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 6:17
- When and what has God decreed what shall come to pass?
- Is the statement true?: If you do not believe that God from all eternity, freely and unchangeably ordains every single thing that comes to pass then you are an atheist. Why or why not?
- How can God be the creator of all things and not be the author of or responsible for sin?
- What does it mean when the Confession says: “nor is violence offered to the will of the creature”?
- What does in mean when the Confession says: “nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away”?
- “What scientists call the laws of nature we call the normal operations of the sovereign God. They are His laws; they are not independent in nature. They simply describe the regular, normal way in which God manages or governs His universe. He is the primary cause of everything that comes to pass, the power supply for all force; secondary causes are always dependent for their power on the primary source of power.” (R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess (New Jersey, P&R Publishing), Volume I, pg. 81.)
- “The more we reflect on this and work through some of the apparent difficulties, the more we realize that our destinies, our lives, and our children’s lives, in the final analysis, are not exposed to the blind forces of chance or fate. This is our Father’s world, and our lives are in His hands. His purpose and will are being brought to pass.” (R.C. Sproul)
- If God foreordained everything, the ends as well as the means are also foreordained. Only God could orchestrate such holy and “powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions.” (Shorter Catechism question 11 for WSC, and 12 for Baptist Version.)
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1. Are the decrees of God based upon events being foreseen?
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1. For what purpose are some men foreordained to eternal life while others are left in their sins?
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1. What is the number and state of those who have been predestinated?
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1. State the divine motive for the decrees.
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1. Who are the elect of God?
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1. Of what value is the doctrine of election?
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Jason Robertson is a husband and a father and a pastor. He is dedicated to leading and equipping his the Church with God’s word and biblical theology for life ministry, using a combination of pastoral, church planting and evangelism experience. He holds a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is experienced in church planting, evangelism, missions, and the training of pastors and Bible teachers.
Jason has been preaching the gospel since 1985, serving the first ten years of ministry as a Southern Baptist itinerant evangelist out of Milldale Baptist Church in Zachary, LA which ordained him in 1993. He has preached in hundreds of churches in over 30 States and 4 countries. He planted churches in Siberia, Russia in the summers of 1993 and 1994. He founded Murrieta Valley Church in California, which he planted in cooperation with the SBC NAMB in 2001. He also teaches ministry students at California Baptist University.
You can hear his sermons and read his manuscripts on sermonaudio.com. Just follow the link to "sermons" at the top of this page.
Looking forward to more study this Saturday. It seems to me that people today view things from a “God takes care of the outcome (i.e., Rom. 8:28)” but not necessarily in charge of how, what, and when. In other words, we live our lives (according to our own will) some times we do well, some times we mess things up, but “in the long run” or “big picture” God is faithful to either be pleased with us for those times when we do well, and when we mess up, He pats us on the head and cleans up our mess. The problem with this, I think, is that God is our police force, ambulance driver, firefighter, and/or Mommy. I think it goes along with the idea of salvation being basically a ‘reaction’ by God because of Adam’s fall in the garden. When we take time to think of God being so much bigger than this, indeed even in charge of the means and not just in charge of the ends, then we are humbled and perhaps even moved to ‘fear’ God.
Oh, one other thing…. I should have put ‘life guard’ in my list of heroes above…. probably even Coast Guard too in light of that little girl being rescued off Austrailia.