In the sermon 'Of God's Decree - The 1689 SLBC 3:1-4,' Mike Davenport explores the complexities of God's decrees, using the analogy of children in a swimming pool to illustrate varying degrees of comfort with deep theological concepts. The sermon explains that God's decrees are His predetermined purposes, unchangeable and established by His wise and holy counsel. While God is the ultimate first cause, He allows for the liberty of second causes, maintaining that He is not the author of sin. The sermon addresses the misconception that God's foreknowledge conditions His decrees, emphasizing that He decrees and therefore foresees. It discusses predestination, asserting that some are foreordained to eternal life while others are left in their sin, all for the manifestation of God's glory. The sermon concludes with a call to find rest in God's unfathomable wisdom and sovereignty.

Well have you ever been at a swimming pool and watched the young children experience the water? There are some children sitting on the side of the pool content to but dangle their little feet in the cool water, being asked if they would like to be taken out into the water, but shaking their head vigorously side to side. There are others who have made their way into the pool itself, but they gather at the shallow end, content to be where their feet can touch the bottom or where they can sit down and splash while keeping their head above water. Still others, with a little more sense of adventure, have wandered out where their feet are no longer touching the bottom. Yet they still cling to the sides of the pool with a grip that almost leaves the imprint of their fingers in the concrete itself.

And then there are others who are as comfortable in the water as a fish would be, who move about, dive, hold their breath, and do so with an Indescribable enjoyment that only comes in the freedom of that comfort that they have We've all seen this Well such is the case with certain doctrines the Trinity last week this week God's decrees True indescribable enjoyment comes in the freedom and comfort of resting in the reality of things that are much bigger than ourselves, in things that are too wonderful for our minds, in deep things where the feet of our knowledge and understanding are unable to touch the bottom. John Owen said this, he that cannot live in an actual resignation of himself and all his concerns unto the sovereign pleasure of God can neither glorify him in anything nor have one hour's solid peace in his own mind. And so we come tonight to chapter 3 in our confession of God's decree. Paragraph 1 reads, God hath decreed in himself from all eternity by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will freely and unchangeably all things whatsoever comes to pass. Yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin, nor hath fellowship with any therein, Nor is violence offered to the will of the creature 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." So what do the writers of our confession mean by the decree of God?

The decree of God. Well the 1828 version of Webster's dictionary defines this use of decree as the predetermined purpose of God, or another definition, the purpose or determination of God who is an immutable or unchanging being. So it's the purpose of God, the determination of God of which they write. And so we see here the unchanging God purposes or determines all things. Again for me in my simple mind it's difficult for me sometimes to read all the little commas all in between so for me I like to read God hath decreed in Himself all things whatsoever come to pass.

That's the basis of what they're saying. God has decreed all things in Himself whatsoever comes to pass. And so we can know that whatever happens, whatever comes to pass, it was determined by God. But the confession also deals with the who, the when, and the how. The who, the when, and the how.

With whom does God decree? He decrees in Himself. In Himself. Himself. When does God determine these things?

Well it says from all eternity. And how does God decree what shall come to pass? Well, He does so by His most wise and holy counsel in conjunction with His own sovereign will. And the exercise of this counsel of his will he does freely and unchangeably and so that's what they are telling us that our God determines all things. What are all things?

Whatever comes to pass. If it has come to pass, it was determined and purposed by God. And He does so with his own counsel He does so he did so from all eternity He doesn't come up with his plans for today. This is from all eternity And he does so by his most wise and holy counsel in conjunction with his own sovereign will. As Sam Waldron states in his exposition of the Baptist Confession, Nothing frustrates God's decree.

That's the first thing. Nothing frustrates God's decree. But secondly, nothing escapes God's decree. Nothing can frustrate it. Nothing can escape it.

Mr. Waldron then gives a list of specific biblical classes of events that fall under the decree of God because what our mind does first as humans, but what about? But what about? But what about? I mean God decrees all things So everything that has happened has come from His decree.

And so He gives this list and He lists Scriptures after it to prove His point. The decree of God for good and evil events, good and evil events, sinful acts, sinful acts, the free acts of men, chance so-called occurrences, chance occurrences, the details of our lives, the very details of them, but not only the details of our individual lives, but also the affairs of nations. The affairs of nations. All that comes to pass, Any of these things happen because of the decree of God. Now our confession then makes several important statements so that our thinking remains correct and biblical because here again here we go we get off on little tangents and we start to think okay well if God's decreeing all things if God has decreed good and evil events, if God has decreed sinful acts, then is He the author of sin?

And they say, no, He is not the author of sin because he himself James tells us tempts no man so then we ask do sinful acts come to pass yes they do Did God purpose them to take place? Yes he did. Does that make him the author or the originator of the actual sin? No it does not. How is that possible?

How is that possible? Well, they give us the second statement here to better understand it. For they say, yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein, nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away but rather established you see the second cause the second cause of the event coming to pass God being the ultimate and the first cause he's the first cause he has decreed it but the cause of the event cut the second cause of the event that is coming to pass acts out of their own will with liberty. They act out of their own will even though God is the first cause. He being the first does not overrule the second cause.

God does not force the second cause against their own will. GI Williamson is quoted in Mr. Waldron's exposition. This is what Mr. Williamson says, freedom may be defined as the absence of external coercion.

If a man is not forced by any power outside himself to do that which is contrary to what he wants to do, then we may properly say that he is free. The wonder of God's predestination is that God leaves men free in this sense even though he predestines everything that every man will do." How far out in the water are you? How far out are you? We see this clearly in several passages in Scripture. 2 Samuel 24.1 again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel and he moved David Against them to say go number Israel in Judah But first Chronicles 21 one says now Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.

Which is true. They're both the Word of God. They're inspired. They're both true. We know that.

God was the first cause. The devil was the second cause that brought this before David and David's own pride as James tell us sin comes with when our our our insides what we want lusts against it and desires that thing and his pride went after this. First Kings 22, 19-23. First Kings 22, 19-23. Then Micaiah the prophet said, therefore, hear the word of the Lord.

I Saw the Lord sitting on his throne and all the hosts of heaven standing by on his right hand and on his left and The Lord said who will persuade? Ahab to go up that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead. There's the decree. So one spoke in this manner and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said I will persuade him.

The Lord said to him in what way? So he said I will go out there and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets and the Lord said you shall persuade him and also prevail go out and do so therefore look the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours and the Lord has declared disaster against you God the first cause but he's not the author of sin. He did not carry this out. There was a second cause and there was no twisting of the will. This spirit came forward and said I will go and then this paragraph closes with a declaration of what we see in God in the carrying out of all his purposes in these things in which appears his wisdom in disposing all things and power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree God's decree and the way he brings things about is a demonstration of his wisdom, of his power, and of his faithfulness.

So, then paragraph two. Although God knoweth whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions, Yet hath he not decreed anything because he foresaw it as future or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions." Well as we saw in the first paragraph that nothing frustrates God's decree and nothing escapes God's decree, Mr. Waldron adds here that nothing conditions God's decree. Nothing conditions it. God doesn't look and see what shall be and therefore decree based on where this condition will lead it and where that one would lead it.

The doctrine before us here is not that God simply foresees and therefore decrees. Okay, just hear the play of words. It's not a doctrine that God simply foresees and therefore Decrees it is that God simply decrees and therefore foresees Indeed how can one foresee something that has not been decreed To foresee something is to know an outcome with certainty. It's to know it with certainty. How can there be a certainty of declaring what will occur if there is no certainty that it will occur that way?

Man in his natural state chafes against the idea of God determining anything, let alone all things. Man doesn't want God to determine anything and to tell him that God determines all things, that doesn't sit well with natural man. You see, many may be willing to lean upon this interpretation of God's decrees, that he decreed based on what he foresaw that God foresees what I will choose and the decisions I might make under this condition and that and therefore decrees or purposes that such a thing would happen. Romans 9 speaks to this tendency in man's desire to think this way out of the reality of God's sovereignty. Paul writes there in Romans 9, 10 through 16, and not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac, parentheses, Paul says, I know where you're headed with it.

I know what you're thinking. Don't think it. For the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but of him who calls getting back the end of the parentheses there It was said to her the older shall serve the younger as it is written Jacob have I loved but Esau I have hated This statement coming before they had done any good or evil What shall we say then what shall we say? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not, for he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion so then it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy." This is the decree of God.

And these men were cutting off at the chase where our minds would go. Oh, of course he decrees because he foresees. No, he foresees because he has decreed. Paragraph 3, By the decree of God for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestined or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise of His glorious grace, others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise of His glorious grace, others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation to the praise of His glorious justice." So here the writers, knowing the heart of man again, go from this large explanation of God's decrees and they narrow it down. They take the scope out and they get something in the crosshairs and it has to do with predestination.

Does God determine beforehand Without foreseeing whether we would choose him or not does he determine beforehand the destination of men? Well, they draw attention to the fact first that this determining act of God is for the manifestation of His glory. They said don't miss that. Don't miss that. It is for the manifestation of His own glory.

So we can't think like ourselves. We have to think what will glorify God and it brings out two glorious things it talks about to the praise of his glorious grace into the praise of his glorious justice. Glorious justice. These writers then make a distinction between the decree of God and salvation. And they describe the act of God in predestinating and foreordaining some men and some angels.

And then they describe the others as those left. They are left to act in their own sin. Even in this wording they are careful to express that in God's justice of leaving men to their sin, He is leaving them to the liberty of their own will. They are choosing the sin. Have you ever run into hostile reactions to this doctrine?

That God has determined the eternal state of all men. There is something in this doctrine that runs so contrary to the pride of man to think that man does not ultimately determine his own end. But consider with me the following illustration And this is something that you can consider sharing with others who struggle with accepting this doctrine. Think of an American billionaire, an American billionaire. He and his wife have been unable to have children.

So this man has a burden for these orphans in Haiti. And he flies down to Haiti on his own corporate jet and he goes from orphanage to orphanage to orphanage and this man in his large corporate jet He goes into these orphanages and he picks out 100 Haitian orphans, flies them back to the states, adopts them, meets all of their needs, plans a future for all of them Out of his own free will his own desire What of those hearing that story would respond, are you kidding me? You mean this man left orphans? Sitting in those orphanages? How cold-hearted?

What is this man thinking? How wicked. He left all of... No. What would they say?

That is unbelievable. If this man would go and of his own accord take that money which he could spend on his own things and go down there and rescue 100 children who he didn't even know hours before. And yet God in His marvelous grace reached down to save a people like us. He did not have to do that, but he did so for the manifestation of the glory of his grace. And the others, he leaves in their sin, in the condition that they actually put themselves in Through Adam for we sinned in Adam and not only do we have the guilt of Adam sin, but we sin ourselves Because we are not sinners because we sin we sin Because we are sinners But such is the grace of god and when we look at it in that light Then we like anybody who hears that story marvels at the wonder the grace the mercy and the love that God would predestine any of us to eternal life.

Well then, fourthly, finally tonight, fourth paragraph, these angels and men, thus predestined and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed and their number so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished. God's determinate design in the area of salvation is particular. It makes a distinction. It divides. It makes a distinction.

And it is unchangeable. Not one more and not one less. Because this purpose finds its source in the God of heaven and earth the number is certain and it is definite Jesus said all that the Father gives me will come to me the numbers fixed so what is your response to this doctrine concerning the decrees of God? Do you rest in it and rejoice in it? Or resist it and resent it?

Is it a comfort? Or is it a concern? As Paul wraps up the section in his letter to the Romans that is encompassed by chapters 9 through 11 regarding the sovereignty of the choice of God in salvation and how God had determined to turn from the Jews to the Gentile world, Paul at the end of Romans 11 is moved to doxology and worship as he thinks about these decrees of God. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out.

For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has become his counselor, or who has first given to him and it shall be repaid to him for of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out God's no mere ten-foot swimming pool. As one theologian put it, he is 70, 000 fathoms deep. C.H.

Spurgeon preached these words at the age of 19. There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the divinity. It is a subject so vast that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity So deep that our pride is drowned in its infinity No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind than thoughts of God. Would you lose your sorrow? Would you drown your cares?

Then go plunge yourself in the Godhead's deepest sea. Be lost in his immensity and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest refreshed and invigorated I know nothing which can so comfort the soul so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief, so speak peace to the winds of trial as a devout musing on the subject of the Godhead. So where do you find yourself in the swimming pool? There is freedom and enjoyment to be had in the plunging of ourselves into the immensity and incomprehensibility of our mighty God. Let us make our way out into those waters.

Let us let go of the sides of the pool. Let us wade out where our feet can no longer touch the bottom. And then May God give us grace to know our God and find our rest in Him. Amen. Well, let's look to Him in prayer.

Oh gracious God, We thank you for your decrees. We thank you, O Lord, that we can rest ourselves in you, for you do all things well. Lord, we can rest that you who predestined us and called us and justified us you are glorified us and Lord you have called us And you are making all things, all things, work together for our good because you have decreed all things. So you as the decreter of all things have decreed that these things will be for our good. May we rest in your unfailing wisdom, power, and faithfulness to your divine will in Jesus name.

Amen.