What makes Reformed theology distinct? What makes it distinct? Warfield said that Reformed theology is really simply Christianity come into its own. But if you were pressed to put your finger on what is something distinctive about the Reformed faith, what would you say it is? I invite class participation. What's that? No, there are distinctives, but give me one. OK, we read the Bible for what it says, not what we want it to say. So maybe the authority, the sufficiency of scripture. That's good. Sovereignty of God. Anything else? And there's a number of answers to this question. The cavity. So even kind of the doctrines of grace we've been looking at on Sunday evenings. Yes, Joseph. Emphasis on covenant. Right. Biblical history is unified by a series of covenants that covenant promise runs throughout. That's good. Anything else? These are all good answers. Yes, there's a number of reformed distinctives. Reformed understanding of covenant, kingdom, doctrine of vocation, Christ and culture, sufficiency of scripture, regulative principle. All of these things are what we could call reformed distinctives. But I'm going to focus our attention on one that Charlie brought up at the very beginning, and that is the sovereignty of God. And it's really this. doctrine, this emphasis that we often think of with Reformed theology, and although it's not the only truth, it certainly is at the center, at the heart of what makes our theology distinctive. So this morning we're going to be looking at the sovereignty of God, and in particular the decrees of God as they pertain to angels and men. And with that in mind, we're going to read a brief passage of scripture that touches on God's sovereignty and on his decrees in our response to them. And that's in Daniel chapter 4, beginning in verse 34. And just to give you some context, Nebuchadnezzar, that great king of Babylon, has just been taken from the heights of temporal glory to eating grass like an ox, and having his fingernails grow out like an eagle's claw, and totally abased. And having come through that experience, these verses record his response. This is the word of the Lord. At the end of the time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven. My understanding returned to me. And I blessed the Most High and praised and honored him who lives forever. For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. He does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? Grass withers, flower fades, word of our God endures forever. Let's go to the Lord in prayer as we approach this weighty but very significant truth of God's sovereignty. Father, we truly do confess. that your dominion is an everlasting dominion, that your kingdom is from generation to generation, that all your works are truth and all your ways are justice, that you are the king of kings and lord of lords. And we bow in your presence. And we ask that as we approach this high and lofty mystery of predestination, of election, of reprobation, of your eternal decrees, that we would do so in all humility and in all comfort, and that you would use even this time to spur us to cling and walk ever closer with the Lord Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen. sovereignty of God. Just to give us a little bit of context with where we've come so far in the larger catechism, everything that we're unpacking right now is really just an extension of question six. Question six says, what do the scriptures make known of God? And the answer is, the scriptures make known what God is, the persons in the Godhead, His decrees, and the execution of His decrees. Last week we dealt with the question, who is God? God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That's who God is in Himself from all eternity. And we're going to be moving into a new section which deals with God's relationship to His creation in time and in space. And sort of the link or the bridge between who God is in himself from all eternity, how he relates to his creatures in time, is what we're going to look at this morning, and that is the decrees of God. His decrees, which are eternal, but they pertain to what happens here and now in time, in space, in history. Sovereignty of God, as we mentioned at the very beginning, is a distinctive of Reformed theology, but it's interesting. It's precisely here that people tend to stumble. The sovereignty of God is often conceived of as a stumbling block, as a fork in the road, as a rock of offense. One writer has said this, that the decrees of God are a stone on which people who fall on it are broken, but those on whom it falls are ground into powder. It's truly a touchstone. It's a litmus test. It's an indicator of what we think about the triune God. And it is so because this doctrine, perhaps more than any other, sovereignty of God, puts the finger on the pulse beat of how we even view ourselves. It strikes at the heart of any notion of human autonomy, independence, arrogance, and pride. And that's why unbelievers, frankly, find this doctrine repulsive. And they hate it. I'll give you a couple examples of people who really hate this doctrine. There's a Canadian progressive rock band called Rush. And a number of their members are atheists. And they wrote this. You can choose a ready guide and some celestial voice. If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill. I will choose a path that's clear. I will choose free will. And it's sort of their anthem to human independence, autonomy, pride. Perhaps more familiar to you, Henle's Invictus, that very bold poem, which ends this way. It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishment the scroll. I am the master of my faith. I am the captain of my soul. be this hatred, this antagonism to the sovereignty of God. And it's really not always just unbelievers or outright pagans. A number of believers, even in church history, have struggled mightily with this doctrine. And what often happens is that rather than seeing it as a truth, to be loved, to be embraced, to be used rightly, this doctrine becomes an abstract puzzle to be solved. And when that happens, people tend to go in one of two very bad directions. They go toward Arminianism, deny God's sovereignty, or they go towards hyper-Calvinism. They deny man's responsibility. And so what should be a help, a comfort, a useful doctrine, becomes a snare and a trap. But by God's grace this morning, My hope is that we will avoid both the Scylla of Arminianism on the one hand and the Charybdis, Hyper-Calvinism on the other, and be able to affirm that sovereignty, responsibility in the Bible go together. They're friends. In fact, the one arises out of the other. So my thesis this morning, as we look at it in the framework of the larger catechism, is that God's decrees include absolutely everything that happens. God's eternal decrees include everything that happens, but they focus on the fate, the destiny of angels and men. And along the way, my hope is that we'll see that this doctrine is really bound up in the fact that God is king, and really that God is God. That the kingship and the godness of God demand divine sovereignty. And so the way we'll approach this is to look first at question 12 and then at question 13, looking at the decrees in general and then as they pertain especially to angels and men. And as far as my agenda or my goal this morning, it's really that I don't know where you're at on this doctrine. But regardless of where you are, my hope is that if you're in a place where you don't understand or even perhaps have found yourself going bitter to this doctrine, that you would have something of the experience of Jonathan Edwards when he describes this. It used to appear like a horrible doctrine to me. That was Edwards' original confession. When he looked at this doctrine, he said it was horrible. Then he goes on, I have often since had not only a conviction, but a delightful conviction. The doctrine has very often appeared exceedingly pleasant, bright, sweet. Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God. It is not an abstract puzzle for you to solve by rational speculation. It is a covenant truth to be embraced by faith, to be used rightly. And so hopefully, you will see this to be a great comfort to you in times of trouble. You will see it to be a very humbling doctrine that drives you to worship, and ultimately a spur to cling to Jesus. Let's begin with the first question, question 12. And we'll summarize it this way. Really, what are God's decrees and how far do they lead? What are they? How far do they reach? Let's look at question 12. It says, what are the decrees of God? God's decrees are the wise, free, and holy acts of the counsel of his will, whereby from all eternity he hath for his own glory unchangeably foreordained whatsoever comes to pass in time, especially concerning angels and men. First thing we need to deal with is what you might find to be a discrepancy in the Westminster standards. Here we have a description of the decrees, plural of God. But if you go to the confession, it speaks of God's eternal decree, singular. Which one is it? Both. Anyone want to elaborate on why you think it's both, singular and plural? Okay? The plural is enveloped in the singular. Dr. Bartosz, did you want to add to that? Right, I think it's helpful. Kind of put together those different answers, we can think of it maybe this way. When we talked about God's attributes, we realize that God is one qualitatively, that he is simple, that God is his attributes. Although when we as creatures look at God acting in history, we see a diversity of attributes, we remember that God is one, that his attributes are his essence. Similar way, God's plan is unified. God's plan is harmonious. God's plan is one. And yet, as creatures, when we look at it in history, we see a diversity of actions. That's why sometimes when people get off on the question of the order of decrees, there might be some usefulness to asking that question hypothetically. But when we remember that it's really one decree, one plan, we're reminded that that question has a limited usefulness, that ultimately God's plan is one, it's unified. A second thing to learn from the larger catechism are the qualities of the decree, and it mentions three. The qualities of the decree, that it is wise, free, and holy. Taking that middle term, it's free. God freely foreordains. And a verse that perfectly captures this idea is Psalm 115.3, where it says, but our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. Absolutely, positively free. And you might think, In the hands of a very capricious or whimsical or arbitrary God, if he does whatever he pleases, it's frightening. It's terrifying. But then we remember that what pleases God is something that is holy, something that is wise. Job 28. It says that the source of all wisdom is the Lord, and the essence of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, which is turning away from evil. God is pleased by that which is holy, by that which is wise. Whatever my God ordains is right. that God can do all his holy will, as the Child's Catechism puts it. So those are some of the qualities. Really getting down to the essence of the decree, the larger catechism says this, the acts of the counsel of his will. Drawing that language of Ephesians 1, 11, he who works all things after the counsel of his will. This is the essence, the heart of what these decrees are. They're God's acts from eternity, but the perfect acts that accord with his will. The character of the decrees, he does this from all eternity and unchangeably. So we can say that the character of the decree is twofold. It is eternal and it is unchangeable. It's eternal, Ephesians 1, 4, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. They're reminded that God is eternal, from everlasting to everlasting. He has no beginning. He has no end. And he has no succession of moments, that God stands outside of time, though he works in time, that he created time, that he transcends it. And therefore, his decree is rightly understood to be eternal. It's also unchangeable. And a perfect place to go for that doctrine is Isaiah 46, starting in verse 8, where it says, Remember this and show yourselves, men. Recall to mind, O you transgressors, remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me. declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. I change not. Therefore, your sons of Jacob are not consumed. It's unchangeable. Another characteristic, another element of this decree, of these decrees, is the aim of them, the purpose of them. We've seen what it is, the acts of the counsel of his will. We've seen some of its qualities, some of its character. But what's the aim? What's the purpose? What's the goal? The larger catechism puts it this way, for his own glory. What's the shorter catechism start with? What's the chief end of man? Glorify God and enjoy him forever. Let's rephrase that. What is the chief end of God? Well, God's chief end is to glorify himself, to enjoy himself forever. And you hear that, and you might think, that's selfish of God. It sounds so self-centered. But I think it's helpful to remember two truths. On the one hand, what might be selfish for us is not selfish for God, because we are not God, but He is. God is God, and as such, he is the supreme being. He is the personal absolute. He is the absolute person. He is the highest good, the best, the most righteous, the most holy thing he can do is to seek his own glory. What would be sinful for us is not only appropriate, but righteous for him. Another truth that helps us, I think, with this question of whether or not God is being selfish is to remember that God is triune. And why this is helpful, we remember that God exists in three distinct and inseparable persons, is to realize that when God seeks his own glory, what's happening? The Father is seeking the glory of his Son. And the Son is seeking the glory of His Father. And the Spirit is seeking the glory of the Father and the Son. That there is this giving and receiving, this mutual indwelling of the persons of the Godhead in which they long to give glory to the other. Again, what might be selfish for us is not selfish for God. He is God. He is triune. And of course, we see this all over the pages of Scripture. Romans 11, verse 36. from Him, through Him, to Him, all things, to Him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Or a number of times in Ephesians 1, you have that phrase, to the praise of His glory, to the praise of the glory of His grace. That's what everything is centered upon, that great target, the glory of God. Well, finally, Seeing that this decree is wise, it's holy, it's free, it's eternal, it's unchangeable, it's the acts of God's will. Its aim is the glory of God. But finally, the scope. How far does it reach? And in that wonderful, compact statement, the Westminster Divines say, whatsoever comes to pass. whatsoever comes to pass. And it's at this point that some people would like to limit God's sovereignty. Some do it by saying that God is subject to time, that he's contained by time, and therefore he can't know the future. It hasn't happened yet. It's unknowable. That's open theism. It's heresy. Other people say that God knows everything except for some notable exceptions, like my personal decision to choose Jesus as my savior. Again, there's all sorts of ways people try to limit this, that God is somehow dependent on foreknowing certain things that happen independently of his control, and then he kind of, as it were, after the fact, puts his stamp of approval on them. In all these ways, they deny the scriptural teaching. Another one that comes up is that God is generally sovereign. And I've actually seen this analogy used where there's a ship, and God's the captain at the helm. And so he's generally directing the ship to a certain destination. But everybody else in the ship can kind of do what they want while they're on the ship. So the ship will get to where the harbor is. But in the meantime, people can mill around and do things autonomously. Of course, the question becomes, what happens if people on the ship stage a mutiny and they take over the captain's cabin? Well, we haven't gotten that far. But again, this would make certain things happen independently of God and deny this doctrine. Whatsoever comes to pass. And we could multiply scripture references. I'm going to give you two. One is Psalm 103, 19, which says, the Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. not just some things, his kingdom ruleth over all. Or perhaps even more clear, in this verse, you could take away nothing else. Take away this verse and write it down and use this as really the only proof text you need. And that's Ephesians 111. It's the nutshell. It's the umbrella over this whole doctrine. Being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will. You can take that and write it over everything. He works all things after the counsel of his own will. Not just some things, not just quote unquote big things, not just good things, all things. And we're not going to exhaust this, but to give you a few categories, he decrees that which is to us small and seemingly insignificant. You think of Proverbs 16, where it says, the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. Or Matthew 10, are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin, and not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will? And it's not just the death of sparrows, the death of kings. 1 Kings 22, now a certain man drew a bow at random and struck the king of Israel, Ahab, between the joints of his armor. Amazing scene. An archer takes a bow and, as it were at random, obviously within the sovereign plan of God, lets it fly. And according to the word of the prophet, according to the predeterminate counsel of God, it goes right through the joints of his armor, strikes him dead, and bleeds out. So we start to realize that even small things make up bigger things. You're into chaos theory. You have the butterfly effect, where a little, tiny, seemingly insignificant data point has unintended consequences across the whole system. There's domino effect. Everything is connected. And he's not just sovereign in this way. This extends even to the fall of our first parents and to every single evil thing that happens. Very careful here. God is not the author of evil, but he ordains all things that come to pass. And not by a bare permission, as the Westminster Confession puts it, but such permission as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding. A few examples. Lamentations 3. Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass when the Lord has not commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that woe, bad things, and well-being proceed? Classic example, Joseph, Genesis 50. But as for you, his brothers, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive. God takes even the evil actions of men with their own intentions, and he has intentions for good, working all things for good. Another example which raises the bar even higher is Jesus himself, Acts 2, 23. being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death. Charles, you have a question? And Charlie's right. The problem of evil and the problem of pain is, in our evangelistic and apologetic encounters, often what comes to the forefront. Of course, on the one hand, we could ask the question, you say this is unjust of God, but where do you get your standard of justice in the first place? you have, within your atheistic worldview, you have no standard for anything being right or wrong. You need an ultimate standard. You need God. Then you use that standard to beat him with. There's that inconsistency. At the same time, we do have to be careful that we don't give the impression that God is the author of evil. And that's what I think We need to actually get to next. I think it answers something to this question. I'm going to read James 1, because this is really a good question. If God ordains everything, how is he not the author or the approver of evil? And James 1 is very to the point. Beginning in verse 13, it says, let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. In other words, God doesn't tempt anyone to sin. People are personally, morally culpable for their sinful actions. And the Westminster Confession has some helpful language here. It says that God's sovereignty extends even to the first fall and all other sins of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission, but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding and otherwise ordering and governing of them in a manifold dispensation to his own holy ends, key phrase, yet so as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, drawn away of your own lusts, enticed, and not from God, who being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or the approver of sin. We have to remember that God is the ultimate cause of all things. even extending to permitting the fall of man, the sins of angels and men. But he's not the agent who carries out these wicked deeds. He can ordain those in his plan, but he's not the one carrying out these wicked deeds. And as we saw before, he turns even the wicked actions of men, like Joseph's brothers, to good purposes. Good question. People sometimes think by using the word permission that they're kind of letting God off the hook. And our confession uses that language, where God, for instance, seeing the sins of Adam and Eve, our first parents, or the sin of Satan, that in his plan he permits it. And that's confessional language. But, I'll quote it again, but that permission has joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding. that it's not a bare permission, that God does actively ordain it. And again, at this point, we're coming to a point where we're creatures. He's the creator. How do we wrap our mind around that? And beyond using the language of the confession and acknowledging that he ordains it but doesn't approve of it, that he permits it but it's not a bare permission, that he does actively ordain it, as Calvin would say, thus far, no further. Yes. Oh. Right. Yes, I think you're right to take us, quote Bob Ink again, mystery is the lifeblood of dogmatics. It drives us to our knees. I think it's useful to remember, though, that in the Bible, although God ordains all things, he holds men accountable for their actions. And when we see wickedness That's the consequence of sin, that misery is the consequence of sin in some way or another. And so if we're talking about who's responsible and who should we blame, ultimately, we can look to Adam, our first parent. We can look to Satan, the father of lies. Ultimately, we don't go to God and blame him. He's good. Yes? That's a good point. And we're also reminded that in Isaiah and Ezekiel, we get a hint of how Satan fell. It was out of pride. It was out of a desire to be as God. And so ultimately, it was his own desire that became twisted and distorted. And as far as where that comes into God's good creation, it's a mystery. But it's ultimately Satan who makes that move and who distorts and perverts. So I'm going to keep moving a little bit, and we'll have time for questions at the end in case there's any loose ends, and there probably will be. But the upshot of this is sovereignty is comprehensive, meticulous, absolute. R.C. Sproul says there is no maverick molecule if God is sovereign. And if he's not sovereign, he's not God. And we see that this scope, whatsoever things come to pass, and then the very last point of this first question, especially concerning angels and men. And people sometimes want to make this the one exception point, but the larger catechism puts the emphasis especially. We'll get to why that is in the next question. Before we do that, just a brief summary. God is sovereign because he's king. 1 Timothy 6, who is the blessed and only potentate, king of kings, lord of lords. Or Jeremiah 10 and 10, but the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and an everlasting king. When you think of the sovereignty of God, don't abstract that from the fact that God is the only ultimate sovereign, the high king, the monarch of the universe. Second, God is sovereign. because he is God. This is hopefully, as you've seen, entailed in the very fact that God is God. Bantill likes to say there are no brute facts. There's no fact, there's no event, there's no person, there's no thing that's somehow outside of, independent of God's control, God's purposes. If there were, then he would somehow be less than God. Before we leave this point, and I'm probably making a blunder to do this, I'm going to ask a question of you all that will probably not resolve in a perfect, neatly packaged conclusion. But my question is, in light of all this, are we robots? Are we puppets, some of whom can see the strings better than others? What do you think? Of course not. Why? Jonathan. He's not doing violence to their moral agency. Well, we could spend all day on this. I'm going to read a couple paragraphs from the Confession that I think, if rightly understood, really help us out. First is on Providence, paragraph two of that chapter. It says, although in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly, yet by the same providence, he ordereth them to fall out according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently. that within this plan of God, He's the first cause, there are contingent, there are free and necessary events that fall out according to second causes. Another paragraph, on the eternal decree, chapter three in the confession, paragraph one, God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of His 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. This leads Van Til to make a very provocative, but I think completely biblically compelling statement, that you are responsible, not in spite of God's sovereignty. but because of the sovereign. That because God is sovereign, he rightly holds his creatures accountable. That because God is all powerful, he can create moral agents who make decisions and take actions that have meaning, value, and significance. We could say it this way. It's because you live and move and have your being in God. It's because every thought, every word, every deed that you do is included in God's sovereign plan, that those thoughts, those deeds, those words, have meaning, have value, have significance. If they were not included in God's plan, they would be random, they would be arbitrary, they would be meaningless, they would be chance happenings. Do I know how to explain all this? No. But the point stands, we are responsible because God is sovereign. We are free according to our natures. And yes, man is born in sin, enslaved in sin. At the same time, we are free to act according to our natures, and God is sovereign over all. Better keep moving. We're going to run out of time. That was the first question. What are the decrees and how far do they extend? They extend over everything, but as we said, without making God the author of evil. At the same time, not simply not undercutting, but actually establishing moral agency, humans and angels. We've seen the decrees in general. Now we turn to the decrees in particular. Why do God's decrees especially regard angels and men? Let's read question and answer 13, the larger catechism. What hath God especially decreed concerning angels and men? God, by an eternal and immutable decree, out of his mere love for the praise of his glorious grace, to be manifested in due time, hath elected some angels to glory. and in Christ have chosen some men to eternal life and the means thereof, and also, according to his sovereign power and the unsearchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth favor as he pleaseth, hath passed by and foreordained the rest to dishonor and wrath, to be for their sin inflicted the praise and glory of his justice. Especially concerning angels and men. And I think it's helpful to remember that, as we said last week, God is triune. God exists in three persons. God is personal, absolute, absolute personality. And if that's true, it makes sense that his focus in the decrees would be on rational, moral beings, angels, and even more especially, on man. Because man alone is made in the image of God among his creatures. Let's look first at the angels. We tend, I think, in evangelical and Reformed circles either to under-emphasize angelic beings, probably the tendency of most Reformed people, and in some cases to over-emphasize them, to put them on mugs and t-shirts and create cartoons and who knows what else. It often flies right in the face of how the Bible depicts angels. In fact, when you look at the biblical description of angels, Majestic, fearsome creatures, often described as warriors, the Seraphim are burning ones. And they are not people you'd want to deal with without some fear and trepidation. It's telling that John falls on his face before an angel, and the angel has to rebuke him, don't do that, I'm a creature. But still, John was tempted to fall on his face. Yes. that's true. And in the Bible, with the possible exception of a place in Zechariah, they're usually depicted, they're often depicted more in terms of masculine terms in the Bible, whereas in popular culture, they're depicted feminine. We need to correct that view. And again, not under or overemphasize, but have a biblical proportion. Angels, first of all, are elect. There's only one explicit statement of this, and that's in 1 Timothy 5.21, which it's almost, you could call it a throwaway reference. It's connected to a larger section, and it says, the elect angels. So there's an explicit statement that there are certain angels that are chosen by God to be confirmed in their holy and happiest state, and others that are not. And it says that this election is loving, out of his mere love, it's unconditional, it's gracious, And this is fascinating because angels, who are elect, never fell. How is it gracious? We have to make a distinction. On the one hand, angels did not deserve to be elect. So it's gracious in that it's God's unmerited, undeserved favor. With men, it's ill-deserved, demerited grace that's redeeming. But still, God is gracious to the angels whom he chooses. And it says, to be manifested in due time. In other words, God created them, and then in due time it was evident which angels fell with Satan and which angels were confirmed in holiness. And they're elected unto glory. They are confirmed unto that glorious estate. And as a logical corollary to election, there is the reprobation of angels. Again, not a lot of biblical data. I'll throw out a couple of references. Matthew 25, verse 41 says, the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. God has a place of torment reserved for them. 2 Peter 2.4, God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell. reprobation. And the language used to describe reprobation of angels is identical to that of men. And so we'll deal with this doctrine a little more fully once we get to the second class of beings, and that's mankind. Moving from angels to men, there's a couple classic texts on election and reprobation. And that is Ephesians 1, verses 3 to 6, and then, of course, Romans 9. And we'll touch on both of those texts here and there and echo the language of both as we move through this section of the larger catechism. First of all, mankind, like the angels, and yet unlike the angels, is elect. And it's different in what way? How is it different? Charlie. Yes, the angels are described as a host. And they were chosen and they fell as it were individually. They were not represented in a federal head. Mankind is not a host. Mankind is a race. We have ordinary generation, reproduction. And so mankind can be represented in one of two federal heads, Adam or Christ. So that's one big difference. And we can really put it this way, that angels are sendless creatures who were chosen and then confirmed in that state, whereas mankind is contemplated as sinful creatures who were then chosen unto redemption, to be redeemed. And that's why, as the Bible says on a number of occasions, angels desire to look into these things. 1 Peter 1.12, that God has an arena of glory, that he's showing forth his wisdom, his manifold understanding in the church, and angels are, as it were, in the wings, looking in to see what's happening every Lord's Day as we worship, trying to put their minds around. the amazing grace and redeeming love of God. So with mankind, a lot of the same language is used in the larger catechism. It's loving. It's out of his mere love, which, as we said, means it's unconditional. A good example of that is in Romans 9, where it says, 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. It was said to her, the older shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. It's out of God's mere love. that he sets his election upon Jacob. It's also gracious, which, as we mentioned before, is different than simply being undeserved. It's ill-deserved. It's not just undeserved favor. It's redeeming grace. And again, to be manifested in due time. And this is helpful to remember, that God's decree is in eternity, but it then plays out in history. God chose Abraham before the foundation of the world, but then in Genesis 12, he calls him in time, in space. Remember the great golden chain of salvation, Romans 8, those whom he foreknew, then he predestined, those whom he predestined, then he called. eternity plays out in history. And up to this point, everything's identical to that of the angels, but then, and Charlie's already got us on the right track here, two things are mentioned in addition, in Christ, and then, and the means thereof. This language of in Christ, this idea of federal headship being unique to man, is very beautifully laid out in Ephesians 1, beginning in verse 3, where it says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us before the foundation of the world in Him, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. And it goes on. But this idea that God chooses us in Christ. Although it's true we're not savingly really united to him until we put our faith in him. Yet, from all eternity, God contemplates us in Christ. We are chosen in the chosen one. Beyond that, it says, the means thereof. And the basic idea is that God ordains not just the ends, He ordains the means. 2 Thessalonians 2 says, He chose you for salvation through, there's language of means, sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. God doesn't just elect the people. He predestines everything that will bring them to full and final salvation, which includes gospel ministers, which includes Bible translations, which includes Christian witness, missions, discipleship, evangelism. And so we start to realize, since God includes all of this in his plan, this doctrine is not, well, The elect are the elect. So we'll just, if God wants to save the heathen, he'll do it on his own, Mr. Carey. No. God ordains the means. This should be a motivation to do evangelism. Paul says, Paul is told in the book of Acts, Paul, I have much people in the city. Much elect fruit. Go tell them about me. So if anything, this doctrine should spur us to greater zeal for evangelism and for Christian witness. It establishes our responsibility. Another example before we leave that point. Hebrews 2 is helpful in understanding this distinction between men and angels we've talked about. I won't read the whole section, but in verse 9 of Hebrews 2, it says, but we see Jesus, who is made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. It goes on, verse 14, in as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed, he does not give aid to angels, but he does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things, he had to be made like his brethren. You have to realize that Jesus is the federal head of men. And it's in a special way, because he actually partakes of flesh and blood to redeem us, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. It's this distinction between angels as a host, men as a race, angels confirmed in their righteous estate, men saved by a federal head who became like them in his incarnation. time's winged chariot is moving, so we'll have to speed up the tempo a little bit. But closing with the discussion of reprobation, which again is identical to the language used of angels. And we see that God is active in reprobation, although it's in a somewhat different way. Number of points here. First, reprobation is done powerfully. It's according to his sovereign power. Second, it's done for his own reasons alone. The Westminster Larger Catechism says, according to the unsearchable counsel of his own will, he has the right to extend or withhold favor as he pleases. Romans 9, again. touches on this doctrine perhaps more explicitly than any other place in the scripture where it says, what shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not. Where he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy. 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. For the scripture says to the Pharaoh, and you notice this passage, there's two examples given, Esau and Jacob, Pharaoh and Moses. For this very purpose, I have raised you up that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the earth. Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills, and whom he wills, he hardens. You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? For who has resisted his will? But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if God, wanting to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had prepared beforehand for glory. few notes about this doctrine of reprobation. On the one hand, there's something passive about it. The language of the catechism is, path passed by. In other words, God looks out, as it were, on the sea of fallen humanity and passes by. He gives them what they want. Fallen man hates God. Fallen man wants to be separate from God. And God, as it were, gives them up, gives them over to their own affections and says, you can have what you want. You don't want my comfortable presence? I'll let you have hell. As one writer has famously put this, hell is a monument to human freedom. It's a monument to God giving fallen, sinful, wicked man what he wants. Absolute separation from his comfortable presence. There's also an active element, and it says he has foreordained. He has passed by and then foreordained that they would be destroyed and condemned. And it's interesting, and I think it's true, that God is active in both election, reprobation, that God has foreordained both. But there is a different emphasis. The Bible emphasizes election more. And more than that, there's even a little difference in tone. You read verse 23 of Romans 9. It says, which he had prepared beforehand for glory. So God actively prepares them for glory, the vessels of mercy. In verse 22, it interestingly says, the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. It's in the passive voice. And so although God is the divine actor who is preparing them for destruction, The Apostle Paul is very nuanced, and he puts the emphasis on God's active election and God's active, but cast in a passive voice, reprobation. Again, the end is dishonor and wrath. And very importantly, what is the cause? Why are people condemned? Why are they reprobated? Is it because God is precious, arbitrary? Is it because Allah can come to the end of the final judgment and say, you've done all your prayers, you've done your pilgrimage to Mecca, but I'm having a bad day. You're going to have to go to hell. Why does God ultimately condemn people? Why? Simple answer. Sin. It's because of their own guilt, their own corruption, their own sin. To be for their sin inflicted. And again, the goal, the praise of the glory of His justice. Everything God does is for the glory of His name. This might be a hard truth, but God is glorified in the salvation of sinners for the praise of His glorious grace. And he's also glorified in the condemnation of rebellious, wicked people, to whom he weeps over Jerusalem. And yet, not desiring the death of the wicked, he gives them over to what they want. And he is glorified in their just condemnation, so that God might be all in all. His attributes, justice. mercy, grace, wrath are all on full display, and in all of it, God is perfectly right. Briefly, how is God just in this? We've kind of already answered that question. Sometimes people talk about this as if it's a cosmic game of roulette, or a cosmic game of duck-duck-goose that becomes duck-duck-damn. There's something arbitrary about this. And I say this with a bit of fear because this sort of notion is very defective and very damaging to our whole perception of God. And some people would suggest it this way, but again, we're condemned for our sin, sin for which we are culpable. God is under no obligation to save any. Again, he would be perfectly just to consign all of humanity to hell. We've broken His law. It's our fault. It's not His fault. We deserve just condemnation. And yet, God is free to save some. God is free to pass by and condemn as He could do to all. But in His mercy and in His grace and for His own holy purposes, He chooses to save some. This is the heartbeat of God. And we have to remember that the same God who condemns and who saves is the one, as I mentioned before, who weeps over Jerusalem in the person of Jesus. The same God who says, I don't desire the death of the wicked, that he would turn and repent. And as we preach and as we teach on this doctrine, I'm reminded of what one of the Bonar brothers, speaking to McShane, said. One of them had preached on the doctrine of hell. He said, that's good, but did you preach it with tears? Because that's how Jesus preached it. You have to, in some sense, bring all these things together and realize the perfect harmony of justice, mercy, grace, wrath, and all of it anchored by God's glory. Before we leave, just a brief question on how is this useful? We've looked at these grand themes, sovereign over all. that God elects and reprobates angels, God elects and reprobates men. How are these doctrines useful? Any ideas? Yeah. Great comfort without the nothingness. I appreciate that. I like that. That's helpful. God has ordained all the means thereof. They'll be efficacious. Now really, this gives meaning, value, and significance to all of life. It gives great comfort to the Christian who's trusting in Jesus. It gives great motivation to pursue holiness. And it humbles us that we are ultimately dependent upon God. And it should drive us to worship, adoration before our sovereign king. And before we leave, just a good reminder. And I would hate to leave without stating this. As we approach these doctrines, we have to remember that God is infinite. Creator, we are finite creatures. We do not have direct access to the decrees. And that's why Deuteronomy 29, 29. Secret things belong to the Lord. That which is revealed belongs to us and to our children forever, that we may keep all the words of this law, that the secret of the Lord is with those who fear him, and he will show them his covenant. Don't start at the wrong end of things. Don't deduce abstractly from the doctrine of the decrees, to which you have no direct access, which is a secret thing that belongs to the Lord. Rather, live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Live by God's revealed word in the scriptures. Live by every promise he's given you, every command, every warning. It's telling that 2 Corinthians 13, 14, that great benediction begins with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We begin by embracing Jesus. And when we embrace Jesus, We realize that we were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. We realize we were born of his spirit. But begin by running, fleeing to Christ. Begin with Jesus. That's why even reprobation. Flee from the wrath to come. If you believe not, you're condemned already. But flee from the wrath to come, embrace Jesus Christ, live by every word that proceeds out of his mouth, and all will be well. And Staupitz said, seek your predestination in the wounds of Christ. Calvin said, view your election in the mirror of Christ. Let's use this doctrine well as a comfort, as a spur, as a help, as an encouragement for our souls. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this high mystery of predestination. And we ask that we would not approach it in an untoward manner, but that we would, as preachers who are finite, live by every word that proceeds out of your mouth, taking comfort from your decrees and using them rightly in our pursuit of Christ, our pursuit of holiness. We ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen.