Everything in the Bible is "profitable"

for the Olristlan, and is worth learning

and applying, II Tim. 3:16-17. To the
extent that the Christian is ignorant of
anyaspectofrevealedtruth, to thatextent
he is deficient and unbalanced. Nothing
in the Bible is harmful unless it is twisted
and abused, II Pet. 3: 16. The entrance of
"the whole COlln.sel of God" into the
mind and hean brings light and
undeIStandingintothelife,Psa.119:l3O;
Acts 20:27. John Calvin wrote: "The
Scriptilreis the school of the Holy Spirit,
in which, as nothing useful or necessary
to be known is omitted, so nothing is
taughtwhichitisnotbenefidaltoknow."
Whatever the Bible reveals is to be
received as true, and as from God.
Whatever Scripture says, God says, II
turi. 3:16. The words of the Bible, are the
words' of God, I Cor. 2:13. Therefore,
James H. ThomweU is correct when he
writes: ... to quarrel with it (the Bible), or
to attempt to push our investigations
beyond it, is just to quarrel with the
wisdomandgoodnessoftheDeityHimseJf.
- ... we are bound to receive all that it
contains on the authority of its Author,
independently of all otherconsiderations.
We are neither to question nor to doubt,
but simply to interpret and believe."
THE DMNE PLANNING
OF THE ETERNAL DESTINIES
OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS
"By the decree of God, for the
lTIllIlikstation of His glory, some men
and angels are predestinated unto
everlasting life, and others foreordained
toeverJastingdeath."-WESTMINSTER
CONFESSION OF FAITH. (The
Scriptural. footnotes for this paragraph
are given as, I Tim. 5:21; Mat. 25:41;
Rom. 9:22,23; EPh. 1:5,6; Provo 16:4.)
From all eternity, Godhas sovereignly
and unchangeably planned the eternal
destinies of all people and angels,
according to the counsel and pleasure of
His own will for His own glory. "The
fixing of the eternal destiny of men and
angels is but a single link in the golden
chain of'God'seternal purpose, bywhich,
according to the counsel of His own will,
He freely and unchangeably ordains
whatsoever comes to pass:"-J.H.
Thomwell, (Eph. 1:11; ROm. 11:33;
HEb. 6: 17; Rom. 9:15,18). Astheeternal
God said in isaiah 46:9-11:
.. .1 am God, and there is no other; I
am God, and there is no one like Me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things which
8 THE COUNSEL of Cbalcedori Dettmber 1991
have not been done, saying, 'Mypurpose
will be established,and I will accomplish
all My good pleasure'; ... Tmly I have
spoken; truly I will bringit to pass. Ihave
planned it, surely I will do it."
It is an obvious biblical truth that God
has ordained for His own glory
whatsoever comes to pass in time. Now,
"what, inhumanhistory, is the one thing
which DOES come to pass every day?
What, butthatmenandwomendie, pass
out of this world into a hopeless eternity,
an eternity of suffering and woe. If then
God HAS foreordained WHATSOEVER
comestopassthenHemusthavedecreed
that vast numbers of human beings
should pass out ofthisworldunsavedto
sufferetemallyinthelakeoffire."-Arthur
Pink
THE DMNE REJECTION
OF SOME HUMAN BEINGS
FROM ETERNITY
After teaching us that God has
appointed his elect people for glory, and
that He has planned all the ways and
means throughout their lives to enable
them toreach Hispredetenninedend for
them, the WESTMINSTER CON-
FESSION OF FAITH states:
"The rest of mankind, God was
pleased, according to the unsearchable
counsel of his own will, whereby he
extendsorwithholdsmercyashepleases,
for the glory of his sovereign power over
his creatures, to pass by, and to ordain
them to dishonor and wrath for their sin,
to the praise of his glorious justice."
(Mat. 11:25,26; Rom. 9:17,18,21,22; II
Tim. 2: 19,20;]ude 4; I Pet. 2:8)
James H. ThomweU paraphrases this
statement by saying: "Out of
this race of guilty and polluted
sinners, thus justly
condemned, God graciously
and eternally elected some to
life and happiness and glory,
while He left the rest in their
stateofwretchednessandruin,
and determined to inflictupon
them the punishment which
they justly deserved. The
reason why He elected some
and passedbyothers, when all
were equally undeserving, is
to be referred wholly to
Himself-to the counsel of His
own will or to His mere good
pleasure." Thomwell, inearlier
paragraphs in his article, "Election and
Reprobation," (COllECTED WORKS,
Vol. 11), points out that the Westminster
doctrine of "reprobation" includes four
basic elements:
1. The individuals passed by and
rejected by God are guilty of sin and
totally depraved, justly deserving God's
condemnation.
2. God passes some by and refuses to
choose them to eternal life, leaving them
in the state of misery and ruin into which,
by their own fault, they have plunged
themselves.
3. He dooms those whom He passes by
to the eternal punishment their sins
deserve; and He does so in perfect justice
and holy vengeance.
4. In His decree to pass by and reject
some, Godactsabsolutely. AsThomwell
explains: "He passes by one and elects
anotheronlyfromHisowngoodpleasure;
but in inflicting and pronouncing the
sentence of death, He acts as a righteous
Judge in consigning the wicked to
deserved punishment. In other words,
none butasinnercan be a suitable subject
of reprobation, and men are reprobated only
as sinners; but one man is passed by and
another elected, not because onewas agreater
sinner than the other, but because God saw
fit to do so."
This eternal decree of God, called
reprobation, ''is the antithesis to election, and
necessarily follows from it. If God does not
elect a person, he rejects him. If God decides
not to convert asinnerinto a saint, he decides
tolethimremainasinner. IfGoddecidesnot
to work in a man to will and to do according
to God's will, he decides to leave the man to
willandtodoaccordingtohisownwill.IfGod
purposes not to influence a particular human
will to good, hepmposes to allow that will to
have its own way."-W.G.T. Shedd, ("Divine
Decrees," DOGMATIC IHEOWGY, Vol. I).
While there is a unity to God's decrees,
there is also a variety. While there is a
similarity between election and
reprobation, there are dissimilarities. (1).
The ultimate cause of both decrees is the
sovereign will of God and the pure
sovereignty of His good pleasure. (2).
There is a !actor in reprobation that does
not occur in election: our election to life
is gracious and undeserved; and the
condemnation of the reprobate is just
and deserved, because of their sin. God
saves his elect in spite of their
sins, and condemns the
repro bate because of theirs.
Election and reprobation
presuppose the !aUofmaninto
sin, and his responsibility for
sin. InJohn 15: 19Jesus says: "I
chose you OUT OF THE
WORlD." In Ephesians 1:4
and 3: 11 we are toldthatweare
elected in Christ our Redeemer,
which clearly indicates that we
are conceived by God as !allen
andinneedofaRedeemer. (3).
In election, people are chosen
by God and saving faith and
holinessollire result, Acts 13:48;
but in reprobation, God does
not create the rebellion in the
heartofthewicked. Instead, that rebellion
is the cause of divine condemnation,
Rom. 11:20. (4). In election, God
predestines sinful people to salvation
and guarantees the work of saving grace
in their lives; but in reprobation God
does absolutely nothing to save the non-
elect sinner. God does not owe grace to
anybody. He treats the reprobate with
perfect justice.
In summarizing these similarities and
differences between election and
reprohation, Thomwell writes: "The
very fact that all men were not elected
shows that some were passed by. This
passing them by, or refusing to elect
them, and leaving them under a righteous
sentence of condemnation, constitutes
December, 1991 TII;E COUNSEL of Chalcedon 9
reprobation. Ifelectionis pelSOllal,eternal
and absolute, reprobation must possess
thesequalitiesalso. Thereisthisdifference
between them, however: election finds
the objectsofmeocyunfit for eternal life,
and puts forth a positive agency in
preparing them for glory; reprobation
finds the objects of wrath already fitted
for destruction, and only withholds that
infiuence which alone can trnnsform
them"
In an attempt to clarify the revealed
truth of reprobation, some theologians
have distinguished two components in
this decree: (1). preterition and (2).
condemnation. Preteritionmeansletting
things stand as they ate. To pretermit is
to omit, to leave, to letalone, Luke 17:34;
nChron.32:31;Psa.81:12f. Thedecision
to leave.somesinnersin theirsin, without
bestowing on them the gift oflife, was a
sovereign act of God. Hiscondemnation
ofthosewhohepassedbyisajudicialact.
AsW.G.T.Sheddhaswritten: "Godpasses
by, or omits an individual in the
bestowment of regenerating grace
because ofhis sovereign good pleasure.
But he condemns this individual to
punishment, not because ofhissovereign
goodpleasure,butbecausethisindividual
is a sinner. To say that God condemns a
manto punishmentbecausehe pleases is
erroneous; but to say that God omits to
regenerate a man because he pleases is
true. "The reason forone'scondemnation
is known. That reason is sin. The reason
for passing them by is unlmown to us,
but known only to God. (Robert L.
Dabney's modification of these issues
should be considered carefully, by those
who want a more thorough
understanding of them. See pages 240ff
in his LECTIJRES IN SYSTEMATIC
THEOLOGY.
It must be pointed out clearly and
emphatically that people go to hell, not
because God passed them by, butbecause
they are sinners. As Shedd writes: "The
efficient and blameworthy cause of the
perdition of the non-elect is not the
decree of preterition, but the self-
detertninedapostasyandsinsofthenon-
elect, Rom. 3:23; 6:23; 11:20. - The
sentenceofthelastdaywiUnotbefounded
upon God's negative act of not saving,
but upon the sinners positive act of
sinning. - While, then, election is the
efficient cause of salvation, preterition is
not the efficient cause of perdition. If I
hold up a stone in my hand, my holding
itupis the efficientcause of its not falling;
but if! let it go, my letting it go is not the
efficient cause of its liilling. The eflicient
cause, in this case, is the force of gravity.
- On the side of election, the efficient
cause of salvation is the Holy Spirit in
regeneration; but on the side of
reprobation, the efficient cause of
perdition is the se1f-detennination of the
human will." So that,asSheddconcludes:
"When God elects and saves a sinner, the
attribute of mercy is glorified. When he
leaves a sinner in sin and punishes him,
theattributeofjusticeisglorified. Neither
salvation nor damnation are ultimate
ends, but means to an ultimate end:
namely, themarrifestedgloryofthetriune
God."
As John Bunyan says so forcefully in
hisbook,REPROBATIONASSERTED: "l.
Eternal reprobation makes no man a
sinner. 2. The foreknowledge of God
that the reprobate will perish, makes no
man a sinner. 3. God's infallible
determining upon the damnation ofhim
that perisheth, makes no man a sinner.
4. God's patience and forbearance until
the reprobate fits himself for eternal
destruction, makes no man a sinner."
Btitafterhavingsaidall this, itmustalso
be emphasized that God's determination
topassbythenon-electmakestheireternal
damnationabsolutelycenain, "because the
bondageofthesinner'swill toevil prevents
self-recovety. There are but two agents
who can be conceived of, as capable of
converting the human will from sin to
holiness:namely,thewillitselfandGod.lf
10 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon December 1991
owing to Its own action the human will is
unabletoincllneitselftoholiness,andGod
purposes not to incline it,everlasting sin
follows, and this is everlasting perdition.
The certainty of the perdition of the non-
elect arises from his inability to recover
himselffrom the consequences ofhis own
free agency, and the decision of God to
leave him "towof the fruit ofhisown way,
andto befilled withhisowndevices,'Prov.
1:3l."-Shedd
Passagesteachingthe"preteritionaspect"
or reprobation, i.e., thatthosewhomGod
passed by He left in their sinful condition
under Hiswrath with no intention on His
pan to save themfrom thatwrath, include:
!sa. 13: 11; 22: 14; l.k.
17:34Jn. l 0:26; 12:39; Acts 1: 16; llThes.
2:11,12; II Tim. 2:20; I Pet. 2:8; Rom.
9:17-22;Jude 4.
(For a brilliant discussion on the
illegitimacy of the supralapsarian versus
inJi:alapsarian controversy, and on the
errors of supralapsarianism, see Robert
L. Dabney, LECIURE5 IN SYSTEMATIC
THEOLOGY, pg.2330:.)
mE TEACHING OF mE OLD
TESTAMENT ON REPROBATION
l.JOSHUA 1l:18-20
joshua made war a long time with all
those kings. There was not a dry thatmade
peace with the children of Israel, save the
Hivites the Inhabitants of Gtbeon: all other
they took in battle. FOritwas of the Lord to
harden their hearts, that they should come
againstlsraelinbattle, thatHemtghtdestroy
them uttaly, and that they might have no
favar, but thatHe mtghtdestroy them, as the
Lord commanded Moses. "
What could be plainer than this? God
hardens a large number of Canaanites,
and refused to show them favor, so they
would recklesslywage war with superior
Israel and be destroyed by Israel. Arthur
Pink asks: "Why did not Jehovah
,
,

,
command Israel to teach the Canaanites
His Jaws and instruct them conceming
sacrificestothetmeGod? Plainly, because
He had marked THEM out for
destruction, and if so, that from aU
etemily. "(Pink, 1HESOVERElGNIYOFGOD)
2. PROVERBS 16:4
"The Lord has made all things for
Himself; yea, even the wicked for the day of
evil."
The Lord not only made all things for
he also made the wicked FOR
the day of evil. Why? That He
might show His powerinand on
them, that His glorious Name
Jehovah raised up Pharaoh and
intentionallyordainedforhlmtorespond
as stubbornly to Moses as he did, so that
God might display His saving
omnipotence before all the world.
Moreover we read that God "cut off'
Pharaoh in the prime orufe and power by
His direct, powerful hand of judgment in
the Red Sea. And it is clear that God
raised up Pharaoh forthisverypurpose-
that He might destroy him and save His
people. "In giving him being, in
preserving him through infancy and
childhood, in raising him to the throne of
Egypt, God had one end in view." -Pink.
(fJ1ie Lord lias
Reprobation. If God actually reprobated
Pharaoh, we may justly conclude that
He reprobates aU others whom He did
not predestinate to be conformed to the
image of His Son. This inference the
apostle Paul manifestly draws from the
fate of Pharaoh, for in Romans 9, after
referring to God's purpose in raising up
Pharaoh,hecontinues, "THEREFORE."
The case of Pharaoh is introduced to
prove the doctrine of Reprobation as the
counterpart of the doctrine of
Election. "-'Therefore He has mercy on
whom He will have mercy, and whom He
wiU He hardens. '-Rom 9:18.
THE TEACHING OF
JESUS
ON REPROBATION might be declared throughout all
the earth, Rom. 9:17. God made
the wicked forthe evil dayso that
he might demonstrate how easy
it is for Him to subdue the
strongest rebel and overthrow
the mightiest enemy.
John Calvin wrote: "Paul
teaches us, that the miD. of the
wicked is not only foreseen by
nuufe a[ tliings for
1Bmself; yea, even
tlie wickf,d for tlie
On more than one occasion
Jesus distinguished his
disciples, whom He chose to be
His own, from the rest of the
unbelieving world, whiclt he
!eft in darlmess. "if you know
these things, you are blessed if you
do them. I do not speak of aU of
the Lord, but also ordained by
his counsel and his will; and
Solomon teaches us the same
thing,-that not only the
destruction of the wicked is foreknown,
but that the wicked themselves have
been created for this very end---that they
may perish, Provo 16:4."
3. EXODUS 9:13-16
"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Rise up
early in the morning, and stand before
Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus says
Jehovah, Ole God of the Hebrews, Let my
people go, that they serve me. - For
now r had put forth my hand, and smitten
thee and thypecplewi!ltpestilence, andthou
hodstbeencutofffrom the earth: butinvery
deed for th15 cause have r made thee to stand,
to show thee my power and that my name
may be declared throughout all the earth.
day of eviL "
Prova'6s 16:4
God's purpose for Pharaoh's life was
made clear in His words to Moses before
he went down to Egypt-'And the LDrd
said unto Moses, When thou goest to return
to see that thou do all these wondm
before Pharaoh, which r have put in thine
hand; BUTIWlILHARDENIDSHEART,
that he shall not let the people go."-
Exod.4:21. In fact, cenLUriesearlier, God
promised Abraham that he had planned
to judge the Pharaoh of the Exodus, Gen.
15:13,14. Pharaohwasobviously"avessel
of wrath fitted for destruction.
Arthur Pink concludes about the role
of Pharaoh in the plan of God: "The case
of Pharaoh ESTABLISHES the principle
and illustrates the doctrine of
you. r know the ones I have
chosen .... -John 13:17f. "r
manifested Thy name to the men
whom Thou gayest Me out of the
world. ... laskontharbehaIJ;Ido
not ask on behalf of the world, but of those
whnm Thou has gtven Me, for they are
Thine ...... .:John 17:6f
Jesus went so far as to say that God has
deliberately hidden the truth from some
people, so that they cannot be saved from
sin. "And he was saying to them, Toyouhas
beengtven tkemystry of the kingdom of God;
but those who are outside get everything in
parables; in order that while seeing, they may
see and not perceive; and while hearing, they
may kearand not under.;tand; lest they retum
again and be fOrziven."-Mark 4:11. John
comments on the reason many do not
believe Jesus' teaching: "For th15 cause they
could no! believe,for Isalah said again, 'He has
blindedtheireyes,andkehardenedtheirheart;
December, 1991 TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 11
lest they see with their eyes, and perceive
with theirheart, andbeconverted, andlheal
theni.;:!ohn 12:39f
This is in no way to imply that there
are some who want salvation from sin.
but whOm God will refuse. Arthur Pink
has pointed out that "the fact is that the
reprobate have no longing for the Savior:
they -see in him no beauty that they
should desire hiIn. 1beywill not come to
Qnist-whythenshonld Godforcethem.
to? He tums away none who do corne-
where then is the injustice of God fore-
determining their just doom? None will
bepunishedbut fortheiriniquities; where
then. is the supposed tyrannical cruelty
of the Di.vine procedure?"
Before the beginrting of time. when .
God elected many people. out of the
mass of fallen humanity. to salvation for
the manifestation of the glory of his
grace. Be sovereiguly. deliberately and
righteously detennined to leave out the
ones He did not choose for salvation
from that salvation with the intent of
condemning them for their sin in order
to manifest the glory of His justice. Louis
Berkhofsaysit thisway: "Reprobation is
that eternal decree of Gbd whereby He
has detennined to pass some men by
with the operation of his special grace.
and to punish them for their sins. to the
manifestation of his justice."
(SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY)
There are some people known ouly to
God. whom God has chosen to exclude
from his saving mercy and salvation; and
to condemn thent to hell for their sins.
Throughout their lives. he does them
many kindnesses. buthehasnointention
to "make them willing (to come In Him) in
the d4y ojHis power .
This sOlemn truth is clearly taught in ,
many places in the Bible. It is not
emphasii:edasmuchasisGod'sgradous
election, but it is set forth as an eternal
decree of God which iswotked out in the
history of mankind. For example. God
rejected Cain, Gen. 4:5; curses Canaan.
Gen. 9:25; sends away Ishmael. Gen.
21:12; Rom. 9:7; Gal. 4:30; hates Esau.
Gen. 25:26; Mal. 1:2.3; Rom. 9:13; Heb.
12: 17; allows the pagan nations to walk
in their own ways. Acts 14: 16; and blinds
and deafens $ome people. Isa. 6:9; Mat.
13:13; Mk. 4:12; Lk. 8: 10; John 12:40;
Acts 28:26; Rom.1l:8.
In Matthew 11:25. 26.Jesns prays: "I
ihank Thee, 0 Father, Lord ojheaven and
earth, because Thou hast hid these things
jrom ihewiseand prudent, and has revealed
them unln babies. Even so, Father: jor So it
seemedgoodin Thy sight J.A. Alexander's
comments on these verses are to the
point: 1esJ.lS addresses God, fi15t, as his
Father.thenasl.ordofheavenandeanh,
thus claiming the most intimate personal
relation to the sovereign ruler of the
universe. This character or aspect of the
dMnenatureismadeprominentbecause
he is about to dte a signal instance of
God's sovereign independence of aU
human wisdom and authority."
In this prayer to His Sovereign Father.
Jesus praises Him for concealing the
$Piritual knowledge of the truth of the
gospel from the conceited and self-
righteous. and for revealing "these things"
to those who know themselves to be
ignorant and helpless. unless God reveals
Himself to them. Jesus also reveals that the
basis for God's decision to hide the truth
from some and to reveal it to others is his
own absolute. sovereign. benevolent will.
"I"lffi TEACHING OF
THE NEW TESTAMENT EPISTLES
ON REPROBATION
1. ROMANS 9: 13
Just as it is written, Jacob I/ovet!, but
Esou I hated. '"
This verse reveals God's motives for
his actions meiJ.tioned in 9:21ff. It is a
biblical fact that one of God's glorious
12 ~ nIEcOUNSELofChalcedlin ~ December 1991
perfections is his holy haaed. He hates
the sinful ACTIONS of ALL people-
"Neither shaIl you set up jor yourself a
sacredpillarwhfchtheLordyourGodhates, "
Dt. 16:22. See also Jer. 44:3c-5; Zech.
8:17; Isa.l:14f;AMos5:21;Rev.2:6.15.
Furthermore. God hates the sinful
PERSONSofSOMEpeople-"Thou (GocQ
clost hate all who do iniquity, Thou clost
destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord
abhors ihe man ojbloodshedand deceit ... "-
Psa. 5:5f. "The Lord tests the righteous and
ihe wicked, and ihe one who loves violence
his soul hates."-Psa. 11:5. "There are six
thingswhichtheLordhates,yes, seven which
are an abomination In him: hau@1tyeyes, a
lying Inngue, and hands that shed innocent
blood, aheart thatdevises wickedplans,jeet
that run rapidly In evil, a jalse witness who
utter lies, and onewho spreads strije among
brothers'"-Prov.6:16f.
God does not hate human beings as
htunan beings. "but as sinful men; and
not all that sin. or have sin in them; for
then all would be hated, for all have
sinned in Adam. and by actual
transgressions; and none. even the best
of men. are without it; but workers of it.
Psa. 5:5. traders in it. whose whole lives
are one continued series of sinning; to
thoseitwillbesaid.1neverknewyon ....
m
-
John Gill, (BODY OF D1V1NITY). "If He
(God) did not hate it (sin) he would hate
h i m s l ~ for since righteousness is His
image. and sin would deface His image.
if He did not love His image and loathe
what is against His iInage. He would
loathe Himself. He would be an enemy
to His own nature." -Charnock. (THE
EXISTENCE AND ATTRIBUTES OF
GOD).
God's love is His goodness manifested
toward sinners wherein He gave His Son
to be their Savior and wherein He
communicates Himself to people of His
own choosing to possess them for His
own fellowship and purpose. God'slove
is inseparably connected with His
sovereign election. I Thes. 1 :4; II Thes.
2: 13. God's hatred is the opposite of His
love. In Romans 9: 13, which is a
quotation of Malachi 1:2f, we see that
Esau was not only excluded from what
]acobenjoyed, buthe also was the object
of divine displeasure mixed with
vehemence and wrath, but free from
malice and bitterness. "Hate" does not
mean "love less," for then "love" could
would mean "hate less"; and then the
whole statement would be meaningless.
Basic to understanding history and
current events is under-
standing thathistoryis the
unfolding of God's love
for His people and the
unfolding of His harred
for His reprobate enemies.
(God has two ldnds of
enemies: the unregenerate
elect and the non-elect.)
God's love always leads to
deliverance, chasrening
and advancement for
God's elect. Therefore,
Christianity will never be
abolished, and the church
will triumphant over all
her enemies. God's hatred
always leads to the hardening, judging
and destroying of all God's enemies.
Therefore, no humanistic culture will
survive.
2. ROMANS 9:21-23
"Or does not the potter have a Tightover
the day, to make from the same lump aile
vessel for honorable use and another for
common use? What if God, because willing
to demonstrate His wrath and to make Hts
power known, endured with much patience
vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
And He did so in order that He might make
known the riches ofHtsgloryuponvessels of
mercy, which He prepared beforehand for
glory ... . "
In this passage the potter makes his
c1aypots for specific purposes-some to
hold divine anger for sin and others to
hold divine mercy. It is God's right to
have mercy on whom He will and to
harden whom He will, 9:18; to make our
of His clay whatever He pleases, withour
seeking approval from the clay, 9:20;
and to discriminate between "vessels
of wrath" and "vessels of mercy." In
this God does not act unjustly, for no
one bur those who deserve God's
eternal wrath will experience it. Those
who are condemned are condemned
because of their sin.
Romans 9:21-23 assumes two things:
(1). God is dealing with mankind as
sinners. The mentioning of mercy in this
contextprovesthis. (2). Sovereignmercy
is mercy. In other words, there is no
other kind. If God does not have the
right to bestow mercy on whomever He
pleases, if He in any sense is obligated to
give mankind mercy, mercy would not
be mercy, it would be justice.
3. I THESSALONIANS 5:9
"For God has not appOinted us to wrath,
but to obtain salvation by our Inrd Jesus
Christ"
This statement is pointless if God had
not appointed anybody to wrath. To say
that God has not appointed US to wrath,
is to imply that there are some people
whom God HAS appointed to wrath.
The Greek word for "appointed" in this
verse is the same word as "appointed" in
I Peter 2:8, where we read about those
appointed to stumble over Christ, and
therefore appointed to wrath.
4. II TIMOTIiY 2:20
"Nowin a large house there are not only
gold alld silver vessels, but also vessels of
wood and earthenware, and some to honor
and some to dtshonor. (This
verse must be read in the light
of the one preceding it, whlch
says: "The Inrd knows those
who are Hts. 'J
Here Paul is preparing
Tunothy for defections from
the church. He must
remember that the church is
like a large house with all
kinds of furniture-some of
the furnishings are of gold
(great value) and other pieces
areofwoodClittlevalue);sorne
articles are to be displayed,
others to be taken to the junk
heap. The visible church, in otherwords,
is made up of "vessels of wrath" and
''vessels ofmercy,"-"some to honor and
some to dishonor: "Those who are His"
are "gold" and "to honor:
5. I PEIER 2:7-9
"Now to you who believe, this stone is
precious. But to those who do not believe, The
stone the builders rejected has become the
capstone: and, 'A stone that causes men to
stumble and a rock that makes them fall.' They
stumble because they disobey the message-
which ts also what they were destined for, (or
"to which they were appointed'). But you
are a chosen peaple .... " (NIV)
Christ is now seen as the key to all
human destiny and the touchstone of all
endeavor; faith in Him leads to honor,
December, 1991 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'I' 13
and unbelief to disaster. - Unbelievers
find, on the one hand, that the Stone
which theyreject ismade the keystone of
the divine order of human society, from
which they are therefore excluded as
long as they persist in their unbelief; and
on the other hand, that the same Stone is
an insuperable obstacle to their efforts at
building an order of their own devising
withoutit."-Beare, THEFlRSTEPlSTIE
OFPEIER
"The will of God decrees the ruin of
unbelief, as surely as the exaltation of
faith. - The doctrine appals
No one can escape this unique Stone
and its determinative impact. Reations
to this Stone divide the human race into
the believers, vs. 6b-7a, and the
unbelievers, vs. 7h-B. The believer in
Christ, who has Christ as the foundation
stone for his life will never be ''put to
shame." And those who believe do so
because they are the "chosen" of God.
On the other hand, for unbelievers God's
amazing Stone produces a very ditrerent
result. For those who keep refusing to
believe the gospel of Oirist, and are
therefore disobedient to Christ, Christ
while forthosewhodonot believe, Christ
is contemptible.
According tOjohnBrown, the Scottish
commentator: "The words, 'whereunto
also they were appointed,' ... refer to the
word 'stumble' not to the word
'disobedient.' Its reference would have
beenmoreobvioushaditbeenrendered,
'who, being disobedient, stumble at the
word,' orrather, 'who, being disobedient
to the word, stumble.' S1UMBUNG IS
AT ONCE THE CONSEQUENCE AND
THE PUNISHMENT OF UNBELIEF
AND DISOBEDIENCE. -
us, writes Beare, but we are
not entitled to discard it,
merely becauseitshattersand
annihilatesatoocomfortable,
and therefore inadequate
conception which we
entertain of God. Those that
reject the Word are as truly in
God's hands as those that
believe, and His primal
purpose embraces all a1ike."-
Beare. In these words God
fOIces the truth out ofa liberal
'%is is certain, tliat the tfuntgfits of (joa
ate af[ not fess just in tfiemsefoes, tIian deep
aruf unsouruiabk 6g US. !IRs justice appears
The word rendered,
'disobedient,' signifies
unbelieving as well as
disobedient, intimating taus
theimportanttruth, that faith
and obedience, and unbelief
and disobedience, are
indissolubly connected. -
They stumble so as to fall-
fall into hell. It is a serious
matter to reject the Savior.
He is the only Savior, (THE
FlRST EPTSTLE OF PETER).
dea:ri in tfiat man. 5 destruction is aways
tfte fruit of fiis awn sin. 'But to give causes
of (joas cfecrees outsitfe!lfimself, is nei:tfIer
agrwWk witfi the oeing of (joa nor witfi
Bible commentator!
In this passage, as in
Romans 9:32f, God defines
thepurposeofChrist'scoming
into the world as rwo-fold: (1). To be a
foundation stone for life andsalvatlon to
thosewhobelieve; (2).Tobeastumbling
stone to others. God Himself, personally
and deliberately, laid this stone in Zion
for this very purpose, vs. 6-to be "a
stone that causes men to stumble and a
rock that makes them fall," (NN
translation). Hereunbelievers, those who
have stumbled over Christ, are those
who are disobedient to Him. Those who
are disobedient, andarethereforejudged
by God, are divinely appointed
thereunto. Those unbelievers, who
aredisobediem, were destinedtostumble
at the Word of God, and thereby
destined to fall and to be broken.
the doctrine of theSctiptures. J/
will be a' stone causing stumbling and
offenseinthem. "MencannotevadeHirn
by their unbelief. He meets them in
unexpected and unavoidable ways."-
Edmond Hieben, (FIRST PETER: AN
EXPOSITIONAL COMMENTAR1?
Verse 8 explains why those who
stumble in disobedience and unbelief
over Christ, breaking themselves upon
Him, do so--theywere destined by God
to this course, (stumbling), and to this
end,(doom). ThosewhorejectChtistas
the foundation fortheir life andsalvation,
and who persist in unbelief and
disobedience, will continue in eternal
misery and ruin. Why? Because, for
thosewhobelieveinChtist,heispredous,
14 TIlE COUNSEL of OIa1cedon December 1991
Bishop Robert Leighton
has written thus about the
phiase, "whereuntoalsothey
were appointed": "This the
Apostle adds, for the further satisfaction
of believers in this point, how it is that so
many reject Oirist, and stumble at him;
telling them plainly, that the secret
purpose of God is accomplished in this.
God having detennined to glorify His
justlceonirnpenitentsinnetS,asHeshows
Hisrichmercytothemthatbelieve. Here
itwere easierto lead you into a deep, than
to lead you forth again. I will rather stand
on the shore, and silentlyadmire it, than
enter into it. This is certain, that the
thoughts of God are all not less just in
themselves, than deep and unsoundable
by us. His justice appears clear, in that
man's destruction is always the fruit of
his own sin. But to give causes of God's
decrees outside Himself, is neither
agreeable with the being of God, norwith
the doctrine of the Scriptures. This is
sure, that God is not bound to give us
further account of these things, and we
are bound not to ask for it. Let these two
words, as Augustine says, answer aU:
What are you, Oman?' (Rom. 9:20) and
'0 the depth!' (Rom. 11:33)."
6. II PETER 2:12
"But these, as natural brute beasts, made
to betakenand destroyed, speak
evil of the things that they do not
understand; and shall utterry
perish in theirown corruption,"
An analogy is drawn
betweenthesemen whospeak
evil of sacred things and brute
beasts. What is the point of
the analogy? These men, "as
brute beasts," are ''made to be
taken and destroyed," and so
they "shall utterly perish in
their own corruption." God
has ordained it!
7.]UDE4
"For there are certain men
crept in unawares, who were
before of old ordained to this
condemnation-ungodly men,
turning the grace of our God into
lasdviousness, and denying the only Lord
God and our LordJfSlIS O1rfst:
Notice three things about these
deceitful men: (1). They were "ordained
to this condemnation." God ordained
their blindness, persistent rebellion and
eternal condemnation; (2). They were
ordained to condemnation "before of
old," i.e., inetemity, before the beginning
of time. This speaks of the absoluteness
and unchangeableness of this ordination
to condemnation. And(3). thesemenare
"ungodly men." The cause of their
condemnation was not the pleasure of
God, but their own sin against God.
8. REVELATION 13:8
(Cmp. with Rev. 17:8)
''And allthat dwell on the earth shall
worship him (the Beast), every one whose
name has NOT been written from the
foundation of theworldin the BookofLifeof
the I..amb that has been slain."
This translation of Revelation 13:8
affirmsthattherearesomehmnannames
which WERE NOT wIitten in the Book
of Ufe before the beginning of creation,
and so they are locked into their slate of
worshiping the Beast.
OBJECTIONS ANSWERED
"When the doctrines of absolute and
unconditional election and reprobation
are proclaimed, the perverse and
rebellious hearts of the children of men
are ready to conjure up a thousand
objections to them."-ThomweU
1. The revealed truth of the decree of
reprobation does not mean that God
planned to take innocent creatures, make
them wicked, and then damn them.
Ecclesiastes 7:29 says: "God has made
man upright, but they have sought out
many inventions." Arthur Pink wIites:
"God has not created SINFUL creatures
in order to destroy them, for God is not
tobechargedwiththesinofHiscreatures.
The responsibility and criminality are
man's."
2. The revealed truth of reprobation
does not mean that God refuses to save
those who Sincerely seek
salvation in Christ. Again
Pink wIites: "The fact is that
the reprobate have no
10ngingFORtheSavior: they
see in Him no beauty that
they should desire Him.
They will not come to
Christ-why then should
God forcethemto? He tums
away NONE who DO
come-where then is the
injustice of God fore-
determining their JUST
doom?"
3. The decree of rep-
robationdoesnotinanyway
contradict the goodness of
God. Although the non-
elect are not objects of his
saving goodness and his
special grace, they are objects of his
general goodness and common grace.
God causes the sun to shine and the rain
to fallon the elect and reprobate alike.
But how do the non-elect respond to the
goodness of God toward them? They
"despise Hisgoodness, and forbearance, and
longsuffering and qfter their hardness and
impenitency of heart treasure up unto
themselveswrathagainstthedayofwrath. "-
Romans 2:4,5.
4. The rule of holiness demands that
we notonlyavoid sin, we also are to work
to prevent all the sin in others we can.
Thissame rule applies to God, critics say.
But Robert L. Dabney refutes them with
December, 1991 * TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon ; IS
this: "They say we represent Him as like death of thewicked, but thatthe wicked tum
a man who, witnessing the perpetration from hiswaysandlive; tum ye, tum ye,jrom
of a crime, and having both the right and your evil ways,for why will ye die, 0 house
the power to prevent it, stands idly by: t?JIsrae!?"Turreuinexplains:"Thepassage
and they refer us to such Scriptures as then simply teaches that God is pleased
Prov.24:11,12. And when we remind with, or approves, the conversion and
them,thatGodperrnissivelyordainsthose life of the sirmer, as a thing in it.sclf
Sins, not for the sake of their evil, but for grateful to Himandsuited to Hismerdful
the sake of the excellent and holy ends nature. God is pleased with this rather
He will bring out, they reton, that we than the deathofthesirmer, and therefore
represerttHimas'doingevil
thatgoodmaycome.'These
objections derive all their
plausibility from forgetting
that we are creatures and
bondsmen of God, while
He is supreme Judge. The
judicial retribution of sin is
notour function: Heclaims
it as His own, Rom,12:19.
It is a recognized prindple
of His rule, to make
permitted sins the
punishment of Sins. Hence,
we deny that it follows, the
same rules oblige Him,
which bind us. It does not
follow, that the sovereign
proprietor can righteously
deal towards His
possessions, only in the
modes in which fellow
servants can properly treat each other." enjoinsitasa duty that men be convened
if they expect to be saved. But although
5.The question still remains: Why did God takes no delight in the death of the
not God elect evetybody to salvation? sinner, considered merely as the
Theansweris: ItpleasedGodtodisplay destruction of the creature, it does not
the glory of His grace in the salvation of follow that He does not will and intend it
many elect sirmers and to display the asanexerdseofHisownjusticeandasan
glory of His justice in the damnation of occasion ofmanifestingHisglory. A pious
non-electsirmers. By doingso, He draws magistrate takes no delight in the death
this word of praiSe from the hearts of His of the guilty, butstillhejustlydecreesthe
people-"Beholdthegoodnessandseverity punishment demanded by the laws. The
of God," Rotn. 11:22. He wants us to interrogatory, 'Whywillyoudie?'isadded
stand in awe and praise before such a because God would show them in these
great God as He is, who knows how to words how death was to be avoided, and
savetheundeservingandhowtopunish thatthey,byvoluntaryimpenitence,were
sin. the sole authors of their own ruin. n
("lustltutio Theologiae Elencticae" in
6. REFORMED DOGMATICS, ed. John
says the Lord GOd. I have no pleasure in the Beardslee).
16 TIlE COUNSEL of Olalcedon * . December 1991
7. If God'has chosen only His elect for
salvation. and rejected the rest of the
race , why are we told that God
"commands all men every where to
repent" (Acts 17:30)1 By commanding
all people everywhere to repent. God is
enfOrcing His sovereign rights and
righteous claims as the moral Governor
of the world. Hecould not do less. seeing
that all people everywhere have rebelled
against Him. Funhermore,
the divine command of
universal repentance
upholds the universality of
man's total accountability
before God His Creator.
Nowhereinthe Bible doesit
say that it is God's pleasure
to give repentance to
everybody everywhere. It
does say, in n Tim.2:25-
"In meekness Instructing
those that oppose
themselves; IF God
PERADVENTURE willgive
them repentance to the
acknowledgingofthetruth."
APPLICATION
1. What are the benefits of
believing and teaching this
biblical truth? (1). It will increase our
admiration and adoration of God for His
love and His hatred. His love guarantees
our salvation; and his hatred guarantees
our victory over our enemies. (2). This
glorious truth "is calculated to promote
reverence for God, profound humility,
trust and confidence. n Nothing is more
humbling to the pride of man than the
knowledge that the only reason he is not
in the tanks of the non-elect is because
God decreed otherwise, Acts 13:48. That
God could have chosen otherwise and
dealt with us according to our desens
rather than his mercy, is both awe-
inspiringanddeeplyhumbling. Toknow
that evety one of the non-elect is
absolutely under the control of God
should greatly promote our trust and
confidence in God. To view the world
situation and to see the wickedness that
abounds on every hand, and yet to know
that it is all included in the decree is
comfort indeed. To know that the wrath
of mans hall praise Godandtheremainder
of wrath he will restrain; to know that
even the wicked, seemingly chance acts
of men work together for my Good is
solid grounds for confidence indeed.
2. WhileweasChristiansmustconstandy
recognize our responsibility to be
wirnesses of the gospel ofJesus Christ to
everybody, Acts 1 :8; we must also resign
ourselves to the fact that God alone
decides the consequences. God will use
ourwirnesstohardensomeandtosoften
others. The Christian wimess is but
God's servant and instrument. It is God
alone who has the tight to give or to
withholdblessingsandefIecliveness. ... it
is more probable that the world of sinful
men will come to faith and repentance, if
this great event depends wholly upon
God, and not wholly or partly upon the
lethargic, fickle, and hostile will of man.
IF the success of the Holy Spirit depends
. upon theassistance of the sinner, He may
not succeed. But if His success depends
wholly upon Himself, He is certain to
succeed."-Bavinck, THEDOCIRINEOF
GOD. "Not by (human) might, nor by
(human) power, but by My Spitit, said
the Lord ofhosts."-Zech. 4:6.
3. Herman Bavinck makes an extremely
important comment on page 399f ofhis
book, THE DOCTRINE OF GOD:
" ... thosewhomisrepresentGod'scounsel
in general, and the decree of reprobation
in particular, as if it were merely the
divine purpose respecting a person's
eternal destiny, are guilty of a serious
error. No one has a right to interpret the
decree of reprobation as an iron decree,
determining only the final destiny of the
lost, who are then viewed as inexorably
shut up to this eternal state of perdition,
no matter what penitent efforts they may
put forth. THE DECREE IS AS RICH IN
-_. __ . __ .. - -------
CONTENT AS IS REALITY ITSELF.
God's decree, in the full sense of God's
counsel, is the fountain-head of All
reality. Inasingleconception itembraces
the end together with all the ways, the
goal together with all the means. It is not
a transcendent power, intervening now
and then at random, and pushing things
on toward their appointed goal; but it is
the divine, immanent, and eternal idea,
manifesting its fulness in the fauns of
space and time, and successively, Le., in
length and breadth, unfolding to our
limited view that which in the mind of
God is a unity. Accordingly, we should
not thus conceive of the purpose of
reprobation, as if it were a decree all by
itself, sustaining no relation to the other
decrees in general, nor to the decree of
election, in particular. In reality there is
not such a dualism between sin and
grace, pUnishment and blessing, justice
andmercy,asifthe reprobate were visited
only with sin and punislunent, and the
elect only with grace blessing."
The WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF
FAITH puts it this way:
"As God has appointed the elect unto
glory, so has he, by the eternal and most
free purpose ofhis will, foreordained all
the means thereunto. Wherefore they
who are elected being fallen inAdam, are
redeemed by Christ; are effectuallycalled
unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working
in due season; are jtistified, adopted,
sanctified, and kept by his power through
faith unto salvation. Neither are any
other redeemed by Christ, effectually
called,justified, adopted, sanctified, and
saved, but the elect only."
no sinister suspicion ofhisincomparable
justice creeps upon me, that no desire to
murmur rankles in my breast."
A RECOMMENDED
BIBLIOGRAPHY ON
REPROBATION
1. Dabney, R.L, LECTURES IN
SYSTEMATICTHEOLOGY, (l878),reptint
in 1972, Zondervan PUblishing House,
Grand Rapids, Mich., pages 238ff.
2. Thomwell, JH., THE COLLECTED
WRITINGS OF JAMES HENLEY
THORNWEU.., VolU-Theological and
Ethical, (l875), reprint 1986, The Banner
ofTruth Trust, Edinburgh, Scotland, pages
105ff.
3.Bavinck,H., THE DOCTRINE OF GOD,
1951, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids,
Mich., pages 394ff.
4.Pink,A., THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD,
1930, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids,
Mich., pages 99ff.
5. Shedd, W.G.T., DOGMATIC
THEOLOGY, VoJ.I, 1980, Thomas Nelson
Publishers, Nashville, Tenn., pnges429ff,
6. Beardslee, ].W., (ed.), REFORMED
DOGMATICS, 1965, Baker Book House,
GrandRapids, Mich., pages335ff, (Section
by Francis Turretin on the Decrees).
7. Berkhof,L, SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY,
1941, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
Grand Rapids, Mich., pages 115ff.
8. Bunyan, John, REPROBATION
ASSERTED, in THE WHOLE WORKS OF
JOHN BUNYAN, Vol. n,reptint 1977,Baker
Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich, pages
335ff.
T I d
. h 9. Boyce, M.P., ABSTRACT OF
o conc u e WIt one more quote
from John Calvin: SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, 1887,
"For the Lord will be my witness, to
whom I surrender my conscience, that I
daily consider his judgments so
wonderful that no curiosity tempts meto
kriow any thinginaddition to them, that
Ametican Baptist Publication Society,
Philadelphia, Penn., pages 356ff.
10. Hodge, A.A., OUTLINES OF
THEOLOGY, (1860), reprint 1972,
Zondervan Publishing House, Grand
Rapids, Mich., pages 222ff.
December, 1991 11IE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 17
11. Girardeau, j.L., CALVINISM AND
EVANGEUCALARMlNlANISM, (1890),
1984, Sprinkle Publications,
Harrisonbwy, Va., pages 161f.
12. Webb., R.A., CHRISTIAN
SALVATION: ITS DOCTRINE AND
EXPERIENCE, 1921, Presbyterian
ComrnitteeofPublication,Richmond,Va.,
pages 37fT.
13. Calvin, John, CONCERNING THE
ETERNAL PREDESTINATION OF GOD,
reprint 1961, James Clarke &. Co., Ltd.,
London, England, pages 120ff.
14. Warfield, B.B., BIBUCAL AND
THEOLOGICAL SlUDIES, 1952, The
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Co., Philadelphia, Penn., pages 270fT.
15. Smith, Morton, SYSTEMATIC
THEOLOGY: A SYLLABUS, 1976,
Unpublished, pages 230ff.
16. Murray, John, COLLECTED
WRITINGS OF JOHN MURRAY, Vol. 4,
1982, The Banner of Truth Trust,
Edinburgh, Scotland, pages 248ff.
17. Shedd, W.G.T., CALVINISM PURE
AND UNMIXED: A DEFENCE OF THE
WESTMINSTER STANDARDS, (1893),
reprint 1986, The BannerofTruthTIUSt,
Edinburgh, Scotland, pages 29ff.
18. Boettner, L., THE REFORMED
OOCfRINEOFPREDESTINATION,1932,
Wrn.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand
Rapids, Mich., pages l04ff.
19. Shaw, Roben, THE REFORMED
FAITH, (1845), reprint 1974, Christian
Focus Publications, Inverness, Scotland,
pages 57ff.
20. Rushdoony, RJ., SALVATION AND
GODLY RULE, 1983, Ross House Books,
Vallecito, Cal., page 345ff.
21. Turretin, F., INSTITUTIO
THEOLOGIAE ELENCTICAE, in
REFORMED DOGMATICS, ed.John W.
Beardslee ill, 1965, Baker Book House,
Grand Rapids, Mich., pages 335ffnn
1.8 TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon December 1991