Systematic Theology (part 29)

Are very brief but they are very biblical, they are very well thought of, they maintain the balance between two doctrines which may be hard for us to reconcile in our head. So the words that are chosen to describe these are extremely helpful for us as we grapple ourselves in understanding subjects such as the Odyssey.

So I just picked a couple of sections from there so we'll take a few moments, no we'll take more than a few moments to go over these. But why don't we open with a word of prayer. Our loving and gracious Father we thank you Lord for this morning, Lord I pray that you would impress upon us your goodness, your love, your justice, your holiness and your sovereign rule as you govern all things that you have made with equity and with goodness.

Help us oh Lord as your creatures to rejoice in you, to revel in you and to take comfort in you in times of good and in times of evil. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Okay so before we get into the Westminster Confession there's a couple of comments that I, a couple of questions that I need to respond to from last week.

The Nature of Christ and the Difference Between Trial and Temptation

One of them is the temptation, I think Carol Rathbun had that question about, there were many questions that came up. So the question that I didn't answer was about the nature of Christ and for those of you coming in you should get some handouts and we talked about Jesus being both fully God and fully man and we have a verse and actually if you can just turn there and this is where I got stuck and stopped.

It was Hebrews 4 13 and oh sorry not 13 it's 15 and if actually if someone can just read verses 14 through 16 I think that will help set the context of the question that we're going to answer. Who'd like to read that?

Hebrews 4 14 to 16. Thank you. So just keep your finger there and then just turn over to the next chapter of James and this is the text that we were looking at when we stopped. So if someone else can read verses 12 through 15 and we can see the relationship of these two verses.

James chapter 1 verses 12 to 15. Thank you. So the verse that we were looking at last week here was God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one and so we were looking at this and then came up with this verse of Hebrews 4 15 and the question was how do you reconcile or how do we understand these two verses?

We do not have a high priest who's unable to sympathize with our weakness but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. So how do you reconcile these two verses or understand these two verses?

Does the Bible contradict itself? The answer is no. Obviously the Bible doesn't contradict itself. Uh did I hear an answer here? Excellent. So if you look at the context of Hebrews chapter 4 what is it talking about?

It's talking about the great high priest. So here you are as a sinner coming before the presence of God. You have the thrice holy God before whom you're going to appear and who is this person that is your mediator your high priest the one who brings your offerings before God brings you before God.

It is not someone who is unaware of the challenges that you face but someone who has actually walked through every single challenge that you as a human being have gone through who has faced the kind of temptations that you have and yet has not been has not sinned.

So when we looked at the nature of Christ that Jesus is both fully God and fully man we need to remember that we talked about impeccability that Jesus was not able to sin. Really that's the because he has the nature of God and the nature of man together he cannot sin and so when we look at the temptation I think pastor Bob was the one who said this later this is think of it as the word actually used for trial and temptation is the same.

It is the same Greek word and the context is what will tell you whether this is a trial or whether it's a temptation and so when you look at the context of temptation here is what happens when Jesus as the perfect man comes and faces every temptation right you know you remember the after the baptism being taken out into the wilderness all the way to the very end in the garden of Gethsemane where you know here is this cup that you know you want this to pass over because you don't want Jesus would rather have the intimate fellowship of the Father rather than the separation and the wrath of God on behalf of and the separation from God if it is your will let it pass from me and then his whole life is a series of trials both from the enemy as well as from other people who are constantly testing him tempting him trying to catch him at his words so he would say something that is sinful.

And every single step of the way Jesus faces these outward temptations these trials that are posed to him and every single time he responds without sin. Now there is a difference between the temptation or the trial that Jesus faces then that from the temptation or trials no temptations that you and I face and that difference is what James 1 is talking about.

So if you go back to James 1 if you look carefully what is it that James 1 is talking about. James 1 is Hebrews 1 has said you know there is really no context that you are suffering or facing trials or temptations that Jesus has not faced but he never sinned in any of these.

And when you look at James 1 it says when you are tempted you don't want to say God tempts me because God cannot be tempted with evil. He tempts no one. But each of us is tempted. And that's the key was there.

How are we tempted when we are lured and enticed by what his own desire. And really that's the crux of understanding the difference between Jesus and us. We inherit Adam's nature as we come we inherit corruption.

We are children of Adam. We have the propensity to sin within us. So when there is an external temptation coming there is an inward desire that connects with it. And really that's what this whole the rest of the verse is.

When desire is conceived gives birth to sin. Sin when it's fully grown gives birth for death. So that's our lot you know as as humans who have the nature sinful nature in we respond to sin naturally whereas when we have Jesus he does not inherit Adam's sin.

So he is the last Adam as Pastor Mike was talking about you know he was not born of the seed of man. He does not inherit the sinful propensities that come down but rather he was born of the Holy Spirit.

And inwardly there is really no this this what James is talking about enticed by his own desire and that inward. And that's basically what the theologians come down to when they talk about the difference between the temptation of Jesus Christ and and us.

So really so when you look at these two contexts the outward trials and temptations that we face Hebrews 4 every single one of them to the nth degree Jesus faces much more than you and I can go through because his life was a constant barrage of attacks from just Satan and everyone around him to bring him down and yet he never sinned.

And here we have us where our our own sinful desires correspond with the trials and temptations that come around us. And when we talk about Jesus I'm sorry about God in verse 13 James 113 God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one.

The word there again for temptation is the kind of the the context here is you know here is uh a juicy proposition that is put before you and I'm doing this so that you would trip and fall. God never does that.

God brings trials in our lives in order to prove us and to sanctify us and to strengthen us. But he never brings these occasions in order to cause us to some stumble. Really what is God's intent in those trials.

Remember we were talking about trials and temptations being the same word. But the context here makes it clear that God never comes around to make us want to stumble or to take delight in the sins of the people around them by bringing calamity or or temptations in their lives.

So really that's the big picture I want you to take out from here because those are two truths of the scripture. They both have their own context in which they are given. And we need to make sure you know just because there is a word temptation there that we don't somehow say oh you know is is the scripture contradicting itself or or take the meaning of one and put it into the you need to always retain the context of those verses that we are looking at all.

Right. I think I'll stop there. Let's let's take a few moments to talk about this Westminster Confession. So there are three sections that I just picked it's in your handout. The first one is God's eternal decree and then the providence.

And that's where we're going to be looking at a lot of these issues and then the fall of man. Let's actually just read through these these are pretty basic. And then we'll we'll deal with the answers as they come.

So why don't I actually have someone read the first point. And as we are reading these are the two contexts. One is theodicy. We are going to be looking at the problem of evil and God's ordaining all things.

And on the other hand we haven't touched the subject. We will be talking about it later this morning. It is God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. God ordaining all things and man's free will. We are still able to choose and exercise our choices without coercion.

So those are the two things you want to keep in mind as we read through this. Um who'd like to read Scott. And here is a like a summary statement of the providence of God. And as you can see in the beginning it talks about his sovereignty and the manner in which that sovereignty is exercised.

His knowledge his will his and the purpose being for his wisdom glory of his wisdom power goodness and mercy. Now let's just keep reading and then we will stop when we run into a problem. Um Scott would you mind continuing.

And really that's the key there to recognizing. And that's one packed sentence there where you see the decree of God what God has uh decreed from eternity past that will come to pass. It's he says here immutably and infallibly that there is nothing that will change God's decree from coming to pass.

But then the way in which it happens uh he says is by the according to the nature of second causes. Some of these things are here it's you know when you look at the creation he is the first and primary source of everything that happens.

He speaks and all of them come into existence. So he he is the first cause and you have all of the results right before you God sees that it is good. There is no secondary cause between God's speaking and those events coming to pass.

And then we have the rest of creation where a rest of uh uh God's providence as he is governing this uh his universe where he ordains secondary agents. Remember last week we looked at Job in Job's case we have God who talks to Job says have you talks to Satan says have you considered my servant Job.

And uh there is a conversation between Satan and uh God. And again if you think about it initiation who actually initiates it it's God speaking to Satan and asking him to consider his servant Job. And then when you have this conversation God basically sets the boundaries of what Satan can and cannot do.

You cannot touch this man's life. And yet God uh from from Satan's perspective has a complete free reign to do what he will in whether it was going to be that whirlwind or whether it was going to be the raiders or whether it was going to be a whole series of secondary and tertiary causes that are going to impact this man's life which is Job.

And so when we look at the end of Job 1 Job looks past all these secondary causes and says God gave God has taken away and blessed be the name of the God name of God. So he was looking at God as the ultimate author he was seeing God as the ultimate um person who took away what was given uh and then he retained his integrity in saying that there is nothing sinful in God there is no evil in God even though these secondary and tertiary agents caused evil in my life and pain and suffering and so forth.

Really that's the uh that's the way in which we want to be looking at how God is ultimately sovereign. And yet you have all of these um intermediate causes and that's and really when when uh uh this confession says necessarily freely or contingently so the relationships between these each of these causes is where you are looking at you know and all of us want to think that it is a necessary cause because that's how my secondary agents operate.

I normally coerce them or give them strong reason and they function because of some direct order from me whereas when God operates there are there is more complexity to the way in which the secondary causes respond.

And really the the danger that we run into is I want to somehow master the relationships between God as the ultimate sovereign creator um and the ordainer and the one who decreed and all of the secondary agents in responding.

And so when I try to make that connection closer than what the bible would say then I have trouble because I have difficulty understanding uh theodicy or the freedom of man. And so that's why this verse uh this um phrase here helps us to balance that let me stop there any questions on what what I just said or any other questions that came out as a result of this does it make sense all.

Right. So let's let's uh keep going. So um would someone like to read the third point in of providence what do you think that versus that um sentence is talking about so he makes use of means so that's the ordinary way in which God operates and yet he's free to work without without those means above those means and even against them for his pleasure uh God has for example you know created gravity uh and he lets things operate according to the properties that he's given and he preserves those properties so things function in an order and that's the normal way that God operates and God can come in and change gravity.

God can go up in a cloud Jesus can go up in a cloud he can walk on water he can do other things. And that's basically talking about the intervention of miracles that God is free like you said to do whatever he wants and so we want to be.

And again we are starting to go into the second aspect but we'll touch upon each of these and then we'll we'll comment on the aspect of freedom or the choices of man after we are done with this. So let's read the next one who'd like to read the next point.

Okay did you know that was one sentence and this is why when I start talking I'm prone to error whereas these Westminster divides spent like lots of time and put these these various aspects of God's truth from the scriptures in such a way that we don't err on one side at the expense of the other and just to kind of unpack at a high level.

If you look at the beginning of the sentence it's talking about God's sovereignty right almighty power unsearchable wisdom infinite goodness of God. So these are some of the attributes of God and they are manifesting himself in his providence.

And the providence was just described a little bit earlier in terms of him doing whatever he chooses according to his decree freely and bringing about his desired ends. And then now from the second line in your printout and on you get to see the effects of it.

You know in the first fall the sins of angels and men. So you know we were talking about the origins of evil. You know all of these things God is still sovereign over. But how not by bare permission. Remember last week I said you know it's easy for me to just say God kind of allowed evil you know as if someone just came and got you know permission and God said plan b is okay let me just do it.

We want to remember God's decree covers everything that happens. So it is not just by bare permission that you know we allow for things to happen but then he has joined it with the most wise and powerful bounding.

There is a there is a intent and a purpose of God that runs through all of these things that is hard for us to comprehend. And but that is there in the pages of scripture in fact just a side note when you if you google the Westminster confession there is a there is a link with proofs.

So if you actually click on all these things you have all the scriptural texts that support this. These are not just some theological ideas that just came out of nowhere. There's this. The proofs are sometimes bigger than your sentences over here with just tons of verses referring to why these were made.

But but for us just to get that big picture I'm just limiting myself to this to these sentences. But otherwise if you look at it ordering governing all of these secondary causes and the way in which they're going to come to his own holy ends he is bringing about his purposes through all of these various events that come to pass.

But the key there is in the end. But the sinfulness thereof proceeds only from the creature. You know that now we are talking about both sides. One is we're talking about the evil and the sin that results from the agents now who is culpable or guilty of these sin.

It's the creature who commits them. Because we're going to be saying they actually do it freely and willingly. They are not really forced or twisted or manipulated to do what they must do. And really that's where the mystery lies is God sovereignly ordains these things.

But these creatures that actually commit these sins are the guilty ones. And so in the last sentence you see God is holy and righteous and cannot be the author or approver of sin. And really I think that's probably as good as we can get in describing the sovereignty of God in decreeing all things.

And when evil comes to pass through these agents that these agents do it freely and willingly. And God is not just allowing for permission but he brings about his holy and righteous ends his purposes in and through it all.

But before we move forward I just want us to think about what this means. You know we have philosophical questions about you know the problem of evil. And for many of us that's not really a very big question because as believers we know our God is good.

We know that our God loves us so much that he would send his son to face the greatest evil we can ever conceive of by being murdered on a cross and that God would ordain it and sinful hands would perpetrate it.

And that would bring about the greatest good for all of humanity. So we have we are recipients of the goodness of God and therefore we are not troubled by the philosophical question. We are not. We may have some questions but those are not the things that keep us up at night.

And for many of us the challenge is more practical. It is in our daily life it is when there is evil that is perpetrated against us. Maybe by like in the Psalms a brother who eats bread with me has risen up against me.

And you are thinking how could this be. Where is God. And all this or even more challenging is the sin in our own heart as a committing these acts of evil. And has God kind of left me out while these are happening.

Where is God. Or how could I be a believer. How is God governing my life. When I'm going through these things I am his child. And when you think through this this is why it's important to rest in the understanding of the nature of God.

God is a good God he's a holy God he's a sovereign God. There is nothing that happens in my life either when evil comes directed to me or the evil that I direct outwardly to others that God is not just you know unaware of or just disinterested in.

He is interested in every single thing that happens in my life. And yet that that sentence that we just read that big sentence covers how God operates as he's good he brings about his good purposes. We are still culpable the the friend that raises his hand against or my own deceitful heart that commits sin.

I am responsible for this and and yet God ordains all of these things in order to bring about his good purposes. So just just something to keep in mind as we read this because we don't want to just read this as an academic exercise because the next time I face evil I want to be able to look up and say like Job you know blessed be the name of the Lord knowing that he is sovereign and he is good.

Does it make sense. Okay any any questions on this before we go to the next one. Okay let's read the on the back side point number five who would like to read that. Yes Pauline. Okay anyone have trouble with that sentence.

You can take it up with the Westminster device. But if you just think about the weight of what this is talking about and I think there was a question on sanctification. What is what is sanctification.

Many a time we like to think sanctification means you know I was when we think of salvation we think of justification sanctification and glorification. I was justified declared not guilty. I have the righteousness of Christ in me.

And now I'm being made more and more like Christ. And that just means I'm happily hopping skipping and jumping along. You know I was sinning in this area. I don't sin in this area anymore. I was sinning in another area.

I don't sit in that area anymore and I'm just kind of climbing up this escalator to heaven in a very smooth way. And obviously that's not what sanctification is. You can experientially look at your own life in terms of those areas where you struggled and you sinned and failed and God was gracious to help you and then you struggled in another area.

So it's we call it progressive sanctification. So if you look at it as a graph it's like up and down but the overall trend is being made more and more into the image of Christ. So because of the spirit of God who indwells us and who is transforming us and who doesn't just automatically sanctify us.

So that's where we go to Philippians 2 where we where we read work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Pastor Harrington can you finish that for me? Oh I'm sorry thank you. So God who's at work in us both to will and to work according to his good the desires to do the good things and the ability to do those good things come from God.

And we have a responsibility to work out to and to put our muscles as it were to sweat as it were through those events that God has placed before us. We want to think again of Ephesians 2 8 to 10 the path that God has prepared beforehand that we must walk in them.

And so when God orchestrates these things then just in each of our lives we can see how God brings events into those into our lives. Remember we started with talking about trials and temptation. God doesn't bring that trial slash temptation into my life.

So he would see me stumble and fall and take a lot of delight. Does God know what I will do. Absolutely. Does God know that's times of failing that litter my path from here till the day I die. Absolutely there is nothing that God doesn't know.

And yet when you come back to this definition you hear you see here he leaves his children to manifold temptations and the corruptions of their own heart to chastise them for their former sins and to discover unto themselves the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of so that they may be humbled and to raise them up to a close and constant dependence for their support upon himself.

How many of you can just say amen if you're not charismatic or anything. But can. Yeah we can. Just every one of us knows what this means in our lives. I used to think oh you know I'm just Pradeep is doing great and that's all you need.

The rest of the week is down on the floor and then you realize no it is God who gives me the grace and I need to constantly be dependent upon him. Because Pradeep's heart is not as good as Pradeep thinks it is.

And really our dependence upon God brings glory to God transforms us. And this is one of those ways in which when we think of parent-child why do parents structure the lives of their children in certain ways.

They have to make some choices. They are prevented from making some choices. They fall down scrape their knees and get up and run back to daddy. There are events that even as little finite creatures we know how we help our children as they grow into maturity.

And here we have the infinitely wise and infinitely good God who orchestrates everything that happens in each of our lives for his good pleasure. So really that's the crux of this. And and really that's the way we want to approach theodicy.

We don't want to approach theodicy like the unbeliever does and says you know how can God do this. Because that's I have no right to ask that question. I have no ability to understand the answer to that question.

If God were to give me an answer and more likely than not God is going to talk like how he talked to Job. And then you just shut your mouth and say okay. I just realized how foolish such a question is.

But we want to ask. We want to come before God recognizing his good hand in our lives when times of evil happen because we God works in our lives through these. Okay let's read the next section number six who would like to read that.

I like that last part. You know there are some events which cause people to harden their own hearts. Which the very events causes others to go the other way and run back to God. And and yet if you see how it all begins right at the beginning he is the righteous judge and he does blind and harden.

And again what is. What are these. What is this sentence doing. It's just taking all this passages of scripture that talk about both God hardening and people hardening and putting them together in a way that we can say you know here is how uh as best as our finite minds can comprehend we put them together to preserve the truth of the character of God and the operations of God in a world where people left to themselves would just freely run headlong down the path of sin.

So really that's the crux of that. But again you need to read this a few times to kind of let that juice settle down. But any questions on this or any other thoughts that come from this. Yes joining. You know you actually just brought up something that I think we'll use as a stepping stone to go talk about.

Quote-unquote. Free. Will you know you. You everything you said is just right on. We always want to remember God is sovereign. He gives he graces whom he will as the potter he is free to do that. And he does that rightly.

The problem always comes when I stand try to put myself in God's place and say oh wouldn't it be better if such and such were to happen. And the assumption is I actually understand how to govern the universe a lot better than God does.

And this operation would actually be better than the way in which it is happening right now. And we need to always rest back in the character and the goodness and the wisdom of God and saying God knows much more than I do.

He is free to do what he will. And I am his creature and I am a citizen in his kingdom. And I'm glad for this wise and powerful and good king governing my universe. And really that's the way in which we want to be looking at our creator God.

But let's let let. I don't think this sentence has that. Maybe it does. Maybe we'll use this as a jumping board to talk about human responsibility. Actually you know what. There is another phrase that that talks about it much more directly.

You know what. Let me just read the seventh point. And then I'll read another phrase that will help us springboard into the issue of sovereignty of God and responsibility of man. The seventh point as the providence of God does in general reach to all creatures.

So after a special manner it takes care of his church and disposes all things to the good thereof. You need to be very careful when we talk about the purposes of God bringing about good. There is no promise that it will bring good to all of his creatures.

It is Romans 8 28 is intended for believers. There is a special purpose in the election and the and the sovereignty of God in the lives of his saints that when the trial comes in our lives we can be assured no matter how disastrous catastrophic that event might be that this is intended by God for my good and for his glory.

And when the same thing happens and again you know in a general sense and I think Joanie you mentioned this God causes the sun to rise on the believers and the unbelievers. And so there is a general sense in which all creatures benefit from the goodness of God.

But there is no promise that those trials that come will result in their for example waking up from their sin and being saved. That was the point six there some cause softening of hearts and others cause hardening of their own hearts.

We do not know those are those. It is that hidden will of God that God God alone knows and we leave it in God's hands. But um um but his purposes in the life of his church or his saints is is indeed for good.

Let me find the passage I was thinking of and then I'll use that to let's actually read. If you look at the chapter three of God's eternal decree the very first sentence there talks about this balance between sovereignty and freedom.

Actually can someone read that the first point Andrew that's a weighty passage we need to kind of settle on that. And again all it is doing is it is taking the truths that we know from the scriptures about God being sovereign in God being good and the will of the creature there's no violence done to them.

That is in the sense God coerces or forces people who make their choices based on their state of affairs. So right now the choices that each of us makes here is by in no means twisted to do something that God wants when I am dragged into doing something that I don't want to do I what I do I do freely.

And um so that's why it says the liberty of contingents contingency of second causes are not taken away but they are rather established. So our uh and really that's where the challenge comes. And this is where I want us to switch our thoughts from theodicy where we normally think of believers and unbelievers to the question of free will where we are talking normally between calvinists and arminians.

So normally arminians look at theodicy and that's one of the reasons why they are mostly arminians is because they feel that putting all these scriptures together where God is sovereign over evil somehow sullies the name of God.

Because I cannot comprehend how God is the first cause of all things and that when the secondary causes commit evil I as a as an arminian I fear for the name of God being tarnished that I somehow want to put a wall in between to say you know no my God is good and holy and everything done here on is done freely by these creatures.

So if I can make that real hard sharp cut then I can preserve my God and his holiness. And all of the creatures that commit sin are responsible for it. Well intentioned but unbiblical because the bible does talk about God's sovereignty extending there is no wall as it were that God just reacts and responds to the sin of this his creation but rather God is sovereign over all of these things.

So really the question should always be when I look at theology I have maybe in this particular case the holiness of God or the justice of God or something else that I fear for and I want to take that one doctrine and put put that doctrine on the throne.

I want to be very careful that I'm not burying some other doctrine because I feel this is how my God should look like. And when we create God after our own desires it's called idolatry. And you have to be and all of us I'm sure you know when based on what we emphasize our have our predisposition to those areas that we like and we don't like.

And we need to be saying let God be God what he has revealed about himself must define who he is rather than my preference for one over the other. So so with that said so the armenians one big uh concern can be uh this issue of somehow trying to understand in this finite creature's mind how this can work.

And when I can't understand it try to draw some lines that I should not draw. But let's come to the more common issue of the freedom of man. So here in this first definition he unchangeably ordains. If you look at the end of the first line he unchangeably ordains whatsoever comes to pass.

And then that's on the one side and on the other side uh he's not the author of sin talking about this disconnect. And the second is he does not offer violence to the will of the creatures. Meaning he does not he ordains.

Everything happens. Yet the creatures freely exercise and do what they want. What do we say about it. Amen. That's that's exactly the kind of response we need to have. Wow. You know when we use that word god alone deserves that term.

Because how can this be. Only god can do these things. And and really we have these examples after examples in the bible of what happens. We looked at the life of joseph we looked at the life of joe we looked at many other examples.

And then we have jesus the ultimate example of god's ordained will. And then all of these i mean you just think about all the people in jesus life who were a part of bringing about god's or god's decree who had no knowledge of what god was doing.