A Truth to Believe

God Decrees

The God of the Bible is a decreeing God (Ezra 7:21). God's decrees are his eternal and unchanging purposes or plans, made before the world began to accomplish his divine will (1 Cor. 2:7). God's decrees include both the ends he ordains to accomplish and the means by which he accomplishes them (Ps. 2:7). This means that everything that comes to pass does so because God eternally purposed or decreed it, and all things always fulfill God's intended end (Ps. 148:6; Isa. 46:9–10). 

God has always had a unified, overarching plan centered on the glory of his name in and through Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:11). God's decrees are his particular purposes or acts that he has eternally ordered or foreordained, in accord with the council of his will (Eph. 1:11). All things, such as creation, redemption, salvation, nations rising and falling, and even the weather, are the outworking of God's eternal decrees (Jer. 11:17; Job 20:29; Rom. 1:32), which he made long ago but are now taking place within space and time (Isa. 48:2; Job 28:26; Dan. 4:24).

Thus, God has an overarching plan for all things (God's will), orders what will happen within that plan (God's decrees), possesses the supreme authority and power to accomplish all things (God's sovereignty), and works to sustain and govern all things toward their appointed end (God's providence). Yet God is not morally responsible for evil, and humans are culpable for sin (Jer. 19:5).

God's decrees matter because they reveal not only that God has an eternal plan and purpose but also that God eternally determines when and how his will is accomplished. Believers ought to trust the God who ordains, orders, plans, purposes, and brings about all that comes to pass always perfectly according to the counsel of his will (Rom. 8:28; Eph. 1:11).

Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore (Psalm 93:5)

A Quote

"We must not let pride, arrogance or sloth get in the way of our interpretation and practice of God's Word. We always stand under the Word's authority and should humbly acknowledge the possibility that we could be in error. However, along with Luther we must demand that unless our understanding of Scripture is shown to be in error by the Prophets and the Gospels, that is by the Old and New Testaments, we will not admit to any error. We humbly submit to Scripture alone (sola Scriptura). On this we take our stand."

R. C. Sproul - Knowing Scripture (113)

Something about Living

In our world of abundant information, there is a plethora of information that is proclaimed as "biblical."

As parents, we want to help our kids learn to test carefully what they hear. Being led astray is all too easy this day and age.

Even within the church, we must be very careful to believe that which is touted as “biblical.”

We have been considering this more in-depth recently and came up with five criteria to help aid us as hearers and those who are writers or teachers of the Bible.

We believe one should describe a position as "biblical" or "conforming with the Bible" only when

(1) It takes into account all the biblical data on a particular topic;

(2) It handles that data according to the Bible's categories and terms;

(3) It is coherent as well as consistently true across times, cultures, and circumstances;

(4)  It accords with what the Bible reveals and affirms; and

(5) It does not contradict any portion of the Bible.

As the Christian’s ultimate authority, the Bible is of such utmost importance that we must be careful how we communicate and receive anything that is called “biblical.” Instead let us, “test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21).

Be careful out there.

A Resource

If you are looking for some practical tools for interpreting the Bible, take a look at Knowing Scripture by R. C. Sproul. It is a wonderful introduction.

If you want to dive deeper into how to study both the Old and New Testament then check out How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament by Jason DeRouchie and How to Understand and Apply the New Testament by Andy Naselli.