One of the Solas of the Reformation is Sola Gratia, by grace alone. As we come to chapter 5 of the chapter on God’s Decree, we come to consider the positive position on how God decrees to save His elect. We have considered the general characteristics of God’s plan, that it is eternal, unconditional, immutable, universal and impeccable. We shut the door on any notion of middle knowledge where God looks down the corridors of time and orders His will around some hypothetical willing on our part. We noted the difficult doctrine of double predestination in angels and men and looked at the asymmetry in salvation and passing over. Then last week we had to shut another door on the Socinian and Open Theist view of God. Finally now in paragraph 5 we come to a positive explanation of how God decrees salvation for His elect. As already stated the thread that we will see woven throughout this paragraph is that we are saved by grace alone. Not only in the way God comes to us in time and works by His power to draw and keep us; but also in how He originally chose us as His elect. Works are denied a determining place in our salvation either in time or in eternity; in the application of redemption or in the planning of salvation. We are saved by grace alone. As we go through this paragraph we will look at it in two parts, the first part of the paragraph considers the positive part of how God elects to save us; the last part of the paragraph looks at how God did not elect us to salvation.

I am sure you will agree with this statement: as human beings we struggle to be in unity. This moment in particular is marked by tribalism. Once upon a time people would have a sense of solidarity because they came from the same town or country or language group; now there are so many different tribes, where even families and churches are now divided against themselves. Our sinfulness is on full display. And now add to that instant communication; 24 hour global news; inflammatory reporting by the media; the ready rage that is now weaponized to respond to any issue; anonymous trolling; a default state of judgmentalism; we have given ourselves permission to be triggered; paint ourselves as victims of prejudice and microaggressions; etc. We struggle and are struggling deeply with unity

What are the temptations that the church faces when it undergoes persecution? We could probably predict that we would be faced with the temptation to water down what we stand for. There have been many who when put under pressure have given up their commitment to the supremacy of Christ, to the exclusivity of the gospel. In this situation we can become vulnerable to false teachers who offer us a nicer set of teachings that would help us fit in better. Even today we are facing constant social pressure to be nice and accepting and to take the strong truths we believe, and the high view of holiness we hold to and make it more PC, more inclusive, more loving, etc. We could probably predict that some of us would be really discouraged and even begin to question God and start doubting His reality or whether He is good for allowing such bad things to happen to His people. But there would also be some of the surprising temptations that we would not expect to face like turning on one another. Persecution like we see in the early church can either unite us, or it can turn us against each other. We can begin to blame each other for what is happening, we can strongly disagree with each other about how to proceed, in instances of an authority vacuum strong personalities begin to clash for prominence. As people begin to be put under pressure and suffer losses they can either support and help each other or start reacting and taking it out on each other. Under this pressure some will give up and walk away; some will compromise; some will become judgmental; some will try and stir up a political response, some will begin to criticize the leaders and gather...

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We come now to the most controversial part of the chapter where paragraph 3 takes us into the territory of double predestination. ‘By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated, or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise of his glorious grace; others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise of his glorious justice.’ This is the next necessary step in working out the doctrine of God’s plan of all things. We have seen who God is; and in light of who God is His decree must have certain characteristics being eternal, unconditional, immutable, universal and impeccable. Because of this we had to deny certain things last week. We had to show that God could not have done things in a certain way closing the door on middle knowledge. God does not look down the corridors of time to a situation that He has not willed and react to what we would do. Having stated things generally the 1689 is now ready to apply this biblical teaching of God to how God planned salvation, and this brings us face to face with the dreaded doctrine of double predestination.

You have heard that there are three types of people, optimists, pessimists and realists. Paul, because of the truths of the gospel and his priorities blows these categories out of the water. Because of God’s work in the gospel we are now more than conquerors through Christ; God is able to work good from bad; we are now able to rejoice in our sufferings; death which is supposed to be the greatest defeat is turned into Christ into our greatest victory, and much more. Paul, we have seen is full of rejoicing. We have seen his gospel- centered rejoicing as we have seen him rejoicing in prison because people are hearing the gospel; because Christians are emboldened to preach; and despite some doing it from bad motives, the word of Christ is getting out there. Paul’s impervious joy continues in our section, v18b, ‘Yes, and I will rejoice.’ Paul turns his attention from helping the Philippians see how God is using his imprisonment for His glory to Paul’s perspective on his future and his views on life and death. A fear of the future; a fear of missing out on life; a fear of death, these fears often grip us but because of the gospel and Paul’s priorities we are going to see how gospel equips us to face these fears with joy.

In a philosophy of history you are answering the question, how did things come to be the way they are, what are the driving powers that make things as they are? There are various answers to this question. Firstly, there is the atheistic and naturalistic view that sees nature as the source of all things. That creation sprung into being itself, and through various forces plus chance all that is exists. Evolution is a major cog in this system giving an explanation for how things are what they are. In this view there is no plan just evolution. There is a baptized version of this called Deism which sees God as the great watchmaker who makes creation, winds it up, and throws it out to fend for itself and never gets involved. Secondly, there are various God and human models; a mix of human will and God’s will. These synergistic models would include Pelagianism; Arminianism and Molinism. These views all have the idea that God looks into the future to truly free acts of creatures and those actions influence how God wills history to come to pass. Then there is the third view and the view of the 1689 and we believe the Bible. This view teaches that God’s decree, His plan for all things is dependent on nothing outside of Himself, that it is free from outside influences.

Your priorities will determine what gives you joy and what makes you sad. Many of our joys lie in in those things God made to be important to us like family and work. But sin is an opportunist that is always looking to distort things, and this is often revealed in our joys and our sadness. Because we love things inordinately, in other words we love the wrong things or in the wrong way or to the wrong extent, we have our joy and sadness in the wrong things. Because we put our treasure in the wrong place we can become terribly depressed when our dreams are crushed. Too often we find ourselves incapable of coping with life’s difficulties because of what we look to for our ultimate satisfaction, and we are crushed when it is taken away. This is one of the reasons why I have been looking forward to preaching on Philippians. Here is Paul a man in prison who has suffered more than any of us will on our lifetimes, yet he is joyful. 2 Cor. 11:23-28, ‘with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is...

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Your prayer life is a measurement of your spiritual life. Not whether you pray, for all believers pray, but how well you pray. One commentator puts it this way, ‘The measure of a person’s spiritual maturity is not how well he or she conforms externally to the command to pray. The issue is how internally constrained that person is to pray by a strong love for God and others. The truest longings of the heart will come out in prayer. A selfish and superficial heart, focused primarily on personal problems, struggles, and interests, will produce selfish and superficial prayers. A heart focused on the glory of the Lord and His people will produce prayers focused on God’s glory and others’ needs. A strong sense of duty cannot compensate for a cold heart or produce fervent prayer.’ 1 Whenever I come to any of the prayers of Paul I am tremendously challenged. Here is a man who has Christ’s own affections for the church, and pours out intercessions and thanksgiving for the church. His is a heart gripped with a fervent concern for the church and this shows in his prayers. As Christians we need regular instruction in the school of prayer.