THE BELGIC CONFESSION OF FAITH – A Commentary – By
Dr. Chuck Baynard
The Belgic Confession of Faith, Article XIII
The Providence of God and His Government of All Things
We believe that the same good God, after He had created all things, did
not forsake them or give them up to fortune or chance, but that He rules and
governs them according to His holy will, so that nothing happens in this world
without His appointment; nevertheless, God neither is the Author of nor can be
charged with the sins which are committed. For His power and goodness are so
great and incomprehensible that He orders and executes His work in the most
excellent and just manner, even then when devils and wicked men act unjustly.
And as to what He does surpassing human understanding, we will not curiously
inquire into farther than our capacity will admit of; but with the greatest
humility and reverence adore the righteous judgments of God, which are hid from
us, contenting ourselves that we are pupils of Christ, to learn only those
things which He has revealed to us in His Word, without transgressing these
limits.
This doctrine affords us unspeakable consolation, since we are taught
thereby that nothing can befall us by chance, but by the direction of our most
gracious and heavenly Father; who watches over us with a paternal care, keeping
all creatures so under His power that not a hair of our head (for they are all
numbered), nor a sparrow can fall to the ground without the will of our Father,
in whom we do entirely trust; being persuaded that He so restrains the devil and
all our enemies that without His will and permission they cannot hurt us.
And therefore we reject that damnable error of the Epicureans, who say
that God regards nothing but leaves all things to chance.
Providence is the doctrine under
discussion in this article. It is by providence that God orders all things, even
those perceived by man as evil or bad to conform to God’s own purpose and to
work for the ultimate good of the Elect.
It is necessary to distinguish between decree and providence. There is
only one eternal decree, the decree of election to salvation in Jesus Christ.
Those who teach a so-called double-predestination violate this article and
Scripture and lay sin at the feet of God. If God made a separate and special
decree of reprobation, then those God did not elect could not chose God even if
they desired to do so. The effect
is exactly the same regarding reprobation with one decree to election and a
passive action as such whereby God simply passes by the non-elect.
This article correctly cautions trying to see behind the mystery of God
where we cannot go. However even the flawed logic of fallen man can penetrate
the perfect and revealed will of God enough to see the necessity of this
statement. The problem for man is that of time or history. God is not within
time, which God created for the benefit of man. God is ever present and sees the
end from the beginning. The Reformed have always been careful to insist that God
did not use divine foresight in the election or it would introduce the element
of works or merit and negate grace. If we first have one eternal decree of
election without employing divine foresight, then the use of providence to order
all things for the good of the elect does not leave sin at the feet of God so to
speak and thus Scripture is true when it says God created evil, for God created
all things, yet sin is not of God but the ability to sin God left with the
created to include the elect. This introduces the bias between the infra/supra-lapsarians.
The Synod of Dort uses the phrase because of sin, which many use to claim
God decreed the fall and then elected. I disagree, God knew man would fall and
foreordained that event, but elected without regard to the fall as such. There
is a difference between foreordain (providence) and election. The decree of a
sovereign cannot be broken or changed (Consider the actions of an earthly
sovereign in the story of Ester to see the concept of the inability of a ruler
to change his mind.) Dort is
correct, the election was because of sin, but the election preceded the sin and
fall in the eternal counsel of God.
This is an important concept and is where God permits man to pray and for
God to answer that prayer, yet God doesn’t change His mind, having
foreordained everything from the beginning. If all was predestination as some
are want to present foreordination, then Hezekiah would not have received 15
more years to live. God is in absolute control and all things great or small are
so ordered to bring about God’s perfect will. In other words as here noted
there are no accidents, we do not live at the whim of chance or a so-called
fate, but in the will of God the Father from the beginning.
Can we go here? To a certain decree we can see within the eternal counsel
by the use of God given abilities. However this has never been the measure of
orthodoxy in the reformed churches because it is an area of shadow and not
clearly presented in the Bible. Thus, infra and supra are not a litmus test and
can co-exist even in the same congregation. What cannot be violated is the
sovereignty of God and the idea God doesn’t remain active in His creation and
so orders earthly events in accord with His perfect will and the good of the
elect.
Here we indeed have much comfort for we know that nothing whatsoever can
happen to us without the permission of God and therefore even those things that
will drive the unbeliever farther from God will draw the saint in adversity
toward God. Here is the comfort and strength needed to live an abundant life
despite earthly circumstance. This is the faith that sustained the martyred
defenders of truth whereby they could walk into the arena filled with wild beats
with a song on their lips and joy in their hearts. We do not live by experience
however, but the word of God and the just live by faith.
Providence is the experience of the Romans 5:1-5 passage that brings
forth hope in the heart of the believer.
