In “The Softer Face of Calvinism” (Christianity Today), it is argued that rather than appealing to theologians to understand Reformed theology, one should use the Reformed confessions and creeds.

The confessions, therefore, form an important framework that help us see both what is fundamental and what is not fundamental.

Following that advice, chapter three of the Westminster Confession makes two assertions:

• God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass …
• Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions; yet has He not decreed anything because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such condition

In a nutshell, God decreed (ordained, predestined) everything in eternity past. And His decrees were not based on His foreknowledge of the actions of those whom He would create. Continue reading →