Foreknowledge based upon omniscience is not equivalent to foreknowledge based upon the decree of God. I hope you can see the difference.
Foreknowledge based on omniscience concerning only the choices of the men involved without also including God’s knowledge of
HIS innumerable future concurrent actions along with what is known to occur through the choices of men doesn't even begin to address what plays into His knowledge of future events. I hope you can see that.
Trouble is that anti-Calvinists like yourself and what's his name conveniently leave out the prerequisite omnipresent activities of the Word of God and (whether it is purposeful or not) present God as a transcendent spectator only rather than the One Who holds all things involved in what He sees as future events together by His Word or decree.
The Westminster theologians didn't have the luxury of just conveniently leaving out the consideration of certain truths from God's Word. They had to consider them
all during their 5 years or so of drafting their final short pithy statements which could be used for the next few hundred years as catechisms in Christ's Church. They had to compare scripture to scripture in a very thorough and systematic way to accomplish the task they had before them.
Granted that they had 5 years or more to kick these things around and you only have a few visits to your computer to give your partially thought out opinions on these matters. But then if you guys haven't long ago thought thru these things backward and forward you probably shouldn't be writing words that may well be read and considered by newer and weaker Christians all around the world.
"Let not many of you become teachers, my brothers, knowing that as such you will incur a more strict judgment."
REGARDING THE CHOICE OF THE WORD “DECREE” AND “ORDAIN”:
I, and many other Reformed theologians over the last 400 years or so find them perfectly satisfactory words – since we have tried to understand how they came to be used rather than just pick at them as part of an anti-Calvinist agenda.
The Reformers sought to use a simple word or two that would convey to their readers what the scriptures tell us about the way God creates things, sustains things and brings events to pass.
That way of doing things is the sending forth of His beloved Word.
“My word … which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
It isn’t very long in the study of the scriptures that we discover that the One Who so proceeds from God and makes all that He is and knows manifest for His glory – is not an it but a person, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Psalm 138:2 is admittedly a difficult translation. But it is clear that God has exalted His Word above all else. He is, after all, the “1st born” of all creation.
“For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.” “You have so exalted Your solemn decree that it surpasses Your fame.”
In the scriptures we see the Word exalted as one existing before the creation with God and indeed Who is God Himself. We see the Word as the spoken Word bringing creation out of nothing and nothing could resist Him. We see the Word as the written Word which
must be fulfilled. We see the Word as having become flesh, dwelling among us and laying down His life for us. We see that title emblazoned on His thigh and proceeding from His mouth in order to enforce His will when He returns to the earth He created.
Sometimes it’s even difficult in the scriptures to see whether they are talking about the spoken, written or living Word – they are so intertwined.
One thing is certain – the Word in whatever form He is presented will complete what He begins – whether in creation, in prophecy, or salvation.
He is omnipresent and nothing happens without His say so. If God takes His mind (or more biblically accurate His Word) off of anything or any situation it will simply cease to exist.
In a massive understatement for the ages John says in the ending of His gospel concerning the Word:
“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” John 21:25
“For by Him all things were created,
both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. Colossians 1:16-17
Can you imagine it? You and me and every other created thing “have our being” in the Word of God.
Given these magnificent and all encompassing statements about the Word of God and considering that Jesus Himself said that the Word “must” be fulfilled – the Reformers wanted to do this “1st cause” of all thing justice.
The Westminster authors chose the words decree and ordain because they and their readers were quite familiar with them and because they adequately convey the idea that what the sovereign Lord says “must” be done – whether we are talking about the kings of the earth or the King of Kings.
As FG2 so aptly informed us, the root of the word decree conveys that the statement going forth from the Lord “must” be done – no ifs ands or buts. The Lord’s Word or decree is law.
The Reformers naturally wanted 1st of all to give due credit to what they saw in the scripture as the One and only source of everything and every event in creation. They chose the illustration of a decree from a King.
But in doing so they realized that there could be some misunderstanding concerning the idea of the relatively free will of men in relationship to these sovereign decrees since free will was also a clear teaching of the scriptures and therefore extremely important concept to cover in their document as well. They wanted no one to think that they were saying that God decreed or "authored" sins.
So they purposefully and clearly added the caveats which tell us that God uses a law He has put in place to fulfill what He decrees to take place – namely free will for men and angels. They purposefully made absolutely sure that no one could misunderstand their statements about God sending forth His Word and decreeing everything in creation and thinking that that included sin.
I won’t quote a bunch of their statements here about the authorship of sin or the freedom given to men to sin or not. They clearly lay out their position and I’m thinking that you know full well what they say. Suffice it to say that no one who reads their words from the WCF with an open mind could fail to see what their intent was.
And still ------ we see dishonest people misrepresenting them in order to undermine and misrepresent many of their brothers in Christ and their beliefs and teachings about these things.
It would be just amazing if it wasn’t so sad as well.
These supposed teachers will give an account when they meet the Lord - not only for their inadequate and often false teaching but for purposefully doing their brothers in Christ a disservice on the internet and elsewhere..
