Providence And Predestination

Q: What does the Bible say about providence and predestination?

The Bible teaches that all events occur according to God's providence and predestination, for our good and His glory. The concepts of providence and predestination are central to Reformed theology. Providence refers to God's sovereign control over all events in the universe, ensuring that everything occurs as He has purposefully designed. Predestination, on the other hand, refers to God's decree before the foundation of the world, determining the outcomes of every event and the fate of individuals. In Acts 2:23, it states that Jesus was delivered up according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, affirming that even the most distressing events serve a divine purpose, ultimately leading to both the glory of God and the good of His people.

Q: How do we know God's providence is at work in our lives?

We recognize God's providence through Scripture, which reveals that everything happens for our good and His glory. God's providence manifests in our lives as we experience various circumstances, challenges, and blessings. In Philippians 1:6, Paul expresses confidence that the God who began a good work in believers will carry it on to completion. Understanding that our trials and hardships, such as Paul's imprisonment, serve a greater purpose provides comfort and assurance. By reflecting on biblical examples, like Joseph and Lazarus, we see that events lead to spiritual growth, deeper faith, and greater glory to God, affirming that God's providential hand is ever present in our lives.

Q: Why is understanding providence and predestination important for Christians?

Understanding these concepts provides comfort during trials and reinforces God's sovereignty and goodness. For Christians, grasping the realities of providence and predestination is vital for spiritual maturity. It reassures believers that nothing occurs by chance, and that God is in control of all circumstances—He works all things for our good (Romans 8:28). This belief fosters a deep trust in God during life’s uncertainties, allowing believers to engage with their struggles and joys alike as instruments of His divine plan. Moreover, it cultivates a heart of gratitude, as we recognize that even difficult situations have purpose within God's overarching narrative of redemption and glory.

Luke chapter 2, I have something for us tonight that I would honestly consider to be a Bible study if I would have If we would not have had two messages back to back on Joseph this morning, I believe I would have made this the Bible study. This is something that I pray will be a great blessing to all of us, and it's something that I believe you'll find to be very interesting and very amazing.

But my hope is that this will be a sincere help. A lot of times, we look at things, and then I'll be talking to everybody, and I say it, and you say it, and it's this. We heard that, we got it, if we could just retain it, if we could just hold on to it, if we could ever just get it, well, this is one of those things. And I hope and pray the Lord will teach us something and let us retain it. But this is very, very amazing, very interesting to me. You're gonna wonder, where am I going with this? You'll find out, just stay with me, okay?

All right, Luke two, verse one, it says, and it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. That word taxed means enrolled or registered, recorded. Eventually it was for the purpose of them actually being taxed. They all ended up being taxed, but they said it was just to record everything about the people. So verse one, it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. because he was of the house and lineage of David to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now, in another message at another time, we will focus on the glorious birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In another message at another time.

For this message tonight, I want us to look at something that's very educational. But I pray that the education that we're going to get from this, I pray this will be an amazing blessing and a great comfort and a true help for the lives that we are right now living on this earth. Right now, right now. Here is the subject matter that we're going to look at tonight. Here's the title of the message. Providence and predestination. That's the subject matter. Providence and predestination. God's providence and God's predestination in all things.

And even though it may take to the end of the message for you to see where I'm going with all this, I'm not going to drag it out. I'm going to get right to the point. Everything that happens is according to God's providence and predestination. Everything that happens, I hope this will be a help for anybody who is going through something and you're wondering, why on this earth am I going through this? Why is this falling out the way that it is? Everything that happens is according to God's providence and predestination.

And God's providence and predestination is always for our good and His glory. Always. If you want me to go ahead and get to the summary, the whole message, that's it. That's the whole message, okay? Everything that happens is according to God's providence and predestination. And God's providence and predestination is always for our good and his glory.

Now, just to be clear about what we're talking about, providence is, it's the things that God has purposed for us coming to pass. It's the things that happen in life. The things coming to pass. Things that God predetermined concerning us being carried out. This is providence.

Predestination is all of those things being decided before the foundation of the world. All of those things being set in place before any of those things come to pass. Everything being ordered and made sure before anything. predetermining, a predestinating of things.

I want to show you some examples, some proofs from the word and then I want to end the message by showing you that fact from this text. So turn with me to Philippians 4. Philippians 4. Some of you will have a footnote in your Bible. Some of you won't. It's okay.

But if you do, after verse 23, it says that this was written to the Philippians from Rome by Epaphroditus. The apostle Paul was sitting in a prison in Rome. And he was put in that prison for preaching the gospel. That was the crime he was convicted of. That's what caused him to be locked up in a Roman prison. And he, from this prison in Rome, spoke a letter that he wanted to write to the brethren in Philippi. And a man named Epaphroditus penned it for him as he spoke it. And this is what he said.

If you look at Philippians 1, turn to Philippians 1, verse 1. Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons, grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making requests with joy for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. The one who started everything will bring it to pass.

Verse seven, even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart. In as much as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. That's what the center margin says those last three words translate to. You're partakers of my grace, with me of grace.

Verse eight, for God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. In this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. Now watch verse 12. But I would, you should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel."

What he's saying is, I was put in prison on purpose for the furtherance of the gospel. I want to be the one who says, now if I could just get a hold of this, if I could just get a hold of this. He said, I was put in, I'm telling you, if we could spend our days realizing this Man, it'd make our day so much better. He said, I was put in prison on purpose for the furtherance of the gospel.

He said, brethren, I want you to understand, this was God's providence concerning me. For the furtherance of the gospel. This was predestinated. This was predetermined. You know, he said in Acts chapter 20 that the Holy Ghost witnessed to him in every city. He said, in every city I go to, the Holy Ghost is witnessing to me that I have bonds and afflictions awaiting me. And there he was. This was predetermined providence. And why was it? Predetermined? What was it providenced for?

Here's the answer. The glory of God and the good of His people. The furtherance of the gospel. The furtherance of the gospel. That's why it happened this way. And the Lord's ways are not our ways. They're just not our ways. Let's let the gospel thrive. How? By putting God's writer in prison. His ways are not our ways. They're still not. They're still not. He said, that's why these things came to me in life the way they did. This is the reason why, the furtherance of the gospel. All right, here's another example. Look with me at John 11.

John 11 verse 1 it says, Now a certain man was sick named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary, and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sister sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. He said, this sickness that has been purposefully given to this one that I love. to this one that I love. This providence has come to him on purpose for this reason, the glory of God, that the son of God might be glorified thereby. That's why the whole sickness was predestinated for him.

Verse three, therefore his sister sent unto him saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, spiritual death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When he had heard, therefore, that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

You know, false religion has him just running, trying to hurry, hurry, hurry and help somebody before he loses them. You know, oh, somebody might have me. No, he remained where he was for two days. This is sovereignty. He remained where he was in the same place.

Verse 7, then after that, saith he to his disciples, let us go into Judea again. Look at verse 11. These things said he, and after that he said unto them, our friend Lazarus sleepeth. but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. How be it Jesus spake of his death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest and sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there to the intent you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go unto him. He said, I waited here on purpose that you may believe. I waited and allowed him to physically die for your sake. I did that for your sake, the good of your faith in my glory.

Now look at verse 38. Jesus therefore again, groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days.

Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. He said, all this was done for the sake of my people. All this was Providenced, predestinated for the good of my people.

Verse 43, and when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes. And his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, loose him and let him go. Now watch this.

Then many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on Him. Their good, His glory. All of that happened the way it did. It was all ordered that way, and it came to pass that way, but their good and His glory. We've been looking at the story of Joseph. We know he's a picture of Christ. He was sold into slavery. He was cast into prison in order to be raised up to the throne for the deliverance of his people. And Joseph's last words concerning all the providence that had been predestinated to him, we read it this morning. He said, you meant it for evil. God meant it for good. It all came to pass perfectly for God's glory. and our good. It was all for our good. Now there is example after example after example showing this. None greater than this example right here. Go with me to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, verse 22. You men of Israel, hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth, the man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holding of it. He said you by wicked hands crucified and slayed the Lord of glory only because he was delivered to you by the predetermined counsel and foreknowledge of God.

Look at Acts chapter 4. Acts 4, the church here is praying to God and in verse 26 they prayed, Acts 4, 26. The kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. They said everything that happened to Christ in his conviction, in his crucifixion and death on the cross, your hand, Your counsel predetermined, predestinated for them to do it, everything they did.

And because Christ actually died on that cross, we know that he had to have born sin in his body. And we know that that sin did not come from him and could not come from him. Therefore, it had to come from his people. And because he died in the sin of his people, that brings glory to him and good to them. That's what it brings, glory to him, good to them. Thank God for the providence and predestination in the cross, in the cross. Everything that happens is according to God's providence and predestination. And it's always for our good and his glory.

All right, now let me end the message by showing you that in the text. Go with me back to Luke 2. Now I hope the Lord will let us get a hold of this. I hope he'll let us see the point of all this and apply it to every day of our lives, every single day of our lives, okay? So many things were prophesied in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah that would come. So many things. One of those things was in Micah 5 verse 2. It was prophesied that he would be born in Bethlehem.

All right, now Luke two, verse one. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. Have you ever paid attention to that verse? Verse two, it's in parentheses. It's like an inserted thought. This taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.

I printed off an excerpt of John Gill's commentary. And it's on these two verses, and I want to read this to you. Now, when you read John Gill, he begins by telling you a lot of stuff that you don't really want to know. He begins by telling you, this is what the passage is not saying. And you have to kind of get through all that until he says, this is what the passage is saying.

And he is a big historian. He quotes a man who was alive at the time of the apostles, Josephus. There are just historical records written. And it's a lot of history, a lot of fact. And in this, he's talking about, you know, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus.

He was the second emperor of Rome. The name Caesar was common to all emperors as Pharaoh to the Egyptians. His name Augustus was not his original surname, last name. It was Theranus, in case you need to know that. I don't. It was given him after he became Caesar to express his grandeur, majesty, reverence. They wanted him to be called Romulus as if he was the founder of the city of Rome. Okay.

But a decree went out by him that all the world should be taxed. or registered or enrolled. This was not levying a tax or imposing tribute, but taking an account of the names of persons in their states and which might be in order to lay a tax upon them as afterwards was. Now listen to this. Such an enrollment, you ready for this? Such an enrollment had been determined on by Augustus when at Terracon in Spain. 27 years before.

But he was diverted from it by some disturbances in the empire. That's what he wanted to do when he was over in Spain. And the political parties couldn't agree, and they couldn't get the bill passed. It went before the Senate and all that, and he couldn't get the bill passed. It was diverted, he was diverted from it by some disturbances in the empire so that it was deferred to this time, 27 years later, in which there was a remarkable interposition of divine providence. For had this enrollment been made then, in all likelihood it had not been done now. And Joseph and Mary would not have had occasion to have come to Bethlehem.

But so it must be. And thus were things ordered by an infinite and all wise providence to effect it. You get that? This guy Augustus had been trying to get that push through for 27 years. And Congress just wouldn't go along with it until this moment. And then all of a sudden, he got it pushed through.

Everybody has to go and be taxed. And Mary was great with child. It was a 7 to 10 day journey from Galilee to Bethlehem. There is no way Mary would have made that trip if it wasn't for this. This had to be done. Had it not been for this predestinated providence This would not have come to pass.

But because of how the Lord purposed it, how the Lord ordered everything, how the Lord ruled everything, how the Lord turned men's hearts away from what this man Augustus wanted to do. I'm sure he was fit to be tied. I don't know what's wrong. I can't get him to do anything. And that's how you and I are going to be. That's how we're going to go through this life. And at this exact moment, it all fell into place according to God's will. Verse 3 says, all went to be taxed, everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea. unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. He was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished, that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The fact that our Lord was born in Bethlehem in that way brought indescribable good to God's people and indescribable glory to God. And what I want all of us to know is. And this is what I've been trying to say, but I want to say it in this way, Psalm 37 says the steps of all of God's people are ordered by the Lord. They're ordered by the Lord. All of our steps, everything pertaining to our way, everything that comes our way is ordered of the Lord. Everything in our lives is providence and predestination. Everything. And it may be a prison like Paul. That may be our predestinated providence. It may be a prison like Paul. It may be death like Lazarus. It may be great responsibility like Joseph. But all of it is God's predestinated providence concerning us.

And in the end, we're going to see all of it, all of it was for our good. And for his glory, we're not going to change it. We wouldn't want to change any of it. But once we see our good and his glory in it, we really wouldn't want to change anything about it. Nothing about it. We're going to say I wouldn't change anything for the world. To him be glory. He's brought nothing but good to me. I pray the Lord will let us to let us really get a hold of that. Let us really see that. All right. Amen.

Providence And Predestination

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What does the Bible say about providence and predestination?

How do we know God's providence is at work in our lives?

Why is understanding providence and predestination important for Christians?

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Providence And Predestination

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about providence and predestination?

How do we know God's providence is at work in our lives?

Why is understanding providence and predestination important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Gabe Stalnaker

Comments

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