Antidote Against Arminianism, Discourse · Chapter 9
CHAP. IX. In which are contained Arguments againſt the Conditional Decree.
Objection Firſt.THE Firſt Objection againſt this Doctrine of the Divine Decree is, That it is a Conditional One, upon the Foreſight of Faith, Works, Perſeverance, &c.
Anſw. To this I anſwer, that the Divine Decree of Predeſtination cannot be Conditional upon a Foreſight of Faith, &c. for theſe following Reaſons.
Argum. 1. That which the Scripture faith is the Cauſe and Ground of our Election, that, and that only, muſt be the Cauſe and Ground thereof; but the Scripture propounds the Good Pleaſure of God, as the only Cauſe and Ground of our Election, not any Fore-ſight of Faith, &c. therefore, &c. that the Scripture doth ſo, appears in Eph. 1.5,9,11. Mat. 11.26. Rom. 9.11,15. & 11.5. 'tis an Election of Grace, Exod. 33.16,17. 2 Tim. 1.9. all thoſe Places quoted do ſhew us, that this Divine Decree floweth only from the Abſolute Will and good Pleaſure of God.
Argument 2. That which makes Election an Action of Debt, ought not to be received, but this Doctrine of the Conditional Decree doth ſo; Ergo, &c. the Propoſition is proved thus, an Action of Grace and an Action of Debt are contradictory Terms, if Election be an Act of Grace (as thoſe Scriptures forecited evidence, and as the whole Work of Man's Salvation [a capite ad calcem] hath been prov'd to be wholly and ſolely from Free-grace. Chap. 6. Argum. 2.) then 'tis abominable, and to be rejected to make it an Act of Debt. The Aſſumption is prov'd thus, If the Decree be Conditional upon Foreſeen Faith and Perſeverance, then is it an Act of Debt and not of Grace, an Act of Juſtice and not of Mercy, Ex debito et neceſſitate, non ex Dei bsneplacito, a Decree of giving Glory to Believers perſevering as their Reward, muſt be nothing elſe but Remunerative Juſtice.
Argument 3. That which makes God go out of himſelf in his Immanent and Eternal Actings, ought not to be received; but the Doctrine of the Conditional Decree doth ſo, Ergo; the Aſſumption is proved: For it makes God look upon this or that in the Creature, upon which the Will of God is determined, this makes Man to be Author of his own Salvation, and not God; and to aſſign a Cauſe of God's Will [extra Deum] is not only foreign, but blaſphemouſly ungods the great God, and makes (as it were) a Mortal Man of an Immortal God. For this Doctrine of the Conditional Decree ſets God upon his Watch-Tower of Fore-knowledge to eſpy what Men will do, whether they will Believe or no, Obey or no, Perſevere or no, and according to his Obſervation of their Actings, ſo he determines his Will concerning them, thus the Perfection both of the Divine Knowledge and Divine Will, is with one Breath denied, and ſuch Notions are fitter for the doting Anthropomorphites then for well Inſtructed Divines, for Idea Dei non advenit ei aliunde.
Argument 4. No Temporal Thing can be the Efficient Cauſe of our Eternal Election, which hath its Exiſtency from all Eternity; but Faith, Obedience, &c. are Temporal Things as they are wrought in us in their appointed Time: Ergo, What is this, but to prefer Time before Eternity, and to ſet up a Poſt-deſtination inſtead of Praedeſtination? Yea, 'tis a plain Denying the Eternity of the Decree, for if the Volitions of God be placed behind the Created and Temporary Volitions of Man, thoſe Volitions of God cannot be Eternal, the contrary whereunto was proved before.
Argument 5. That which is the Fruit and Effect of the Divine Decree, cannot be the Efficient Cauſe thereof*We may not make that an Antecedent to Election which is but the Conſequent of it., but Faith, Perſeverance, &c. be the Fruits and Effects of the Decree, Ergo. That the Aſſumption is true, appears from many Scriptures, Joh. 6.37. Such as are given to Chriſt by this Decree, do come to Chriſt, and John 10.26. Others that do not believe, the Cauſe is, becauſe they are not of his Sheep, Acts 13.48. As mary as were ordained unto Life believed: We may not (according to the Arminian Notion) read it, As many as believed were ordained unto Life, for this would be a plain Hyſterologia, a ſetting the Cart before the Horſe, as if the Means were ordained before the End. We are predeſtinated that we ſhould be Holy, not becauſe we are holy, Eph. 1.4. we are fore-ordained to walk in good Works, not becauſe we do ſo, Eph. 2.10. We are predeſtinated to be conformed to the Image of Chriſt, not becauſe we are ſo, Rom. 8.29. It is the Election that obtains Faith, and not Faith that obtains the Election, Rom. 11.7. and in 2 Tim. 1,9. the Apoſtle excludes all Works (both foreſeen and exiſting) ſhewing that God's graclous Purpoſe is the Original of all: And Paul himſelf was choſen, that he might know the Will of God, not that he was foreſeen to do ſo, Acts 22.14. and he tells the Theſſalonians, That God had choſen them to Salvation through Sanctification of the Spirit, and Belief of the Truth, 2 Theſ. 2.13. ſo that we are elected to Faith, not for it, or from it. Paul obtained Mercy to be Faithful, 1 Cor. 7.25. not becauſe he was ſo; and Chriſt chooſes us to bring forth Fruit, Joh. 15.16.
Argument 6. That which ſets up an Inferiour Cauſe before a Superiour, ought not to be admitted; but the Conditional Decree doth ſo, Ergo. 'Tis plain that God is Cauſa Cauſarum (acknowledgld by Heathens) the Cauſe, and the firſt Cauſe of all Things, and there can be thing no Being but from him, as there can be nothing before him, Rom. 11.36. Acts 17.28. Rev. 4.11. God is the Chief Efficient Cauſe, and the Illtimate End of all Beings; but if any Being have an Antecedency to the Determinations of God's Will, this plainly takes away the Dignity of the Supream Cauſe, and makes an Act of Man to be the Superiour Cauſe of an Act of God, yea, and of ſuch an Act as is Immanent and Eternal: It muſt needs therefore be a groſs Miſtake, to ſuppoſe a Cauſe of the Will of God either before it, beſides it, or without it; and to place a [May be] (as Faith and every Created Being only is, Ab Aeterno) which becomes a [Shall be] merely becauſe God hath decreed it to be ſo, before the Decree it-ſelf. Faith is a Subalternal Cauſe of Salvation, not a Meritorious Cauſe (as Sin is of Damnation) but a diſpoſitive Cauſe, as it makes us meet Partakets of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light, but cannot be the Supream Cauſe of Election.
Argument 7. That which taketh away the Certainty and Unchangeableneſs of the Divine Decree, ought not to be received; but the Conditienal Decree doth ſo: Ergo, &c. the Aſſumption is proved, if any thing in Man move God to chooſe Man, then the Purpoſe of God cannot remain firm by him which calleth (as in Rom. 9.11.) but depends on ſome contingent Act in Man, be it Faith, Works, or Perſeverance; and if it depend on our perſevering in Faith, it cannot be firm, as depending on ſuch a Condition which to our laſt Breath (according to the Arminian Doctrine of falling away) is uncertain. What is this, but to make the Divin… Decree more changeable than a Decree in Cha… cery, that is, for the Plaintiff to day, and againſ… him to Morrow? For the Arminian Hypotheſi… ſtates the Decree of God after this changeabl… Dreſs, viz. I will ſave all if they will obey me… but I ſee they will ſin, I muſt permit them, bu… I will condemn them all, yet this Decree ſhall not be peremptory, I will ſend Chriſt to redeem all; to ſave all again if they will believe, bu… I ſee they will not; I will decree to ſave ſuc… as I ſee will believe, and perſevere in Believing▪ Thus never any changeable Picture made ſuc… changeable Repreſentations as this Conditiona… Decree doth of this Unchangeable Decree o… God. This hath been proved before by many Irrefragable Arguments in Chap. 4.
Argument 8. That which maketh us to chooſe God before God chooſes us, ought not to be received; but this Conditional Decree upon Faith foreſeen doth ſo: Ergo, &c. The Aſſumption is plain according to the Arminian Doctrine, for if God do not chooſe us before he foreſee Faith in us, in that Grace of Faith we make our Choice of God in Chriſt and cleave to him: Yea they ſay further, we muſt be foreſeen not only to believe but alſo to perſevere in believing, that is not only to chuſe God for our God, but alſo to continue in that Choice to the laſt Moment, before we can be fit Objects of God's Choice or Election▪ Then muſt it neceſſarily follow that we chooſe God before he chooſes us, and we love him before he loves us; contrary to theſe Scriptures John 15.16. & 1 John 4.19.
Argument 9. That which taketh away the Myſteriouſneſs of the Divine Decree, ought to be …ejected; but this Doctrine of Faith foreſeen doth …o: Ergo. It is dangerous Preſumption for Men to …ake upon them (quaſi foreign) with Unwaſhed Hands, to unriddle the [Arcana Imperij] or Deep Myſteries of God with their Carnal Reaſon, where the great Apoſtle ſtands at the Gaze, cry…ng foreign & foreign & foreign. Oh! …he Depth! How Unſearchable? and Who know…th the Mind of the Lord? When Paul objects, …s there Unrighteouſneſs in God? Rom. 9. 14. …ad he been of the Arminian Perſwaſion, he would have anſwered, Thoſe are Elected that …re foreſeen to believe and perſevere: This anſwer would not have been [foreign] or …ard to be underſtood, 2 Pet. 3.16. Neither would it carry in it the leaſt Shew of Unrighte…uſneſs, but Paul was a Fool, and theſe Men are wiſer than the Holy Ghoſt, that tells us, our …lection procedeth from the Will of the Elector, … from any thing in the Elected; the Sove…eign Will of God is the Supream Rule of all …ighteouſneſs, He will have Mercy on whom he will have Mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth; Had foreſeen Faith and Perſeverance been the Antecedaneous Cauſes and Conditions of Election, …here had been no Myſtery in it.
Argument 10. That Election which is ſha…owed out to us, in God's Love to Jacob (both …erſon and Nation) is the Election according …o Truth, but that Election was not upon fore…een Faith or Works: Ergo. (1.) Jacob the Perſon, Rom. 9.12,13. was under Electing Love, all foreſight of Faith and Works being excluded to love Jacob, is to will unto him the greateſt Good, even Eternal Salvation and all things that do accompany it; this was before there was any difference between him and Eſau, for they were both alike in the Womb (ut ſuprà) conceived in ſin, had it been upon a foreſight of their Works, that they had God's Electing Love and Rejecting Hatred; then were they (themſelves) Carvers out of their own Eternal Conditions which depended on their Willing and Running; and (by this Hypotheſis) not upon the primitive Good Pleaſure of God, upon which our willing, running and obtaining hangs as the Apoſtle aſſerteth. (2.) Jacob the Nation: Our Election is Typifyed by Gods Election of Iſrael which plainly appears to be no Election upon foreſight of any worthineſs in Iſrael but (all ſuch being excluded) the Reaſon is rendred I loved thee, becauſe I loved thee; which is not the Reaſon of a weak Woman, but of a ſtrong God; Deut. 7.7,8. Not for thy Righteouſneſs, Deut. 9.5.
Argument 11. That which ſets up the rotten Dagon of Man's Free-will, before or above the Ark of God's ſpecial predeſtinating Grace, ought to be rejected; but this Conditional Decree doth ſo Ergo. That it does ſo, appears, inaſmuch as their Doctrine of the Conditional Decree is grounded upon a Fore-ſight of our Wills, receiving or rejecting of Grace propoſed, and ſo Man's Will is made the Primum Mobile, and advanced above God's Will, and the Act of Predeſtination is put in Poteſt… Predeſtinati, not Predeſtinantis: Hereby …he power of Ordering Man's Salvation is (as …t were) wreſted out of God's Hands, and put into the Hands of our Free-will; then Salvation is the Work of the Saved, not of the Saver; and to will and to do, is not of God's good Pleaſure, Phil. 2.13. Thus Men wickedly think that God is ſuch a One as themſelves (Pſal. 50.21.) floating and fluctuating in his Counſels, and hanging in pendulous Suſpences, yea, taking up (pro re natâ) new Conſultations as depending on the Will of Men, and the Contingent Acts flowing from thence.
Argument 12. That which inferreth a Succeſſion of Acts in God may not be admitted, but Election upon Foreſight doth ſo; Ergo. This is apparent in the Propoſition, for God is one Act, and in him there can be no Succeſſion, for then he would not be [I am] Deus eſt Naturâ ſimplex, nihil omnino admiſtionis aut Succeſſionis habens, ſed ex omni parte foreign, Origen. The Aſſumption is plain, for a Foreſight of Faith doth neceſſarily preſuppoſe a foregoing Decree concerning the Being of that Faith foreſeen. For, 1. God muſt decree Faith to be. 2. He foreſees that Faith. 3. Then decrees to ſave upon that Fore-ſight. So that this Foreſight comes neceſſarily betwixt two decrees, the Firſt before it, and the Second after it.
Argument 13. That Doctrine of Election, which ſtateth God as a Potter, framing his Clay according to his meer pleaſure, ought to be admitted and the contrary to it rejected; but the Conditional Decree doth not ſo, ſed e contrà; Ergo. The Potter doth ſet apart ſeveral Lumps of Clay for ſeveral Uſes out of his mere Will, he doth not ſay, if all his Clay-lumps be fit to receive Noble Forms, he will faſhion them accordingly, and if not he will turn them otherwiſe, for then the difference would proceed from the Quality of the Clay, not from the Will of the Potter.
Argument 14. I might add many more, as, Foreſeen Faith can have no place in dying Infants, yet of ſuch is the Kingdom of God, and the Names of ſome are writ in the Book of Life, Rev. 20.12. and if glorified, they mu… be predeſtinated; for Rom. 8.30. is reciproca… and of Equal Extent. Believers cannot be the Object of Election, for there be many Believers that are not elected (as thoſe with Faith temporary) and many elected that are not Believers, as Infants.
Argument 15. Chriſt foreſaw the Men of Tyre and Sidon would have repented, &c. Mat. 11. 21. yet no decree depended on it.
Argument 16. A Conditional Decree makes a Conditional God, ſeeing the Decree is God himſelf decreeing.
Argument 17. Then Salvation of any is uncertain, for a Conditional Propoſition affirms not any thing certainly.