17th century Particular Baptist divines addressing modern souls…
The Westminster Assembly was called by Parliament. The assemblies behind the 1689 Confession were gathered by cooperating churches. This historical contrast reveals more than differing circumstances—it exposes two distinct visions of ecclesiastical authority, confessional unity, and the headship of Christ over His church.
The decree of God is not blind fate, but the eternal, wise, and holy purpose of the Triune God who “works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Nothing in creation falls outside His sovereign hand, not even the cross itself, where wicked men freely crucified Christ according to the definite plan of God. For the believer, this doctrine is not terror, but comfort. The God who chose His people before the foundation of the world is the same God who governs every joy, sorrow, trial, and triumph for His glory and our good.
“The fallen world in which we live has no shortage of barriers to embracing truth…But Christianity is not a religion of private intuition or personal improvisation. It is a God-revealed faith…”