Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions, yet has He not decreed any thing because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.
Opposing views of predestination and election contend over the role of God 's foreknowledge. That God knows all things, including all future events, is not in dispute except among the open theists who do not concern us further at the moment. One perspective insists that God's choices are made on the basis of his foreknowledge--that is, he looks down the corridors of time and sees that a particular free agent will make a particular free choice and "ratifies" (if you will) that choice. God decrees because he has foreseen. The Confession will have none of this. It upholds the concept of God's perfect foreknowledge but insists that his foreknowledge is not the basis for his decrees. God determines all future events; his decrees are not determined by those future events.
Tomorrow: The destinies of men and angels.
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