Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.
4-Point Calvinist, Ron Rhodes, comments: “The primary emphasis in Deuteronomy 29:29 is that God has revealed to Israel precisely what Israel needed to know, and Israel was responsible to obey. Some things, however, Israel did not need to know (‘secret things’).” (Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses, p.50)
Calvinist, Erwin Lutzer, explains: “The revealed will was that all men be saved, but the hidden will was that the greater part of mankind be damned.” (The Doctrines That Divide, p.195, emphasis mine)
So how did you find out?
Calvinism teaches that whereas God’s revealed will is that He is not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance (2nd Peter 3:9), His secret will is that many should perish and that only a few come to repentance. Arminianism, on the other hand, teaches that God’s will is not always done on earth, in fact, rarely done on earth, as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10), but that someday, it will, on the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11), when righteousness reigns and the meek inherit the earth.
Here is the Calvinistic explanation of the hidden counsel of God, otherwise known as the secret will:
John Calvin writes: “We have no reason to ask what God decreed before the creation of the world in order to know that we have been elected by Him, but we find in ourselves a satisfactory proof of whether He has sanctified us by His Spirit and enlightened us to faith in His Gospel. The Gospel is not only a testimony to us of our adoption, but the Spirit also seals it, and those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God (Rom. 8:14), and he that possesses Christ has eternal life (I John 5:12). We must note this carefully, so that we may not disregard the revelation of God, with which He bids us be satisfied, and plunge into an endless labyrinth with the desire of seeking revelation from His secret counsel, the investigation of which He compels us to abandon. We are, therefore to be satisfied with the faith of the Gospel and the grace of the Spirit by which we have been regenerated. By this means we refute the depravity of those who make the election of God a pretext for every kind of wrong-doing, for Paul connects it with faith and regeneration in such a way that he would not have us measure it by any other standard.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Romans and Thessalonians, p.410, emphasis mine)
Calvin warns that too much investigation into Calvinistic decrees results in an “endless labyrinth” of madness, which God, who calls us to come reason with Him (Isaiah 1:18), simultaneously, allegedly compels us to “abandon” investigation into His secret will, in order to protect our spiritual sanity. Calvin bids us, “be satisfied.”
Calvinist, John MacArthur, writes: “He chose me. He selected people to be made holy in order to be with Him forever. Why he selected me, I will never know. I’m no better than anyone else. I’m worse than many. But He chose me.” (Understanding Election, emphasis mine)
John Calvin writes: “As if God had not the right to keep His purposes concealed in His own power until He wishes to communicate them to men! What presumption, what madness it is, not to admit that God is wiser than we! Let us remember, therefore, that our rashness must be suppressed whenever the boundless height of the Divine foreknowledge is set before us. This, too, is the reason why he alls them ‘the unreachable riches of Christ’, meaning that this subject, though it exceeds our grasp, deserves reverence and admiration.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, p.162, emphasis mine)
John Calvin writes: “He still continues with his exclamation, in which the more he exalts the divine mystery, the more he deters us from the curiosity of our investigation. Let us then not make inquiries concerning the Lord, except so far as He has revealed them by Scripture. Otherwise we enter a labyrinth from which retreat will not be easy. We must note that Paul is not here discussing all the mysteries of God, but those which are hidden with God, and which He desires us only to admire and adore.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Romans and Thessalonians, p.259, emphasis mine)
The fact is that Deuteronomy 29:29 does not define what the “secret things” of God are. Nevertheless, where Calvin cautions others not to go, he boldly marches:
Calvin writes: “At this point in particular the flesh rages when it hears that the predestination to death of those who perish is referred to the will of God.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Romans and Thessalonians, p.208, emphasis mine)
Calvin adds: “But here he runs full sail against God for determining some from their very creation to destruction.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.78, emphasis mine)
Calvin writes: “...the secret counsel of God whereby He chooses some to salvation and destines others for eternal destruction.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.53, emphasis mine)
Question: What are the “secret things”?
Answer: Now if I told you, it wouldn’t be secret, would it? Apparently, however, John Calvin found out, and let the cat out of the bag. Control has been trying to put the cat back in the bag ever since.
John Calvin comments: “He urges the people to study the doctrine of the Law as God commands, but not to pry into secret things.” (The Institutes of Christian Religion, p.216, emphasis mine)
Question: What are the “secret things”?
Answer: Although there are the secret things of heaven, which are unlawful to for a man to speak (1st Corinthians 2:7-9; 2nd Corinthians 12:4), and the mystery of the ages which has now been revealed as God indwelling man (Romans 16:25-27; Colossians 1:26), the context of Deuteronomy concerns the judgments of God, in terms of the plagues and diseases (Deuteronomy 29:22), the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim (v.23), and the prophecy that God will do the same to Israel, for having forsaken their covenant with the Lord who led them out of Egypt. (v.25) “Why has the LORD done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?” Answer: because “they went and served other gods.” (v.26) “Therefore, the anger of the LORD burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book.” (v.27) The result is that “the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.” (v.28) The conclusion at v.29 is that the secret things (i.e. these judgments) are God’s concern and that man’s business is to obey Him. You could argue from vv.3-5 that God’s business also includes hardening and blinding the disobedient: “You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land; the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.” This is reminiscent of Isaiah 6:10 and Isaiah 65:2.
