The Scriptural authority for the doctrine of decrees: 1. [They] are eternal (Ac. 15:18; Eph. 1:4; 3:11; 1 Pet. 1:20; 2 Thes. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Cor. 2:7). 2. They are immutable (Psm. 33:11; Isa. 46:9). 3. They comprehend all events. a. The Scriptures assert this of the whole system in general embraced in the divine decrees (Dan. 4:34, 35; Ac. 17:26; Eph. 1:11). b. They affirm the same of fortuitous events (Pr. 16:33; Mat. 10:29, 30). c. Also of the free actions of men (Eph. 2:10, 11; Phil. 2:13). d. Even the wicked actions of men (Ac. 2:23; 4:27, 28; 13:29; 1 Pet. 2:8; Jude 4; Rev. 17:17. As to the history of Joseph, compare Gen. 37:28, with Gen. 45:7, 8, and Gen. 50:20. See also Psm. 17:13, 14; Isa. 10:5, 15). 4. [They] are not conditional (Psm. 33:11; Pr. 19:21; Isa. 14:24, 27; 46:10; Rom. 9:11). 5. They are sovereign (Isa. 40:13, 14; Dan. 4:35; Mat. 11:25, 26; Rom. 9:11, 15-18; Eph. 1:5, 11). 6. They include the means (Eph. 1:4; 2 Thes. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2). 7. They determine the free actions of men (Ac. 4:27, 28 ; Eph. 2:10). a. God Himself works in His people that faith and obedience which are called the conditions of salvation (Eph. 2:8; Phil. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:25). b. The decree renders the event certain (Mat. 16:21; Lk. 18:31-33; 24:46; Ac. 2:23; 13:29; 1 Cor. 11:19). c. While God has decreed the free acts of men, the actors have been none the less responsible (Gen. 50:20; Ac. 2:23; 3:18; 4:27, 28).