Monday, September 24, 2012
Does God Ordain (Decree) Sin?
From the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith
Chapter 3, Section 1
"God hath decreed in Himself, from all eternity, by
the most wise and holy counsel of his own will,
freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever
comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the
author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein;
nor is violence offered to the will of the creature,
nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second
causes taken away, but rather established; in which
appears his wisdom in disposing all things, and
power and faithfulness in accomplishing His decree."
(Isaiah 46:10; Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 6:17;
Romans 9:15; James 1:13; 1 John 1:5; Acts 4:27-28;
John 19:11; Numbers 23:19; Ephesians 1:3-5)
"God is free to do with His creation as He sees fit (He is sovereign). God uses
secondary means to accomplish His purposes. His purposes are always holy and
just and good, but when He uses People as His means, they can still be judged when
they are used by Him in that fashion.
"When God created, He knew everything that would happen. God has a pur-
pose for everything, but not everything has a redemptive purpose. Some things are
only for His glory. God works everything after the counsel of His own will"
(Ephesians 1:10-12).
James R. White
The Bible shows us that God decreed all things, and that people are still held ac-
countable for their actions, especially their sinful actions. This is called "compatibilism."
God's decree is compatible with a person's will. They don't contradict each other.
"Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord
has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of
the Most High that both calamities and good
things come? Why should any man complain
when punished for his sins?"
Lamentations 3:37-39
"Nothing can happen apart from the sovereign plan and permission of God.
Jeremiah strongly affirms that nothing can happen, good or evil, that God has
not 'decreed,' literally 'commanded.' "
Steve Lawson
"God is not the author of evil, although nothing happens without His permission,
for His purposes are quite different from ours."
John Calvin
SO, DOES GOD FOREORDAIN CERTAIN SPECIFIC SINS?
Three examples from Scripture make the answer clear.
1. The crucifixion, the murder of God's Son, was foreordained. It was a providen-
tial decree. Certainly the murder of God's Son was a sin.
"The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together against
the Lord and against His Anointed One.
"Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met to-
gether with the Gentiles and the people
of Israel in this city to conspire against
your holy servant Jesus, whom you
anointed. THEY DID WHAT YOUR
POWER AND WILL HAD DECIDED
BEFOREHAND SHOULD HAPPEN."
Acts 4:26-28
(Peter said to the people of Israel),
"This man was handed over to you BY
GOD'S SET PURPOSE AND FORE-
KNOWLEDGE; and you, with the
help of wicked men, put him to death
by nailing him to the cross."
Acts 2:23
Godless men did the work of God.
"From eternity past (2 Timothy 1:9; Revelation 13:8) God pre-
determined that Jesus would die an atoning death as part of His pre-ordained
plan (Acts 13:27-29). That the crucifixion was predetermined by God does
not absolve the guilt of those who caused it."
John MacArthur ESV Commentary
2. God ordained that Joseph's brothers throw him into a pit and then sell him to
the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. The Pharaoh of Egypt eventually gave
Joseph great power which he used to help his family, along with the people of Israel,
survive the great famine.
"But Joseph said to them (his brothers),
'Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?
As for you, you meant evil against me,
but God meant it for good, to bring it
about that many people should be kept
alive, as they are today.' "
Genesis 50:19-20
"The two statements in Hebrew are parallel. Joseph's brothers meant evil
by their actions, but God intended the same action for good. The text shows
one action with two intentions."
James Swan
3. "God used Assyria as his instrument of judgment against the rebellious
people of Israel, and then holds Assyria responsible for her sinful attitude and
desires against Israel. The text shows one action with two intentions, a sinful
intention and a holy intention."
James Swan
"Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger,
in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
I send him against a godless nation (Israel),
I dispatch him against a people who anger me,
to seize and loot and snatch plunder and to
trample them down like mud in the streets.
"But this is not what He (Assyria) intends,
this is not what he has in mind; his purpose
is to destroy, to put an end to many nations."
Isaiah 10:5-8
Eventually, the remnant of faithful people in Israel returned to God and His
anger turned away from them and toward Assyria for its sins.
"Very soon my anger against you (Israel) will
end and my wrath will be directed to their
(Assyria) destruction."
Isaiah 10:25
"It is, I think, a profound truth that God, sovereign over all things is able to
turn even sin into an instrument of grace."
The Thirsty Theologian
**********
Men are sinful and therefore responsible for their sins. God DOES ordain
or decree sin, but doesn't "force" a person to do anything that would violate his
will because of his sinful nature.
Everything God does is according to His plan, in conformity with the purpose of
His will, to the praise of His glory.
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