THE DECREES OF GOD - Clover Sites



THEOLOGY PROPER — Lesson 5: The Decrees of God

Before anything was, God existed. Before anything could exist, God had to decide to have it happen. These “decisions” of God are called His decrees. The decrees of God are “God’s decisions concerning all things outside Himself.” (Buswell) God has a purpose for all that He does and He sovereignly directs all things to accomplish that purpose.

“There is no erratic power or action or motion in creatures but they are governed by God's secret plan in such a way that nothing happens except what is knowingly and willingly decreed by Him.” – John Calvin

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.

Although God knoweth whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed conditions, yet hath he not decreed anything, because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.

– London Baptist Confession of Faith, Ch. 3 paragraph 1, 2

I. Definition of the decrees of God

A. Traditional definition - God’s eternal purpose, according to the counsel of His own will, whereby for His own glory, He has foreordained whatever comes to pass. “The decrees of God are the eternal plans of God whereby, before the creation of the world, He determined to bring about everything that happens.”

– Grudem, 332.

This doctrine is similar to the doctrine of God’s providence.

“We may define God’s providence as follows: God is continually involved with all created things in such a way the He 1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; 2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and 3) directs them to fulfill His purposes.” – Grudem, 315.

Q: What are the decrees of God? 

A: The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

– Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question #7

B. Distinctions

1. Election and predestination are particulars of the decrees.

“By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which He determined with Himself whatever He wished to happen with regard to every man” – John Calvin

“[P]redestination is the general term for God’s sovereign ordaining, while election is the specific term for God choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world. That is, predestination is the broader category of which election is the smaller subset. Calvin defined predestination as “God’s eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each man…For Calvin, predestination encompasses the entire eternal decree. Election and reprobation, then, represent two different aspects of the decree.” – Kevin DeYoung, What is the Difference Between Election and Predestination?

2. But the decrees involve all things, not just salvation.

“While the name does not matter so much, what is important is that the decree of God encompasses all things, not just the determination of the eternal state of rational creatures (predestination), but the ordering and ranking of all things without exception.” – Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 2:375

C. Scriptural support

Isaiah 14:26-27 This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?

Daniel 4:35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

Acts 15:17b-18 (ESV) says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.

Acts 15:17b-18 (KJV) saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will

Note both the singular (the purpose) and plural (all things) in this last verse.

Question: Why does the existence of prophecy require that there be divine decrees?

“History-past and future-is the outworking in time of his extra-temporal sovereign decree. This decree extends not only to every natural event (earthquakes, eclipses, electron orbits), but also to his own free actions and even to the morally culpable actions of moral agents. … God announces through his prophets what he has determined to bring about (Pharaoh hardening his heart, Assyrians despoiling Israel, Cyrus restoring the Babylonian exiles), and then holds those very agents responsible for bringing it about. Human responsibility and God's determinate decree (and determinate knowledge of the future outcome) are clearly compatible in the Bible. It isn't necessary to abandon God's sovereign knowledge of the future in order to maintain human responsibility.” - William C. Davis, Does God Know the Future?

II. Distinctives of the decrees of God

James Boyce: A Doctrinal Study of the Decrees of God

A. They are all-encompassing, universal

“If there is one maverick molecule in all the universe, then God is not sovereign. And if God is not sovereign, He is not God.” – R.C. Sproul

1. The stability of the material universe

Psalm 119:90-91 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.

2. The seasons and boundaries of nations

Acts 17:26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,

Daniel 2:21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding

Daniel 2:37-42 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.

3. The rise and fall of rulers

Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

4. The duration of man’s life

Job 14:5 Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass

“My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me."- Stonewall Jackson

5. The circumstances of each life

James 4:13-15 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Lamentations 3:37-38 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?

6. The manner of one’s death

John 21:19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

7. The good acts of men

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Isaiah 44:28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

8. The evil acts of men

Genesis 50:20 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.

Acts 4:27-28 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

Acts 2:23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

“There is no reason for people to excuse their sins and failing, from the doctrine of the divine decrees. Wicked men, when they commit some wicked or atrocious crime, might attempt to excuse themselves, saying, ‘Who can help it? God would have it so; it was appointed for me before I was born, so that I could not avoid it.’ This is a horrid abuse of the divine decrees, as if they might constrain men to sin. This is impossible. The decree is an immanent act of God, and so can have no influence, physical or moral, upon the wills of men, but leaves them to the liberty and free choice of their own hearts; and what sinners do, they do most freely and of their own choice. It is a horrid and detestable wickedness to cast the blame of your sin upon God's decree. This is to charge your villainy upon him, as if he were the author of it.” – Thomas Boston

God has foreordained all of the things that have come to pass — including God's decree of evil, in that He knew that free, morally responsible agents would choose evil. By permitting man to sin, the blame and responsibility for evil must never be placed upon God, but on those beings who chose evil.

A sovereign God's ability to accomplish all of His purposes does not result in fatalism. God can maintain sovereignty through morally responsible beings freely choosing according to their desires, establishing man's responsibility, while accomplishing the good and perfect will of God in accordance with all that God decrees. Man is not forced to act against His will in choosing evil, but has freely acted, unknowingly resulting in the fulfillment of the decrees of God.

9. The salvation of sinners

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

“This purpose, or decree of God, is the fountainhead of our spiritual blessings. It is the impulsive cause of our vocation, justification, glorification. It is the highest link in the golden chain of salvation. What is the reason that one man is called, and not another? It is from the eternal purpose of God. God’s decree gives the casting voice in man’s salvation.” – Thomas Watson

10. The judgment of ungodly

1 Peter 2:8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

11. The world’s greatest events

Revelation 13:8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

12. The most trivial circumstances

This includes even those events which seem random or matters of chance.

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

13. All things

Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

John Piper: Has God predetermined every detail in the universe, including sin? (video, 6:08)

B. God is absolutely free in making His decrees

“God was alone when He made His decrees, and His determinations were influenced by no external cause. He was free to decree or not to decree, and to decree one thing and not another. This liberty we must ascribe to Him who is supreme, independent, and sovereign in all His doings.” – A.W. Pink

1. No internal compulsion — He needs nothing

Acts 17:25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

2. No external compulsion

Psalm 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

Isaiah 40:13-14 Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

C. God’s decrees are unchangeable (although they may have had an inception at a point in time, once God decides, that’s it.)

“Although Gods eternal decree does not change, it does ordain change. It ordains a historical series of events, each of which receives Gods evaluation. God evaluates different events in different ways. Those evaluations themselves are fixed in Gods eternal plan. But they are genuine evaluations of the events. It is not wrong to describe them as responses to these events.

“Furthermore, we have seen that God is not only transcendent beyond time and space, but also immanent in all times and spaces. From these immanent perspectives, God views each event from within history. As he does, he evaluates each event appropriately, when it happens. Such evaluations are, in the most obvious sense, responses.

“Does such responsiveness imply passivity in God? To say so would be highly misleading. God responds (both transcendently and immanently) only to what he has himself ordained. He has chosen to create a world that will often grieve him. So ultimately he is active, rather than passive. Some may want to use the term impassible to indicate that fact.” – John Frame

1. Omniscience requires this.

2. Omnipotence requires this.

3. Prophesy requires this

4. Scriptural support

Ephesians 3:11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Psalm 33:11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

D. The purpose of the decrees: the decrees of God are for His glory

--Whatever God has decreed (which includes whatever has actually happened), produces the greatest glory for God than any other possible event or outcome.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints

Ephesians 2:7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

“And this [the purpose of God’s decrees] is no other than his own glory. Every rational agent acts for an end; and God being the most perfect agent, and his glory the highest end, there can be no doubt but all his decrees are directed to that end. … In all, he aims at his glory; and seeing he aims at it, he gets it even from the most sinful actions he has decreed to permit. Either the glory of his mercy or of his justice is drawn from them. Infinite wisdom directs all to the end intended.” – Thomas Boston, The Purpose of God’s Decrees

Question: Does this obliterate the notion of happiness for God’s creation?

Acts 14:17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

1 Timothy 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

E. The difference between decrees and desires

1. All that God decrees is absolute, unchanging and includes God’s decisions about what others will do. (Greek word: boule) It involves all that actually ends up happening.

Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will

2. All that God desires is God’s attitude toward any event or potential event, especially as viewed apart from the overall plan.

Lam 3:31-33 For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.

1 Timothy 2:4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Proverbs 16:4 The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.

John Piper: Are There Two Wills in God?

F. God’s decrees are conditioned by His holiness

--the plan of God includes action, not His nature. God does not decide what kind of God He is going to be. God’s nature, not His decrees, determine right and wrong.

G. God’s decrees are otherwise unconditional

Isaiah 46:9-10 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’

1. They do not arise from foreknowledge. (Theologically speaking, foreknowledge would mean that God merely knows ahead of time what will happen but does not actually cause it to happen.) In fact, God’s foreknowledge is not the cause but the result of His decrees.

Acts 4:27-28 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

2. Either God is sovereign and all that happens is within His decreed will.

3. Or God is not sovereign and things happen outside his decreed will or control.

(Read Grudem, page 319, subheading “Events Fully Caused by God and Fully Caused by the Creature as Well”)

III. Opposing theories

"Although the sovereignty of God is universal and absolute, it is not the sovereignty of blind power. It is coupled with infinite wisdom, holiness, and love. And this doctrine, when properly understood, is a most comforting and reassuring one. Who would not prefer to have his affairs in the hands of a God of infinite power, wisdom, holiness and love, rather than to have them left to fate, or chance, or irrevocable natural law, or to short-sighted and perverted self? Those who reject God's sovereignty should consider what alternatives they have left." – Loraine Boettner

A. A finite God — one who struggles and needs man’s help and cooperation.

B. A self-limited God — God could decree but chooses not to

1. Socinians (Unitarians) — NO ONE, not even God, can really know how all things will turn out. (Lately, the “openness of God” theologians have reasserted this view.)

2. Arminians — God foresees what will happen, so then He essentially says, “That’s My plan.” In this view, God is not a god who has planned and governs all things. Rather, He submits to the choice of His creatures or to “circumstances” about which He merely foreknows by virtue of His omniscience.

Question: Does the Arminian theory solve the problem of human freedom? If an outcome is known no matter the process for knowing it, does human freedom actually exist?

C. Paradox — we can’t solve this, so let’s forget thinking about it.

R.C. Sproul: Contradiction vs. Paradox (video lecture, 23:06)

IV. Objections to the doctrine of divine decrees

Jay Wegter: The Most Common Objections to the Doctrine of God’s Decree

A. It is inconsistent with human freedom

1. It includes human freedom and works with it — precisely how is often unknown.

2. Man is free, but he chooses within his nature.

B. It amounts to fatalism

1. A loving, intelligent God is behind it. (This is why the attributes of God are so important)

2. The means of God’s decrees are important as well as the ends. Fate is blind, but God is not.

Esther 4:12-14 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

(Read Grudem, 333ff, “The Importance of Our Human Actions”)

“Is it accurate to say that there is no difference between fatalism and foreordination as far as the certainty of events is concerned? Oddly enough yes — both preach the certainty of events. BUT, fatalism comprehends no goal. Fatalism says such in such was going to happen, ‘no matter what.’ 

“The operation of the ‘laws’ of fate have no soul. They only encompass the unintelligent linking of events. Fatalism has no personal plan behind it that is designed to manifest God’s attributes and perfections through man’s salvation.

By contrast, foreordination involves an all-wise, all loving Father who is responsible for events in their sequence and for their accomplishments. 

“The unfolding of providence will prove to be the perfect exhibition of the divine perfections. God’s infinite wisdom will on the last day be evident in His design for mankind and creation.” – Jay Wegter

C. It makes God the author of sin

1. God hates sin

Psalm 5:5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.

2. The responsibility of commission is man’s

3. God’s plan includes sin and it is God’s plan (illustration—the bridge or building designer)

John Frame: Does God Author Sin? (article)

Vincent Cheung: The Author of Sin (free book)

D. It makes evangelism unnecessary

1. God has commanded us to be His ambassadors

2. There is no way to know God’s decrees about individuals ahead of time

3. Evangelism is the means for the decrees of God to be carried out

“Since God has determined to save people by Christians’ evangelism efforts, why evangelize??!!”

Recommended resource: JI Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, particularly chapter 4

“The belief that God is sovereign in grace does not affect the necessity of evangelism. Whatever we may believe about election, the fact remains that evangelism is necessary, because no man can be saved without the gospel. … They must be told of Christ before they can trust Him, and they must trust Him before they can be saved by Him. Salvation depends on faith, and faith on knowing the gospel. God’s way of saving sinners is to bring them to faith through bringing them in contact with the gospel. In God’s ordering of things, therefore, evangelism is a necessity if anyone is to be saved at all” – J.I. Packer

Some fear that belief in the sovereignty of God leads to the conclusion that evangelism is pointless, since God will save His elect anyway, whether they hear the gospel or not. This, as we have seen, is a false conclusion based on false assumption. But now we must go further and point out the truth is just the opposite. So far from making evangelism pointless, the sovereignty of God in grace is the one thing that prevents evangelism from being pointless. For it creates the possibility — indeed, the certainty- that evangelism will be fruitful. Apart from it, there is not even a possibility of evangelism being fruitful. Were it not for the sovereign grace of God, evangelism would be the most futile and useless enterprise that the world has ever seen, and there would be no more complete waste of time under the sun than to preach the Christian gospel.” – J.I. Packer

V. Practical Values to the Decrees of God

A. Confidence and assurance to be bold for God

Acts 4:23-28 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

B. Perseverance in our faith

Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Psalm 112:7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.

“God's decree is the very pillar … on which the saints' perseverance depends.”

– Thomas Watson

“All our progress and perseverance are from God.” – John Calvin

C. Removes false hope

D. Exalts God

Psalm 29:1-2 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.

•

•

• [pic]Email This Page

• Receive These Weekly

• Print This Page

Tsunami, Sovereignty, and Mercy

By John Piper, December 29, 2004

“The waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me. … This God — his way is perfect” (2 Samuel 22:5, 31).

After the loss of his ten children owing to a “natural disaster” (Job 1:19), Job said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). At the end of the book, the inspired writer confirms Job’s understanding of what happened. He says Job’s brothers and sisters “comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). This has several crucial implications for us as we think about the calamity in the Indian Ocean.

1. Satan is not ultimate, God is.

Satan had a hand in Job’s misery, but not the decisive hand. God gave Satan permission to afflict Job (Job 1:12; 2:10). But Job and the writer of this book treat God as the ultimate and decisive cause. When Satan afflicts Job with sores, Job says to his wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10), and the writer calls these satanic sores “the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). So Satan is real. Satan brings misery. But Satan is not ultimate or decisive. He is on a leash. He goes no farther than God decisively permits.

2. Even if Satan caused the earthquake in the Indian Ocean the day after Christmas, he is not the decisive cause of 100,000+ deaths, God is.

God claims power over tsunamis in Job 38:8 when he asks Job rhetorically, “Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb . . . and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?” Psalm 89:8-9 says, “O Lord…you rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.” And Jesus himself has the same control today as he once did over the deadly threats of waves: “He…rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm” (Luke 8:24). In other words, even if Satan caused the earthquake, God could have stopped the waves.

3. Destructive calamities in this world mingle judgment and mercy.

Their purposes are not simple. Job was a godly man and his miseries were not God’s punishment (Job 1:1, 8). Their design was purifying not punishment (Job 42:6). But we do not know the spiritual condition of Job’s children. Job was certainly concerned about them (Job 1:5). God may have taken their life in judgment. If that is true, then the same calamity proved in the end to be mercy for Job and judgment on his children. This is true of all calamities. They mingle judgment and mercy. They are both punishment and purification. Suffering, and even death, can be both judgment and mercy at the same time.

The clearest illustration of this is the death of Jesus. It was both judgment and mercy. It was judgment on Jesus because he bore our sins (not his own), and it was mercy toward us who trust him to bear our punishment (Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) and be our righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Another example is the curse that lies on this fallen earth. Those who do not believe in Christ experience it as judgment, but believers experience it as, merciful, though painful, preparation for glory. “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope” (Romans 8:20). This is God’s subjection. This is why there are tsunamis.

Who suffers from this fallen world of natural disasters? All of us, Christians included: “Not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). For those who cast themselves on the mercy of Christ these afflictions are “preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). And when death comes, it is a door to paradise. But for those who do not treasure Christ, suffering and death are God’s judgment. “It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

For children, who are too young to process mentally the revelation of God in nature or Scripture, death is not the final word of judgment. God’s commitment to display his justice publicly means that he does not finally condemn sinful people who could not physically construe natural or special revelation (Romans 1:20). There is a difference between suppressing revelation that one can mentally comprehend (Romans 1:18), and not having a brain sufficient to comprehend it at all. Therefore, when small children suffer and die, we may not assume they are being punished or judged. No matter how horrible the suffering or death, God can turn it for their greater good.

4. The heart that Christ gives to his people feels compassion for those who suffer, no matter what their faith.

When the Bible says, “Weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), it does not add, “unless God caused the weeping.” Job’s comforters would have done better to weep with Job than talk so much. That does not change when we discover that Job’s suffering was ultimately from God. No, it is right to weep with those who suffer. Pain is pain, no matter who causes it. We are all sinners. Empathy flows not from the causes of pain, but the company of pain. And we are all in it together.

Finally, Christ calls us to show mercy to those who suffer, even if they do not deserve it.

That is the meaning of mercy—undeserved help. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27). Therefore, pray earnestly for Scott Purser and his team as they investigate the best way that the Global Diaconate can mercifully respond with the love of Christ to the calamity around the Indian Ocean.

In the merciful hands of Almighty God,

Pastor John

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

R.C. Sproul: The Mystery of Iniquity (article on the existence/origin of evil)

R.C. Sproul: What Is Evil & Where Did It Come From? (conference message)

I. The Problem defined

A. God is all-powerful

B. God is all-good.

C. Why then, does evil exist?

D. “Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then, he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then, he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing: whence then is evil?” – David Hume

Voddie Baucham: If God is so powerful and so good, why do bad things happen? (video, 5:09)

II. The kinds of evil

A. Natural “evil” — “an aspect of nature that seems to work against human welfare” (Erickson, p. 437) Examples include natural disasters and diseases.

B. Moral evil — occurs from the choices and actions of people

C. Mixture of natural and moral evil — e.g., when people due to greed build with inferior workmanship on an earthquake prone area and an earthquake occurs, the destruction is both natural and moral evil.

D. The existence of temporal evil warns us of eternal evil

Luke 13:1-5 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

III. Evaluating evil

A. What might look good or evil might not actually be what we think

Was the crucifixion of Christ evil?

Acts 2:23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

B. Considerations when evaluating evil

1. “Good” must always be defined in relationship to the will and being of God, not in terms of what brings human beings direct personal pleasure.

2. What defines good and evil is subject to God’s superior wisdom and knowledge.

Romans 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

3. Time and duration often result in reevaluation by finite humans. How will we reevaluate “evil” once we are in heaven??

4. What seems evil by one individual may be a blessing to many. e.g., if the graduation party is cancelled due to rain, is there a blessing for the farmer (and those who would eat his crops)?

IV. The Existence of evil in general as a result of the Fall

Solving the problem of evil is a matter of adopting the correct starting point. With the Bible as our axiomatic starting point, the existence of evil is not a significant problem at all. In fact, the existence of evil is far more problematic in the unbeliever's worldview. Without a coherent standard of right and wrong, evil and good, how can one even define evil? The problem of evil cannot be coherently formulated on non-Christian grounds. And if Christian grounds are assumed in order to pose the problem, Christian grounds, that is, the Scriptures, explain evil's purpose in the world. "All things work together for good to those who love God and are called ..." – W. Gary Crampton,

A Biblical Theodicy [God & Evil]

A. The warning from God

Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Genesis 5:5 …then he died

Genesis 50:26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

B. The difference between decree and desire as it relates to the will of God

Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

John Samson: Understanding 2 Peter 3:9

John Piper: Are There Two Wills in God?

V. Specific evil as a result of specific sins

A. Individuals do receive “evil” for the evil that they do

Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

B. But some individuals receive “evil” for the evil that others do

Joshua 7:24-25 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.

Recommended Resources:

Extensive resources on theodicy/the problem of evil

John MacArthur: Why Does God Allow So Much Suffering and Evil?, The Problem of Evil (conference messages)

James White: Responding to Evil and Suffering (audio)

Scott Oliphant: The Problem of Evil (audio)

• Home

• Online Library

• Store

• Radio

• News & Events

• About Us

© 2005 Desiring God[pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download