God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.
This is one of the most well-known paragraphs contained in the Confession and perhaps one of its most controversial for the reasons discussed in yesterday's entry.
In a nutshell, the Confession here teaches that God has charted the course of history to the smallest detail since before the world began. He did so according to his own holy purposes, guided by his own perfect wisdom, without necessity or constraint from outside forces, and all without the possibility of revision. All things happen according to God's design. He is in complete control. Nothing can thwart or subvert him.
The Confession, in a manner reminiscent of the Definition of Chalcedon, then sets the boundaries in anticipation of various objections:
1. God is not the author of sin. Time and again I see this charge laid to the Reformed doctrine of predestination. "If God causes all things, then he is the author of sin!" Yet the Bible teaches the absolute sovereignty of God (which is why the Confession teaches the absolute sovereignty of God) without laying the blame for sin at God's feet. God is holy. Sin is a violation of God's holy will and an affront to his holy character. Fallen man alone is responsible for his sin.
2. Violence is not offered to the will of the creature. God forces no one to do anything. The creature makes legitimate, free choices. He acts according to his nature and his desires.
3. The liberty of second causes is not taken away. A. A. Hodge remarked, "[T]he decrees of God are not the proximate causes of events; they only make a given event certainly future. It provides that free agents shall be free agents and free actions free actions; and that a given free agent shall exist, and that he shall freely perform a certain free action under certain conditions" (The Confession of Faith, pages 68-69).
4. The contingency of second causes is not taken away. They still depend upon their contexts. This statement also affirms that God typically works out his purposes mediately, that is, through means.
This doctrine ought to be a great comfort to the believer, for he can rest in the assurance that our good, holy, wise, loving, and perfect God works all things according to his will and can be trusted to the uttermost to keep his promises. God has the power and will to do so.
Tomorrow: The role of God's foreknowledge.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment