To the Praise of His Glorious Justice
Chapter 3: Of God’s Eternal Decree
7. The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth mercy, as he pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praise of his glorious justice.
There is an odd phenomena that occurs in American evangelism. Good intentioned Christians sometimes, in an attempt to make God seem more "appealing," willingly bend the knees to the demands that God fit the sensibilities of the unbelieving world. I remember falling into this trap; someone would say "that's horrible!" to the Bible's depicting of God's wrath against sin, and all of a sudden, I was tripping over myself in an attempt to be God's "PR agent" and to explain things away. One of the popular ways of doing this is the statement that "God doesn't send anyone to hell; people send themselves." This sort of statement seems to take God off of the hook: "Oh, at least God isn't active in a person's eternal destruction...they did that to themselves," but God doesn't justify His justice in this way. Yes, it is true that every person is accountable for their own sin, yet the Bible describes God's role as being far more active in a person's judgment than many modern day Christians are willing to admit. For example, The great picture of the day of Judgment which we see in Revelation 20:25: "And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." I guess someone could argue that these people "threw" themselves in, but it is a pretty flimsy argument.
Another way people try to appease the world's hatred of God's holy standard is by saying something like "God hates the sin, not the sinner." Well how then do we handle the scriptures that declare: "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community." (Proverbs 6:16-19). Here we do not see the scriptures saying that God hates "the evil that is rushed to, or the lies of the false witness, or the conflict of the troublemaker--He hates the source of those things.
When it comes down to it, perhaps the reason that many Christians rush to appease such outrage against God's justice is because it is something they struggle to accept themselves. And often times this is the result of a light view of sin, and a small view of the Holiness and Righteousness of God. Often times in our sentiment, sins are just "whoopsies" that we feel sheepish about but, after all, "everybody sins," right? But the scriptures paint a far far different picture of all that which is contrary to the perfect purity of God; it is a detestable thing to Him, to the point that even the "righteousness" of man is as a filthy rag before Him (Isaiah 64:6); God's eyes are too pure to behold evil (Habakkuk 1:13); and ultimately, the only one who will stand in God's presence is the one who has clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:4-6).
To picture God's view of sin, a pastor named Donald Grey Barnhouse once used an illustration that has been invaluable to me. He asked what you would do if I presented you with a glass of lemonade and said that it was made with 99% pure spring water...and 1% diphtheria culture (a highly infectious bacterial sickness). What would you say? Would you gladly accept the lemonade, saying that the person did their best? No, you wouldn't and you would be right to vehemently reject such an offer. This is because the acceptable amount of diphtheria in a glass of lemonade is 0%. So why should we demand that God lower the standard for what is abhorrent to Him? How can we, His creatures, expect--dictate, even--that God be less holy and righteous? Less righteous than we ourselves are willing to be, in fact, because who among us would be ok with a murderer going free, or a kidnapper, or a identity thief? So when we talk about who God aught to save, what is the only answer? God has no obligation to save anyone. He would be perfectly within His right to send every fallen human being to hell for all eternity. It would not take anything away from God, nor would it diminish His glory. In fact, it would be a display of His justice, which is an inseparable aspect of God's being.
The Apostle Paul addresses this in his letter to the Romans. He anticipates the objection that people often times bring in response to God's divine prerogative. Does Paul trip over himself to justify God? To make sure His public image is upheld? No, in fact He rebukes the heart that would even question God's ways:
"You will say to me then, 'Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?' But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this?' Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?" (Romans 9:19-24).
The idea that we have no right to question God's ways, rankles us now just as much as it did back then--perhaps more so. Maybe because we are so used to leaders that do have to give an answer to the people that we expect that the Kingdom of Heaven is a democracy, but it isn't. The sovereign of the Universe has no obligation to explain anything to us, and the fact that He goes to great lengths to do so is an expression of His immeasurable grace and condescension rather than our right.
The Westminster Assembly was most certainly thinking about Romans 9:19-24 when they were writing this very short paragraph. In it they acknowledge that God's choice to show mercy is just that--His choice, and His alone. It isn't based off of anything anyone has done or would do, or any obligation to any person, but solely as an expression of His will and character. And it says here that He did this for a singular purpose: the display of two aspects of His glory: His mercy and His justice. One is not set aside for the other, nor is one covered over to emphasize the other: God is doing the work of displaying them both to His creation. And once again, if we acknowledge that God is sovereign, and that He is sovereign over salvation, then we must acknowledge that He sovereignly chooses to pass over some--that is, to not show them divine grace and mercy.
So do you wrestle with this? I have wrestled with it on several occasions. What should you do? Hide it and pretend everything is ok? Well, that won't work, nor would it be healthy. First off, God knows what is going on in your heart already. And to draw away from your God in any matter could be the beginning of a dangerous downward slide. Instead, bring it to Him, and confess that you are having trouble with this doctrine, and ask the wisdom which He promises to those who ask in faith (James 1:5). Specifically, you can ask God to use His Word to instruct you on who He is, and for the help of His Spirit to submit to what His word says. You can seek the counsel of someone you trust who is well versed in the Bible; you can even contact this church and ask to speak to one of the pastors on staff.
It is so important to understand the reality of God's Holy nature and His judgment on sin. After all, if God took sin as lightly as we tend to, would He have gone to such great lengths to procure salvation for His people? Would He have given His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life?
Another way people try to appease the world's hatred of God's holy standard is by saying something like "God hates the sin, not the sinner." Well how then do we handle the scriptures that declare: "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community." (Proverbs 6:16-19). Here we do not see the scriptures saying that God hates "the evil that is rushed to, or the lies of the false witness, or the conflict of the troublemaker--He hates the source of those things.
When it comes down to it, perhaps the reason that many Christians rush to appease such outrage against God's justice is because it is something they struggle to accept themselves. And often times this is the result of a light view of sin, and a small view of the Holiness and Righteousness of God. Often times in our sentiment, sins are just "whoopsies" that we feel sheepish about but, after all, "everybody sins," right? But the scriptures paint a far far different picture of all that which is contrary to the perfect purity of God; it is a detestable thing to Him, to the point that even the "righteousness" of man is as a filthy rag before Him (Isaiah 64:6); God's eyes are too pure to behold evil (Habakkuk 1:13); and ultimately, the only one who will stand in God's presence is the one who has clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:4-6).
To picture God's view of sin, a pastor named Donald Grey Barnhouse once used an illustration that has been invaluable to me. He asked what you would do if I presented you with a glass of lemonade and said that it was made with 99% pure spring water...and 1% diphtheria culture (a highly infectious bacterial sickness). What would you say? Would you gladly accept the lemonade, saying that the person did their best? No, you wouldn't and you would be right to vehemently reject such an offer. This is because the acceptable amount of diphtheria in a glass of lemonade is 0%. So why should we demand that God lower the standard for what is abhorrent to Him? How can we, His creatures, expect--dictate, even--that God be less holy and righteous? Less righteous than we ourselves are willing to be, in fact, because who among us would be ok with a murderer going free, or a kidnapper, or a identity thief? So when we talk about who God aught to save, what is the only answer? God has no obligation to save anyone. He would be perfectly within His right to send every fallen human being to hell for all eternity. It would not take anything away from God, nor would it diminish His glory. In fact, it would be a display of His justice, which is an inseparable aspect of God's being.
The Apostle Paul addresses this in his letter to the Romans. He anticipates the objection that people often times bring in response to God's divine prerogative. Does Paul trip over himself to justify God? To make sure His public image is upheld? No, in fact He rebukes the heart that would even question God's ways:
"You will say to me then, 'Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?' But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this?' Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?" (Romans 9:19-24).
The idea that we have no right to question God's ways, rankles us now just as much as it did back then--perhaps more so. Maybe because we are so used to leaders that do have to give an answer to the people that we expect that the Kingdom of Heaven is a democracy, but it isn't. The sovereign of the Universe has no obligation to explain anything to us, and the fact that He goes to great lengths to do so is an expression of His immeasurable grace and condescension rather than our right.
The Westminster Assembly was most certainly thinking about Romans 9:19-24 when they were writing this very short paragraph. In it they acknowledge that God's choice to show mercy is just that--His choice, and His alone. It isn't based off of anything anyone has done or would do, or any obligation to any person, but solely as an expression of His will and character. And it says here that He did this for a singular purpose: the display of two aspects of His glory: His mercy and His justice. One is not set aside for the other, nor is one covered over to emphasize the other: God is doing the work of displaying them both to His creation. And once again, if we acknowledge that God is sovereign, and that He is sovereign over salvation, then we must acknowledge that He sovereignly chooses to pass over some--that is, to not show them divine grace and mercy.
So do you wrestle with this? I have wrestled with it on several occasions. What should you do? Hide it and pretend everything is ok? Well, that won't work, nor would it be healthy. First off, God knows what is going on in your heart already. And to draw away from your God in any matter could be the beginning of a dangerous downward slide. Instead, bring it to Him, and confess that you are having trouble with this doctrine, and ask the wisdom which He promises to those who ask in faith (James 1:5). Specifically, you can ask God to use His Word to instruct you on who He is, and for the help of His Spirit to submit to what His word says. You can seek the counsel of someone you trust who is well versed in the Bible; you can even contact this church and ask to speak to one of the pastors on staff.
It is so important to understand the reality of God's Holy nature and His judgment on sin. After all, if God took sin as lightly as we tend to, would He have gone to such great lengths to procure salvation for His people? Would He have given His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life?