Neither the Author nor Approver of Sin
Chapter 5: Of Providence
4. The Almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in His providence, that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men; and that not by a bare permission, but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering, and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to His own holy ends; yet so, as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.
There is an awful lot to unpack in paragraph four of this chapter, chief of which is the syntax of a paragraph that is all one sentence! But I promise you, it is worth it. In fact, if you have read the previous entries, then you will be familiar with this subject matter, because we discussed in chapter three how ALL things, even tragedies and the sins of others, fall under the decrees of God and are used by Him for His glorious and good purposes. This is, understandable, a difficult thing to wrap your mind around, yet it is an unavoidable reality taught by God in His word. Even so, sometimes people try to explain the idea by saying “God permits sin to happen…” The idea that God permits sin is the language which we often times employ because we feel uncomfortable with the idea that God decreed it beforehand. It is also an easy way of explaining the existence of sin and sorrow to someone new to the Bible. The only problem is that is just isn't the language of the Bible, is it? Job, for instance, acknowledged this when he had lost everything. His wife told him he should just curse God and accept the death that is coming, but He rebukes her: "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10). Now it is important to note that in the language of the Bible, the word "evil" doesn't just describe a moral state. It also is used to refer to that which is unpleasant: tragedy or sorrow, just as Job had experienced. Because of this, the Westminster Assembly specifically corrects such language, saying, “The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in his providence, that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men; and that not by a bare permission…”
Lets explore this by looking at the most important point in all of history, the center of redemption, and indeed all creation: the cross. Does the Bible speak of God “permitting” Jesus to be falsely condemned to death and then executed horribly on a Roman cross? No it doesn’t. In fact, Jesus spoke often about His crucifixion before it happened—not as someone who could see the future, but as One who knew that this has been the plan from the beginning. After Peter confesses the truth that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus says to His disciples ““The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Luke 1:22). This MUST happen—not this will happen and I can’t get around it. In the prophet Isaiah we find much stronger language, where the Messiah, called here the suffering servant, will be crushed for the iniquities of His people: “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.” (Isaiah 53:10). It was the will of the LORD, which included the betrayal of Judas, the cruelty of the Sanhedrin, and the pragmatic spinelessness of Pontius Pilate. Likewise, this was also the view of Joseph back in Genesis: “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.” (Gen. 50:20).
At the same time, this does not mean that neither Judas, the Sanhedrin, nor Pontius Pilate are absolved from guilt. Each one of these people, and indeed, those who cried “crucify Him!” all genuinely meant evil against Jesus. Judas is called a demon (John 6:70), and the son of destruction (John 17:20), and Jesus compares the culpability of Pilate to those who handed Him over to the Roman governor when He said “Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:11). How then is it that these men acted according to God’s eternal and sovereign plan, yet at the same time they chose to do these deeds, and are therefore guilty of great sin? The Westminster Assembly is wise at this point, because rather than hypothesizing and theorizing about this matter, they stop and don't try to figure out what God has not revealed to us in His word. Instead they are content with saying “yet so, as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author and approver of sin.”
This statement understands the character of God: that He is Holy and perfect, and that nothing wrong or sinful ever proceeds from Him. It also shows faith in the unchanging character of God as well as a humble submission to He whose ways are beyond mortal seeking out (Romans 11:33-36). There are things which God has chosen to not reveal to us in His word, and we do well to be content with what God has given to us. There have been many errors in the church because people philosophized beyond the boundaries of God's revelation, and then began promoting their ideas as if it were a necessary teaching of the Bible.
What does this mean for us when we face the effects of great tragedy, including the sins of others that splash into our lives? Does this teaching mean I cannot cry out to God in my pain, fear, uncertainty and anguish? You most certainly can, and should. The book of Psalms is a great example of what this looks like as people who at the same time cry out to God in their pain, even as they acknowledge that He is in complete control. They cry out to God because they know He is in charge, and they wait upon the Lord because they know that deliverance will come one way or another. And most importantly, they wait on the Lord because they genuinely love Him and want, more than anything else, to be near Him, in His kingdom, to behold His glory, and experience His steadfast love which is better than life (Psalm 63:6).
Lets explore this by looking at the most important point in all of history, the center of redemption, and indeed all creation: the cross. Does the Bible speak of God “permitting” Jesus to be falsely condemned to death and then executed horribly on a Roman cross? No it doesn’t. In fact, Jesus spoke often about His crucifixion before it happened—not as someone who could see the future, but as One who knew that this has been the plan from the beginning. After Peter confesses the truth that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus says to His disciples ““The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Luke 1:22). This MUST happen—not this will happen and I can’t get around it. In the prophet Isaiah we find much stronger language, where the Messiah, called here the suffering servant, will be crushed for the iniquities of His people: “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.” (Isaiah 53:10). It was the will of the LORD, which included the betrayal of Judas, the cruelty of the Sanhedrin, and the pragmatic spinelessness of Pontius Pilate. Likewise, this was also the view of Joseph back in Genesis: “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.” (Gen. 50:20).
At the same time, this does not mean that neither Judas, the Sanhedrin, nor Pontius Pilate are absolved from guilt. Each one of these people, and indeed, those who cried “crucify Him!” all genuinely meant evil against Jesus. Judas is called a demon (John 6:70), and the son of destruction (John 17:20), and Jesus compares the culpability of Pilate to those who handed Him over to the Roman governor when He said “Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:11). How then is it that these men acted according to God’s eternal and sovereign plan, yet at the same time they chose to do these deeds, and are therefore guilty of great sin? The Westminster Assembly is wise at this point, because rather than hypothesizing and theorizing about this matter, they stop and don't try to figure out what God has not revealed to us in His word. Instead they are content with saying “yet so, as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author and approver of sin.”
This statement understands the character of God: that He is Holy and perfect, and that nothing wrong or sinful ever proceeds from Him. It also shows faith in the unchanging character of God as well as a humble submission to He whose ways are beyond mortal seeking out (Romans 11:33-36). There are things which God has chosen to not reveal to us in His word, and we do well to be content with what God has given to us. There have been many errors in the church because people philosophized beyond the boundaries of God's revelation, and then began promoting their ideas as if it were a necessary teaching of the Bible.
What does this mean for us when we face the effects of great tragedy, including the sins of others that splash into our lives? Does this teaching mean I cannot cry out to God in my pain, fear, uncertainty and anguish? You most certainly can, and should. The book of Psalms is a great example of what this looks like as people who at the same time cry out to God in their pain, even as they acknowledge that He is in complete control. They cry out to God because they know He is in charge, and they wait upon the Lord because they know that deliverance will come one way or another. And most importantly, they wait on the Lord because they genuinely love Him and want, more than anything else, to be near Him, in His kingdom, to behold His glory, and experience His steadfast love which is better than life (Psalm 63:6).