Almighty In Authority, part four

Auty speaking- Okay folks, here's where the going gets tough, but please stick it out with me. I've been doing some research of my own and once this chapter is through, I'm going to post some of the Biblical evidence I've found. Yeah, I could be wrong, we all are to some extent. If you have some suggestions or advice, I'd absolutely love to hear it! To me, nothing is better when I'm in fellowship with other Christians- iron sharpening iron. God bless!!

The Culprit

Who are we left with? The case against God, the argument that He must be the one who introduced evil into his world, does not rest merely on the process of elimination. Let us, with great care and respect, apply to God the same method in our search for the source of evil as we have applied to our other suspects.

We know that God was present. We know this at least because there is no place where He was not. God can never use as an alibi that He was somewhere else, because while He is somewhere else, He is also present everywhere. So God at least had the opportunity.

Did God have the means? Of course He did. He is God; He can do whatever He wishes. There is no power great than Him which could somehow stop Him from changing Eve's inclination. We know also that it is not only possible for God to change a person's inclination, we know that in fact it is His habit to do so. He does it all the time. In fact, He has done it to me. And if you are a servant of His, we know He has done it to you. After the fall, the Bible teaches, our strongest inclination at any given moment is always to sin. The only way this process can be arrested, such that anyone could come to faith, is if God sovereignly changes our inclination first.

The next question, then, is to ask if God had a motive for changing Eve's inclination. What reason would God have for wanting Eve to fall into sin? Imagine God before the creation of the world. The members of the Trinity are enjoying [each others] fellowship... They are noting their excellencies, praising each other, if you will. God considers His strength and finds it wonderful. He considers His mercy and finds it delightful. And then He considers His wrath. Many of us have difficulty imagining God finding any glory in His wrath, but He does. He is pleased with His wrath. If His wrath exists, and we know from His Word that it does, then we know He is pleased with it. We cannot imagine God looking at His wrath like unwanted pounds He wants to lose, if only He had the power. No, God is as delighted with Hid wrath as He is with all of His attributes, Suppose He says, "What I'll do is create something worthy of my wrath, something on which I can exhibit the glory of my wrath. And on top of that I'll manifest my mercy by showering grace on some of these creatures deserving my wrath." Can you imagine God thinking such a thought? I can, and I'm not alone in this. The apostle Paul not only speculates that such a line of reasoning is possible with God but that in fact God did reason this way. "What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?" (Rom. 9:22-24).

These are perhaps some of the hardest words to swallow in all of Scripture. We could be sure, however, even without this passage that God would have a motive for Eve's fall into sin. We know that, because it came to pass. Every Bible-believing Christian must conclude at least that God in some sense desired that man would fall into sin. The only other option is to say that this event became reality against God's wishes, that God sat upon His throne ringing His hands in frustration as Eve took a bite. Such a notion is repugnant, for it means that someone or something is more powerful than God Himself.

God wills all things which come to pass. It is in His power to stop whatever might come to pass. It is within His omniscience to imagine every possible turn of events and to chose that chain of events which most pleases Him. What option most pleases Him? It is always that option which gives Him the most glory. Like man, God's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And like man, God always acts according to His strongest inclination. What is different is that with God all things are equal in the sense that His choices are never limited. I must say, "Given that I must either eat these vegetables or receive a spanking..." But God, being all powerful, never finds Himself in the unenviable position of having to choose between the lesser of two evils.

It is because of this similarity (God always acting according to His strongest inclination) and this difference (God always getting exactly what He wants) that we can know that whatever comes to pass must be what God most wishes to come to pass, His strongest inclination.

But wait a minute. Isn't there an obvious argument against this line of reasoning? Isn't it impossible for God to do evil? Of course it's impossible for God to do evil. He can't sin. This objection, however, is off the mark. I am not accusing God of sinning; I am suggesting that He created sin. There is a difference.

We must define our terms. The Westminster Confession of Faith [Auty speaking- which I don't rely on like Scripture, nor do I rely on this book. They are man-written, not God-inspired. It seems that the Westminster Confession is often quoted without speculation, and though I don't disagree with it, I also don't lean on it. Just clearing the air] defines sin as "any lack of conformity to or transgression of the law of God." Where, I must ask, does the law of God forbid the creation of evil? I would suggest that it just isn't there. Someone might object that of course it isn't there, because man hasn't the power to create sin. And I would rest my case.

Somehow, though, it just doesn't seem fair of God to bring evil in to the world and then turn around and express His wrath against it. One could just hear this complaint from people who want to defend God against the charge that He created evil. Were there a trial, they would have character witnesses come forth and explain that God is a fair God, a just God. [Auty speaking- And I would be quick to say- no, He is not a fair God. Just, yes. Fair, no. There is a difference between the two and you know it. When Christ died for your sins, was that fair? We should not be here if God was fair. Fairness seeks out the happiness of most everyone involved. But He called it just. Christ justly took our punishment. God does what He wants and it doesn't have to be fair. There is a difference people, don't get the two mixed up.] And the underlying assumption would be that fairness and justice would keep God from changing Eve's inclination and then turning around and punishing her for acting on that inclination. Such an action would be an evil action by God, and therefore could not have happened. Treating Eve this way would be inconsistent with His character.

The prosecution, however, those trying to prove that it was God who changed Eve's inclination, if it were permitted to introduce similar activities of God performed elsewhere, would have an answer. The Bible clearly affirms that it was God who hardened the heart of Pharaoh: "For this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name might be declared in all the earth" (Exod. 9:16). Here we have Go doing two troublesome acts. First He raised up Pharaoh. It was God Himself that put this tyrant in power, to rule over Abraham's children with an iron fist. And second He hardened Pharaoh's heart. Have you ever wondered how a man could be as stubborn as Pharaoh? Destruction rained down on his kingdom like cats and dogs, or like gnats and frogs. But he did not relent. Why? Because God had hardened his heart. Should Pharaoh be judged for these things? When he stands before the judgment throne of God, will he be able to say, " Hey, it's not my fault. For who can resist your will?" (And Eve, if she's still awaiting trial, might shout from the gallery a loud amen!)

He can certainly try that. But if Paul were in the courtroom (and he at least presented a "friend of the court" brief in his letter to the Romans), we can expect him to stand quickly and shout "Objection!" He would surely go on to say, "But indeed, O man, who are you to replay against God? Wilt the thing formed say to Him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?' Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?" (Rom. 9:20-21).

Notice Paul's argument assumes it was God who worked in the heart of Pharaoh. Paul does not say, "Hey Pharaoh, leave God out of this. He had nothing to do with you hardening your heart." Neither, ultimately, does Paul give a comfortable defense of God. The objection assumes God acts to ensure, through His work, that evil will be done. If you aren't inclined to shout, "That's not fair," then you are not understanding what Paul is saying. Paul's defense is essentially, "Shut up! He is God and He can do what He wants."

It's as if Paul is saying this sham trial has gone on long enough. He is reminding us that the ultimate problem with putting God on trial is that God is the ultimate judge. All the while He was sitting in the seat of the accused, He had every right to stand up, bump the judge from his spot, and resume His rightful place. He alone is judge over all the earth.

To be continued...

The above quote was copied from the book
Almighty Over All, Understanding the Sovereignty of God
by R. C. Sproul Jr
Published by Baker Books