A Summary of Institutes of Christian Religion, Book 1: Chapter 18, by Matthew McMahon: Chapter 18: God Uses the Works of the Ungodly, and He Remains Pure. God does not simply allow wicked men by “permission” to accomplish His ends. This is often said to “preserve” God from the defilement of committing evil. However, this distinction would suggest that there are areas of existence over which God has no knowledge or control, or at least acquiesces in a motion not directed by Himself, which is unscriptural. Rather, all the impious are so under God’s power that He directs their evil intent to whatever end seems good to Him, and uses their wicked deeds to carry out His judgments—without any defilement or blame on His part. Such is the case of Job recognizing that God is the source of his trials, or the blinding and insanity of Ahab (1 Kings 22:20,22) or the apostles recognize Pilate and the Jews as merely carrying out what God has decreed (Acts 4:28); cf. 2:23) or Absalom’s incest was God’s own work (2 Sam. 16:22) or the Chaldeans’ cruelty toward Judah was God’s work according to Jeremiah (Jer. 1:15); 7:14); 50:25). God’s “rod of His anger,” and like expressions in Scripture attest the same thing, therefore God does not sit idly in a watchtower awaiting chance events as if His judgments depended upon human will [which is the Epicurean view]. But then we must ask, “How does God’s impulse come to pass in men?” This is notably seen in the “hardening of Pharaoh’s heart”. It would be absurd to say that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, rather, God’s will is the cause. Man while he is acted upon by God, yet at the same time himself acts. God’s will is not divided but a complete unity. It is only our incapacity of understanding that supposes that there is any contradiction in God’s will, any variation in Him, any change in His plan, or disagreement with Himself. Even when God uses the deeds of the godless for His purposes, He does not suffer reproach. This does not make god the author of wickedness. God has decreed, thus, they will obey His will. This is not wrong for God to do, for some men confuse “will” and “precept”: “while God accomplishes through the wicked what He has decreed by His secret judgment, they are not excusable, as if they had obeyed his precept which out of their own lust they deliberately break.”
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 12:02:44 +0000