Description

Welcome back to our study in Systematic Theology.

In this study, we are diving back in to our discussion on the doctrine of providence.

In thinking through the doctrine of providence, we might wonder:

1. How exactly are we to understand divine sovereignty and human freedom to work hand-in-hand?
2. If God is sovereign, then why are we held responsible for the evil things that we do and why isn’t God responsible?
3. How can God be good and powerful and there still be evil in the world?

Biblical “Givens” - what Scripture makes clear to us concerning divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

3 propositions:

1. First – God is absolutely sovereign, but his sovereignty never functions in such a way that human responsibility is curtailed, minimized, or mitigated.
2. Second - Human beings are morally responsible creatures – they significantly choose, rebel, obey, believe, defy, and make decisions
3. Third – Despite everything Scripture says about God’s sovereignty, the Bible insists that God is perfectly good. God is never presented as an accomplice of evil, or as secretly malicious.

How do we begin to put these three truths together in some compatible way so that we can answer the 3 questions from before?

Compatibilism. DA Carson definition

Thus, the Bible presents these two propositions as compatible, not as incompatible.

- Joseph

- Job

- Jesus

What do we do with all of this?

1. Look at the cross. Romans 5:6-9. Trust that, while we may not understand how it all works together, and why does this or does that, we can be sure that God is a good and faithful God, because he sent his own Son to die for our eternal lives.

2. Look at the end. Rev. 21:3-4: Trust that, while we may not understand God’s sovereignty in all of its respects, we do know how it is going to end. We know what all of this is divine action is working toward – and it’s our own salvation!

John Piper’s book "Spectacular Sins” outlines these things as applications:

Eight Things to Do with Evil

1. Expect evil. “Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Pet. 4:12).

2. Endure evil. “Love bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7; cf. Mark 13:13).

3. Give thanks for the refining effect of evil that comes against you. “Give thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20; cf. 1 Thess. 5:18). “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance . . .” (Rom. 5:3–5).

4. Hate evil. “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Rom. 12:9).

5. Pray for escape from evil. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13).

6. Expose evil. “Take no part in the unfruitful works of dark- ness, but instead expose them” (Eph. 5:11).

7. Overcome evil with good. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).

8. Resist evil. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas. 4:7).

Four Things Never to Do with Evil

1. Never despair that this evil world is out of God’s control. “[He] works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11).

2. Never give in to the sense that because of seemingly random evil, life is absurd and meaningless. “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! . . . For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for- ever” (Rom. 11:33, 36).

3. Never yield to the thought that God sins or is ever unjust or unrighteous in the way he governs the universe. “The Lord is righteous in all his ways” (Ps. 145:17).

4. Never doubt that God is totally for you in Christ.