PROVERBS 10:30<\/b>; 13:9; 16:4<\/b><\/p>\n
The Lord has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom<\/i><\/p>\n
(Prov. 16:4).<\/i><\/p>\n
A common question put to Christians is \u201cIf God controls everything, isn\u2019t He responsible for man\u2019s wickedness? And if so, how can He condemn wicked people to hell for something He ultimately caused?\u201d Charles Bridges handles this question in his commentary on Proverbs 16:4: \u201cThe Lord has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.\u201d Here\u2019s what Bridges has to say about this vexing tension between God\u2019s sovereignty and man\u2019s responsibility:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Lord created all things\u2014all the works of the creation \u2026 for Himself; not to fill up a vacuum \u2026 but for the manifestation of His glory to His intelligent creatures.\u2026 Even the wicked, whose existence might seem scarcely reconcilable to the Divine perfections, He includes in the grand purpose of setting out His Name. \u2018It is the greatest praise of His wisdom that He can turn the evil of men to His own glory.\u2019 He hath made even the wicked tor the day of evil\u2014[Men make themselves wicked]. God made them not so. He does not compel them to be so. He abhors their wickedness. But He foresaw their evil. He permitted it; and though \u2018He hath no pleasure in their death\u2019 (Ezek. 33:11), He will be glorified in them in the day of evil; and when they sin by their own free-will, He ordains them to punishment, as the monuments of His power, His justice, and His long-suffering.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly God is not the Author of sin. He cannot impart what He has not\u2014what is contrary to His nature.\u2026 Absolute holiness cannot be the cause of sin; though, like the law, it may be the innocent occasion or excitement of it.\u2026 If He permits evil, so far as not to hinder it, He hates it as evil, and permits it only for the greater good\u2014the greatest of all good\u2014the more full manifestation of His own glory in it, and out of it.\u2026 His retributive justice, no less than the riches of His grace, sets out His glory.\u201d<\/p>\n
God causes no one to sin, but He holds each person accountable for their own actions. He sovereignly controls all the actions of men for His own glorious purposes. God permits sin in order to reveal His mercy in His longsuffering, to manifest His grace in the redemption of sinners, and to glorify His justice in their condemnation.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
1 Kings 10\u201311<\/p>\n
Luke 24:1\u201335<\/p>\n
WEEKEND<\/b><\/p>\n
1 Kings 12\u201315<\/p>\n
Luke 24:36\u201353<\/p>\n
Read Genesis 45:1\u20138 and 50:15\u201321. How did Joseph\u2019s understanding of God\u2019s sovereignty and man\u2019s responsibility enable him to forgive His brothers? Has anyone wronged you recently? Has anyone frustrated or hurt you? Forgive them and consider their actions from God\u2019s perspective\u2014that He works all things for His glory.<\/p>\n
For further study: Job 12 \u2022 Prov. 21:1 \u2022 Isa. 44:24\u201328 \u2022 James 1:12\u201318<\/i><\/p>\n
WEEKEND<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PROVERBS 10:30; 13:9; 16:4 The Lord has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom (Prov. 16:4). A common question put to Christians is \u201cIf God controls everything, isn\u2019t He responsible for man\u2019s wickedness? And if so, how can He condemn wicked people to hell for something He ultimately caused?\u201d … Continue reading “SIN AND GOD\u2019S SOVEREIGNTY”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12496\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}