Leighton Flowers, opposing the Sovereignty of God in Salvation, objecting from the provisionist perspective poses this question and suggests no Calvinist has answered it with any substance. Let's examine the question and see if there are any answers with substance.
(Flowers) A Question for my Calvinistic Friends
When we object to the concept of divine determinism (God's Sovereign work to bring about all things whatsoever that come to pass) [ I object to his use of "divine determinism". Flowers is redefining a Biblical concept articulated in Scripture with the pagan determinism philosophy. He also only quotes a partial phrase from the Reformed Confession making it appear to say something it clearly does not. The Biblical understanding of God's sovereignty in salvation can be seen in verses such as these
(Ephesians 1:11 (ESV) 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,) (Proverbs 16:4 (ESV) 4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.) (Isa 14:26 This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. Isa 14:27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?) (Dan 4:35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”) Flowers redefines this doctrine of God's Sovereignty and likens it to divine determinism,
Determinism /dĭ-tûr′mə-nĭz″əm/
noun
(1) The philosophical doctrine that every state of affairs, including every human event, act, and decision, is the inevitable consequence of antecedent states of affairs.
(2) The doctrine that the will is not free, but is inevitably and invincibly determined by motives, preceding events, and natural laws.
(3)The doctrine that all actions are determined by the current state and immutable laws of the universe, with no possibility of choice. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.)
"Determinism is the idea that everything that happens in the world is determined completely by previously existing causes. We all know that the world runs on cause and effect. Imagine a shot in a game of pool. You hit the cue ball which then strikes another, and the movement of the balls is determined by the laws of physics. But once you’ve hit the ball, neither you nor the balls have any say in which way things turn out! Once the initial cause (you hitting the cue ball) is set in place, everything just follows along through the laws of physics." Does that sound anything like what we read in the previous Scriptures? Flower's question begins dishonestly by forming a false narrative.]
[Flowers question continues], and you appeal to the crucifixion as your proof that God brings about all moral evil, [I see why no one has bothered to engage his question with any substance, there is no substance to the question. Flowers again redefines the Calvinist doctrine, which does not allow God to bring about moral evil. "neither is God the author of sin" Westminister Confession of Faith (1689) the other part of the Confession Flowers did not quote.] [Flowers continues], are you saying that God is sovereignly working so as to redeem the very sins He sovereignly worked to bring about? [No, that is not what the doctrine states.] Is Calvary just about god cleaning up His own mess, redeeming His own determinations? [No, that is not what the doctrine states] There is not a Reformed Confession or Calvinist doctrine that suggests God is working to bring about sin. Flowers again is redefining the Reformed doctrine of God's Sovereignty to fit his narrative. Below are doctrines stated by Reformed Confessions of Faith]
III.
Westminister Confession of Faith (1646)
Of God's Eternal Decree
1. God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: (Eph. 1:11, Rom. 11:33, Heb. 6:17, Rom. 9:15,18) yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, (James 1:13,17, 1 John 1:5) nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established. (Acts 2:23, Matt. 17:12, Acts 4:27–28, John 19:11, Prov. 16:33)
St. Augustine (354-430 AD) writes in his Enchiridion: “What happens contrary to his will occurs, in a wonderful and ineffable way, not apart from his will. For it would not happen if he did not allow it. And yet he does not allow it unwillingly but willingly. But he who is good would not permit evil to be done, unless, being omnipotent, he could bring good out of evil.” [Agustine points out God may permit evil to be done but does not bring it about.]
London Baptist Confession (1689)
Paragraph 1. God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established; in which appears His wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing His decree.
Abstract of Principles (1858)
IV. PROVIDENCE
God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not in any wise to be the author or approver of sin nor to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.
Calvinistic Methodists of Wales (1823)
5. Of God’s Decree.
God, from eternity, after the council of his own will, and for the manifestation and exaltation of his glorious attributes, decreed all that he would do in time and to eternity, in creation, in the government of his creatures, and in the salvation of sinners of the human race; yet so that he is not the author of sin nor constrains the will of his creature in its actions (a). The decree of God depends not in the least upon the creature nor upon the foreknowledge of God himself; on the contrary, God knows that certain things will be, because he has decreed that they should be (b). God’s decree is infinitely wise (c), and perfectly just (d); eternal (e), free (f), comprehensive (g), secret (h), gracious (I), holy (j), good (k), unchangeable (l), and effectual (m).
Flower's reference to the crucifixion saying, [and you appeal to the crucifixion as your proof that God brings about all moral evil] is found in Acts Chapter 4.
Act 4:24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
Act 4:25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the people plot in vain?
Act 4:26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
Act 4:27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
Act 4:28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
Flower's question concerning this verse is, why do Calvinists appeal to the crucifixion as their proof that God brings about all moral evil. Calvinists make no appeal from any scripture that God brings about moral evil. His question is irrelevant and dishonest.
As to Acts Chapter 4, Luke records that Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel all did what God had pre-determined to take place. It takes place at the exact time and place God had ordained. It involved the people God had determined to use. Flowers calls this divine determinism. We have already defined determinism which has nothing to do with God's Sovereignty over His creation.
What we do see is described in the reformed confessions, the sin involved in the crucifixion was not brought about by God, but by the people committing the sin. Being a sinner does not remove you from the Sovereign acts of God. God's infinite ability of Omnipotence and omniscient uses the sinner with his sin and the saint alike to accomplish His will and purpose, God does this without violating the "will of the creature." As stated in the London Baptist Confession of 1689, Paragraph 1. God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established; in which appears His wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing His decree.
That is simply stating God can accomplish his will and purpose using the sin of the sinner, and do so without violence being done to the free will of the sinner who is committed to his sin. How God accomplishes this is a mystery, but the fact He does is demonstrated in Acts Chapter 4. and throughout redemptive history.
Yes, at times the scriptures do speak of God “hardening” men's hearts (Ex 7; Rm. 9), blinding them with a “spirit of stupor” (Rm. 11:8) and delaying their healing by use of parabolic language (Mk. 4:11-12, 34; Matt. 16:20), and He always does so for a redemptive good. But the reason such passages stand out so distinctly from the rest of scripture is because of their uniqueness. [They don't stand out from the rest of Scripture, they agree with and affirm the whole of Scripture concerning God's Sovereign Decree] [Flowers continues] If God worked this way in every instance these texts would make no sense. After all, what is there for God to harden, provoke, or restrain if not the autonomous will of creatures?
[Flowers is again re-framing statements to assist in his narrative. Was Hitler as bad as he could have been? Are any sinners as bad as they could be? If God removed his restraint upon this sinful world we would be incapable of maintaining a society. His restraint upon man's sinfulness makes it possible for society and government to exist. When God removes a measure of this restraint the sinner's heart is hardened in proportion to that measure.]
2Th 2:6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 2Th 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 2Th 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law.
Psa 19:13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
Psa 141:4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!
If everything is under the meticulous control of God's sovereign work what is left to permit and or restrain except that which He is already controlling? Is God merely restraining something that He previously determined? Why blind eyes from seeing something they were “naturally” predetermined not to see? Why put a parabolic blind fold on the corpse like dead sinner incapable of seeing spiritual truth? These are questions many Calvinists seem unwilling to entertain at any depth. Nothing in Flowers's closing statements is relevant to any Calvinistic doctrine or Confession of faith. One example of the Calvinist doctrine of God's Sovereignty is found in Acts Chapter 27, where we read the account of Paul's shipwreck. From Galatians 1:15 we discover Paul was called from his mother's womb. What if Paul had not wanted to serve Christ? He certainly would not have been on the ship. But the Calvinist doctrine of God's sovereignty in Salvation states He (God) calls the elect to himself, yet he does so without violating the will or doing away with 2nd causes.
So we understand Paul is called from his mother's womb, but it would be many years later on the road to Damascus before he would be converted. He would not have been considered a likely candidate for Gospel conversion, but God is sovereign in whom He calls. Paul's life is under the meticulous control of God's sovereign work and Acts 27 is only one such example in his lifetime.
In Acts 27 we hear the words of the Angel to Paul, "Act 27:23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship,
Act 27:24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar."
Here we discover it was God's purpose for Paul to stand before Caesar, we can now see that all the events that led up to Paul being on that ship were due to that purpose. Paul's reasoning for appealing to Caesar, those thoughts and intents were made long before in Acts 25, and the decision in the minds of Festus and Agrippa to send him to Caesar was all according to God's purpose. God was meticulously in control bringing about His purpose using the minds and reasonings of all involved, yet doing so without violating their will and understandings. Paul standing in the counsel before Festus and Agrippa was a contingent event, a second cause that brought it all about. God (in His sovereign providence) meticulously brought everything according to His purpose.
The event itself in Acts 27 is filled with meticulous control, the storm, the direction of the wind, and the time and place of each event of each day all bringing about God's purpose. Plots were made contrary to God's purpose, yet they were foiled through predetermined events that involved the reasonings and thoughts of those in key positions. The very survival of the crew is directly attributed to the meticulous providence of God. Verse 24, "And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ " When the ship broke apart, each individual had to make a decision when and where to jump, that decision would bring them to a board or piece of ship by which they could survive. All was their decision based upon their own reasoning of self-preservation, yet we understand from Scripture it was the providence of God fulfilling his purpose in all things.
This is God Paragraph 1. God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established; in which appears His wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing His decree.
Flowers wants to call this Calvinistic divine determinism and attribute the sin of those who would kill Paul and abandon their post as being brought about by God. Yet God had no fellowship with their sin. It is a travesty that some would deny God His Sovereign Providence. Flower's statements refuting God's meticulous control are nothing but double talk.
dou·ble-talk ˈdə-bəl-ˌtȯk (Marriam-Webster)
1: language that appears to be earnest and meaningful but in fact is a mixture of sense and nonsense
2: inflated, involved, and often deliberately ambiguous language
It is so commonly understood in our society that God is in control of our world, when I typed in the search engine "God is not in meticulous control cartoon" there was not a single cartoon displayed. All cartoons displayed God as in complete control of everything. God's Sovereignty over His creation is necessary to the very doctrine of God.
Flowers states, "Traditionalists [Traditionalists is a meaningless term used in this context] believe at times throughout history God does intervene to determine some things. That is what makes these things “of God” and uniquely supernatural. We also believe God uses means similar to what some Calvinists describe in these instances. We do not believe, however, these unique divine determinations prove God’s meticulous determination of all things, especially man’s evil intentions. In fact, in every one of the instances listed above, the purpose of God’s unique intervention is clearly redemptive. I refuse to believe God is merely seeking to redeem the very evil intentions and actions that He Himself predetermined."
Flowers states he believes things similar to what Calvinists believe, he is forced to say that because of the Scriptural witness. Numerous times in Scripture God simply turns men wherever he pleases. (Pro 21:1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.) (Dan 4:24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, Dan 4:25 that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.)
Flowers confuses this with God's working of providence over all his creatures. Though God can as Flowers suggests at will rule the mind of men, He doesn't need to turn the heart of a king or any man to accomplish His will. He simply works within the bounds of His Providence as in the previously stated reformed confessions of faith. (yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away).
Flowers clarifies himself by stating, (he) unlike the Calvinist, does not believe God brings about man's evil intentions, [Neither does the Calvinist, Flowers is again being dishonest] I refer you to the Reformed Confessions. Flowers ends with double talk, suggesting God's Sovereignty in Salvation consists of God "merely seeking to redeem the very evil intentions and actions that He Himself predetermined." However, what God has actually done, is redeem man from his sinful nature, and He (God) decreed so from before the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
1Pe 1:18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
1Pe 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1Pe 1:20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you
1Pe 1:21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
May God bless,
David
No comments:
Post a Comment