When we sin, does God in His sovereignty bear any of the blame? Certainly not—but why not? Today, R.C. Sproul provides biblical answers to questions about humanity’s fall into sin, the origin of temptation, and the providence of God. Get Truths We Confess, R.C. Sproul’s commentary on the Westminster Confession, for your donation of any amount: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/3706/truths-we-confess Meet Today’s Teacher: R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was known for his ability to winsomely and clearly communicate deep, practical truths from God’s Word. He was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Meet the Host: Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of ministry engagement for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, host of the Ask Ligonier podcast, and a graduate of Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. Nathan joined Ligonier in 2012 and lives in Central Florida with his wife and four children. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts
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We can be so puffed up with our own righteousness. We have so deceived ourselves against the depth of corruption that still resides in our hearts that we have not learned humility. We have not learned grace. We have not learned to depend completely on the righteousness of Christ. We begin to take confidence in our own righteousness, which is filthy rags.
When we think about the theological questions surrounding the sovereignty of God, His providence and evil in the world, we typically think about Adam's sin and the fall of mankind. But what about how God's providence relates to your sin and to temptation in your life? This is the Thursday edition of Renewing Your Mind. I'm your host, Nathan W. Bingham.
The providence of God is a significant and important area of theology, which is why we're spending this week considering it and why the writers of the Westminster Confession of Faith needed seven sections just to summarize it.
So far we have considered the question of where God is when tragedy strikes, God's use of means in providence, how the providence of God relates to the origin of evil, and today Dr. Sproul will consider God's providence, temptation, and our own sin. Well, here he is in section 5 of chapter 5.
We're going to continue now with our study of the providence of God as it's found in the fifth chapter of the Westminster Confession in our last session. We were looking at section four, and we didn't quite complete that entire section. You will recall, I trust, that in that very troublesome affirmation that God's providence extends,
even to the first fall of the human race and to the sins of people in this world, and not simply by a bare passive permission of God, but in a way that He orders and governs and so on. And now we come to another semicolon where we get a proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God, who being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be. the author or approver of sin.
You see, the reason why it tells us that God can't be the author of sin or the approver of sin is because for God to approve sin, or to author sin, actually do sin, would be to act against His own nature, which is altogether holy, so that the law of His own person makes it utterly impossible for Him to do these things.
Sometimes we think the doctrine of God's omnipotence means that God can do anything. The Bible says with God all things are possible, but that is circumscribed by other teachings of the Scripture. With God all things consistent with His nature are possible, but it's not possible for God to be God and not be God at the same time and in the same relationship. It's not possible for God to die.
It's not possible for God to lie, and it's not possible for God to sin. It's not only that he doesn't sin, but he's utterly incapable of it because the necessary conditions for sin to take place don't exist in God's moral character. And so, as strongly as section 4 affirms the extension of God's providence over sin, it equally affirms that the sinfulness of that sin
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