The Providence of God and the Existence of Evil

Amen. Well, this morning, my task is to look at paragraphs four and five and really discuss the problem of evil, the issue of suffering, the question of theodicy. And let me say at the outset that there's a reason that this is referred to as the problem of theodicy because we have these truths juxtaposed in scripture and they're not resolved to our satisfaction. And what we want is we want to be able to comprehend the mind of God, and that'd be awesome. Amen, spend eternity. We'll spend eternity with God and never exhaust the mind of God. That's what we want. And this is one of those areas where we have these truths and scripture, this absolute truth of the goodness of God and the power of God. In fact, that's where we start in paragraph four. Look at those first lines in paragraph four. The almighty power. God is all powerful, the almighty power and unsearchable wisdom. His wisdom is unsearchable, and infinite goodness of God good min it. His goodness is infinite. Now, there's about to be a statement here about this issue and this question and this problem of evil and sin. But what we see here is whatever we're going to do in answering this question. Here's what we're not going to do. We're not going to say that sin and evil exist in the world because God doesn't have enough power to deal with him. We're not going to say that evil and sin exist in the world because God was unwise and made a mistake. And we cannot say that evil and sin exists in the world because somehow God is less than good. So that's where we start. The almighty power, the unsearchable wisdom, and the infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in his providence. Again, these things manifest themselves in his providence, that his determinate counsel extends itself even to the first Fall and all other sinful actions of both angels and men, and that not by a bear permission. In other words, even the sinful actions of men and angels are not outside of the providence of God. Even those things are part of God's decree. Remember, he executes his decrees through creation and providence. Sin and evil are not outside of God's providence. They are not things that got away from God. Remember where we started. Almighty power, un search of a wisdom, and infinite goodness. Even in the fall, God is manifesting those things, and that not by bear permission. In other words, it's it's not it's not that God somehow he exercises his sovereignty and his providence that these things are are are are less than ideal, but he permits them to be. No, that's not the answer. Now, we try to make that the answer because we believe that God needs a pr firm and we know that that sort of you know that that kind of thing there, it makes people, it makes people feel better. Right, some horrible thing happens and we just say, well, you know, God just permitted that. He didn't cause that, He just permitted that he would he would never have planned that. When that hurricane came through and all these things got wiped out and people lost their lives. You know, God, God, God, God, just you know, he just he just he just permitted that. And we say things like that, not realizing the awful implications of that that If God can't control a hurricane, how can he get you to heaven? Hmm. If you can't trust that the hurricane went exactly where God told it to go, then how can you trust that your soul is going to get where God tells it to go. So enough with trying to be God's pr firm the almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, infinite goodness of God, so far manifests themselves in in his providence, that his determinate counsel extends itself even to the first fall, and all others infrallactions of both angels and men, and that not by mere permission, which also He most wisely and powerfully boundeth and otherwise ordereth and governeth in a manifold dispensation to his most holy ends, even the fall he orders to his most holy ends. Before we get to that last phrase, let's remind ourselves of the definition that we're working with. If you remember, we're borrowing Grudem's definition, where we look at the fact that God creates everything, and he gives it its properties, and then he cooperates with these things and their properties, and then thirdly he causes them to fulfill His purposes. And this last phrase, yet, so as the sinfulness of their acts proceedeth only from the creatures, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin. Both of those things are true. Both of those things are true. That God created the world and he created man in his image. That God created Adam, and that he gave him this command. In fact, if we look further, we don't have it here. But if we look further, if we look at the next chapter in the confession, it's of the fall of man of sin and the punishment thereof. That'll be next year. So we're not going to expound on this fully. But let me just read for you that first paragraph, because the confession is meant to be understood and taken as a whole. Paragraph one. Although God created man upright and perfect, and gave him a righteous law which had been unto life, had he kept it and threatened death upon the breach thereof, yet he did not long abide in this honor Satan using the subtlety of the serpent to seduce Eve, then by her seducing Adam, who without any compulsion, willfully transgress the law of their creator or their creation, rather and the command given unto them in eating the forbidden fruit, which God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory, Why would God purpose to order that to his own glory. Why would God create Adam in this perfection and innocence and then purpose to his own glory to allow Adam to fall? Let me answer that question by answering or asking a few other questions. How do you know what the blessing of a long life is if lives are never shortened? How do you know the blessing of traveling mercies unless some people never make it to their destination. How do you know. The blessing of prosperity if nobody has ever experienced want? How do you know the blessing being fed and fully satisfied if no one has ever experienced hunger? How do you know the blessing of waking up healthy and cold in your right mind if no one has ever experienced illness? And how can you and. I talk about the holiness of God if there's never been sain? So the question is how do we put these things together? How do we think about them? Rightly? Open your bibles you have them to Genesis forty five, and we'll see all of this from paragraph four. And then we'll say a word about paragraph five by implication and Genesis forty five Now Genesis thirty seven to fifty. This is the story of the life of Joseph, and we had the privilege of preaching through this portion of scripture. Here at GFBC. Our older team preached through this portion of scripture, and it was an amazing journey for the church. It's such an amazing journey. I ended up writing a book about these chapters in the Life of Joseph. If you know anything about this section of scripture, you know that it starts in chapter thirty seven with joseph brothers and their jealousy and them plotting to kill him, plotting to murder him, not ending up murdering him but instead putting him in a pit and selling into slavery. And we see all that Joseph goes through, and ultimately he ends up standing before Pharaoh. His brothers hate him because he interprets dreams, and he interpreted dreams for them. It's like, you guys are going to bow down before me. He ends up. In prison, and he interprets dreams in prison, the baker and the cupbearer, and then eventually because he interprets those dreams, he ends up before Pharaoh because Pharaoh has dreams that need to be interpreted, and he rises to second in command in Egypt because he predicts the coming of a famine seven years of plenty, seven years of famine, store up during the seven years of plenty, because those other seven years are coming. And after a couple of years of the famine, his brothers come to Egypt because they hear that there's grain in Egypt. He sees his brothers again, his brothers who put him in a pit and sold him into slavery, and he tests his brothers because his brothers didn't bring Benjamin. The reason they didn't bring Benjamin is because Jacob didn't allow Benjamin to go with them, because remember, Joseph and Benjamin where the children of the wife he loved, and the other brothers were jealous. He sent Jacob off with his other brothers, or Joseph off with his other brothers, and Joseph never came home, so when it was time for them to go, he didn't let Benjamin go. Joseph sends them to go and get Benjamin, bring Benjamin back, almost as if to say, did you do to my brother what. You thought you did to me. Benjamin comes back, Joseph feeds them, sits them at a table according to their birth order, gives a double portion to his brother Benjamin, and they know something is going on. And now we come to chapter forty five. There's a whole lot more to it than that. But now we come to chapter forty five when Joseph is going to reveal himself to his brothers, and there is much of the theology of paragraph four in this scene. Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, make everyone go out from me, so no one stayed with him. When Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Is my father still alive. But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. Can you imagine they've lived with this for decades. They thought for sure Joseph was dead, and now here he is alive. By the way, he's not only alive, but he's alive, and he's. In power, and we did him wrong. The text says that they could not answer him. They literally could not speak, they're terrified of what is about to happen to them because of what they've done. And then in verse four we go from Joseph's emotional response to his theological reasoning. Verse four, So Joseph said to his brothers, come near to me, please. Isn't that interesting? Long lost brother hadn't seen him forever? And he says, Hey, it's me, your long lost brother. Do you think your long lost brother would have to say to you come to me? No long lost brother reveals himself to you. You run to your long lost brother unless you're afraid that he's going to have you killed. Immediately, come near to me, please, And they came near, and he said, I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. Notice how he juxtaposes those two things. He says, and he believes that God, in his providence sent him to Egypt specifically in order to preserve life. It's clear that that's his theological understanding. He understands that Providence sent him to Egypt, and Providence sent him to Egypt, in order to preserve life. But what he. Doesn't do is blame God for the sinful actions that brought it about. Look at it again. I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. You sinned, you did wrong. Believing in Providence does not mean. That you let people off the hook for said. Hold on, I think we're gonna all right. I have to now I have to tell the story. It'll be brief. It'll be brief. It'll be brief. I promise. This is. Twenty five years ago. I'm preaching at the conference college students where I remember we're in Tennessee. Chris Tomlin is doing the music, and I'm preaching. We were, you know in that time that in those days, you know, we did a bunch of these type of event events together and we were having some issues with people's phones, and so I during one of the sessions just laid down the law. And I'm like, listen, unless you're a doctor on call or a drug dealer, you can do without your phone, right, you can do it. And I mean, I just laid down the law. And so I'm up and I'm preaching during one of the sessions, and this phone keeps going off after I've laid down the law, and I'm like, are you kidding me? Right now? Chris Tomlin stands up and brings me my phone, which is the one that was. Ringing. It's basically, you are the man you are. Yeah, okay again, I just could not If I didn't tell you that, it would have been just all over me for the rest of this time. And now all right, So here's Joseph with his clear theology, and he's expressing the theology of this paragraph that we just looked at that in God's providence, he uses even the sinful actions of men in order to achieve his purposes. But he doesn't violate the will of men. Men are sinful, they're not They're not dragged along into their sin by the scruff of the neck. As Luther would say. This is this is who they are. You do not have to make them do this. It's kind of like as parents you learn very early on. As parents you have to teach your children almost everything. Sin. You never have to spend one moment of instruction on Amen, somebody. They get that one without any help, and they get it early. And so both of these things are true. That God in his Providence sends Joseph to Egypt to preserve life, and that Joseph's brothers sinned against him and violated the law of God and were under the judgment of God because of the sin that they committed. Both of those things are true simultaneously. In fact, the only time that you see this sort of direct action with God and sin, it's not when God directly causes someone to sin, but it's when God prevents someone from sinning. Yeah, you had Abraham's wife. The only reason you didn't go further than you did because I stopped you. Amen. Looking at a couple of passages of scripture that help us think about this. First, John Chapter two one John two, beginning of verse fifteen, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life, is not from the Father, but is. From the world. The world is passing away along with his desires. But whoever does the Word of God abides forever. So these things they're not from God. James Chapter one, James Chapter one look there beginning of verse twelve James Chapter one, Verse twelve. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, For when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say, when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. God is perfect and holy and right. He is perfect in his holiness. He does not sin, he cannot sin, and he does not tempt to sin. And yet. He clearly, in his providence, uses the sinful actions of men. Back in our text, in Genesis forty five, God said before you to preserve life verse six. For the famine has been in the land. These two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. By the way providence of God. We see here. Not only in the sinful actions of men, but also in this drought and in this famine. This whole story, this whole text, this whole section of scripture, is pointing to the providence of God. God doesn't just know that there's going to be a famine. God's the one who sends the famine. God uses the famine in his providence. He brings about these things, including the famine verse seven. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, the lord of all his house and ruler over the land of Egypt. God sent me here clearly. And yet remember back in verse four, I'm your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Verse nine, hurry and go up to my father and say to him, thus says your son, Joseph. God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me, do not tarry. And in verse ten, again, Providence, you shall dwell in the land of Goshen. You shall be near me, You and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all you have there. I will provide for you. And there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household and all that you have do not come to poverty. Praise God. Amen. And again, let's be careful here. That's one of the things that we like to do again. Providences. Providence is Christian luck, right. Providence is just about the good outcome. Providence is just that. Then it's providential. But lest you run too fast, headlong into that error, let me remind you of something. Lest you say, see, here is the picture of God's providence. End of story. Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord. God takes bad stuff and he turns it into good stuff. The next book in the Bible is Exodus. Amen, it's not all good in Egypt. And guess what Genesis and the Life of Joseph providence of God. Situs slavery and hardship and Egypt providence of God. Providence of God. But what about the next chapter in the Confession. This brings us to paragraph five or not the next chapter, but the next paragraph. One of the things that we tend to do is we tend to think, okay, yes, you know, God, God uses the actions of sinful men, but we tend to think that that that's only people outside of the camp. And then we see sinful things and we say, well, that sinful thing happened, or that that terrible thing happened. Therefore that person must not have really been a believer. That they weren't believers before, but maybe they're believers now. And it's something that's hard to deal with here in Genesis forty five, like when the brothers believe, when the brothers didn't believe. But regardless of that, we know this truth paragraph number five. The most wise, righteous and gracious God doth oftentimes leave for a season his own children to manifold temptations and the corruptions of their own hearts. Now he leaves them to manifold temptations. The Bible tells us very clearly where those temptations come from. Those temptations come from our sinful desires. Amen. So we're not saying here that God is causing these temptations. They come from our sinful desires. Manifold temptations and the corruptions of their own hearts for a number of reasons. One to chastise them for their former sins. Sometimes God leaves his children in this condition to chastise them for their former sins. Sometimes there is that direct line and that direct link, that natural consequence of being chastised for your own sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts. Sometimes we go to this place so that we can be reminded of our own deceitfulness and sinfulness. We think too highly of ourselves. We think that we're beyond it. We think that we're beyond temptation, we think that we're beyond sin. We think that we're beyond following. Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. And God will use your own sinfulness and corruptions in order to teach you this or that they may be humbled. And it does that, doesn't it? It does that it humbles us. All of these things are true when we fall into sin and corruption, and we can fall into sin and corruption and less. You don't think that this is only true of a believer and can only happen in a believer's life for a short period. This can happen in a believer's life for months, for years, And our tendency is to say, well, if this is happening, it must be because this person wasn't a believer. How do we know? After that semicolon and to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon himself. Does your sin do that? Does it raise you to a more close and constant dependence? Do you hate and despise it when you see it. Again? Because for many of us, our tendency is, especially for a new believer. A new believer comes to faith in Christ. You know, all things have passed away, all things are new. We're forsaking things that we used to love and enjoy because we're a new believer. So it's the big sins, right, and the big sins are being dealt with and the big sins are falling away. And then the next thing, you know, you fall into something. And the immediate tendency, especially for the new believer, is to say, oh, well, I must not really have been saved. And so we run to church and we go through the whole rededication thing and sometimes want to be rebaptized because I must not have really been a believer because I sinned again. Amen, somebody, you need to understand this doctrine, otherwise every other week you'll be looking to be baptized again. But this raises us to a more close and consonant dependence for our support upon God. We need to turn that corner as Christians. We need to turn that corner from going, oh, wow, I sinned. It must mean I'm really not a Christian to turn in that corner to say, wow, I send my need is more desperate than I thought it was. And if I can just put a footnote here, there's usually a correlation between this first part of it and us being left in corruptions and sins for a season. There's usually a correlation between that and us removing ourselves from the ordinary means of grace. And it's kind of a witch. Came first, the chicken or the egg, right, We don't have to know which came first. We just have to know that there's a correlation. All the years that I've been in pastoral ministry, I've never run into a Christian who has said to me that they're attending to the ordinary means of grace faithfully and also saying to me that they're finding themselves. And one of these ditches that we talk about in the first half, usually as we find ourselves in these seasons of sin and corruption, we remove ourselves from the ordinary means of grace, which is why in pastoral ministry one of the most important things that we can do is keep up with people's attendants, not for being controlling, but because of this correlation. When a believer is not faithfully and regularly attending to the ordinary means of grace, it's usually a sign that something's wrong. So it brings us to this greater dependence. And to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin. Going through one of these seasons makes us more dependent, and then it makes us more watchful. It's the same as true physically, is it not. You go through some physical ordeal, and when you go through that physical ordeal, you become more watchful. You have an automobile accident, and all of a sudden, what does it do? You go through an automobile accident, and you survived that automobile accident, and all of a sudden, here you are at ten and two and that text can wait. Amen, somebody, it makes you more watchful, you go to the doctor, or the report is the report is not so good. All of a sudden you sit down at your meals and you're making different choices. You become more watchful. This is the spiritual reality there and for other Justine holy ends, so that whatsoever befalls any of his elect is by his appointment for his glory and their good. So lest we think that this issue of God's providence and using even the deeds of sinful men for his glory somehow does not cover the sinful deeds of Christians, just know that nothing could be further from the truth. And if you find yourself or have found yourself in one of these seasons, may I. Just urge you. To attend faithfully to the means of great those ordinary means of grace, the preaching of the word, baptism, the Lord's Supper, prayer be found there with the people of God. And let me just add this before I close, because I believe in this correlation. I believe that during this season, and again we don't need to get into I'm not trying to get into all of the governmental this or that or the other of our current situation. That's a whole another conference. Regardless of what you think or what you feel about shutdowns of churches, I know this. You cannot remove Christians from the ordinary means of grace for extended periods of time and not back there to be spiritual consequences in the lives of believers. And I'm not saying that just to point at government officials. Right we do need to point that. We do need to point at government officials and say that. But right here, right now, I'm pointing to you because some of you think that you could spend months away from the ordinary means of grace and just be okay. That's like an Olympic athlete believing that they could spend months away from training and then just wake up one day and go compete. That's how you pull something. Amen. So I'm saying we need to examine ourselves. Are you finding it easier to make excuses for not going to church? Are you finding it harder to be in the midst of the brethren? Are you finding it more difficult to attend to the. Word to pray? Just know, just know. That it's impossible for us to stay away from these ordinary means, and to stay away from the body and from the brethren without experiencing the ill effects thereof. And so when we do find ourselves there, remember the second half of this. Pray that God, by his grace would make you more dependent. Pray that God, by his grace would make you more watchful. Pray that God, by his grace would bring you to repentance and restore you to intimate fellowship. And know that God, in his providence, was not surprised, and that in his providence He's also giving you a way of escape and a way back home. Amen, let's pray