Deep Dive into Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin - God So Uses the Works of the Ungodly, And So Bends Their Minds to Carry Out His Judgments, That He Remains Pure from Every Stain

According to Calvin, God's sovereignty is absolute, and His will is the ultimate cause of all events, including the actions of both the righteous and the wicked. He firmly rejects the idea that God merely permits evil, arguing that Scripture reveals God as actively willing, decreeing, and directing all things for His purposes. This active governance extends even to the hearts and minds of individuals, influencing their thoughts and actions according to God's predetermined plan. A crucial aspect of Calvin's understanding is the distinction between God's secret will (His decrees or providence) and His revealed will (His precepts or commands). While God's sovereign plan encompasses all that comes to pass, including sinful actions, His moral law condemns those actions. God can secretly will an event and use the wicked choices of individuals to achieve it without being the author of sin or excusing the sinner's guilt. Individuals remain responsible for their actions because they deliberately break God's known precepts out of their own evil desires and intentions. God uses even the ungodly to carry out His judgments by directing their malice and bending their minds toward His predetermined ends. Scriptural examples like Satan's interaction with Job, the deception of Ahab, and the crucifixion of Christ illustrate this active use. Despite being instruments in God's hands, the wicked are not absolved of their culpability as God judges them based on what they willed to do. Calvin addresses the apparent paradox of God willing what He forbids by asserting that God's will is fundamentally one and simple, but it appears manifold to our limited human understanding. Our inability to fully grasp how God can will and not will something simultaneously should lead to humble acceptance of scriptural teachings. In essence, God's sovereignty and human responsibility coexist, albeit in a way that often exceeds our comprehension, with God's ultimate justice and purity remaining intact. Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian Patreon: patreon.com/edi_reformed