Dignity of Causation

One of the most crippling convictions held by believers today is the idea that everything that happens is the will of God. It is a poisonous belief that will destroy your confidence in God; you will end up believing terrible things about him. The news report about a pack of teenage boys who repeatedly raped a little girl with Down’s syndrome. That is the will of God???

Listen very carefully. The Bible makes it perfectly clear that God never causes anyone to sin: “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers” (James 1:13–16).

God does not tempt, nor does he cause you to sin. But people sin every day, and their sins have devastating consequences. So there are all kinds of events happening every day that are not caused by God. Remember — we live in a world where God has granted to human beings and to angels the dignity of causation, the dignity of making things happen. You get to make things happen, just as God does. God did not cause Adam and Eve to sin, nor did he prevent them from doing so. And their sin had staggering consequences.

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