Is God the Author of Sin? Yes and No!

In one of our previous blogs, I affirmed this, “we can say that “God is the author of evil or sin.” He ordained evil to take place; unless He does so, it won’t occur.”

Now, our confession clearly states that God is not the author of sin.

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.

LBCF 3.1

John Calvin also maintained this truth when he wrote his fifth argument against Pighius,

God is not made the author of evil deeds when he is said to lead the ungodly where he wills and to accomplish and execute his work through them, but rather we shall acknowledge that he is a wonderfully expert craftsman who can use even bad tools well. We shall be compelled to admire his justice, which not only finds a way through iniquity but also employs that very iniquity to a good end.

— John Calvin, The Bondage and Liberation of the Will: Book 2

In light of our confession and John Calvin’s statement, can we still affirm (carefully and fearfully) that God is the author of sin? How is God possibly be the author of sin and not commit sin? I think we are helped by one of the greatest theologians of all time, Jonathan Edwards. Hear him,

If by the Author of Sin, be meant the Sinner, the Agent, or Actor of Sin, or the Doer of a wicked thing; so it would be a reproach and blasphemy, to suppose God to be the Author of Sin. In this sense, I utterly deny God to be the Author of Sin; rejecting such an imputation on the Most High, as what is infinitely to be abhorred; and deny any such thing to be the consequence of what I have laid down. But if, by the Author of Sin, is meant the permitter, or not a hinderer of Sin; and, at the same lime, a disposer of the state of events, in such a manner, for wise, holy, and most excellent ends and purposes, that Sin, if it be permitted or not hindered, will most certainly and infallibly follow: I say, if this be all that is meant, by being the Author of Sin, I do not deny that God is the Author of Sin, (though I dislike and reject the phrase, as that which by use and custom is apt to carry another sense,) it is no reproach for the Most High to be thus the Author of Sin. This is not to be the Actor of Sin, but, on the contrary, of holiness. What God doth herein, is holy; and a glorious exercise of the infinite excellency of his nature.

J. Edwards. Works, 725-6 (emphasis mine)

David Alexander (Kindle Loc. 1316-1324) restates Edwards, “God is not the author of sin in the sense that God himself is—with respect to any specific sin—“the Sinner, the Agent, or Actor of Sin, or the Doer of a wicked thing.” So if by “author of sin” we mean that God is the doer of evil, the agent who actually performs the sinful act and with wicked intentions, then no, God is not the author of sin. Edwards says “it would be a reproach and blasphemy, to suppose God to be the Author of Sin” in that sense. It “is infinitely to be abhorred.” But according to Edwards, God is the author of sin in the sense that he ordained the existence of sin. He is “the Disposer and Orderer of Sin.” He is “a disposer of the state of events, in such a manner, for wise, holy, and most excellent ends and purposes, that Sin . . . will most certainly and infallibly follow.” So if by “author of sin” we mean “one who ordains that moral evil shall in fact occur,” then yes (says Edwards), that appears to be the repeated teaching of Scripture. But since God is not the author of sin in the first sense, he has no moral culpability or blame in the matter.”

Therefore, it is one thing to say that God is the author of sin to mean that He is the actor/doer of sin. This is objectionable and WE DENY THIS! It is another to say that God is the transcendent and holy author of sin as He is the willing and active permitter of sin. This is unobjectionable and WE AFFIRM THIS (though it must be articulated clearly as Edwards stated above)! The Proximate (secondary) and Remote (primary) cause also explain that the proximate cause is the doer of sin. God causes sin to occur but is not the actual actor of sin.

James Anderson further comments, “The core notion… is that sin is always a creaturely action and never a divine action. Creatures commit evil acts, but God never commits evil acts, even though he foreordains the evil acts of creatures—which is not the same thing at all.” (Calvinism and the Problem of Evil)

It is not the Transcendent God who sins but the creaturely agents who intend evil and act upon it. God authors the plot, and the actors act willing to commit the crime. The primary agent and secondary agent. The difference is the internal desires. They meant evil for evil. God meant evil for good. God does not have evil intentions. Evil doesn’t occur independently. No evil scheme outside of God’s powerful hand. The perpetrator cannot say that he is forced. The only sin that exists is that which exists in the heart of the perpetrator. The individual is culpable. God is the author in the One grand story of Redemption through His Son for His greater glory.

To God be the glory!

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References:

• Edwards, J. (1703-1758) (n.d.). The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume One. Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
• David E. Alexander; Daniel M. Johnson. Calvinism and the Problem of Evil. Pickwick Publications. Kindle Edition.
• Christensen, S. (2020). What about evil? : a defense of God’s sovereign glory. P&R Publishing.
• Calvin, J., Lane, A. N. S., & Davies, G. I. (1996). The bondage and liberation of the will : a defence of the orthodox doctrine of human choice against Pighius. Baker Books.

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