What is the reformed perspective of why God continues to give breath & life to those who are sinners in Adam?

score:3

Accepted answer

The issue lies in God knowing before he created anything that sin would corrupt the whole of his material creation. The Westminster Confession, a Reformed source, says this:

"III - Of God's Eternal Decree.

  1. God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.
  1. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions; yet hath he not decreed any thing because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions."

Why then, when creation has been corrupted by sin, does God allow sinful humans to exist, especially when God knew from before the creation that sin would enter into the world and death through sin? Here are two answers from the Bible:

Romans 9:22-24: What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

2 Peter 3:9 KJV: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

What is God’s end goal in Creation/Providence/The Fall? It is to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy because He wants sinners to repent. This is all part of His divine plan of Salvation, which plan was established before the creation. God knew sin would enter into the world, and death through sin. The resurrection of Christ Jesus defeated the accuser and opened up the way for humanity to be saved from their sinful condition. Instead of wiping out humanity God, in his infinite grace and mercy, makes known his power and silences those who rebel against Him. This is God’s perfect and good will and who are we to question Him?

By allowing sin to enter into the world and permitting sinners to live, God ultimately demonstrates His Sovereignty over creation, His Holiness, His Justice and His Mercy thereby bringing Him the glory, praise and honour that is His due.

P.S. I am a great fan of “The Pilgrims Progress from this world to that which is to come, delivered under the similitude of a dream”. John Bunyan refused to submit to the 1662 Act of Conformity when King Charles the second forced 2,000 Puritan pastors out of the Church of England. The book was inspired by the escape of Lot from Sodom, which is called the City of Destruction. Charles Spurgeon, a Reformed Baptist preacher, made several references to Bunyan’s characters in many of his sermons, some 200 years later.

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