4. The Divine permission of sin.
It has been and is asked whether God's behavior toward the sin of man is to be described as "permission". However, Scripture also describes God's behavior toward the sins of men as permission (permissio), Ps. 81:13: "I have left them [the people of the Jews] in the stupor of their hearts"; Acts 14:16: εϊασε πάντα τά εϑνη (the heathen) walk their own ways. So the expression "admission" is not objectionable. The Scripture
1492) In Quenstedt I, 782.
1493) Rom. 2:15; 1:32; Ps. 14:1, 5. Dr. L. T. Townsend, Bible Theology and Modern Thought, 1883, p. 162: "A friend of Voltaire once wrote him these words: Ί have succeeded in getting rid of the idea of hell.' Voltaire replied: 'Allow me to congratulate you; I am far from that.'"
597 ><w:t xml:space="preserve"> Divine Providence. [English ed. 491-492]
addresses it in this way. However, this does not fully describe God's activity with regard to sins. According to the Scriptures, God is also active in sins in the way that he rebukes sins with sins according to his punitive justice, Rom. 1:24, 28: διό (because of their idolatry) παρέδωκεν αυτούς ό ϑεός ... εις άκαϑαροίαν, εις άδόκιμον νουν. Especially also 2 Thess. 2:11-12: διά τοϋτο [namely, because they did not accept the love of the truth] πέμπει αντοΐς δ ϑεός ένέργειαν πλάνης εις τό πιστενσαι αντονς τω φενδει, ΐνα κριϑώσιν άπαντες οΐ μη πιστεύσαντες τη άληϑεία. (F. C. XI, 722, 83 [Trigl. 1091, 83 🔗])
As far as God's involvement in good actions is concerned, it is to be noted on the basis of Scripture: 1. The civil good actions (iustitia civilis) in unbelievers God works according to his general world government through the natural conscience, Rom. 2:14: The heathen, who do not have God's law, do by nature (φύσει) the work of the law. This civil righteousness has great value in the kingdoms of this world because it makes possible the coexistence of men (civil society).1494) 2) The spiritual good actions (iustitia spiritualis) God works in his kingdom of grace, that is, through the special action of the Holy Spirit in the Word. This effect is found only in faithful Christians, and indeed God works in Christians not merely the ability to do good (potentiam agendi), but also the act itself (ipsum agendi actum), Phil. 2:13: και τό ϑέλειν και τό ένεργεΐν. According to 2 Cor. 3:5, God also works the λογίζεσϑαι, which belongs to the right direction of the ministry. Rom. 8:13 teaches that the actual killing of the business of the flesh is done πνεύματι ϑεον.