The Bible teaches that God decrees, causes, and controls all things. God’s sovereignty is both exhaustive and effectual. He does not only arrange all things to happen, but he causes all things to happen. This means that he is the author of sin, in the sense that he is the metaphysical cause of thoughts, decisions, actions, and events that he himself has defined as sinful.

Although the distinction should be obvious, it is important to point out a common confusion. To say that God authors or causes sin is not to say that God commits or morally approves sin, that is, to approve sin in the preceptive sense. The Bible defines sin as the transgression of God law. God has revealed his definition of right and wrong for human thought and behavior, and to do what he forbids, or to fail to do what he commands, is to sin. There is no law that says God must not cause sin; therefore, when God causes sin, he does not commit or morally approve sin. If our doctrine falls short of stating that God ordains and causes sin, then we should admit that we reject the biblical doctrine, that he exercises total power over all things.

As expected, there are many attempts at refutation. But the teaching is what God has revealed about himself. He demands us to believe it, and more than that, to like it. To refuse to believe it or to refuse to like it is to insult his nature and character. It is to suggest that there is something wrong with him. To insist that he is not like this is to refuse to accept him as he is. Many Christians find it difficult to accept God as he is. This is just another way of saying that they do not like him. And even those who exalt his sovereignty place a limit on him, and lecture him lest he asserts his direct sovereignty too far, even to the realm of sin and evil. But we are of a different breed. We affirm that God’s sovereignty is exhaustive and effectual, and extends to all things, even to sin and evil. He teaches us this. We believe it, and we like it.

One of the attempts against the doctrine takes this form: “If God ordains and causes all things, then this also applies to the rape of a child.” Whether this is stated as an observation or a rhetorical question, there is no argument here that compels an answer that is more than a simple “Yes.” If God ordains and causes all things, then of course this applies to the rape of a child, or to five billion children. There is no refutation.

This is an emotional grenade. Its power is in the popular sentiment that the welfare of children is one of the supreme principles under which all other things are subservient. In this case, the grenade is thrown against the honor and power of God. Even so, it is one that has a considerable chance of success, because even those who call themselves Christians would eagerly place the welfare of children far above their reverence for God. These are, of course, bad Christians. But there are many bad Christians. In fact, many people would put their pets above their religion. Thus one could expect success with: “If God ordains and causes all things, then this also applies to your dog’s indigestion.” At this, it would not surprise me even a little if someone would either abandon the doctrine of divine sovereignty and retreat to a finite theism, or turn against God for hurting his innocent puppy.

We must not back away from the biblical doctrine, but we must advance and attack those who seek to undermine the glory of God, and make them regret their insolence. Instead of absorbing the opponent’s blow, we ought to take the grenade and throw it back in his face.

The Bible says that even Christ’s crucifixion was foreordained by God (Acts 2:23, 4:28), and that “it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer” (Isaiah 53:10). The rape of a child is indeed terrible. Anyone who commits such a crime should be executed. But even the rape of a child, or fifteen trillion children, is still insignificant compared to the shame and suffering that the divine Christ had to endure. Can you not see, that if you are offended at this, or even a little uncomfortable, it says something about you? It tells me that you treasure children more than God, and more than Jesus Christ. Your values are man-centered.

We are but dust, and should continuously give thanks that we are allowed to live. But the Most High ordained and caused his own Son, a person of infinite glory and value, to visit sinners and to receive insults, persecution, and even death from them. If the opponent is ignorant of this, it exposes him as incompetent. If he assumes that we would care more about the child, then he assumes that we are bad Christians. In many cases he would be on target, but not this time. And even if some stumble over this, it still does not refute the doctrine, but it means only that the opponent has discovered some bad Christians. And if the opponent claims to be a Christian, then he has exposed himself as a bad Christian. He cares more for a child than he does the Lord Jesus.