Westminster Confession

Bible Study

 

Chapter 5: Providence

Section 2:  Primary and Secondary Causality

 

By: Moses Flores

 

 

In our last study, we learned of the doctrine of providence and its significance as God’s plan of provision for the sustaining of the world and the outworking of His eternal decree.  We saw that God’s plan is exhaustive and meticulous covering all things in the world, from the greatest to the least. The Scriptures tell us that the very hairs on our heads are numbered (cf. Matt. 10:30) showing the minutest detail of God’s governance and rule.  God did not merely create and leave creation to fend for itself.  Rather, He constantly upholds and sustains and brings to pass His will at every moment in creation.

This is easy to deal with and to accept until we come to moral creatures.  How is it that God is able to do all that He pleases and plans and still be able to hold creatures responsible for their actions?  How does God bring about His will without intruding on the creature so much that the creature does not have to bear responsibility for the acts committed within God’s plan.  For instance, some have reasoned that since Judas was prophecied to betray Christ, therefore, he bears no responsibility for his actions and is not punishable for them.  However, the Scriptures clearly condemn Judas as a traitor.  How can this be?

The Westminster Confession says this in regards to these questions:

 

“Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first Cause, all things come to pass immutably, and infallibly; yet, by the same providence, He ordereth them to fall out, according to the nature of secondary causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.” 

 

            In this section of our study, we will explore what the Westminster divines meant by “primary” and “secondary” causes in order to address the issue of responsibility within the providence of God. 

 

Primary and Secondary Causes

 

            What is causality?  Causality, as philosophically defined, is the logical relationship between one event (the cause) and its consequence (the effect).  Sometimes, logicians and philosophers will use the Latin phrase ad hoc ergo propter hoc which means, “after this, therefore because of this,” in order to show some sort of causal relationship between two things.  Causality is a relationship that exists between events, properties, variables or states of affairs.  In other words, we could say, being very general, that a bowling ball caused the pins to be knocked down. 

            Now, the philosopher Aristotle distinguished between several types of causality.  For instance, he defined “formal cause” as the intended end of something (the pins being knocked down), as well as an “efficient cause”, or that external agent which acts upon the object (in this case, the bowler throwing the bowling ball), along with other types of causes.  We need not burden ourselves with Aristotle’s division of causality, but it is important that we recognize a relationship with causes and effects.  It is important that we understand what a “primary” or “first” cause is though.  In this context, the “primary cause” is the sovereign decree and plan of God to bring to pass all that happens in the world.  God is said to be the primary cause because all things happen as He causes them to happen.  A “secondary cause”, on the other hand, is the other “causes” that God uses to bring about His will. 

            For instance, if it is true that God decrees all things that come to pass, then we say that God’s plan, or providence, is the primary cause.  Something happens because that is the way God planned it to happen.  He designed it in such a way. But the agency that God may use to bring about the plan may either be His own, or through some other agency.  That is, God may use the will of other people to will certain events in his plan.  These are “secondary causes”.  For instance, in Genesis 50, in the story of Joseph, we can say that God had intended for all that happened in Joseph’s life to happen including the evil and horrible acts of his brothers and even Potiphar’s wife.  Yet, the Scripture is equally clear in saying that the brother’s had their own intentions.  God’s plan was to bring Joseph to a point to fulfill the dream He had given Joseph in which his brothers bowed to him.  But God used the very real will and intentions of his brothers.  Their will and intention were the secondary causes that God used to bring about His eternal plan.

            Thus, throughout Scripture we see God using the wills of men to bring about circumstances that God had ordained from the foundations of the world.  As stated before in a previous study, “This ordainment does not mean, however, that God is the author of sin (He is not), that he represses the will of the His created being, or that He takes away the freedom or contingency of secondary causes.  Rather, the will of created beings and the freedom and contingency of secondary causes are established by Him” (WCF 3.1).  God uses the will of the creatures as they desire to bring about His own plan and will.  Thus, when we say that God causes something, we are not saying that God’s will functions through the will of the creature of that the creature has no will or desires.  God uses the real will of the creature according to the nature of the creature to bring about His plan.  If the creature is sinful, then God can use sinners without He Himself committing their sins.  The creature sins; not the Creator.

            Theologically, this is referred to as the doctrine of concurrence.  To concur is to be in agreement with something or someone.  We have already seen the doctrine of concurrence as part of our study on the Decrees of God in regards to human freedom.  According to the doctrine of concurrence, God uses the creatures according to their nature, will and desires to bring about His will.

            For instance, in Isaiah 10, the prophet tells of the coming judgment against the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  He says,

 

“What will you do in the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar?  To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?  Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain.  For all this His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still.” (Isa. 10:3-4)

 

            These words meant certain doom for Israel.  They would soon be punished for their transgressions against God.  But notice the means that God would use to bring about this judgment. 

 

“Ah, Assyrian, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!  Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” (Isa. 10:5-6)

 

            In God’s sovereign control, God is using the Assyrians as His instrument of punishment; as the “rod” of His anger.  It is God who “sends” and “commands” the Assyrians.  This is in according with Proverbs 21:1 which says, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hands of the LORD; He turns it wherever He will.”  It is also in accord with the words of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, who said in all humility,

 

“…I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever, for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to His will among the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’”

(Dan. 4:34-35)

 

            God is using the King of Assyria and his armies to bring about His own judgment upon the nation of Israel.  Now, it must be said that Assyria was an “up and coming” nation by this point and was out conquering and expanding its own empire.  Notice what the prophet says next:

 

“But he does not intend, and his heart does not so think;  but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few; for he says, ‘Are not my commanders all kings?  Is not Calno like Carcemish?  Is not Hamath like Arpad?  Is not Samaria like Damascus?  And my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images?”

 

            Notice the intentions of the king of Assyria; essentially, he is just out conquering cities and taking kingdoms for his own.  That is why he boasts “Are not my commanders all kings?  Is not Calno like Carcemish?  Is not Hamath like Arpad?  Is not Samaria like Damascus?...shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images?”  These are all conquered territories that were overtaken through the strength of Assyria.  The kings intention is not functioning as an instrument of the justice and wrath of Almighty God.  “He does not intend” this.  Nevertheless, he is being used by the providence of God.

            We note that God did not force, or coerce, the king of Assyria to be such a warlord.  He was not sitting around doing nothing when all of a sudden God puts a divine gun to his back and says, “Go and kill lots of people and steal and plunder!”  No, it was already in the heart of the King.  That is why the Scripture here shows his intention.  He intends to conquer as an act of his own pride and boastfulness of power.  It is in his heart, says the Scripture to destroy and cut off nations.

            According to the doctrine of concurrence, God is using the Assyrian as he is by nature.  God uses the corrupted, prideful and boastful will and desires of the Assyrian to bring about His own holy purposes.  Scripture is clear that these belong to the Assyrian and not God.  Thus, the “primary cause” is the providence and will of God, but the “secondary cause” is the Assyrian.  He is the one responsible for his own sinful desires and will.  Scripture proves this by saying,

 

“When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes.  For he says, ‘By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.  My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples; and as one gathers all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped.’  Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?  As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!  Therefore the Lord God of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire.”  (Isa. 10:12-16)

 

            Here is a clear example of God using a sinful thing according to its nature as a “secondary cause” as part of His providence.  God uses the Assyrian as a sinful thing.  God is not making a sinful choice for the Assyrian, or through the Assyrian.  Again, he uses the creatures in concurrence with what they are and what God wills. 

            This is just one example of the doctrine of concurrence in Scripture.  Another example already noted is that of Joseph and His brothers.  God used the sinful intentions of his brothers, the sinful desires of Potiphar’s wife, and all that had occurred to Joseph “for good” (Gen. 50:20) in order to save many lives.  Again, two different wills and desires present in one act. God’s will intending good (cf. Rom. 8:28) and Joseph’s brother’s intending evil all in the beating and selling of Joseph to slavery.  Most prophecy takes place in this way, like with Judas, who didn’t intend to fulfill prophecies of betraying the Lord, but did so according to the Scriptures.  Judas was not walking around with a “prophecy to-do checklist” checking off things he had to do in order to betray Christ according to the Scriptures.  He did so according to his own will in concurrence with the will of God. 

Thus, even though God plans and foreordains everything that has ever, is, and shall come to pass, God is not necessarily the one who is using His own will as the effective cause to bring about events.  Rather, God can and does use the will of the creatures as part of His plan to bring about events as He plans and ordains.   

 

Necessary, Free and Contingent Providence

 

 

            Upon distinguishing between “primary” and “secondary” causes, the Westminster then goes on to say that God causes these causes to “fall out, according to the nature of secondary causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.”  That is, the secondary causes are what happen necessarily, freely or contingently as they bring about God’s providence.  What does the Westminster mean by these terms?  What are we to understand about secondary causes that are “necessary”, “free” and “contingent”? 

            What are “necessary secondary causes”?  Remember that a secondary cause is a medium which brings about the will of God.  Thus, in defining a “necessary” secondary cause, we can say that it is a medium used in its necessary nature to bring about God’s will or as something necessary that must take place in God’s plan.  

            Most Scripture references in the Westminster Confession point to things that happen in nature that are fairly consistent to the point of saying they are necessary.  However, I think we must look beyond mere “ordinary” occurrences in the created order to understand “necessary secondary causes”.  After all, recall that something is “necessary” if it cannot be otherwise.  Creation could have been different in many ways.  Since it could have been different, it is not necessary but rather contingent. 

            Thus, more than necessity in the ordinary providence of God, “necessary secondary causes” particularly include those things which must take place in order for God’s will to be done, especially in redemption.  For instance, in the Bible we come across many things that are “necessary” in order for redemption to take place.  For instance, we can and must say that in order for redemption to take place, it is necessary that a fall into sin must occur.  After all, God had no need to save or redeem the righteous for they are not lost.  It is sinners who are in need of redemption; sinners need a propitiatory sacrifice in order to stand before God.  It was also necessary that God’s justice be met out in some creature able to endure the necessary punishment God was obligated to give out according to his justice and righteousness. 

St. Anselm argues along similar grounds in his work, “Cur Deus Homo?”, translated roughly as “why the God-man?”  That is, why did Christ, the second person of the Trinity have to become a man?  Was it necessary?  After rigorous exploration of the nature of God, it becomes clear that the only one who can atone on behalf of creatures must himself be a creature, yet He must also be fully divine in order to actually endure the punishment and not die, thus leaving the whole human race to perish for lack of a substitute.  Anselm reasons that it was thus necessary that the incarnation – the place where God and man were united, two natures – should take place in the one person of Jesus Christ.

Understanding “necessary secondary causes” this way makes it easy to see what other things fall under “necessary secondary causes.”  Things like the obedience of Christ; had Christ faltered but once our hope for salvation would have been utterly lost.  The substitutionary penal death of Jesus Christ; had Christ not died for us, we would have to atone for our own sins.  Christ resurrection even; had Christ not been raised from the dead, we would not have proof that His sacrifice had been accepted by the Father.  Paul argues that our faith would be in vain and making God out to be a liar even (cf. I Cor. 15). 

But it is not only with Christ’s work, but with the Spirit’s as well.  We have already seen in a previous study the necessary means of salvation in the “Chain of Redemption”.  For instance, we saw that preaching the Gospel, hearing the Gospel is a necessary means that God has ordained for salvation to come to anybody.  We have seen the necessity of the New Birth, of faith and repentance, of justification and sanctification all to get us to our final goal of glorification.  These things are secondary causes. 

Remember that a primary cause is something that God does directly without any other means but His will and His word.  For instance, creation is something that God primarily caused.  He is directly responsible for its coming to being and formation.  The Triune God alone – without any other means – willed, spoke and worked creation into being and order.  This is how we would understand God’s primary, or direct, causation.  If we were to understand redemption and even human acts in creation as primary, then salvation would be quite different from the means that we see.  We would see God regenerating without the preaching of the Gospel.  We would see “instant converts” as we are walking casually down the street.   God would be doing it all Himself without any of our acts at all concurring with His. 

But obviously this presents problems especially with issues like justification.  For instance, if God were to act without means in order to justify sinners, that could mean that God would override His own holy standards and justify without the atonement.  But then, what of God’s righteousness?  What of His justice?  It is necessary that God act within and according to His own nature and nothing less.  He is God.  Therefore, when the creature sins against Him, it is necessary that justice be met out.  So, atonement becomes necessary.  And what of faith?  Well, if our natures are totally inclined toward sin (cf. I Cor. 2:12-14, Romans 8:7-8) then it is obvious that we could never want Christ, much less work for Him or His atoning work.  How would a sinner then appropriate the work of Christ to themselves?  Not by works, but, as deemed necessary by God, through faith. 

Necessary secondary means shouldn’t be difficult to understand when we understand the things that God must do, in accordance with His own nature and character in order to save us especially.  In regards to how God ordinarily governs creation, we will see in our next section of the Westminster Confession that these are not “necessary” in any sense in that God must do them in order to save us, or in that they are necessary for us in order to be saved.  But we have seen certain examples of “necessary secondary causes” to be able to know, in one sense, the basic “framework” of God’s providential plan for time.  The rest – free and contingent secondary causes – are the adorning of God’s plan and express His wisdom and creativity to His own glory.

 

God also uses things “freely” which is to say according to their nature (for non-moral things like nature) or, more specifically with regards to moral agents, according to the “voluntary intentions of the agents”.  For instance, in nature, God uses things like wind as wind according to characteristics and properties of wind.  For instance, when the Israelites were in “a rock and hard place” between the coming Egyptian army with Pharaoh and the Red Sea, God provided a way through the Red Sea.  Most people infer God’s primary causation in the parting of the Red Sea, but a closer reading of the account reveals that God used a “strong east wind” that lasted all night in order to bring about their salvation from Pharaoh’s army (cf. Exodus 14:21).  God used the wind and what it could do according to its own nature as wind.  He governed it like wind doing what wind can do. When he uses animals, like lions, he uses them as what they are and for his purposes (cf. I Kings 13:24).  As mentioned earlier, God used the King of Assyria according to his own voluntary intentions in his own heart.  God did not take a righteous king and somehow make him evil and desirous to conquer.  He used the creatures own intentions as a secondary cause to bring about His own will, the primary cause.  This could be said of all God’s use of evil to bring about His glory.  It is necessary that God uses an agent, or secondary cause, that is evil but the creature acts out freely. God does not create evil in the creature, rather God allows the creature to act out its own intentions and desires.  Again, God is not evil but He can sovereignly allow evil through the will and agency of a creature.  He can also sovereignly use it to bring about whatsoever He wills.  More will be said about God’s providential control over evil in section 3.

 

Finally, God uses secondary causes in a contingent way.  When something is contingent, this means that in order for X to be brought about, certain conditions must be met.  For instance, in the Bible, God often uses contingencies in order to urge people to repentance and righteousness.  For instance, sometimes, prophets prophesy in such a way that they do not reveal the decretive will of God but rather urge that people that the character of God is such that if they will do good, they will be blessed; but if they do evil they will be judged.  Thus, if a nation (O.T. example) ceases to do good, it is the essential nature of God to punish wickedness.  However, if they turn from their evil, they will entreat God’s favor for it is also within the essential nature of God to bless obedience. 

The Scriptures clearly presents this concept is several passages of Scripture.  One example of this type of prophecy is found in Jeremiah 18:1-10.

 

“The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, ‘Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.’  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel.  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying; ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the LORD.  ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hands, so are you in My hand, O Israel!’  The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.  And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.”

 

            Notice that this vision is about the absolute sovereignty of God in blessing and in judgment.  Hence, the imagery of a potter who can manipulate and mold the clay as it seems good to him.  Second, notice the generality in which God speaks about the morality of nations and kingdoms.  He says that if judgment has been pronounced against them and that nation then repents from its evil ways, then God will relent concerning the judgment He was going to bring on them.  Likewise, if a nation or kingdom is experiencing God’s providential blessings yet commences to do evil in the sight of the Lord, then God will relent concerning His blessings on that nation and bring about His judgment.  This is a revelation of the character of God and how He deals with our sin.  That is, it is in accordance with the eternal attribute of the righteousness of God to bless those –whether individuals or nations – who do righteousness.  It is also in accordance with the eternal attributes of God’s holiness, righteousness and justice to judge sin whether on individuals or nations.  It is also in accordance with the eternal attributes of God’s mercy and grace to turn away from His wrath on the conditions of faith and repentance toward God.  That this is the true understanding of the text is seen from the following passage in Jeremiah 18:11 in which God says:

 

“Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you.  Repent now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.”

 

            In verses 1-10, God reveals to Jeremiah and to His covenant people what His character is like, namely that God will relent of evil if His people will place their faith again in God and repent of their wicked ways.  Here, he tells them that He is already making plans for their demise but if they repent and make their ways good, God will turn away from that which He is preparing for them.  Other passages that bring this out include Jeremiah 26:3, 13, 19. 

            These passages teach that many prophecies concerning the judgment and blessing of God are contingent upon obedience to the commandments of God (compare Deut. 28).  God sovereignly reserves the right to execute or cancel these according to how the people receive the warnings of God given by the prophets.  But if God relents concerning evil or good, it in no way changes His essential nature or attributes.  He is not added to or taken away from, but merely acting according to His eternal nature and attributes.  In fact, it is God’s covenant faithfulness that makes Him act differently toward men.  His covenant terms for blessing and curse laid out in Deuteronomy 28 clearly comes out as contingent:  “If you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God….then blessings; But if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God…then curses.”

            Many often accuse the book of Hebrews as teaching that salvation may be lost especially in the light of such passages as Hebrews 6:1-4 and Hebrews 10:26-31.  This is not the case at all though.  God uses contingencies not only to prevent us from experiencing his wrath, but also to spur us on in our faith!  Such is how the book of Hebrews should be read.

            Sometimes, however, it is not obedience or lack of it that God uses as contingencies.  Sometimes it is also prayer.  For instance, in Genesis 18, God reveals to Abraham His imminent judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham, knowing that his nephew Lot is still in the city, begins to plead with God to spare the city.  He does this by essentially questioning the righteousness of God by asking, “shall not the judge of all the Earth do right?”(v25).  Notice what God says, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes” (v26).  Abraham, probably aware of the wickedness that is in Sodom, asks God if He would spare the city for forty-five; God says he will spare it for forty-five righteous people.  Again, Abraham talks God down to forty; then to thirty; then to twenty; then to ten.  Each time, God reduced the number of people for whom He would spare the cities. 

            God is not changing His will here at all for Sodom was still destroyed and if God was telling the truth about for how many He would spare the cities, then we must only assume that God did not find even ten righteous in the city.  Instead, we see that Abraham was able to talk with God about His righteousness and ask God to be true to His eternal nature, namely His attributes of justice and righteousness.  God actually shows that He is willing to remain true to His nature, especially when His children pray to him about being so.  This is just like Christians claiming for God to be true to His promises.  God did not change His mind about anything.  Rather, He revealed to Abraham His essential nature and the same principles from Deuteronomy 28 and Jeremiah 18: that if a group of people or individual will do righteousness, then they will be blessed, but if they will do evil then they will merit the fierce wrath and judgment of God.  Thus, Abraham’s prayer to God is used to show that God will allow prayer to serve as a means of God relenting from evil.  In this case, God did not relent from His evil but this is because He was true to His essential nature.        

            Another example where God uses prayer as a means of “relenting” is found in Exodus 32.  In context, Moses has gone up to Mount Sinai to receive the law of God while the people below have begun to engage in idolatrous practices.  At one point, God tells Moses, “Now, therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them.  And I will make of you a great nation” (Exo. 32:10).  Here, it appears that God is about to jettison His covenant people and start a new covenant with Moses and make Him the head of the covenant.  Moses, however, quickly prays:

 

“LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?  Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm the, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’?  Turn from your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”  (v11-13)

 

            Moses uses intercessory prayer as a means of asking God to be true to His covenant promises.  Now, in a sense, Israel had wickedly jettisoned God by making idols.  God was probably justified in wanting to destroy Israel.  However, Moses is allowed to plead with God on the basis of the character of God, which is unchanging, and asks God to be true to His Word given to him and to his forefathers.  After this, the Bible says, “so the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people”(v14).

            Both of these verses illustrate that God has contingent judgments that may be changed by means of prayer.  These are times when God, within His character, still leaves room for repentance from wickedness or has ordained that prayer to Him be the factor that withholds his judgments.

           

A practical word about secondary causes

 

Although God is the only sovereign ruler of the universe and His will alone is always accomplished, Christians should not rest so much in this truth of God’s providential governance of the universe that they “Let go and Let God.”  Such is a fatalistic attitude wrapped up in Christian clothing.  Many Christians often like to speak of this way about life:  “Well, you just have to let go of everything and let God do it all!”  While such talk may seem pious and holy, it is actually an attempt to debunk God’s use of secondary causes. 

            As Christians, especially in the Reformed tradition, we tend to overemphasize God’s sovereignty to the point that we lose sight of our own responsibility in the plan and decrees of God.  We say things like, “Why am I not growing in holiness?”  “How come such and such didn’t happen in my life?”  “Lord, how come I am not growing in knowledge of You?”  The answer to these questions involves what we know as “the means of grace”.  These are things that God ordains as necessary for growth in sanctification and knowledge of Him.  Yet these holiness and knowledge are not merely imparted to us like in the Matrix where one can simply gain knowledge and behavior through a computer software.  Rather, God has ordained our responsibility in doing things like prayer, reading and studying the Scriptures, partaking of the sacraments, etc…

            We should never simply abandon all things to God along with abandoning our own responsibility as well.  God still requires that we do.  I once heard an illustration of a man who was trapped on his rooftop during a torrential downpour while his city was being flooded.  As rescue workers in a boat came by to rescue him he replied to them, “I’m waiting for God to save me.”  A second time they came around and this time the waters were much higher and again he replied, “I’m waiting for God to save me.”  Finally, the third time the rescue team came around it was in a helicopter and the waters had almost overtaken the man but he refused their help saying to them, “I’m waiting for God to rescue me.”  Well the man died.  When he got to heaven he asked God, “Lord, I waited and waited for you to save me and you never did!  What not?”  To which the Lord responded, “I sent you a boat crew twice, and even a helicopter, but you refused Me each time.”  The point of the story is that God uses ordinary things to bring about His will and those ordinary things involve human responsibility as well. 

            God wants us to study the Scriptures and pray to get to know Him.  Many Christians complain that they aren’t far in their Christian faith and that they are not “where they want to be”.  Yet the will of God for all Christians is their sanctification.  A Puritan by the name of William Gurnall who wrote the “Christian in Complete Armour” once said, “Do not pretend to want to be led into all truth if you will not bother to study the whole Word of God.  You are no different from a child who says he wants to learn, yet plays the truant.”  Secondary causes secures our responsibility in the decretive will of God especially in things in which God wills and desires for all His children to have.

 

Conclusion

 

 

            So although God has decreed and foreordained all things that shall come to pass and has planned out all things according to His most wise and holy providence, God is not necessarily the immediate or effectual cause of all things.  Rather, He uses “secondary causes” – created mediums with their own nature and wills and intentions – to execute His plan decreed from before the ages.  God uses His creation to establish necessary secondary causes, especially within nature.  He also uses His creation in accordance with it own nature or intentions which He sovereignly controls.  But He is also able to use secondary causes in a contingent sort of way so that some things – which are very real possibilities – may or may not have to be, yet fully decreeing those contingencies and the outcome thereof. 

            We should take comfort in knowing that there is no thing that God cannot use no matter how “fixed” it seems, or what its nature maybe be.  There is no thing that God cannot use to bring about His own will to His glory.  There is no thing that escapes God’s plan.  Even the remotest molecules in space that seemingly have no significance to us are all being used and governed according to the providence of God.  And God, in His providence, also allows us to see contingencies that may be and He may use them to spur us to action like prayer, or more study of the Bible, or rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, etc…even spurring us on to greater commitment and faithfulness to Him.