Originally posted by humblejoe
I'm asking for a Reformed perspective...
If God Sovereignly predestined all actions, of all humans, for all time, then how can a person be held accountable for something that he or she could not help but do?
God does not predestine a person's sin in the sense that He is not the cause of them sinning. The unregenerate sin because that is their nature. They are only acting in accordance with their fallen nature. God is under no obligation to redeem anyone. I think that's the thing that most people tend to forget. I think many also tend to forget that, though complex, we are still just a creation. Additionally, no where in the Bible does it say that God works all things to the good of everyone. His Will is not for everyone to be conformed to the image of His Son, else that's exactly what would happen. The unregenerate and regenerate alike are tools that the Lord uses to develop in us those characteristics that are godly.
The issue with an unregenerate person claiming innocence for only acting in accordance with their nature which God left them with fall far short of justifiable. God does not make them sin. He just does not give them the grace necessary to overcome that sinfulness. Is God obligated to do so? No. Therefore, is God accountable for the fallen, continual behavior of unregenerate man? Of course not. There is not, nor has there ever been, a person who has never sinned against God, with the exception of Christ. Bearing that in mind, no one could justifiably say, "Hey, God, I never sinned. You don't have a right condemn me."
You see, the wages of sin is death. That's each sin. If you only sinned once and then never again guess what God would be justified in doing? Condeming you for that sin. You broke His Law and He told you what the penalty for that was. Death. God does not make a man sin. He does, however, give some the grace necessary to not do so occasionally. Is God required to do so? No. Are we in a position to question God about His actions towards His own creation? No. Does God seek our counsel? No. Some may say, that's not fair. They're right. Fair would be for God to condemn everyone who has ever broken His Law. Hmmm...that would be everyone.
The issue is that many claim innocence because "that's the way God made me." If you have a weakness for sweets and I leave a piece of candy in your vicinity and you decide to take it, am I responsible for you doing that? No. Nor is God responsible when we respond to things in an ungodly way, whether we are saved or unsaved. The saved, however, are not enslaved to that sinful nature and yet even though we have been given all thing pertaining to life and godliness, we still sin. Truth is, God would be justified in condemning everyone. The fact that He doesn't is His grace, not His inequity.
God bless
