But although God by his providence governs even sins, yet he is not the cause or author of sin: because he takes no delight in sin, but rather abhors it; nor does he himself sin, or can he sin; likewise because he neither commands nor persuades sin; nor does he pour malice into those who sin, nor compel them to sin; and moreover he directs all things to a good end.

God does not infuse malice into the wills of evil men, as He infuses goodness into the hearts of the godly.—In one and the same work of the godly what is a good and just action proper to God is to be distinguished from the defect and vice of the ungodly. The sin of the wicked is their own; their doing this or that by sinning is of God’s power,—and so in the same work God is ascertained to be righteous, man to be guilty.

Yes, there is even in ourselves sin and corruption enough, so that there is no need that God should infuse into us either a new or greater measure of wickedness. Therefore, when God is said in the Scripture to harden (Ex. 7:13), to blind (John 12:40) and to deliver us up into a reprobate sense (Rom. 1:28), it is to be understood that God does it by just judgment, as a just judge and avenger.

Although all the power of the creature to act is from the Creator, and there is a providence of God always extended to every creature, and to every action of the creature; yet we judge that the final corruption of the creature, and the sinfulness of the creature’s action, is from the creature, and not from God; and that it is a great sin to say that God is the author of sin (Eccl. 7:29; Hab. 1:13; James 1:13–15: 1 Cor. 14:33; 1 John 2:16).

Yet we deny that He is the author of sin, or that the blame of things done amiss can be laid upon Him, seeing His will is the sovereign and infallible rule of all righteousness and equity: but this we confess that He has those admirable means as whereby He makes the devils and the ungodly, as His instruments to serve Him and to turn the evil which they do and whereof they are guilty into good.