# A. A. Hodge on Westminster Confession 3.7 and reprobation



## Reformed Covenanter (May 26, 2021)

... This section teaches the following propositions: 1. That as God has sovereignly destinated certain persons, called the elect, through grace to salvation, so he has sovereignly decreed to withhold his grace from the rest; and that this withholding rests upon the unsearchable counsel of his own will, and is for the glory of his sovereign power.

2. That God has consequently determined to treat all those left in their sins with exact justice according to their own deserts, to the praise of his justice, which demands the punishment of all unexpiated sin. This decree of reprobation, as it is called, is the aspect which God’s eternal purpose presents in its relation to that portion of the human family which shall be finally condemned for their sins. Reprobation consists of two elements, the negative and the positive. In its negative aspect God does not elect the reprobate, but “passes over” him; in this God is absolutely sovereign, resting upon His good pleasure alone, since those passed over are no worse than those elected. Positively, reprobation is not sovereign, but purely judicial, since God has determined to treat the reprobate according to what they deserve. This doctrine, instead of being inconsistent with the principles of absolute justice, necessarily follows from the application of those principles to the case in hand. ...

For more, see A. A. Hodge on Westminster Confession 3.7 and reprobation.


----------

