The Pugilist: Sinners Don’t Need a Theodicy

Righteous men amid the evils of earth seek a theodicy—they want a justification of God; sinners do not need a theodicy—all too clear to them is the reason of their sufferings—they want a consolation, a justification from God. Paul’s words are in essence, then, not a theodicy but a consolation. Such a consolation can rest on nothing but a revelation; and Paul founds it on a revelation which he represents as of immanent knowledge in the Church: ‘We know,’ says he, “that all things work together for good to them that love God.” We bless God that we know it! For we are sinners, and what hope have we save in a God who is gracious rather than merely just? – B.B. Warfield, All Things Work Together for Good