Renewing Your Mind — “God or Chance?” (November 26, 2025)

Main Theme and Purpose

This episode, hosted by Nathan W. Bingham and featuring the teaching of Dr. R.C. Sproul, delves into the doctrine of God’s providence, examining the question: Does everything happen according to God’s sovereign will, or is there room in the universe for pure chance? Using the story of the Ark of the Covenant’s capture in 1 Samuel, Dr. Sproul explores how Scripture affirms that nothing happens outside God’s ordination, and challenges listeners to consider what a belief in “chance” implies about God.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. God’s Sovereignty: Nothing Outside His Ordination

• [00:00] Dr. Sproul opens with the profound assertion:
  “There’s nothing that happens outside of the scope of God’s ordination. If there were anything that happened outside of the scope of his ordination, God would not be sovereign. He’d be a spectator wringing his hands, hoping that things turn out the way he wants them to turn out, but having no authority or sovereignty over them.”
• The episode underscores that to affirm true theism is to confess God’s absolute sovereignty over all things.

2. Thanksgiving and Providence

• [00:27] Nathan W. Bingham connects the doctrine to thanksgiving:
  “Everything that we have, every good gift comes from God. And for the believer, we know that all things work together for our good.”
• This anchors the listener’s gratitude not in circumstance or luck, but in God’s providential care.

3. The Story of the Ark of the Covenant — 1 Samuel

• [01:50–15:40] Dr. Sproul retells the saga where Israel loses the Ark to the Philistines, emphasizing both the historical setting and its theological significance.
  • The Ark’s military and spiritual importance to Israel — “When the throne of God went in front of the armies of Israel, the armies of Israel were always victorious. God was on their side and ensured their victory over these nations.”
  • The tragic day: Israel, presuming God’s favor by taking the Ark into battle, is routed; Eli hears the Ark is taken, and his death, as well as the birth of “Ichabod” (“the glory has departed”), underscores the gravity.

4. Philistine Dilemma: God or Chance?

• The Philistines, plagued by tumors and rats after capturing the Ark, seek counsel and perform a unique “experiment” (1 Samuel 6:7–9).
• [15:41] Dr. Sproul explains:
  “What is going on here is a kind of primitive form of scientific experiment... We want to know if this is the hand of God in judgment upon us or if all this stuff has taken place by chance.”
  • They hitch the Ark to untrained cows separated from their calves; if the cows head to Israel, it’s a clear sign of God’s hand.

5. The Stacked Deck and the Test of Providence

• [19:01] Sproul explores the logic: the “deck” is stacked so that the natural behavior of cows would be to return to their calves; only divine intervention would lead them home to Israel.
• The experiment’s result — the cows go straight to Beth Shemesh — is interpreted as God’s direct action, not chance.

6. Ancient Story, Contemporary Lesson

• Sproul notes the Philistines’ mindset:
  “There’s something about this story that I find exceedingly contemporary, and that is that it is a discussion that is taking place among people who are clearly atheists.” [21:24]
• To allow for “chance” — a universe in which things happen uncaused — is, according to Sproul, a form of practical atheism.

7. The Westminster Confession and the Sovereignty of God

• [22:41] Sproul recounts an anecdote from seminary teaching on the Westminster Confession of Faith:
  “God does from all eternity immutably and sovereignly ordain whatsoever comes to pass...”
  He challenges his class: if you deny God’s comprehensive ordination, you functionally deny His divinity.

Quote:
“If you don’t believe that God ordains everything that comes to pass, bottom line, you don’t believe in God. … If God is not sovereign, God is not God.” — R.C. Sproul [23:14]

• The distinction, he stresses, isn’t denominational but theological: theism vs atheism.

8. Maverick Molecules and the Assurance of God’s Promises

• [23:29] Sproul’s classic illustration:

“If there is one maverick molecule in the universe, one molecule running loose outside the scope of God’s sovereign ordination, then ... there is not the slightest confidence that you can have that any promise that God has ever made about the future will come to pass.”

• Even the hardest providences — loss, tragedy — are not outside God’s permission and plan.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On God’s Sovereignty:
  “There’s nothing that happens outside of the scope of God’s ordination.” — R.C. Sproul [00:00]
• On false division between chance and providence:
  “To say that God doesn’t ordain everything is to say that there would be certain things over which God isn’t sovereign.” — R.C. Sproul [23:55]
• On ‘maverick molecules’:
  “If there is one maverick molecule in the universe ... there is not the slightest confidence that you can have that any promise that God has ever made about the future will come to pass.” — R.C. Sproul [23:29]
• On practical atheism:
  “The great message of atheism here is allowing for chance doing anything.” — R.C. Sproul [24:07]
• On providence in tragedy:
  “Even in a tragedy like that, the Lord God omnipotent could have reached down and pulled your child out … and chose not to. He ordained, if you will, to allow it to happen.” — R.C. Sproul [24:01]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00] Opening: Nothing outside God’s ordination
• [00:27] Thanksgiving, Providence, and introduction of episode theme
• [01:50–15:40] Detailed retelling of 1 Samuel’s Ark narrative
• [15:41–19:40] The Philistines’ “scientific test”: God or chance?
• [19:41–21:24] Reflections on causality, chance, and atheism
• [22:41–23:54] Seminary anecdote about sovereignty and theism
• [23:29–24:12] “Maverick molecule” illustration and closing challenge

Tone and Takeaways

Dr. Sproul’s tone is earnest, didactic, and often provocative. He presses his listeners to face the implications of their beliefs: To flirt with chance as a real alternative to God’s sovereignty is, he claims, to surrender the meaningfulness of all divine promises. The episode ends with the assurance and comfort that for the Christian, all things — good and ill — are folded into the wise, sovereign plan of God.

Summary

In “God or Chance?” listeners are called to reject the superstition of chance and rest in the bedrock truth that God alone is sovereign over every detail of life. The ancient account of the Ark and the Philistines is shown to be profoundly relevant, drawing a sharp line between genuine theism and the practical atheism of a world ruled by accident. For Dr. Sproul and Renewing Your Mind, the sovereign, providential God is not only logically necessary, but the source of deepest comfort and true thanksgiving.