AMAZED BY COMMON GRACE Part 1

Have you ever thought about the fact that the sun is shining today? That there is food on the table? That you and I are alive? That your non-Christian neighbor just won the lottery? That some of the nicest people you have ever met are non-Christians?

Sam Storms asks the question: "How is it that men who still lie under the wrath and curse of God and are heirs of hell enjoy so many good gifts at the hand of God? How is it that men who are not savingly renewed by the Spirit of God nevertheless exhibit so many qualities, gifts and accomplishments that promote the preservation, temporal happiness, cultural progress, social and economic improvement of themselves and of others? How is it that races and peoples that have been apparently untouched by the redemptive and regenerative influences of the gospel con-tribute so much to what we call human civilization? To put the question most comprehensively: how is it that this sin-cursed world enjoys so much favour and kindness at the hand of its holy and ever-blessed Creator?'

The answer to these questions is to be found in the distinction the Bible draws between God's common, or non-saving, grace and his special, or redemptive, grace. The common grace of God has been variously defined. What is common grace?

John Murray the late great 20th century Reformed theologian defines common grace as, "every favor of whatever kind or degree, falling short of salvation, which this undeserving and sin-cursed world enjoys at the hand of God." Common grace to put it in simple terms then is the undeserved grace of God given to all mankind to live on this earth from breathing air to traveling to Hawaii to surviving a terrorist act to living a safe, secure, comfortable life.

How does God’s common grace manifest itself in the world and in the people of the world; all whom have been created by God? The first aspect of common grace is the restraint that God places upon sin and its effects in this world. We could call this the negative aspect of common grace. Here God does not allow all the sinful nature of man to be fully expressed s and it effects are not per­mitted to reach the maximum height of which they are capable.

Sam Storms gives an illustration of this from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005. Why was it that looting was so rampant in New Orleans in the aftermath of that disaster? Was it because people who were otherwise good and law-abiding suddenly decided to become evil and criminal? No. Human nature hasn't changed. The reason for the looting is obvious. All the normal impediments to thievery in New Orleans were no longer in place. There was no electricity, so there were no alarms or lights or other manifestations of electronic protection on personal property. Security guards had fled. The police could not gain access to certain areas of the city. Surveillance cameras that otherwise would have photographed burglars were no longer operative. In other words, virtually all the restraints and obstacles to criminal behavior had disappeared. What could have kept the sinful and criminal inclination of the human heart from expressing itself was gone. (Needless to say, there was, before Katrina, a considerable amount of criminal behavior in spite of such restraints.)

He goes on to say that Electricity and light and alarms and the police are analogous to the com­mon grace of God. They function as something of a barrier to criminal behav­ior or a deterrent that hinders the full expression of human wickedness. Whenever these natural restraints disappear, the full extent and expression of evil and criminal inclination begin to emerge. What electricity and light and alarms and police do to restrain wickedness in one American city is analogous to what the Holy Spirit does to restrain human sin on a more global scale.

So God’s common grace serves to impede or inhibit or curb the outward expression of the inward propensities of the sin­ful heart. Think about this. If God did not restrain, inhibit, abandon, or stop certain activities could you imagine what life in your neighborhood, your city, our nation, and the world would be like? The fact is that our world would eventually be uninhabitable. The wickedness of mankind would engulf the world and bring it to the verge of utter chaos and corruption.

God’s common grace in restraining human sin is called "grace" because it is utterly undeserved! What mercy it is that God restrains sin from those who deserve wrath and judgment. God shows His common grace to all of mankind, from the drug dealer to the philanthroper; to the saved and unsaved, regenerate and unregenerate. All are the benefactors of this amazing grace. It is not restricted to any one group of people nor any religious preference. But, we must remember that it does not nec­essarily lead to salvation. Most recipients of God’s common grace don’t even recognize it nor are they grateful for it. (Romans 1:19-32)

God’s common grace not only restrains the sinful desires of man, also God's grace freely holds back from pouring out today at this moment the well deserved manifestation of his divine wrath in response to sin. In other words, common grace both restrains man from the full uninhibited exercise of sin in this world but also the full outpouring of His settled wrath as the that sin demands. (Read Genesis 6:3; Acts 17:30; Romans 2:4; 1 Peter 3:20; and 2 Peter 3:9).

Are you amazed even more by God's "common grace"? Do you realize what this world would look like without it?
"To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:17)

To be continued...