Common Grace

When Adam and Eve sinned, they became worthy of eternal punishment and separa­tion from God (Genesis 2:17).  In the same way, when human beings sin today they become liable to the wrath of God and to eternal punishment: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  This means that once people sin, God’s justice would require only one thing, that they be eternally separated from God, cut off from experiencing any good from him, and that they live forever in hell, receiving only his wrath eternally.  In fact, this was what happened to angels who sinned, and it could justly have happened to us as well: “God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).

But in fact, Adam and Eve did not die at once (though the sentence of death began to be worked out in their lives on the day they sinned).  The full execution of the sentence of death was delayed for many years.  Moreover, millions of their descendants even to this day do not die and go to hell as soon as they sin, but continue to live for many years, enjoying countless blessings in this world. How can this be?  How can God continue to give blessings to sinners who deserve only death, not only to those who will ultimately be saved, but also to millions who will never be saved, whose sins will never be forgiven?

The answer to these questions is that God bestows common grace. We may define com­mon grace as follows: Common grace is the grace of God by which he gives people innumer­able blessings that are not part of salvation. The word common here means something that is common to all people and is not restricted to believers or to the elect only.

In distinction from common grace, the grace of God that brings people to salvation is often called “saving grace.” Of course, when we talk about “common grace” and “saving grace” we are not implying that there are two different kinds of grace in God himself, but only that God’s grace manifests itself in the world in two different ways.  Common grace is different from saving grace in its results (it does not bring about salvation), in its recipients (it is given to believers and unbelievers alike), and in its source (it does not directly flow from Christ’s atoning work, since Christ’s death did not earn any measure of forgiveness for unbelievers, and therefore did not merit the blessings of common grace for them either).  However, on this last point it should be said that common grace does flow indirectly from Christ’s redemptive work, because the fact that God did not judge the world at once when sin entered it was primarily or perhaps exclusively due to the fact that he planned eventually to save some sinners through the death of his Son.

Examples of Common Grace

If we look at the world around us and contrast it with the fires of hell that the world deserves, we can immediately see abundant evidence of God’s common grace in thou­sands of examples in everyday life.  We can distinguish several specific categories in which this common grace is seen.

1. The Physical Realm. Unbelievers continue to live in this world solely because of God’s common grace, every breath that people take is of grace, for the wages of sin is death, not life. Moreover, the earth does not produce only thorns and thistles (Genesis 3:18), or remain a parched desert, but by God’s common grace it produces food and materials for clothing and shelter, often in great abundance and diversity. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44 – 45).  Here Jesus appeals to God’s abundant common grace as an encouragement to his disciples that they too should bestow love and prayer for blessing on unbelievers. Similarly, Paul told the people of Lystra, “In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways; yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:16-17).

The Old Testament also speaks of the common grace of God that comes to unbelievers as well as to believers.   One specific example is Potiphar, the Egyptian captain of the guard who purchased Joseph as a slave: “The LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had, in house and field” (Genesis 39:5).  David speaks in a much more general way about all the creatures God has made: “The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made…. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:9, 15-16).

These verses are another reminder that the goodness that is found in the whole creation is due to God’s goodness and compassion.

We even see evidence of God’s common grace in the beauty of the natural world. Though nature itself is in “bondage to decay” and has been “subjected to futility” (Romans 8:21 – 20) because of the curse of the fall (Genesis 3:17 – 19), much beauty still remains in the natural world.  The beauty of multicolored flowers, of grass and woodlands, of riv­ers and lakes and mountains and ocean shores, still remains as a daily testimony to the continuing common grace of God. Unbelievers deserve to enjoy none of this beauty, but by God’s grace they can enjoy much of it for their whole lives.

2. The Intellectual Realm. Satan is “a liar and the father of lies” and “there is no truth in him” (John 8:44), because he is fully given over to evil and to the irrationality and commitment to falsehood that accompanies radical evil. But human beings in the world today, even unbelievers, are not totally given over to lying, irrationality, and ignorance.  All people are able to have some grasp of truth; indeed, some have great intelligence and understanding.  This also must be seen as a result of God’s grace. John speaks of Jesus as “the true light that enlightens every man” (John 1:9), for in his role as creator and sustainer of the universe (not particularly in his role as redeemer) the Son of God allows enlightenment and understanding to come to all people in the world.

God’s common grace in the intellectual realm is seen in the fact that all people have a knowledge of God: “Although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him” (Romans 1:21).  This means that there is a sense of God’s existence and often a hunger to know God that he allows to remain in people’s hearts, even though it often results in many differing man-made religions.  Therefore, even when speaking to people who held to false religions, Paul could find a point of contact regarding knowledge of God’s existence, as he did when speaking to the Athenian philosophers: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious…. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:22-23).

The common grace of God in the intellectual realm also results in an ability to grasp truth and distinguish it from error, and to experience growth in knowledge that can be used in the investigation of the universe and in the task of subduing the earth.  This means that all science and technology carried out by non-Christians is a result of common grace, allowing them to make incredible discoveries and inventions, to develop the earth’s resources into many material goods, to produce and distribute those resources, and to have skill in their productive work.  In a practical sense this means that every time we walk into a grocery store or ride in an automobile or enter a house we should remember that we are experiencing the results of the abundant common grace of God poured out so richly on all mankind.

3. The Moral Realm. God also by common grace restrains people from being as evil as they could be. Once again, the demonic realm, totally devoted to evil and destruction, provides a clear contrast with human society in which evil is clearly restrained. If people persist hard-heartedly and repeatedly in following sin over a course of time, God will eventually “give them up” to greater and greater sin, but in the case of most human beings they do not fall to the depths to which their sin would otherwise take them, because God intervenes and puts restraints on their conduct.  One very effective restraint is the force of conscience: Paul says, “When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.  They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them” (Romans 2:14-15).

This inward sense of right and wrong that God gives to all people means that they will frequently approve of moral standards that reflect many of the moral standards in Scripture.  Even those who are given up to the most-base sin, Paul says, “Know God’s decree that those who do such things deserve to die” (Romans 1:32).  And in many other cases this inward sense of conscience leads people to establish laws and customs in society that are, in terms of the outward behavior they approve or prohibit, quite like the moral laws of Scripture: people often establish laws or have customs that respect the sanctity of marriage and the family, protect human life, and prohibit theft and falsehood in speech.  Because of this, people will frequently live in ways that are morally upright and outwardly conform to the moral standards found in Scripture.  Though their moral behavior cannot earn merit with God (since Scripture clearly says that “no man is justified before God by the law,” Galatians 3:11, and “All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one,” Romans 3:12), nevertheless in some sense less than earning God’s eternal approval or merit, unbe­lievers do “do good.” Jesus implies this when he says, “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same” (Luke 6:33). Of course, in areas where the gospel has had great influence and the church is strong, it will have a stronger moral influence on society than in places where the gospel has never reached, or where it has little restraining influence.

God also demonstrates his common grace by giving warnings of final judgment in the operation of the natural world.  God has so ordered the world that living according to his moral standards very often brings rewards in the natural realm, and violating God’s standards often brings destruction to people, in both cases indicating the eventual direction of the final judgment: Honesty, hard work, showing love and kindness to oth­ers, and faithfulness in marriage and family will bring much more material and emotional reward in this life than dishonesty, laziness, cruelty, marital infidelity, and other wrongs such as drunkenness, drug abuse, theft, and so forth.  These normal consequences of sin or righteousness should serve as a warning of judgment to come, and, in this way, they are also examples of God’s common grace.

4. The Creative Realm. God has allowed significant measures of skill in artistic and musical areas, as well as in other spheres in which creativity and skill can be expressed, such as athletics, cooking, writing, and so forth. God also gives to us an ability to appreciate beauty in many areas of life. And in this area as well as in the physical and intellectual realm, the blessings of common grace are sometimes poured out on unbe­lievers even more abundantly than on believers.  Yet in all cases it is a result of the grace of God.
5. The Societal Realm. God’s grace is also evident in the existence of various organiza­tions and structures in human society. We see this first in the human family, evidenced in the fact that Adam and Eve remained husband and wife after the fall and then had children, both sons and daughters (Genesis 5:4).  Adam and Eve’s children married and formed families for themselves (Genesis 4:17,19, 26).  The human family persists today, not simply as an institution for believers, but for all people.

Human government is also a result of common grace.  It was instituted in principle by God after the flood (see Genesis 9:6), and is clearly stated to be given by God in Romans 13:1: “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”  It is clear that government is a gift from God for mankind generally, for Paul says the ruler is “God’s servant for your good” and that he is “the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4).  One of the primary means God uses to restrain evil in the world is human government.  Human laws and police forces and judicial systems provide a powerful deterrent to evil actions, and these are necessary, for there is much evil in the world that is irrational and that can only be restrained by force, because it will not be deterred by reason or education.  Of course, the sinfulness of man can also affect governments themselves, so that they become corrupt and actually encourage evil rather than encourage good.  This is just to say that human government, like all the other blessings of common grace that God gives, can be used either for good or for evil purposes.

6. The Religious Realm. Even in the realm of human religion, God’s common grace brings some blessings to unbelieving people. Jesus tells us, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44), and since there is no restriction in the context simply to pray for their salvation, and since the command to pray for our persecutors is coupled with a command to love them, it seems reasonable to conclude that God intends to answer our prayers even for our persecutors with regard to many areas of life. In fact, Paul specifically commands that we pray “for kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).  When we seek good for unbelievers it is consistent with God’s own prac­tice of granting sunshine and rain “on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45) and also consistent with the practice of Jesus during his earthly ministry when he healed every person who was brought to him (Luke 4:40).  There is no indication that he required all of them to believe in him or to agree that he was the Messiah before he granted physical healing to them.

Does God answer the prayers of unbelievers?  Although God has not promised to answer the prayers of unbelievers as he has promised to answer the prayers of those who come in Jesus’ name, and although he has no obligation to answer the prayers of unbelievers, nonetheless, God may out of his common grace still hear and grant the prayers of unbelievers, thus demonstrating his mercy and goodness in yet another way. This is apparently the sense of 1 Timothy 4:10, which says that God is “the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.”  Here “Savior” cannot be restricted in meaning to “one who forgives sins and gives eternal life,” because these things are not given to those who do not believe; “Savior” must have a more general sense here, namely, “one who rescues from distress, one who delivers.”  In cases of trouble or distress God often does hear the prayers of unbelievers, and graciously delivers them from their trouble.  Moreover, even unbelievers often have a sense of gratitude toward God for the goodness of creation, for deliverance from danger, and for the blessings of family, home, friendships, and country.  In addition, unbelievers who come in close contact with the church and perhaps associate with it for a time can have some religious experiences that seem very close to the experience of those who are saved.

Finally, even the proclamation of the gospel to those who do not ultimately accept it is a clear declaration of the mercy and grace of God, which gives clear witness to the fact that God does not delight in the death or condemnation of any of his creatures.

7. Common Grace and Special Grace Influence Each Other. Common grace, of course, influences and enriches the church, since apart from God’s common grace given to car­penters and other kinds of craftsmen, there would be no church buildings; apart from common grace given to printers and typesetters and bookbinders (and even to those who work in paper mills or cut trees from forests to make paper), there would be no Bibles. In countless ways in everyday activities the church benefits from common grace.

On the other hand, the special grace that God gives to those who are saved brings more of the blessings of common grace to unbelievers living in the realm of the church’s influence.  Unbelievers benefit from the example of Christian lives that they see in society, from the prayers and the acts of mercy that Christians do for the community, from the knowledge of the teachings of Scripture and its wisdom in which they find some intellec­tual and moral benefit, and from the influence on laws, customs, and beliefs of a society that comes through the social and political activities of Christians.  Historically it has often been the powerful presence of those whose lives were changed by the gospel that has resulted in freedom for slaves, rights for women, widespread public education, technological and scientific progress, increased productivity in the economy, a high value placed on work and thrift and honesty, and so forth.

8. Common Grace Does Not Save People. In spite of all of this, we must realize that com­mon grace is different from saving grace. Common grace does not change the human heart or bring people to genuine repentance and faith, it cannot and does not save people. Common grace restrains sin but does not change anyone’s foundational disposition to sin, nor does it in any significant measure purify fallen human nature.

We must also recognize that the actions of unbelievers performed by virtue of com­mon grace do not in themselves merit God’s approval or favor.  These actions do not spring from faith (“Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin,” Romans 14:23), nor are they motivated by a love for God (Matthew 22:37), but rather love of self in some form or another.  Therefore, although we may readily say that the works of unbelievers that externally conform to the laws of God are “good” in some sense, they nonetheless are not good in terms of meriting God’s approval nor of making God obligated to the sinner in any way.

Finally, we should recognize that unbelievers often receive more common grace than believers, they may be more skillful, harder working, more intelligent, more creative, or have more of the material benefits of this life to enjoy.  This in no way indicates that they are more favored by God in an absolute sense or that they will gain any share in eternal sal­vation, but only that God distributes the blessings of common grace in various ways, often granting very significant blessings to unbelievers.  In all of this, they should, of course, acknowledge God’s goodness (Acts 14:17), and should recognize that God’s revealed will is that “God’s kindness” should eventually lead them “to repentance” (Romans 2:4).

Reasons for Common Grace

Why does God bestow common grace on undeserving sinners who will never come to salvation? We can suggest at least four reasons.

1. To Redeem Those Who Will Be Saved. Peter says that the day of judgment and final execution of punishment is being delayed because there are yet more people who will be saved: “The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief (2 Peter 3:9 -10). In fact, this reason was true from the beginning of human history, for if God wanted to save any people out of the whole mass of sinful humanity, he could not have destroyed all sinners immediately (for then there would be no human race left).  He chose rather to allow sinful humans to live for some time, so that they might have an opportunity to repent, and also so that they would bear children and enable subsequent generations to live and then hear the gospel and repent.
2. To Demonstrate God’s Goodness and Mercy. God’s goodness and mercy are not only seen in the salvation of believers, but also in the blessings he gives to undeserving sin­ners. When God “is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish” (Luke 6:35), his kindness is revealed in the universe, to his glory. David says, “The LORD is good to all, and his com­passion is over all that he has made” (Psalm 145:9). In the story of Jesus talking with the rich young ruler, we read, “And Jesus looking upon him loved him” (Mark 10:21), even though the man was an unbeliever and would in a moment turn away from Jesus because of his great possessions.

It is not unjust for God to delay the execution of punishment upon sin and to give temporary blessings to human beings, because the punishment is not forgotten, but just delayed. In delaying punishment, God shows clearly that he has no pleasure in executing final judgment, but rather delights in the salvation of men and women. “As I live, says the LORD God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn back from his way and live” (Ezek. 33:11). God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). In all of this the delay of punishment gives clear evidence of God’s mercy and goodness and love.

3. To Demonstrate God’s Justice. When God repeatedly invites sinners to come to faith and when they repeatedly refuse his invitations, the justice of God in condemning them is seen much more clearly. Paul warns that those who persist in unbelief are simply stor­ing up more wrath for themselves: “By your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5).  On the day of judgment “every mouth” will be “stopped” (Romans 3:19) and no one will be able to object that God has been unjust.

 

4. To Demonstrate God’s Glory. Finally, God’s glory is shown in many ways by the activities of human beings in all the areas in which common grace is operative. In developing and exercising dominion over the earth, men and women demonstrate and reflect the wisdom of their Creator, demonstrate God-like qualities of skill and moral virtue and authority over the universe, and so forth.  Though all of these activities are tainted by sinful motives, they nonetheless reflect the excellence of our Creator and therefore bring glory to God, not fully or perfectly, but nonetheless significantly.

In thinking about the varying kinds of goodness seen in the lives of unbelievers because of God’s abundant common grace, we should keep three points in mind:

1. Common Grace Does Not Mean That Those Who Receive It Will Be Saved. Even exceptionally large amounts of common grace do not imply that those who receive it will be saved.  Even the most skilled, most intelligent, most wealthy and powerful people in the world still need the gospel of Jesus Christ or they will be condemned for eternity!  Even the most moral and kind of our neighbors still need the gospel of Jesus Christ or they will be condemned for eternity!  They may appear outwardly to have no needs, but Scripture still says that unbelievers are “enemies” of God (Rom. 5:10) and are “against” Christ (Matthew 12:30).  They “live as enemies of the cross of Christ” and have their “minds set on earthly things” (Philippians 3:18 -19) and are “by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:3).
2. We Must Be Careful Not to Reject the Good Things That Unbelievers Do as Totally Evil. By common grace, unbelievers do some good, and we should see God’s hand in it and be thankful for common grace as it operates in every friendship, every act of kind­ness, every way in which it brings blessing to others. All of this, though the unbe­liever does not know it, is ultimately from God and he deserves the glory for it.
3. The Doctrine of Common Grace Should Stir Our Hearts to Much Greater Thankful­ness to God. When we walk down a street and see houses and gardens and families dwell­ing in security, or when we do business in the marketplace and see the abundant results of technological progress, or when we walk through the woods and see the beauty of nature, or when we are protected by government, or when we are educated from the vast storehouse of human knowledge, we should realize not only that God in his sovereignty is ultimately responsible for all of these blessings, but also that God has granted them all to sinners who are totally undeserving of any of them! These blessings in the world are not only evidence of God’s power and wisdom, they are also continually a manifestation of his abundant grace.  The realization of this fact should cause our hearts to swell with thanksgiving to God in every activity of life.