by Garrett Glende

Things could always be worse. We look around and see natural disasters, oil spills, political corruption, and moral degradation. The world we live in has been in shambles since Genesis 3, but is it as bad as it could be? Has God left man to destroy all things good or does He intervene and provide blessings? Chapter 31 of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology tackles these issues and more under the heading of “Common Grace,” illustrated in various aspects of human life.

First, we must lay a framework for what is meant by the term “common grace,” so that it is not confused with saving grace. The doctrine is seen most clearly when we are confronted with the fact that man still exists on Earth. In the Garden, God promised Adam that eating the fruit would bring about death. Nevertheless, man fell and the Earth and all its inhabitants have been cursed ever since, bringing about the ultimate punishment of death. But why are we (humans in general) even allowed to live in the first place? God would be perfectly just to punish sin immediately with its due consequences, yet He withholds His wrath and grants us life. Isn’t this grace? Men are receiving something that they have done absolutely nothing to merit – life itself! And this is just the beginning. Grudem defines common grace as “the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not a part of salvation.”

Common Grace in the Physical Realm

This is essentially the principle that is illustrated above. God gives believers and unbelievers the same amount of grace when it comes to the physical world around us. I can enjoy the serenity of the beach and the majesty of the mountains just as an unbeliever can (although the unregenerate man is still blind and cannot see God’s glory in it all). Jesus explains this principle when He says that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). Likewise, Acts 14:16-17 speaks of how God has blessed the nations with rain and productive harvests, “satisfying [their] hearts with food and gladness.”

Common Grace in the Moral Realm

Many of us in Reformed Christianity love the acronym “TULIP,” and rightly so. It represents wonderful truths about God and His redemptive plan, but the first term in the phrase, “total depravity,” is easily misunderstood. It could imply that man is depraved to his maximum capacity and there is no more room left for any evil to creep in. However, it’s obvious that the world could be much more evil than it actually is. God’s grace in the moral realm is demonstrated by the fact that unregenerate men and women are able to discern between good and evil and can exercise upright behavior. There are many atheists in the world who do many “good deeds” and hold to similar moral values as Christians because God has given all men a conscience that bears witness to the Law of God and convicts their hearts (Rom. 2:15). When we read about this issue in Scripture, it’s clear that the world could be filled with even more sin than it already has, but God has graciously restrained the sinfulness of man so that His character might be seen, even so faintly.

Application

There are many other aspects of God’s common grace. Especially when we consider that all good things come from Him, it’s clear that evidence of God’s grace surrounds us throughout our days (James 1:17). We see the amazing feats of modern technology and the wonder of ancient art, but rarely do we give God any credit for it. It was completely by His grace that people were able to have the minds that designed today’s hi-tech electronics that we all enjoy. I’m probably going to give in and upgrade to the new iPhone 4 when it comes out. Surely, its technology will impress me and I’ll gawk at all the fancy things it does (seriously, having an HD video camera on my phone sounds pretty sweet). But is this praise directed at the ingenuity of the human designer? Or does the thought even cross my mind that God is the one who gave that person the gifts and talents in the first place? There is so much out there to worship God for, but we rarely are aware of it all. I suspect that if we understood common grace to its full extent, our hearts would never cease to be amazed by the goodness of God to His creatures.