-
God Is Good to All: A Biblical Look at Common Grace
It’s easy to fall into a “believers-only” view of God’s goodness, meaning that the Lord reserves every kindness for His people and treats unbelievers only with judgment. But Scripture tells a different story. Again and again, God shows real, tangible kindness to people who do not love Him, honor Him, or even acknowledge Him. Theologians have often called this overflow of divine kindness common grace. Wayne Grudem defines common grace as “the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation. Common refers to something that is common to all people and is not restricted to believers or the elect only” (Grudem, 657). This definition is helpful because it keeps two truths together: (1) these blessings are genuinely from God, and (2) they are distinct from saving grace. Common grace does not forgive sin or regenerate the heart, but it does display God’s…
-
When the Lovingkindness of God Leads to Disobedience
We often rightly rejoice in the lovingkindness of God. We see His goodness all over the place. His love for us is what compels the believer to obedience (cf. 2 Cor 5:14). It should go without saying that the lovingkindness of God is one of the most powerful themes of the entire Bible. In fact, in the Old Testament, when God reveals His own character, He specifically zeroes in on His own compassion and lovingkindness as definitional characteristics He wants His people to know about. Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and…