The
light of nature shows that there is a God, who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is good, and does good unto all,
and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and
served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But
the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so
limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to
the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any
visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture (WCF 21:1).
COMMON GRACE ARGUMENT:
“Grace and mercy are aspects or principles
of God’s ‘goodness’ (Exodus 33:18-19; 34:6). Therefore, whenever God ‘is good, and does good unto all,’ as WCF
21:1 says, does that not also imply He is showing grace and mercy? … God
displays His nature of grace in acts of grace whenever He is ‘good’ to the
sinner. All acts of God’s goodness toward men are also acts of love or
benevolence, and flow from a nature inclined towards benevolence.” (K. W. Stebbins, “Christ Freely Offered” [1978])
(I)
Prof.
David J. Engelsma
As
for Westminster’s declaration that God does good to all, it is the same as the
Bible’s testimony that God makes His sun to rise on all and His rain to fall on
all (Matt. 5:45). The deeds themselves
are good; the gifts themselves are good.
All enjoy the good gifts, both the godly and the ungodly. For the gifts, the ungodly owe God
thanks. With the gifts, they ought to
glorify God. That they rather use the
good things to oppose God is ingratitude.
For this unthankfulness they can never blame either the gifts or the
Giver. The fault is strictly their
own. But the gifts are not
blessings. They do not come in the love
of God for the reprobate. Neither are
they accompanied by the blessing of God that would make them good for the
recipient. Rather, they come to those
who remain, and whom God determines shall remain, in their depravity, with the
necessary result that the wicked misuse the good gifts and have the gifts turn
to their greater condemnation and punishment.
Grace is not in things, but in
the attitude of God and in His grace
that makes things work for the good and salvation of humans. Hence, Lazarus with almost no things is
blessed, while the rich man with an abundance of things is cursed. Common grace errs among other ways in
identifying blessing with things. Blessing is the attitude of God towards
humans in Jesus Christ. One is blessed
in things if God gives the things with an attitude of favor and if therefore
the things are used thankfully and in a holy life. (13/05/2018)
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(II)
More
to come! (DV)
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