And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord
said in his heart, I will not again curse
the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart
is evil from his youth; neither will I
again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the
earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and
winter, and day and night shall not cease (Gen. 8:21-22).
COMMON GRACE
ARGUMENT:
“God said He would not destroy the earth
even though man was wicked, even from his youth. Surely this is a blessing to
all human beings? Do not the reprobate benefit from this, as they are permitted
to live on; their judgment is postponed; God will not bring judgment until the
day when Christ returns …”
(I)
Rev. James Laning
[Source: The Standard
Bearer, vol. 92, no. 1 (Oct. 1, 2015), p. 14]
Unbelievers
do not benefit from God's promise not to send another flood. The longer that an unbeliever lives, the greater the
punishment that he receives, both in this life and at the final judgment.
Consider,
for example, Judas Iscariot. Christ said about him: “but woe unto that man by
whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not
been born” (Matt. 26:24b). Every
day that Judas Iscariot lived, the worse it was for him. With each day he
became more hardened in his sins, and the punishment he would receive at the
final judgment became worse.
This is true not only of
Judas Iscariot, but also of all those who hate God and His Son. Every day their
judgment becomes heavier: “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart
treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:5). Therefore,
it simply is not true that all human beings benefit from the fact that God does
not send another flood.
When an unbeliever
receives bodily health for another day, he is receiving from God something
good, for which he should give thanks to God. But what he receives does not
profit him, because he makes use of it only to sin more.
Believers, and believers
only, profit from what God gives them each day. They alone are receiving the
words that God speaks. And it is only when we receive God's Word
along with His good gifts that we benefit from what He gives to us.
[For
more on this text by Rev. Laning, check out the following explanation of this
passage:
---------------------------------------------
(II)
Francis Turretin (1623-1687)
[Source: Institutes of Elenctic Theology, vol. 3,
p. 42]
[For]
no other reason does he [i.e., God] sustain the world than to collect from it
the number of the elect.
---------------------------------------------
(III)
Prof. Herman C. Hanko
[Source: Private Correspondence, 21/11/2016]
The reprobate are here for the purpose of the
salvation of the elect. As the corn plant is necessary for the corn kernels,
the reprobate are necessary for the salvation of the elect. The elect church is
like a building that God builds throughout history; the reprobate are the
scaffolding.
---------------------------------------------
(IV)
Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
[Source:
The Two Wills of God Made Easy: Does God Really Have Two Wills? (2016),
pp. 77-78]
The sustaining of their existence is not a gracious act. It is a decretive
means by which they store up wrath and judgment against the Creator for the day
of wrath. [cf. Gen. 15:16; I Thess. 2:16]. It is for these reasons that I think
the term of common grace is ill founded and conveys a wrong impression of God’s
will … God actively pursues His glory in the wicked by the coming judgment. In
this way, they must live to fill up their sins and must also be left without
excuse.
---------------------------------------------
(V)
More
to come! (DV)
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