Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise
being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short
of it. For unto us was the gospel
preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit
them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it (Heb. 4:1-2).
COMMON GRACE
ARGUMENT:
“Gospel”
means “good news.” This fact has been appealed to as proof for the
false doctrine of “common grace”—that is, the notion that the
infinitely holy and righteous God ‘loves’ the reprobate wicked and earnestly desires (albeit an unfulfilled desire) for them to be saved.
The
argument is, basically, “How can the gospel be ‘good news’ to those that hear,
unless (1) God is favourably disposed
towards all that hear (reprobate included), and (2) salvation in Jesus Christ
is universally available for all men?”
QUESTION BOX:
Q. 1. “The word ‘gospel’ means
‘good news.’ To define it as ‘bad news’ to some is to reinvent the very meaning
of the word itself. It is to alter the meaning of the Word of God. What was
proclaimed to sinners, whether elect or not elect? Answer: good news!”
Q. 2. “According to Acts 13:26, the
gospel is a ‘word of salvation’ sent to sinners, and not just to the elect (‘Men
and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth
God, to you is the word of this salvation
sent’). Those addressed in Acts 13 were not all elect.”
(a) Prof. David J. Engelsma:
The answer to both questions
is basically the same. The gospel itself is good news, great good news. It is this when
it comes to the impenitent unbeliever, for example, Judas Iscariot, as it is
this when it comes to an elect believer. This makes the unbelief of the
impenitent unbeliever such great sin. He rejects good news. He
rejects the good Jesus Christ, who is presented in the gospel. Indeed, he
rejects and despises God Himself, who *is* goodness, who comes to him and calls
him in the gospel. The guilt of the ungodly in the day of judgment is
that he foolishly rejected Christ and God in the gospel. That the gospel
did not profit them is not the fault of the gospel, as though it were a thing
of badness, but their own fault that they despised God, Jesus, salvation, and
goodness.
The issue is not
whether the gospel is good or bad, or whether the fault of rejecting it is that
of the unbeliever and of him only. Hebrews 4 implies that the fault is
their own: they do not believe.
But the issue is
whether the rejection of the gospel by some takes place according to the will
of God as He comes to them with the gospel. Hebrews 4 clearly implies
that this is the case. The word preached does not profit some because it
is not mixed with faith in them. And where does faith come from? Is
it the natural ability of all, or is it the gift of God to some, the elect, as
Ephesians 2:8 teaches. When the good gospel is preached to all, God mixes
it with faith as a gift to some, the elect, but withholds faith from others.
The result, which is also God’s purpose in reprobation, is that the others
remain unbelieving and in fact are hardened by the good gospel. If God
willed that all be saved by the gospel He would give faith, with the gospel, to
all hearers.
The good word profits
only those who believe, and faith is God’s gift only to some, not to
others.
There is nothing wrong
with the gospel. The evil is in the hearers: unbelief.
Note well, that to
teach that in the gospel God wills the salvation of all hearers is to teach
that what accounts for the salvation of some and not of others is the will of
the sinner. This is heresy.
As for Acts 13, in
addition, one explanation might well be that the word in itself is a word of
salvation, regardless of those to whom it comes. In itself, it is
this. But another explanation is suggested by the text itself.
The apostle restricts the recipients as those “who fear God.” He
limits the recipients as concerns the saving purpose and power of the
gospel. It is sent with a saving purpose and effect only to those who
fear God.
(DJE, 07/09/2018)
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