Are Not God’s Gifts “Unmerited”?

                                             

(I)

Prof. Herman Hanko

[Source: Protestant Reformed Theological Journal, vol. 27, no. 2 (April 1994), p. 24]

[It is] true that from a certain point of view God's gifts are always unmerited. Man can never merit with God, nor the creature with the Creator. Even when we have done all that is required of us, we are still unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10). If God gives good gifts to men, these are surely unmerited.

There are those who refer to this unmerited character of God's gifts when they speak of grace. They mean nothing more than that God gives gifts to men which are totally unmerited by them. We have no objection to this idea in itself, although we noticed in an earlier article that the word "grace" in Scripture means more than the giving of an unmerited gift. It also refers back to an attitude of God. Grace is unmerited favor; and favor is an attitude.

The question is: Do the good gifts God gives express His favor towards the wicked?

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(II)

More to come! (DV)