And if ye do good
to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same (Luke 6:33).
COMMON GRACE ARGUMENT:
This text is often appealed to in support of the form of
“common grace” which speaks of a “gracious, inward operation of Holy Spirit in
the hearts of the unregenerate, restraining their sin and enabling them to do
good works that please God and that are worthy of His commendation.” For, so it
is asked, how else can we explain Christ’s words that sinners “do good” among
themselves, if, by nature, they are unable
to do such? Surely something is needed to explain this phenomenon … such as … a
gracious work of God in them? (i.e. a “common grace”!)
(I)
Prof. Herman C. Hanko
[Source: Common Grace Considered (2019 edition), pp. 269-270]
I am puzzled by the appeal to
this text as proof for “the good that sinners do.” It teaches quite the opposite. Sinners “do good,” not to
please God, but to please themselves and
advance their own welfare. They invite people to their feasts so that they will in turn be invited by the
high and mighty. They do good to others so
that they may reap the fruits of having others do good to them. Pure
selfishness can hardly be the fruit of the Spirit and pleasing to God. We are
warned not to do good as the wicked do it.
-------------------------------------------------
(II)
Homer C. Hoeksema (1923-1989)
Q. “How do you reconcile Luke 6:33 which tells us that
sinners do good to them that do good to them with the view that the non-elect
cannot do any kind of good?"
First of all, I must emphasize, as I have so often done
before, that you must never quote a single text from Scripture all by itself:
then you can make Scripture “prove” almost anything you please. We must always
quote and explain a given text in its immediate context as well as in the light
of the “current teaching” of Scripture.
Secondly, therefore, let us get the immediate context
before us:
But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received
your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you
that laugh! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you when all men shall speak
well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. But I say unto you
which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. Bless them which
curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that
smites thee on the one cheek, offer also the other; and him that taketh away
thy cloak, forbid not to take away thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh
of thee; and of him that taketh thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would
that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them
that love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them that do good to
you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye
lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also
lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do
good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and
you shall be children of the highest, for he is kind to the unthankful and
evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father is also merciful (Luke 6:24-36).
Now does the text teach that the ungodly reprobate actually
do good? Let it be a relative good, a lesser sort of good; but a good that is
thankworthy, a good that meets a measure of our Lord’s approval?
The very contrary is true. The text plainly states that
sinners “do good to those who do good to them.” They do not do good to all
their fellowmen, but only to those to whom it is personally profitable for
them. Is this good? Relatively good? Does our Lord recommend it? Of course not!
Our Lord disapproves it and emphatically warns against it. Why? Because it is
pure selfishness and self-seeking. Such men do not even do good in the
so-called natural sense of the word, not even in a “humanistic” sense. They do
not seek to “help their fellow man.” They seek themselves and please
themselves. In this same sense the natural man “loves” those who “love” him. In
the same sense they lend to those from whom they receive again. And their
desperately evil character becomes evident in the fact that these are those who
hate, curse, despitefully use, and smite God’s people.
… Nor, by the way, does it take any kind of grace to do
this kind of “good.” The whole world is full of this. “You scratch my back, and
I’ll scratch yours. That way we’ll both benefit.” This only requires the
discernment of natural light.
-------------------------------------------------
(III)
Herman Hoeksema (1886-1965)
(a)
[Source: The Protestant Reformed Churches in America (1947
edition), pp. 403-404]
5. But does not the text from Luke
6:33 plainly state that sinners do good?
On
the contrary, it states very plainly that they do no good. That synod
could quote passages such as this only proves how desperately hard pressed they
were for even a semblance of evidence for the truth of the third point. It
appears that, in quoting this text, the learned committee that presented its
report on this matter to synod were led astray by the mere sound of the
word good, and, without even seriously reading the text, they concluded
that here they had, indeed, an indubitable proof for the theory that the wicked
can do good.
What
does the text teach? That sinners can do good? That there is an influence of
the Holy Spirit upon them by which they are somewhat improved? To be sure,
there is not the slightest reference to these gross errors in the text. The
Lord does not declare that sinners do good. He does not even state that they do
good to man. Still more, He does not assert that they do good one to another.
What He does state is that they do good to them that will reward them with
good, that they love those that will love them. And what is this? Is it
good? No, it is mere selfishness of the sinful man. He has no reward. And the
Lord uses their examples to warn His disciples not to do good in like manner!
(b)
… [The] Lord in these words does not speak of any
ethical or moral good that sinners do before God, but only of the general
practice of sinners to favor one another. They do good to one another, that is,
they favor those who do good to them. Further, it is Jesus’ purpose to point
out to his disciples that there is no ethical or moral value in this practice
of sinners, for they do good only to those who favor them, which is pure
selfishness and therefore ethically wrong. This morally and ethically wrong
practice certainly cannot be ascribed to an influence of God on these sinners,
nor is there in the text the faintest suggestion of such an influence.
(c)
[Source: The Standard Bearer vol.
35, no. 20 (Sept 1, 1959), p. 461]
It appears that the Synod of 1924, and also the schismatics, were led
astray by the very sound of the word “good” and concluded that here there was a
clear proof that the sinner can do good works. But the text teaches the very
opposite: it teaches very clearly that, when sinners do good, they sin. We
must not be led astray by the mere sound of the word “good.” The term here,
evidently, does not have the meaning of good in the moral sense of the word. It
refers to good in the sense of benefit. Sinners do not do good, but they benefit
others. Moreover, when sinners do good
in that sense of the word, when they benefit others, they sin; they are
influenced by sinful motives. The Lord very plainly expresses this: sinners do
good to them that do good themselves. In other words, they do good in the
expectation of a reward. Is this good in the moral, ethical sense of the word?
Not at all. It is mere sinful selfishness. And the Lord warns His disciples not
to do good in the same sense that sinners do.
-------------------------------------------------
(IV)
More to come! (DV)
No comments:
Post a Comment