And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him (II Kings 12:2).
COMMON GRACE
ARGUMENT:
Proponents of
common grace appeal to this text (and others similar to it) in the assumption
that it speaks of the ability of the wicked to do good—i.e., “good worked by
the Holy Spirit and pleasing in the sight of God.”
Jehoash (who
is presupposed to be a reprobate) “did that which was right in the sight of the
Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.”
How is his “doing good” to be explained apart from a “gracious work of the Holy Spirit” in him, restraining his sin and enabling to perform these things? For, concerning Jehoash, we know that, when Jehoiada died, Jehoash “turned to wickedness and even killed the prophet that was sent to warn him” (II Kgs 12:17-19; II Chron. 25:17-25). That doesn’t sound like elect child of God, but an unbeliever …
How is his “doing good” to be explained apart from a “gracious work of the Holy Spirit” in him, restraining his sin and enabling to perform these things? For, concerning Jehoash, we know that, when Jehoiada died, Jehoash “turned to wickedness and even killed the prophet that was sent to warn him” (II Kgs 12:17-19; II Chron. 25:17-25). That doesn’t sound like elect child of God, but an unbeliever …
(I)
Prof. Herman
C. Hanko
[Source: Common Grace Considered (2019 edition), pp. 268, 269]
It
is true … that the [text says] that … Jehoash did good. But that this is proof for “good influences of the Holy
Spirit upon the hearts of wicked men, so that they do good in the sight of God”
is quite another matter, and there is no mention of any such thing in the text …
…
Jehoash kept God’s commandments and preserved the faithful worship of God in
the temple, but only because of the
strong influence of godly Jehoiada. But that his own heart was evil and
that he did not do good to please God is evident from his dreadful sins after
Jehoiada’s death. [He] “did good” in an outward
obedience to God’s commands, the doing of which was for [his] own personal
advantage.
No one has ever denied
that wicked and unregenerate men are able to “do good” in a certain sense of
the word. Mozart can compose very beautiful music, though he was a wicked man.
An architect can design a beautiful building, but not do so in a way pleasing
to God and bringing God’s approval upon his good works. A carpenter can and
often does build a house that has few, if any, defects, because he is an
excellent builder; and we say, “He did a good job of this house.” I recall one
noted theologian who said that Tiger Woods’ ability to sink a 40-foot putt was
surely due to “common grace.” And so we can go on. It happens all the time in
the world that men “do good” from a purely earthly
viewpoint. But this is still a far cry from “moral good that the Spirit enables
wicked men to do”; and it is a far cry from good that meets with God’s approval. The [text] quoted [is]
entirely [besides] the point and [has] no bearing on the matter at hand.
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(II)
Herman
Hoeksema (1886-1965)
(a)
Good is an
act when it is motivated by the love of God and of men; evil an
act when in its deepest root it is motivated by hatred of God and our fellow
men. There is nothing else. There can be nothing else … As to Jehoash we read
that he did right, not from the love of God, nor from the motive of a certain
“common grace”; but he was under the influence of Jehoiada, the priest. And
when the priest had died, the king, as is evident from the record we find of
him in II Chronicles 24, forsook Jehovah and became wicked. [The] mere fact
that a man can and does something right is no proof at all that so-called
“common grace” restrains him from sin. On the contrary, at the same time that
he does well, he sins against God.
(b)
In both cases
(Jehoash and Amaziah) the kings outwardly adapted to the law of the Lord
in their reigns. They showed regard for orderly external deportment in ruling
their people. Regarding Jehoash, Scripture distinctly says that he did right in
the sight of the Lord as long as he was under the influence of the powerful
priest, Jehoiada. Scripture does not imply or suggest that there was an
operation of the Spirit upon these kings, an influence of God that improved
their sinful natures and caused the evil trees to bring forth good fruit.
The fact that
synod referred to these examples shows how hopeless the case of the third point
is. Does it not teach that there is an influence of God on all men whereby they
can do civil good? Granted for the sake of argument that the illustrations of
Jehoash and Amaziah suggest an operation of common grace, where is proof for a
similar working of the Spirit on all the other wicked kings of Israel and
Judah? The operation of the Spirit of the third point does not appear to be
very common or general. All these and similar illustrations show that fallen
man by natural light—without any operation of common grace and while remaining
wholly sinful in all his deeds and perverse in all his ways—may show for
various reasons and from different motives that are always sinful some regard
for orderly external deportment and may adapt himself in his outward life to
the law of God.
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(III)
Westminster
Confession (1647)
Works done by
unregenerate men, although for the matter of them they may be things which God
commands; and of good use both to themselves and others: yet, because they
proceed not from an heart purified by faith; nor are done in a right manner,
according to the Word; nor to a right end, the glory of God, they are therefore
sinful and cannot please God, or make a man meet to receive grace from God: and
yet, their neglect of them is more sinful and displeasing unto God (16:7).
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(IV)
Heidelberg
Catechism (1563)
Q. 8. Are we
then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to
all wickedness?
A. Indeed we
are, except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God.
Q. 91. But
what are good works?
A. Only those
which proceed from a true faith, are performed according to the law of God, and
to His glory; and not such as are founded on our imaginations or the
institutions of men.
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(V)
More to come!
(DV)
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