Grace For All

Grace For All

Genesis 8:20–22 NKJV

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”

Genesis 9:1–2 NKJV

1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.

Today I want to remind you of the grace of God that is given to all people.

The grace by which God cares for creation and fallen humanity.

The grace by which God upholds and guides creation despite the effects of the fall.

Left to itself, sin would have destroyed and decimated creation..

But God did not leave creation or humanity alone and allow sin to wreak complete havoc.

God’s common grace:

Restrains sin

Maintains Human life and culture.

Bestows gifts indiscriminately.

It is Grace - because it is unmerited favor.

It is the gracious upholding of the created order, by God,

It is His benevolence toward all humanity, after the fall.

When Paul addressed the crowd at Mars Hill, in Athens, he declared unto them the:

Acts 17:24–28 NKJV

24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Isaiah 26:10 NKJV

10 Let grace be shown to the wicked, Yet he will not learn righteousness; In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.

Matthew 5:45 NKJV

45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

James 1:17 NKJV

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Romans 13:1 NKJV

1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

2 Peter 3:9 NKJV

9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Common Grace allows Christians to affirm and to delight in the goodness, beauty, and worth of creation and culture while still acknowledging the seriousness of sin.

Grace is not opposed or in conflict with nature; it is opposed to sin.

Lexham Survey of Theology The Spirit and Common Grace

The doctrine of common grace, then, provides the basis for a theology of culture that is neither world-denying (asceticism) nor world-affirming (worldliness).

We can appreciate and delight in, when we see truth, morality, and beauty in culture and society.

These are gifts from God.

We can utilize these gifts and work alongside unbelievers.

We turn our eyes to the giver, rather than focus on the gifts!

We worship the God who upholds creation and directs it after the fall.

Never the less, the reality of sin and it’s consequences remain.

None of these things can redeem us.

Titus 2:11–15 NKJV

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. 15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.