Goodness Gracious

Review

Hey everyone! Let’s get started.

You guys did awesome with the skits on family night. I was really glad to see you interacting with the families. Did you guys have fun?

Introduction

I want to start tonight’s lesson by asking you guys if you have any personal experiences with a blessing. What has God blessed you with?

I’ve been blessed to be able to play music for as long as I have. I get to enjoy all kinds of sounds and skills that God chose to bless me with. I also get to enjoy listening to others’ make music and sharing those experiences with others, whether they are believers or not.

What about blessings received by an unbelieving family member, friend, or schoolmate?

My dad is an unbeliever and he has been blessed with tons of financial opportunity. His property he owns has six homes on it. That’s crazy!

Remind me again how many people have been made in the image of God?

Everyone

Everything we just talked about is about a doctrine of God called Common Grace. It’s His favor rightly bestowed on mankind.

Common Grace

Here is a good definition of common grace:

Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Second Edition) (A. Introduction and Definition)

common grace is the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation.

This kind of grace is for everybody, which is why it’s called Common Grace.

Affirmations

Here are some areas of how this doctrine works:

Being made in God’s image

Everyone made in God’s image is a recipient of this blessing. It is for believers and unbelievers.

Genesis 1:26–28 ESV

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God’s provision to sustain human life

God’s gift of food, water, shelter, and other basic needs for human existence are a part of His common grace.

Have you ever had an experience where you saw someone you knew was living in sin received a blessing?

Even evil people receive this blessing from God.

Matthew 5:45 ESV

45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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.

Acts 14:17 ESV

17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

Our ability to “multiply and fill the earth”

God gave the responsibility to Adam and Eve to cultivate and fill the earth. This includes creating communities of through procreation and, frankly, different kinds of work. We see this in how we have different gifts and talents. Scientific discoveries, technology, art, athletics, and anything that can be considered a skill is included in this.

The genesis 1 passage we read early alludes to this.

In Genesis 4, Cain sinned greatly against Abel, his parents, and God. Yet, God preserves Cain, expanding the human race. Isn’t that crazy?

We see that lineage in Genesis 5; 10; and 11.

We also see how God gave gifts in work, building cities, and tending livestock, playing music, and forging tools.

Genesis 4:16–22 ESV

16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Our Conscience

The bible says that every person has a sense of what is right and wrong. Our conscience tells us when we’ve done something right and wrong and ultimately points to God as the creator of what is moral and immoral. This is given by God to promote a culture of life, and to fight injustices.

This is seen very clearly in Romans 2:14-15

Romans 2:14–15 ESV

14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

Family and Society

Family and government are other areas where we see God’s common grace. Families and governments are given by God to help humankind flourish.

Ephesians 3:14–15 ESV

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

God Himself knows that being without a family is not good. That’s why He calls Himself the “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows.”

Psalm 68:5 ESV

5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

Even regarding Government as an important structure in human society and cultures God has given a common grace. It exists to curb wrongdoing, punish evil, and contain the spread of sin. Paul even regards them as “ministers of God.”

Romans 13:1–7 ESV

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

It’s given to others in different ways

Common grace is not displayed the same everywhere though. Even though we all receive it, it is provided in different measures.

Errors to Avoid

We shouldn’t dismiss Common Grace

Common grace shouldn’t be quickly dismissed. God gave all people this grace to show the innumerable blessings of His favor.

Common Grace is Different than Saving Grace

This is different from what we call Saving Grace, which is the grace of God that brings people to salvation. It’s not that there are two kinds of grace, but that God’s grace manifests itself in two ways

Common Grace:

Does not bring salvation

Is given to believers and unbelievers

Does not directly flow from Christ’s atonement on the cross

But it does indirectly because God did not wipe out the world in Genesis 3 because He planned to save some through the death of His son. People need to exist for them to be saved.

God’s common grace does not save others. Even though unbelievers are recipients of common grace that does not mean that they are saved.

50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology Major Errors > Understanding the Doctrine > Chapter 25: Common Grace

The good that unbelievers do as the fruit of common grace—obedience to their conscience, vocational excellence, being exemplary parents—does not merit saving grace.

How to apply this doctrine?

50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology Major Affirmations > Understanding the Doctrine > Chapter 25: Common Grace

Common grace is intended to stimulate two responses: Unbelievers, experiencing God’s favor though undeserving of it, should be moved to seek the Provider of common grace and then embrace the gospel through saving grace. Believers, experiencing both saving grace and common grace, though undeserving of both, should give thanks to God for his immeasurable blessings.

We should not take this to mean that unbelievers can do good on their own. Whatever good they do is a part of God’s common grace because we know that

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Isaiah 64:6 ESV

6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

How do we reconcile these passages with God’s common grace?

God in His grace makes our lives better than they could be in order to fulfill His purposes. Apart from Him, nothing good can come. Even though the unbeliever does good, it is only good because of God’s hand, and not the unbeliever’s. The unbeliever does not come to salvation through their works, and are not even justified by them, even though they are good.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We are righteousness because of what Christ has done for us. The unbeliever cannot be righteous in their good works because they are not in Christ.

We should be thankful for God’s righteousness and His Common Grace. We should pray for our unbelieving friends, family, and enemies that they can know the fullness of God and His righteousness.

Let’s Pray