Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth” (Genesis 9:8–16).
Introduction
I would like to bring to your attention a doctrine that is not often preached from the pulpit: the doctrine of common grace. In particular, I would like us to consider the nature of common grace and how it relates to the free offer of the Gospel or the overture of divine grace in the preaching of the Good News. I will take as my starting point God’s covenant with Noah and will proceed to explore what the whole Bible has to say about the subject. The doctrine of common grace may not have received the attention it deserves in Britain and America, but it has been a subject of intensive debate in the Netherlands. We are only now beginning to catch up. The famous Dutch Reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper, who served as Prime Minster of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905, wrote three extensive volumes on the subject of common grace. This sermon will only begin to outline some of the extensive discussion that has taken place within Dutch Reformed theology. We will only take a glimpse into the profound depths of this deeply important doctrine.
We begin with a simple question: what is common grace? The Reformed theologian John Murray offers a helpful definition. He says that common grace is ‘every favour of whatever kind or degree, falling short of salvation, which this underserving and sin-cursed world enjoys at the hand of God’. This includes God’s restraint of sin in the hearts of men, the works of civil righteousness or relative good among unbelievers, general blessings such as rain and sunshine, food and drink, clothing and shelter, which God freely gives to all, and God’s active promotion of the true, good, and the beautiful in the world of art, science, culture, literature, society, and politics. Common grace also stands at the back of the free offer of the Gospel. It is because God is kind and compassionate towards sinners that he can freely offer himself in the Gospel to a lost world. Christ stands and pleads with sinners of lost mankind to come to him in repentance and faith – this is what we mean by a free offer or a well-meant offer of the Gospel. I would like us to consider three things from the Scriptures:
1. Firstly, God’s covenant of common grace with Noah and sons.
2. Secondly, the doctrine of common grace in Scripture.
3. And thirdly, the overture of grace in the free offer of the Gospel.
1] Firstly, I would like us to consider God’s covenant of common grace with Noah and his sons and all human posterity. The judgement of God came upon the world of Noah and his family in a deluge of great magnitude. Scholars may debate whether this flood was local or global, but what matters is that the flood was a judgement of God against sin. Prior to the flood, the Scriptures tell us that ‘the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth and was grieved in his heart’ (Genesis 6:5–6). The total depravity of mankind had become absolute depravity by the time of Noah – so great was the sin and wickedness of the world that even God himself was grieved in his heart. It broke God’s heart to see the world he had made degenerate into such sin and depravity. He dropped a tear for humanity, but he resolved nonetheless to judge the earth in righteousness. ‘Will not the judge of all the earth do right?’ (Genesis 18:25).
He determined to blot out mankind with a deluge of tremendous proportions. He would flood the earth and extinguish all life – except for the lives of Noah and his family, for Noah had found favour or grace in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8). God made a plan of redemption – a plan so great that it may be compared with the deliverance of Israel from Egypt in the Exodus or even with the redemption of humanity by the cross and resurrection of Christ. God saved humanity by choosing Noah and leading him into the ark. This is what we call special grace or saving grace. Notice that this grace is particular. It is personal. It comes from eternity. God has chosen an elect people whom He will infallibly save by the work of redemption in Christ Jesus. However, when the flood waters subside and Noah and his family emerge into the devastated world, what assurances would they have for the future? What plans could they make? What sign would God give to them that he would not always flood the world – again and again – as a judgement against sin? To that end, God makes a covenant of common grace with Noah and his sons. In this covenant, he promises to never again flood the world. It is a covenant made with Noah and all of human posterity. In other words, this is not a covenant of special grace, but a covenant of common grace – so much so that it extends even to the animal kingdom. This is what God says: ‘I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you – the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you – every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth’ (Genesis 9:8–13).
Notice that this covenant is with all of Noah’s descendants (in other words, all human posterity descending from him) and with every living creature – with everyone and everything that came out of the ark – and not simply the chosen line of God’s electing grace in Shem and his posterity. The text says, 'Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him' (v. 8). His sons were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. I remind you that the Israelites descend from Shem’s children. In fact, the word Semite (often taken as a reference to the Jews) comes from the name of Shem. Other descendants of Shem include the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, the Elamites, Arameans, the Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites. Notice however that God’s covenant of common grace with Noah extends to all of his sons – they are each included in this passage: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now Japheth is the father of the Persians, Romans, Scythians, and Macedonians. And from Ham’s lineage descend the Canaanites, the Babylonians, the Phoenicians, the Cushites and the Egyptians. Some of these nations were later to become great enemies of God, yet through the covenant with Noah, God promises never to flood the world again on account of their evil. This is common grace. And we are living in the light of this grace. The very air we breathe, the dry ground we walk upon, the sunshine upon our faces is a testimony to God’s common grace towards Noah, his sons, and all human posterity descending from them.
In other words, God is giving the world an opportunity to repent and change their ways. We are living in the day of grace. There is time for repentance. God has given us this window of opportunity to repent of sin and believe the Gospel. There is an inescapable connection between this time of common grace and the free offer of the Gospel. God is giving humanity a second chance and the sign of his covenant is the rainbow. As the children’s hymn tell us, ‘Whenever you see a rainbow, remember God is love’. Do you not know that God’s goodness is meant to lead you to repentance? As Paul says in his letter to the Romans, ‘Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?’ (Romans 2:4). I cannot stress this point enough: you are being given a second chance in this period of common grace between the flood and the second coming of Christ. The whole world is being given a second chance. But there will come a time when there are no more second chances. One day God will flood the world not with water, but with fire and eternal judgement. Yes, my friends, there is a place prepared for sinners which the Bible refers to as everlasting separation from the love of God. It is a place of blackest darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, where the worm never dies, and the fire never goes out. Let me implore you to repent and believe the Gospel of Christ before it is too late. Come to Jesus Christ and be saved. His arms were stretched wide upon the cross of Calvary to welcome sinners to himself. May God’s common grace lead you to his saving grace and a life of faith and repentance.
2] Secondly, I would like us to consider the doctrine of common grace as it is developed throughout Scripture. Having considered God’s common grace as it was revealed to Noah and his posterity, we now turn to a consideration of what this period of common grace means for us today – and what it looks like in practice. I would like us to consider how common grace operates in the post-diluvian world and what Scripture teaches us concerning the fruits of God’s common grace in society and culture.
Common grace may be said to operate in the world through the light of God’s general revelation and the work of civil governments. Firstly, Reformed theologians have argued that common grace is said to operate by the light of God’s general revelation – this is described by John as the light of Christ which ‘gives light to everyone’ (John 1:9). It is a universal light, but non-salvific. ‘The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it’ (John 1:5). In his epistle to the Romans, Paul shows the gentiles have some capacity to observe what the law requires and carry out relative good: ‘For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law unto themselves, even though they do not have the law. 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’ (Romans 2:14–15). God has in some sense impressed upon the hearts or consciences of unregenerate men and women what he requires in the law. The conscience accuses those who break this law and acquits those who keep it. It is written in their hearts. I don’t need to present evidence to you that you are a sinner – you know it already deep inside. Your conscience tells you every time you do wrong. It is a God-given alarm bell placed within your very heart to impress upon you the need of repentance for sin.
Common grace is also said to operate through the work of civil governments who act to restrain sin and impose order on society as Paul argues in Romans chapter 13. Civil magistrates are sent by God ‘for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well’ (1 Peter 2:14). In the words of the Belgic Confession: 'We believe that our gracious God, because of the depravity of mankind, hath appointed kings, princes, and magistrates, willing that the world should be governed by certain laws and policies; to the end that the dissoluteness of men might be restrained, and all things carried on among them with good order and decency' (Article XXXVI). In other words, God has instituted civil governments to restrain sin and promote relative good in society. Even though men and women are totally depraved, the confession assumes some capacity for ‘good order’ and ‘decency’ among men. This is God’s work of common grace in their hearts.
There are several fruits of common grace as identified by Reformed theologians including the delayed sentence of death (first given to Adam and Eve, but also extending to all human posterity), the restraint of sin in the world, some degree of truth and morality in society, good works and civil righteousness among the unregenerate, and natural blessings to elect and reprobate alike. Firstly, God warned Adam solemnly that should he eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would surely die (Genesis 2:17). However, when Adam did eat of the fruit in disobedience to God’s command, he did not die immediately. The Hebrew is emphatic: ‘dying you shall die’. Yet we find that God delayed the punishment of death and gave Adam the opportunity to repent. He is the God of second chances. This is owing to his common grace. He gives humanity a chance to repent of sin and believe the Gospel. He does not immediately execute the punishment of death upon the sinner. This is owing to his goodness – a goodness designed to lead men and women to repentance as Paul argues in Romans 2:4. There is a restraint on the manifestation of God’s wrath towards sin.
Secondly, God actively restrains the manifestation of sin in the world. The doctrine of total depravity does not mean that all men and women are as bad as they could possibly be. Not everyone is an incarnation of Adolf Hitler, Chairman Mao, or Stalin. God limits the manifestation of sin in the hearts of men and women. In the case of Abimelech in the book of Genesis, we see God’s sovereign hand in preventing him from committing a sin against Abraham: ‘Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her' (Genesis 20:6). We have no reason to suppose that Abimelech was regenerate or a member of God’s covenant people, so clearly here is an example of an unbeliever being restrained by God from committing a sin – that of adultery with Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Thirdly, God preserves some degree of truth, morality, and religion within society. Society is not hell on earth. Human beings are capable of relative good in the world. There is an outward semblance of morality in society, however corrupt this may appear. We have already argued that the Gentiles have some capacity to keep the law as Paul argues in Romans. Paul was also able to say of the Athenians, ‘I perceive that you are very religious’ (Acts 17:22). They had religion, albeit corrupt. They were able to worship the ‘unknown God’ (Acts 17:23), despite their great ignorance. Religion serves the purpose of common grace. It allows for a point of contact with lost mankind, as Paul used this in his debate with the Gentiles. In the words of the Canons of Dort, ‘There remain, however, in man since the fall, the glimmerings of natural light, whereby he retains some knowledge of God, of natural things, and of the difference between good and evil, and shows some regard for virtue and for good outward behaviour’ (III–IV. 4). As the doctrine of common grace teaches, man is capable of some relative good, albeit non-saving – and this maintains good order and decency within society.
Fourthly, human beings are capable of outwardly good deeds and works of civil righteousness. The Bible often speaks of the works of the unregenerate as being relatively good. For example, when the wicked king Jehu eradicated the worship of Baal from Israel, God said to him ‘Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in my heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel’ (2 Kings 10:30). Similarly, Joash and Amaziah are commended by God for their relatively good deeds, even though they did not ultimately remove the high places and prevent the people from worshipping there (2 Kings 12:2 [cf. 2 Chronicles 24:17– 25]; 14:3, 14–16, 20, 27 [cf. 2 Chronicles 25:2]). In the New Testament, Luke records Jesus as saying that sinners are capable of relative good: ‘And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same’ (Luke 6:33, cf. Matthew 5:46). Similarly, Matthew records Jesus as saying that those who are evil are nonetheless capable of giving good gifts to their children: ‘If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him’ (Matthew 7:11). Of course, none of these good deeds by the unregenerate are soteriological in nature. Their works are only relatively good as opposed to savingly good. As we know from Paul’s letter to the Romans, no amount of good works or charitable deeds will ever justify the sinner. Justification is only by faith, and not by works of the law.
Fifthly, unbelievers are the recipients of many natural blessings. There are many passages of Scripture where it appears that God showers his gifts upon elect and reprobate alike according to his providence. For example, the Lord promises to bless Ishmael, even though he is not the chosen line of God’s covenant grace (Genesis 17:20). God also blessed the house of the unregenerate Potiphar for Joseph’s sake – so much so that the ‘blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had’ (Genesis 39:5). In a verse that captures the very essence of common grace, the Psalmist says that ‘the Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made’ (Psalm 145:9). In other words, the psalmist speaks of a common grace on the part of God towards all of God’s creatures. The psalmist says, ‘He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart’ (Psalm 104:14–15). In other words, God provides for the happiness of humankind. He is a God who ‘gives food to all flesh: for his mercy endures forever’ (Psalm 136:25, emphasis my own).
In the New Testament, Jesus commands us to love our enemies because this reflects God’s character, who showers blessings upon the righteous and the unrighteous alike: ‘But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise of the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous’ (Matthew 5:44–45). Not only are we to love our enemies as a reflection of God’s character, but God himself loves his enemies to the point of blessing them with rain and sunshine (cf. Luke 6:35–36). These are surely gifts of common grace to the reprobate. Paul and Barnabas entreat the unregenerate crowds by pleading God’s common grace towards them: ‘In past generations, he [God] let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness’ (Acts 14:16–17). Rain and fruitful seasons are gifts of God’s common grace to lost mankind. Nobody deserves them, but God freely gives them.
Finally, the Lord tells his people to be salt and light in the earth. In other words, he asks us to be agents of his common grace and goodness towards lost humanity. Jesus says to his disciples, ‘You are the salt of the earth’ (Matthew 5:13). You preserve that which is good in society and season everything in your life with the grace of God. Jesus also says, ‘You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden’ (Matthew 5:14). You are God’s light to the unregenerate and unconverted. You might be the only Christian they ever encounter in their life. Think upon that for a moment. Now a true follower of Christ would never hide his light away. In fact, he is like a city set upon a hill. Everyone can see him. I always love coming over the mountains at night and looking at the towns and villages in the distance – you can see all their lights shining in the darkness, in the streetlamps and the windows. That is what you are like, dear Christian. You are lights in the world to sinners of lost mankind. I wonder, do you take this responsibility seriously? Do you say in the workplace or to your unconverted family members and friends: ‘Yes, I’m a Christian. I believe in Jesus. Have you heard the Gospel?’. Don’t you know that you have a duty to be salt and light the world? Remember Jesus says, ‘Whoever disowns me before others, I will disown him before my Father in heaven’ (Matthew 10:33). For those who are Christ’s disciples, our witness – our light and salt – leads others to bring glory to God. This is what Jesus says, ‘Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16).
3] Thirdly and finally, I would like us to consider the overture of divine grace in the free offer of the Gospel. The covenant God made with Noah and human posterity descending from him and his sons prepares the way for the free offer of the Gospel. It opens a window of opportunity, a day of grace, a time for second chances. What exactly do we mean by the free offer or the well-meant offer of the Gospel? We mean the indiscriminate overture of grace that is extended to sinners of lost mankind in the preaching of the Good News. It is nothing less than full salvation in the richest and fullest meaning of the term that is offered in the Gospel. As we shall see in our examination of some of the following texts taken from all over Scripture, God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and desires that sinners should come to him in repentance and faith. In the Gospels, Jesus sometimes movingly invites sinners to come to him and find in him full salvation. For it is nothing less than Christ himself that is offered in the Gospel. It is not the mere possibility of salvation that is offered as Arminians would teach, but the absolute certainty of it for all who call upon the name of the Lord. As John Murray observes, ‘The grace offered is nothing less than salvation in its richness and fullness. The love or lovingkindness that lies back of that offer is not anything less; it is the will to that salvation. In other words, it is Christ in all the glory of his person and in all the perfection of his finished work whom God offers in the gospel’. We offer nothing less than Jesus Christ, his blood and righteousness.
In Isaiah 45:22, we encounter an overture on the part of God to the whole world: ‘Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other’. That the whole world is intended is sufficiently clear from the words ‘all you ends of the earth’ – the offer is universal in scope. It extends to every man, woman, and child. It is also quite clearly salvific in its intent: turn and be saved. That’s what we call repentance. The reason attached is divine monotheism: ‘for I am God, and there is no other’. The second and third texts of interest come from the book of Ezekiel: ‘Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? … For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!’ (Ezekiel 18: 23, 32). 'Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ (Ezekiel 33:11). God himself speaks in these texts. He makes it plain that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and would rather that the wicked would come to him in repentance and faith. In Ezekiel 33:11, we actually encounter God pleading with the wicked to repent: ‘Turn, turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ Of course, we are not speaking of the decretive will of God in this context. It is certainly true that God decrees that some should be saved according to his eternal purpose of election, while others should be lost and condemned for their sins. However, as Murray observes, ‘In the text [just mentioned] it is the will of God’s benevolence (voluntas euarestias) that is stated, not the will of God’s decree (voluntas eudokias)’. In his secret will, God determines to save his elect and condemn the lost, but according to his revealed will, he desires to save all mankind. This is a paradox that is only resolved in the mind of God. Our duty is to rest contented with his revealed will. As Moses says, ‘The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever’ (Deuteronomy 29:29).
The fourth text comes from the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28–30: ‘Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light’. In these verses, the Lord Christ offers and provides what is needed by those who are weary and burdened. These people are clearly sinners, but they have been put under a difficult yoke – that of the many rules and regulations of the pharisees. Jesus by way of contrast offers a yoke that easy and a burden that is light. Those who come to Christ and learn of Him will find rest for the soul. Clearly salvation in the fullest sense is freely offered in these verses to sinners of lost mankind. As John Murray observes, 'What is freely offered in the gospel? The word of Jesus already quoted (Matthew 11:28) gives the answer. It is Christ himself who is offered. More strictly, he offers himself. The whole gamut of redemptive grace is included … When Christ invites us to himself it is to the possession of himself and therefore of all that defines his identity as Lord and Saviour'. You may have the whole Christ. You may have it all in him. They who gain Christ, lose nothing. Come to him. Are you weary and heavy laden? Are you bowed down beneath a load of sin? Then come and let your burden roll away at the cross of Jesus.
The fifth text is taken from Matthew 23:37 (cf. Luke 13:34). Here Jesus pleads for the salvation of Jerusalem with tears in his eyes: ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing’. It seems clear from this verse that Jesus desired to gather the people of Jerusalem as a mother hen would gather her chicks under her wings. As John Murray observes, ‘This surely means the gathering together of the people of Jerusalem under his saving and protecting grace. So we have the most emphatic declaration on the part of Christ of his having yearned for the conversion and salvation of the people of Jerusalem’. Christ expresses intense emotion over the capital city of Israel. ‘Jerusalem’ is twice repeated for emphasis. Here is the very heart and centre of Israel, representing all the different kinds of people whom Jesus had encountered in his ministry. Jesus would gather them all under his wings, yet they refused him. Don’t be like one who refuses Christ. May it never be said that you would not come to him. I urge you: forsake the ways of sin and let Christ enter in.
Our final text is taken from 2 Peter 3:9. ‘The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance’. Here Peter argues that the delay of the coming of judgement is due to God’s patience or longsuffering as some translations put the verse. Theologians relate this to an attribute of God called divine forbearance. God is patient. He is longsuffering. He holds the strings of time in his hands. Notice that there is a fundamental antithesis in this verse between the terrible sentence of death meted out to lost sinners, and the life which God offers through repentance. God does not desire that any should perish. The divine patience allows time for the sinner to repent. In other words, God desires that such sinners should repent while there is still time before the final judgement occurs. According to Murray, ‘there is in God a benevolent lovingkindness towards the repentance and salvation of even those whom he has not [eternally] decreed to save. This pleasure, will, desire is expressed in the universal call to repentance’. Jesus preached a message of repentance. The first words of his public ministry were: 'Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand' (Matthew 4:17). He said, 'I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance'. Come, repent, believe, trust in him. The angels are said to rejoice over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). Will they be rejoicing over you today?
Conclusion
I believe we should preach and witness with tears in our eyes. Our hearts should be filled wide with the love of Christ for lost mankind. We should long to see sinners saved. We should pray for them, and preach to them, and persevere with them. The doctrines of common grace and the free offer of the Gospel should create in us compassionate hearts towards sinners of mankind lost. Let me close with the words of the apostle Paul, ‘We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God’ (2 Corinthians 5:20).