Nathan E. Lewis

Sermon #5 = Common Grace: Promoting Good
Genesis 1: 28-31; Numbers 22-24; Romans 9: 22-23

I readily admit that this morning’s sermon is truly a topical one as I have three supporting texts. In my usual expositional preaching, I lift sermonic points from the content and structure of one chosen text. But in this morning’s sermon I present three points, each one arising from a distinct text. The doctrine of common grace includes the observation that God endows and equips human beings regardless of their spiritual condition with the purpose of promoting good in this world. (Last Sunday we focused on the first purpose of common grace as God’s restraint of evil in the world toward the preservation of his creation.) The three points of the sermon are as follows: 1) In his common grace God uses any human being he chooses to preserve this earth and the societies of this world; 2) In his common grace God uses anyone he chooses to serve the ends of his special grace; 3) In his common grace God patiently deals with the ungodly toward his glory.
God created the human race male and female in his own image. He then gave to the entire human race, regardless of how each member would shake down as humble followers of God or as proud rebels, what theologians label as “the cultural mandate.” The purpose of the cultural mandate is to further God’s good purposes in this world. From Genesis 1: 28 that God uses any human being he chooses to preserve this earth and the societies of this world. Indeed it his intention and governing work to guide all of humanity in fulfilling the cultural mandate. The first command is “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” In our present world concerned about over-population, this command is scorned from many a corner. The latter phrase of the command is best understood as “spread out evenly over the earth.” And so some of you should seriously consider moving to northern Nevada or North Dakota to do your part on the North American continent. Were we to take this command seriously, we would as a whole humanity take more care concerning the problems of overcrowding while at the same time valuing the benefits of raising up a new generation. The solution has not been found in the communist regime of China, which has limited parents to birthing one or two children. The devastating results of this oppressive policy are well-documented across the ideological and political spectrum. Some of the densely populated urban centers of this world have promoted much good – Hong Kong; Seoul; New York City and London.
The second command, “subdue the earth, and have dominion” has received harsh criticism from radical environmentalism that pretends to know Hebrew and the intent of the Creator by claiming that those who obey this command have destroyed the environment through their greediness. But why would the Creator of all things, who assessed it all to be “very good,” turn right around and command the chief of his creation, humanity to destroy it through waste and pollution? “Subdue” means to control it, which is precisely what any environmental group proposes to do in some manner through human management. Should we kill the California Sea Lions at Bonneville Dam, blow up the damn, or build a giant tube in the Columbia for salmon to freely migrate to their spawning grounds? Humanity has most innovatively obeyed this command. Not only have Christians done so, but so also have non-Christians expertly managed the creation through subduing the earth. Scientific research and technology furnishes us with hundreds of examples short of cruelty and waste. Members of our Oregon community build an entire world into a microchip, producing it in a clean environment. Clearly the doctrine of common grace is born out in this cultural mandate through which God manages and preserves his creation through the endeavors of the righteous and the unrighteous alike.
Abraham Kuyper wrote, “He who does not reckon with common grace must come to the conclusion that all science apart from the regenerating grace exists only in appearance, and is self-delusion. Yet results show that this is not the case. There was a true science among the Greeks and the Romans who knew nothing of the Scripture. This must be ascribed to common grace, and not to any virtue which inherently is present in human nature.” John Calvin wrote in The Institutes of the Christian Religion: “The mind of man, though fallen and perverted from its wholeness, is nevertheless clothed and ornamented with God’s excellent gifts. If we regard the Spirit of God as the sole fountain of truth, we shall neither reject the truth itself, nor despise it where it shall appear, unless we wish to dishonor the Spirit of God.”
From the story of Balaam recorded in Numbers 22-24, we discover our second lesson: In his common grace God uses anyone he chooses to serve the ends of his special grace. The doctrine of common grace has been mostly worked out in Reformed theology as an alternative to other presentations of general revelation, natural law, and natural theology, all influenced by Thomas Aquinas. Reformed theologians, espousing common grace have all agreed that common grace serves special grace. The great formative minds of the doctrine of common grace, Calvin, Abraham Kuyper, Charles Hodge, Bavinck, H.R. Kuiper, and Cornelius Van Til, have all asserted and illustrated that common grace serves other ends other than special grace to the glory of God, albeit lesser in resulting glory than what is produced through special grace. But we must press on to the fascinating story of Balaam to which Moses devotes three lengthy chapters in the Book of Numbers. I recommend your reading and study of it as I have little time to highlight those aspects, which support the second lesson that in his common grace God uses anyone he chooses to serve the ends of his special grace.
Balaam was a pagan prophet who employed sorcery and divination. Balak of Moab hires Balaam to curse Israel as she camped in the plains of Moab on her way to conquer the Promised Land. God enters into a dialogue with Balaam commanding him to obey his will concerning Israel resulting in Balaam speaking three blessings upon Israel in place of the curses he was hired to utter. Balaam play both sides of the situation, placating Balak and at the same time doing what he is forced to do by God’s command. He feigns disinterest in money but in reality he is a prophet for hire. In spite of his identity, vocation, and sensibilities, Balaam is constrained to be an instrument of God’s special grace, conferring a blessing upon the chosen people of God. Balaam concludes his first blessing upon Israel with these words: “Let me die the death of the righteous and may my end be like theirs.” Balak appreciating Balaam’s predicament says, “OK, neither curse them at all nor bless them at all,” as if the very words of Balaam are potent to chart the destiny of Israel. “Balaam says to Balak, “Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?” Balak, the pagan that he is, thinks that the physical location might make a difference, as if God’s commands were confined to a certain location and situation. Balaam agrees to go with him to the summit of Peor, a pagan high place to curse Israel from this thin place. Balaam instructs Balak to erect seven altars and sacrifices. In this location and situation the Holy Spirit came upon Balaam the prophet of divination and sorcery compelling him to abandon his usual tactics and to confer a second blessing upon Israel, concluding with the summary of the covenant law: “May those who bless you be blessed and may those who curse you be cursed.” Balak is enraged but Balaam is compelled by God to utter a third blessing concluding with the a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah: “A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.”
You might think, “Balaam sounds like a prophet of God to me. Why do you think that he is an unrighteous reprobate used as God’s instrument through common grace to serve special grace?” The Apostle Peter in I Peter 2:15 writes, “Bold and arrogant blasphemers have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who love the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey – a beast without speech – who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.” Jude issues a warning against the false prophets who infiltrate the church: “Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error.” God in his common grace chose Balaam to be an instrument to serve his redemptive purposes in history.
Our third text supports not only this second lesson but also the third. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Church at Rome, recorded in Romans 9:22-23: “What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath – prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for his glory.” Apparently, God interacts with the objects of his wrath for the good of the objects of his mercy. In doing so, he gives his children a glimpse of his glory as a presentation of his special grace.
Our third lesson is this: In his common grace God patiently deals with the ungodly toward his glory. God bears “with great patience the objects of his wrath.” Patience is a virtue. It is not merely toleration. We must sympathize with the majority Reformed view that insists that to some degree God loves all his creatures, even those that are objects of his wrath. God’s patience with the unbeliever must include his restraint of evil and his promotion of good to preserve his creation toward his glory.
All creation glorifies God. David sings in Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God!” As our Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes the whole of Scripture, “The chief end of man is to glorify God.” What about the rebellious person who has no desire to serve God’s glory? Even the atheist, like Richard Dawkins, of whom I have more to say in a subsequent sermon titled: “Common Grace and Paganism,” can’t help but bring glory to God. Any sane atheist would conclude that he must be silent regarding God. But instead, most atheists constantly chatter about the non-existence of God. The central discussion through out all human history has been the existence of God, his nature and his work in this world. It is inescapable. The atheist keeps the discussion going. Without a debate, less would be said about God in this world. In his heart Dawkins knows the truth and he has suppressed it in unrighteousness. Nevertheless, it could be said that Dawkins very life work in some way has contributed to the glory of God. O the bitter irony of an atheist glorifying the God he insists does not exist! In the end Dawkins will join the entire human race to bow the knee and confess “that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” In this Day of God’s Patience, as the author of the Book of Hebrews invites us: “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised is faithful.” Amen.