The doctrine of common grace is a particularly illuminating doctrine. Especially helpful is how the doctrine relieves the cognitive dissonance we experience when we try to synthesize total depravity (the biblical teaching that sin has corrupted every facet of our humanity) with the reality that unbelievers can do good things (like help the poor and uphold ethical laws) or create good things (like praiseworthy books, architectural masterpieces, fine pieces of art, or wholesome movies). (See my previous two articles on common grace here and here.)
The doctrine of common grace, however, is not a doctrine primarily for unbelievers. It is, like any other biblical doctrine, for the edification of God’s people. The doctrine of common grace opens our eyes to God’s great goodness in his creation so we can praise him for it.
Common Grace Retrains Evil
Nevertheless, the doctrine of common grace is vital to our evangelistic endeavors and should be utilized in our conversations with unbelievers. First, we must note that common grace is foundational to our evangelistic endeavors because it provides the environment in which we can conduct our gospel proclamation. Given the nature of human sin and Satan’s unrelenting animosity toward God’s image-bearers, common grace is required to restrain sin and create societal conditions that are conducive to the free sharing of the gospel. John Walvoord writes,
In view of the power of Satan and his evident hatred of Christians and the truth, the work of the Holy Spirit in restraining sin is required to explain the relative freedom allowed the Christian in the world and the preservation of those conditions which make possible the preaching of the gospel and the maintenance of some order in a sinful world.1
Christians, therefore, should not be ungrateful for nor take for granted this vital work of God’s common grace of restraining sin and Satan. Without such restraint, the Christian’s work of gospel proclamation would be exceedingly difficult if not impossible.
A Shared Humanity
Second, the doctrine of common grace undergirds our evangelistic conversations by assuring us that we can engage with the unbeliever because we share many things in common with them, despite the fundamental difference in our spiritual condition. We are both image-bearers and therefore each possess features of a shared humanity. We both live in God’s world, we both have the capacity to recognize and understand truth, and we both have a built-in sense of right and wrong. This is where the doctrine of common grace intersects and overlaps with another important doctrine: the doctrine of general revelation.2
The doctrine of general revelation is the biblical teaching that God has revealed himself to all people, in all places, at all times, and under all circumstances. All people, regardless of their religious commitments, have an innate knowledge of the one true God. Paul explains that all people clearly behold God in the creation (Rom 1:18-20) and sense his law in their inner-being—their conscience (Rom 2:13-16). The reason why people do not believe in the one true God is not the fault of the available evidence, but due to the unbeliever’s sinful suppression of the reality of God’s existence that they clearly see in the creation.
The Witness of Creation
The Christian, therefore, has two massive evangelistic aids always at his disposal. First, the creation serves as a perpetual witness to God’s reality. While theistic proofs have their place, Scripture never actually requires the believer to prove God’s existence. Throughout Scripture God’s existence is always assumed.
Dutch theologian, Herman Bavinck (1854-1921) presses this point when he writes, “Scripture, one must remember, never makes any attempt to prove the existence of God, but simply presupposes it. Moreover, in this connection, it consistently assumes that human beings have an ineradicable sense of that existence and a certain knowledge of God’s being.”3 Christians, therefore, do not need to labor long over establishing the existence of God when they engage people with the gospel. The unbeliever, despite his protests, already knows that God exists.
The resistance to God’s existence is not at the level of observable evidence but one’s rebellious heart condition (Eph 4:18). The believer, therefore, does not need to spend endless amounts of time answering the various objections to God’s existence or trying to prove it by rational proofs. Due to God’s common grace and general revelation, the believer can move more intentionally and more quickly to the gospel and the content of Scripture.
The Unbeliever’s Conscience
The Christian also has the unbeliever’s conscience to which he can appeal as he presents the gospel. Paul explains in Romans that all people possess within themselves knowledge of God’s law. Even the Gentile who doesn’t have access to the written law of Scripture nevertheless has the law of God written on the heart (Rom 2:14-16). Again, relating this truth to our discussion of common grace, both the unbeliever and the believer possess an innate knowledge of God’s law and a sense that we have violated it. In evangelism, therefore, the Christian can press this built-in sense of right and wrong and show that only place true relief and cleansing of the conscience can be found in Jesus Christ (Heb 9:14).
God’s Goodness on Display
The second way that common grace is used in evangelism is by helping unbelievers see God’s goodness. It’s regularly said that the biggest roadblock to faith is the problem of evil. How can a good God allow evil to exist in the world and not do anything about it? It is important to thoroughly counter this objection and explain that sin originates in Satan, that God is holy and without sin, and that he will deal with every ounce of evil at the end of time. Either our evil will have been dealt with at the cross of Christ (Rom 3:21-26), or it will be dealt with in eternal punishment (Rev 20:11-15).
Alongside with these affirmations we can also assert the doctrine of common grace that highlights the astonishing goodness of God in this world. Yes, there is great evil in this world—evil, as it turns out, that flows directly from human hearts (Matt 15:18-20). But God, though he has every right to punish us immediately upon our first infraction of his law, instead withholds his judgment and provides us with everything we need and often much more in this life (Matt 5:43-49). This creation, though fallen, still bursts with wholesome pleasures and evidence of God’s incredible goodness (see Eccl 2:22-25).
Indeed, it was Paul’s approach in Lystra, when he and Barnabas were attempting to share the gospel, to appeal to God’s common grace with the hope to turn his listeners from idols to the living God, “who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.” (Acts 14:15). Paul told them that the Creator had given the people of Lystra viable evidence that he was good:
In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 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 (Acts 14:16-17).
Despite their sin and waywardness, God actively did good to them. He sent rain upon their fields and caused the soil to produce fruit. These idolaters were able to relish the gift of food and, as we say, enjoy life. While it is vital that we answer the so-called problem of evil in our evangelistic endeavors,4 it is just as important that we draw people’s attention to God’s goodness in creation as we share with them about the goodness of God in the gospel.
Maintain the Distinction Between Saving Grace and Common Grace
But even in our evangelism, it is important to maintain a sharp distinction between special (saving) grace and common grace. This distinction is crucial because we don’t want to lead anyone to assume they are under God’s saving grace when they’ve only been the object of his common grace. Just because someone recognizes that God has blessed their lives in temporal ways should never serve as an indication that they stand in right relation to God. Our appeal to common grace must be joined with a sharp and clear call to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus.
NOTES
1John Walvoord, The Holy Spirit, 109
2Robert Thomas even defines general revelation by noting how it is shared among all people. “Knowledge of general revelation is a common possession of all people. It is not something they must seek to discover.” Evangelical Hermeneutics: The New Versus the Old (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2002), 119; emphasis added.
3Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 2:30.
4Scot Christenson’s What About Evil is the best treatment of the problem of evil I’ve read.
