Days of Vengeance - The Preterist Archive

APPENDIX C
for all eternity because we have been merciful to him.
Third, we are promised a reward from God, which is
always a solid reason for being obedient to His
commands. The language could not be any plainer.
Any discussion of common grace which omits Proverbs
25:21-22 from consideration is not a serious discussion
of the topic.
The Bible is very clear. The problem with the vast
majority of interpreters is that they still are influenced
by the standards of self-proclaimed autonomous
humanism. Biblically, love is the fufilling of the law (Rom.
13:8). Love thy neighbor, we are instructed. Treat him
with respect. Do not oppress or cheat him. Do not
covet his goods or his wife. Do not steal from him. In
treating him lawfully, you have fulfilled the
commandment to love him. In so doing, you have
rendered him without excuse on the day of judgment,
God’s people are to become conduits of God’s gifts to
the unregenerate.
This is not to say that every gift that we give to the lost
must be given in an attempt to heap coals of fire on
their heads. We do not know God’s plan for the ages,
except in its broad outlines. We do not know who God
intends to redeem. So we give freely, hoping that some
might be redeemed and the others damned. We play
our part in the salvation of some and the damnation of
others. For example, regenerate marriage partners are
explicitly instructed to treat their unregenerate
partners lawfully and faithfully. “For what knowest
thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or
how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy
wife” (I Cor. 7:16)? We treat our friends and enemies
lawfully, for they are made in the image of God. But we
are to understand that our honest treatment does make
it far worse on the day of judgment for those with
whom we have dealt righteously than if we had
disobeyed God and been poor testimonies to them,
treating them unlawfully.
God gives rebels enough rope to hang themselves for all
eternity. This is a fundamental implication of the
doctrine of common grace. The law of God condemns
some men, yet it simultaneously serves as a means of
repentance and salvation for others (Rom. 5:19-20).
The same law produces different results in different
people. What separates men is the saving grace of God
in election. The law of God serves as a tool of final
destruction against the lost, yet it also serves as a tool of
active reconstruction for the Christian. The law rips up
the kingdom of Satan as it serves as the foundation for
the kingdom of God on earth.
Christ is indeed the savior of all people prior to the day
of judgment (I Tim. 4:10). Christ sustains the whole
universe (Col. 1:17). Without Him, no living thing
could survive. He grants to His creatures such gifts as
time, law, order, power and knowledge. He grants all of
these gifts to Satan and his rebellious host. In answer to
the question, “Does God show His grace and mercy to
all creation?” the answer is emphatically yes. To the
next question, “Does this mean that God in some way
demonstrates an attitude of favor toward Satan?” the
answer is emphatically no. God is no more favorable
toward Satan and his demons than He is to Satan’s
human followers. But this does not mean that He does
not bestow gifts upon them – gifts that they in no way
deserve.
Total Depravity and God’s Restraining Hand
Law is a means of grace; common grace to those who are
perishing, special grace to those who are elect. Law is
also a form of curse: special curse to those who are
perishing, common curse to those who are elect. We are
all under law as creatures, and because of the curse of
Adam and the creation, we suffer the temporal burdens
of Adam’s transgression. The whole world labors under
this curse (Rom. 8:18-23). Nevertheless, “all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom.
8:28). As men, we are all under law and the restraint of
law, both physical and moral law, and we can use this
knowledge of law either to bring us external blessings or
to rebel and bring destruction. But we know also that
all things work together for evil for them that hate
God, to them who are the rejected according to His
purpose (Rom. 9:17-22). Common grace – common curse,
special grace – special curse: we must affirm all four.
The transgression of the law brings a special curse to the
unregenerate. It is a curse of eternal duration. But this
same transgression brings only a common curse to the
elect. A Christian gets sick, he suffers losses, he is
blown about by the storm, he suffers sorrow, but he does
not suffer the second death (Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14). For
the believer, the common curses of life are God’s
chastening, signs of God’s favor (Heb. 12:6). The
difference between common curse and special curse is
not found in the intensity of human pain or the extent
of the loss; the difference lies in God’s attitude toward
those who are laboring under the external and
psychological burdens. There is an attitude of favor
toward the elect, but none toward the unregenerate.
The common curse of the unregenerate is, in fact, a
part of the special curse under which he will labor
forever. The common curse of the elect man is a part of
the special grace in terms of which he finally prospers.
The common curse is nonetheless common, despite its
differing effects on the eternal state of men. The law of
God is sure. God does not respect persons (Rom. 2:11),
with one exception: the person of Jesus Christ. (Christ
was perfect, yet He was punished.)
But if the effects of the law are common in cursing,
then the effects of the law are also common in grace.
This is why we need a doctrine of common grace. This
doctrine gives meaning to the doctrine of common
curse, and vice versa. The law of God restrains men in
their evil ways, whether regenerate or unregenerate.
The law of God restrains “the old man” or old sin
nature in Christians. Law’s restraint is a true blessing
for all men. In fact, it is even a temporary blessing for
Satan and his demons. All those who hate God love
death (Prov. 8:36b). This hatred of God is restrained
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