Days of Vengeance - The Preterist Archive

APPENDIX C
during history. Evil men are given power, life, and time
that they do not deserve. So is Satan. They cannot fully
work out the implications of their rebellious, suicidal
faith, for God’s restraint will not permit it.
The common grace which restrains the totally
depraved character of Satan and all his followers is, in
fact, part of God’s special curse on them. Every gift
returns to condemn them on the day of judgment,
heaping coals of fire on their heads. On the other hand,
the common grace of God in law also must be seen as a
part of the program of special grace to His elect. God’s
special gifts to His elect, person by person, are the
source of varying rewards on the day of judgment (I
Cor. 3:11-15). Common grace serves to condemn the
rebels proportionately to the benefits they have
received on earth, and it serves as the operating
backdrop for the special grace given to the elect. The
laws of God offer a source of order, power, and
dominion. Some men use this common grace to their
ultimate destruction, while other use it to their eternal
benefit. It is nonetheless common, despite its differing
effects on the eternal state of men.
The Good That Men Do
The Bible teaches that there is no good thing inherent
in fallen man; his heart is wicked and deceitful (Jer.
17:9). All our self-proclaimed righteousness is as filthy
rags in the sight of God (Isa. 64:6). Nevertheless, we
also know that history has meaning, that there are
permanent standards that enable us to distinguish the
life of Joseph Stalin from the life of Albert Schweitzer.
There are different punishments for different unregenerate
men (Luke 12:45-48). This does not mean
that God in some way favors one lost soul more than
another. It only means that in the eternal plan of God
there must be an eternal affirmation of the validity and
permanence of His law. It is worse to be a murderer
than a liar or a thief. Not every sin is a sin unto death
(I John 5:16-17). History is not some amorphous,
undifferentiated mass. It is not an illusion. It has
implications for eternity. Therefore, the law of God
stands as a reminder to unregenerate men that it is
better to conform in part than not to conform at all,
even though the end result of rebellion is destruction.
There are degrees of punishment (Luke 12:47-48).
But what is the source of the good that evil men do? It
can be no other than God (James 1:17). He is the
source of all good. He restrains men in different ways,
and the effects of this restraint, person to person,
demon to demon, can be seen throughout all eternity.
Not favor toward the unregenerate, but rather perfect
justice of law and total respect toward the law of God
on the part of God Himself are the sources of the good
deeds that men who are lost may accomplish in time
and on earth. There are, to use the vernacular,
“different strokes for different folks,” not because God
is a respecter of persons, but because the deeds of
different men are different.
The Knowledge of the Law
The work of the law is written on every man’s heart.
There is no escape. No man can plead ignorance (Rom.
2:11-14). But each man’s history does have meaning,
and some men have been given clearer knowledge than
others (Luke 12:47-48). There is a common knowledge of
the law, yet there is also special knowledge of the law –
historically unique in the life of each man. Each man
will be judged by the deeds that he has done, by every
word that he has uttered (Rom. 2:6; Matt. 12:36). God
testifies to His faithfulness to His word by distinguishing
every shade of evil and good in every man’s
life, saved or lost.
Perhaps a biblical example can clarify these issues. God
gave the people who dwelt in the land of Canaan an
extra generation of sovereignty over their land. The
slave mentality of the Hebrews, with the exceptions of
Joshua and Caleb, did not permit them to go in and
conquer the land. Furthermore, God specifically
revealed to them that He would drive the people out,
city by city, year by year, so that the wild animals could
not take over the land, leaving it desolate (Ex. 23:27-
30). Did this reveal God’s favor toward the Canaanites?
Hardly.
He instructed the Hebrews to destroy them, root and
branch. They were to be driven out of their land
forever (Ex. 23:32-33). Nevertheless, they did receive a
temporal blessing: an extra generation or more of
peace. This kept the beasts in their place. It allowed the
Hebrews to mature under the law of God. It also
allowed the Hebrews to heap coals of fire on the heads
of their enemies, for as God told Abraham, the
Hebrews would not take control of the promised land
in his day, “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet
full” (Gen. 15:16). During that final generation, the
iniquity of the Amorites was filled to the brim. Then
came destruction.
The Canaanites did receive more than they deserved.
They stayed in the land of their fathers for an extra
generation. Were they beneficiaries? In the days of
wandering for the Hebrews, the Canaanites were
beneficiaries. Then the final payment, culturally
speaking, came due, and it was exacted by God through
His people, just as the Egyptians had learned to their
woe. They cared for the land until the Hebrews were fit
to take possession of it. As the Bible affirms, “the
wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just” (Prov.
13:22b). But this in no way denies the value of the
sinner’s wealth during the period in which he controls
it. It is a gift from God that he has anything at all. God
has restrained the sinners from dispersing their wealth
in a flurry of suicidal destruction. He lets them serve as
caretakers until that day that it is transferred to the
regenerate.
The Hivites of Gibeon did escape destruction. They
were wise enough to see that God’s people could not be
beaten. They tricked Joshua into making a treaty with
them. The result was their perpetual bondage as menial
laborers, but they received life, and the right to pursue
happiness, although they forfeited liberty. They were
allowed to live under the restraints of God’s law, a far
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