What does "common grace" mean, and is it something I should believe?

I have read about common grace, and heard that it is a term invented by John Calvin, and not found in Scripture, and that he used it to slice up the concept of grace, and who God offers grace and who he doesn't. What does "common grace" mean, and is it something I should believe?

Answered by Randy Alcorn

I do not see common grace as an invention of John Calvin or any other man. Rather, I see it as a magnificent and beautiful doctrine that flows right off the pages of Scripture and is repeatedly confirmed by daily observation.

In his excellent book Bible Doctrine, Wayne Grudem says, "Common grace is the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation. The word common here means something that is common to all people and is not restricted to believers or to the elect only."

Any Bible-believing Christian should agree that some people are saved and others aren't. No matter how you understand the "elect" (whether God elects them, as I believe, or that they somehow "elect" themselves) it is a biblical term, used of people about ten times in the New Testament, and of angels at least once. All "common grace" does is point out that God loves the whole world, and exercises patience and kindness even to those who ultimately reject him. In my opinion, an Arminian (non-Calvinist) could agree with that also, and probably would if he didn't know John Calvin had used the term. (I'm wide open to another term, by the way; it's the doctrine that I wouldn't want to part with.)

Regardless of the reasons for it, if someone doesn't become saved he doesn't experience saving grace, correct? But he does experience other aspects of God's grace, what is here called "common grace." To me this just shows the depth and breadth of Christ's love. Common grace is demonstrated in Christ's words, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:44-45). If not for this, we would have "all grace to believers, no grace to unbelievers," and this would be impossible, since if no grace was shown to someone in rebellion against Christ, he couldn't draw his next breath, let alone commit his next sin.

Common grace emphasizes the goodness of God. It exactly reverses the standard logic, e.g. Rabbi Kushner who asked "Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?" and concluded in his bestselling book that God is either not all-good or not all-powerful. He bailed God out (so he thought), rescuing Him from not being good by concluding God is not all-powerful. This has become the predominant logic. Understanding neither God's holiness nor the reality and extent of our sin, we fail to realize that the question of why bad things happen to good people is exactly backwards. It's the wrong question. The real question, which angels likely ask (having seen their angelic brethren permanently evicted from Heaven for their rebellion) is "Why Do Good Things Happen to Bad People?" If we understood how God is and how we are, that is exactly the question we would ask.

This is the wonder and awesomeness of the doctrine of common grace. God graciously and kindly brings good to people who deserve the fires of Hell not simply eventually, but right now. (This goes back to the doctrine of human depravity.)

It is characteristic of bad people to not THINK of themselves (i.e. ourselves) as being bad. We imagine we are good (not perfect, but good enough). So we fail to marvel at God's common grace. When a tsunami happens we ask "Where is a good God?" But when a tsunami doesn't happen we usually fail to thank Him for restraining from us the devastations of a world in rebellion against God. And certainly we never say "Where is a just God? Why hasn't He struck me down for my sin today?" Instead, we moan that we can't find a close parking space on a rainy day.)

Jesus appeals to God's common grace as a basis for our extending grace to others, even those who hate us (cf. Luke 6:35-36). If not for God's common grace, i.e. if God brought immediate terrible judgment on unbelievers, the world as we know it wouldn't exist. Among other things, no one would have an opportunity to come to Christ, since we would be immediately cast into Hell.

Paul said to unbelievers, "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 and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:16-17). I find this a very touching statement of God's grace toward all, and an appeal for all people to realize his love, even in a world under the curse. Satan is taking his toll on this world in bondage to sin, but even though none of us deserve his grace, God extends it to us. This world gives foretastes of both Heaven and Hell. Tragically, it is the closest to Heaven the unbeliever will ever know, and wonderfully, it is the closest to Hell the child of God will ever know.

David says, "The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. . . . The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing" (Ps. 145:9, 15-16). God cares for his creation and extends his grace to all, not only people but animals, though they suffer under the curse and will until Christ's return.

Another thing I appreciate about common grace is its irony. God gives atheists not only food to eat and air to breathe, but the very minds and wills and logic that they use to argue against him. The man who says God cannot be good since he allows suffering doesn't grasp that God is withholding from him the full extent of suffering he deserves for his evil, and that is the very thing that gives the man the luxury of formulating and leveling his accusations against God.

Common grace, along with the fact that we are created in God's image, also explains how sinners can still do good. Jesus says, "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same" (Luke 6:33). This explains how human culture has developed much that is good alongside the evil. I love John 1:9, that Jesus came as the light that "enlightens every man." I think this reflects that fact that all people in history have benefited from the coming of Christ, even those who reject him. The model of Christ, his grace and truth, his elevation of women and conciliatory words created a reference point for bringing freedom and civil rights to many societies. As far as we still have to go, the progress in affirming the rights of women and racial minorities in our own culture is due not to the current beliefs of moral relativism, but to the teaching and model of Christ which sowed the seeds for later reversal of the injustice (including slavery, women unable to vote, etc.) that still hung over this country when it was founded.

As for distinguishing between common grace and saving grace, don't we agree that not all people will be saved and go to Heaven (even if we disagree on the meaning of election), yet all people are nonetheless recipients of many of God's kindnesses and provisions and acts of grace? Personally, I think John Wesley could have coined the phrase "common grace" as easily as John Calvin (though of course he would have attached different nuances to it). To me it is a wonderful doctrine, true to Scripture and true to the world we see around us.

If someone prefers to call it something besides "common grace," that's fine (though I like the term), but whatever we call it I think it's biblical and significant, and it causes me to praise God for the breadth of His grace.

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A Wretch Like Who?

Before I spoke at a conference, a soloist sang one of my favorite songs, "Amazing Grace."

It was beautiful. Until she got to the tenth word.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a soul like me."

My heart sank. The word "wretch" had been edited out! I thought about John Newton, the song-writer. This former slave-trader, guilty of the vilest sins, knew he was a wretch. And that's what made God's grace so "amazing." Mind-boggling. Knock-down awesome.

If we're nothing more than morally neutral "souls," do you see what that does? It guts grace. The better we are, the less we need grace. The less amazing it becomes. (Change the Baby Jessica story to rescuing Osama bin Laden and you have a better picture of redemption.)

The Bible makes an astounding proclamation: "God showed us his love in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
When you cut "wretch" out of the song, you shrink grace. You reduce it to something more sensible, less surprising.

If we weren't so bad without Christ, why did He have to endure the cross? Paul said if men were good enough, then "Christ died for nothing" (Galatians 2:21).

Grace never ignores the awful truth of our depravity. In fact, it emphasizes it. The worse we realize we are, the greater we realize God's grace is.



Grace isn't about God lowering His standards. It's about God fulfilling those standards through the substitutionary suffering of the Standard-setter. Christ went to the cross because He would not ignore the truths of His holiness and our sin. Grace never ignores or violates truth. Grace gave what truth demanded: the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

Human depravity may be an insulting doctrine, but grasping it is liberating. Why? Because when I realize the best I can do without Him is like "filthy rags" in His sight (Isaiah 64:6), it finally sinks in that I have nothing to offer. Salvation therefore hinges on His work, not mine.

You and I, after all, weren't (or aren't, if you don't yet know Him) merely sick in our sins, we were dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1-3). That means I'm not just unworthy of salvation, I'm utterly incapable of earning it. Corpses can't raise themselves from the grave.

What relief to realize my salvation cannot be earned by good works—and therefore can't be lost by bad ones.

If we see God as He really is, and ourselves as we really are, there's only one appropriate response: to worship Him. Humility isn't pretending we're unworthy because it's spiritual—it's recognizing we're unworthy because it's true.

A. W. Tozer said, "Only the humble are sane."

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The Cost of Grace

Hounded by the Pharisees, betrayed by a friend, forsaken by His disciples, brutalized by police, beaten by His inquisitors, led in disgrace to a rigged trial.

Arrogant men sitting in judgment over Him, crowning Him with thorns, mocking and disdaining. Beating Him without mercy, nailing Him to the cross, the worst of tortures, stretched out between thieves.

Miserably thirsty, utterly forsaken by His Father for the first time, the picture of utter aloneness.

Hell on earth! Not just one man's hell, but the hell of billions. At any moment-in a millisecond—He could have called legions of angels to deliver Him and destroy His enemies. Instead, He bears forever the scars of sin, rebellion, mockery, and hatred…the scars of God's grace.

The cost of redemption cannot be overstated. The wonders of grace cannot be overemphasized. Christ took the hell He didn't deserve so we could have the heaven we don't deserve.

If you're not stunned by the thought of grace…then you aren't grasping what grace offers you, or what it cost Jesus.

In 1987 eighteen month old "Baby Jessica" fell twenty-two feet into a Texas well. Rescuers labored nonstop to save her. After 55 grueling hours, her life hanging in the balance, finally they reached her, and extracted her from the well. The nation breathed a sigh of relief and cheered the heroes.

This was not the story: "Baby Jessica clawed her eighteen month old body up the side of that twenty-two foot well, inch by inch, digging in her little toes and working her way up. She's a hero, that Jessica!"

Baby Jessica was utterly helpless. She could do nothing to deliver herself. Her fate was in the hands of her rescuers. Left to herself Jessica had no chance. Likewise, when it comes to our salvation, we're utterly powerless. That's grace: "at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6).

We get no more applause for our redemption than Baby Jessica got for being rescued. God alone deserves the ovation. In the story of redemption, He's the only hero. And it didn't just cost him 55 hours of hard work—it cost him everything.

Do you want to say "thank you" right now?

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What is Grace?

We spent an unforgettable day in England with Phil and Margaret Holder. Margaret had been born in China to missionary parents with China Inland Mission. In 1939, when Japan took control of Eastern China, thirteen-year-old Margaret was imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp. There she remained, separated from her parents, for six years.

Margaret told us stories about a godly man called "Uncle Eric." He tutored her and was deeply loved by all the children in the camp. We were amazed to discover that "Uncle Eric" was Eric Liddell, "The Flying Scott," hero of the movie Chariots of Fire. Liddell shocked the world by refusing to run the 100 meters in the 1924 Paris Olympics, a race he was favored to win. He withdrew because the qualifying heat was on a Sunday.

Liddell won a gold medal—and broke a world record—in the 400 meters, not his strongest event. Later he went as a missionary to China. When war broke out, he sent his pregnant wife and daughters to safety. Imprisoned by the Japanese, he never saw his family in this world again. Suffering with a brain tumor, Eric Liddell died in 1945, shortly after his forty-third birthday.

Through fresh tears, Margaret told us, "It was a cold February day when Uncle Eric died."

At times it seemed unbearable to be cut off from their homes and families. But Margaret spoke with delight of "care packages falling from the sky"—barrels of food and supplies dropped from American planes.

One day, Margaret and the other children were lined up as usual to count off for roll call. Suddenly an American airplane flew low. They watched it circle and drop more of those wonderful food barrels. But as the barrels came near the ground, the captives realized something was different. Her eyes bright, Margaret told us, "This time the barrels had legs!" The sky was full of American soldiers, parachuting down to rescue them.

Margaret and several hundred children rushed out of the camp, past Japanese guards who offered no resistance. Free for the first time in six years, they ran to the soldiers, raining down everywhere. They threw themselves on their rescuers, hugging and kissing them.

Imagine the children's joy. Imagine the soldiers' joy.

God rejoices in the grace He offers, as much as we rejoice in receiving it. Whether it's Him returning from the sky to liberate us, or drawing us to Himself through our deaths, we will be rescued and at last reunited with loved ones who've gone before us. We'll be taken home.

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Achieving Balance

The apparent conflict between grace and truth isn't because they're incompatible, but because we lack perspective to resolve their paradox. The two are interdependent. We should never approach truth except in a spirit of grace, or grace except in a spirit of truth. Jesus wasn't 50% grace, 50% truth, but 100% grace, 100% truth.

Truth-oriented Christians love studying Scripture and theology. But sometimes they're quick to judge and slow to forgive. They're strong on truth, weak on grace.

Grace-oriented Christians love forgiveness and freedom. But sometimes they neglect biblical study and see moral standards as "legalism." They're strong on grace, weak on truth.

Countless mistakes in marriage, parenting, ministry and other relationships are failures to balance grace and truth. Sometimes we neglect both. Often we choose one over the other.

It reminds me of Moses, our Dalmatian.

When one tennis ball's in his mouth, the other's on the floor. When he goes for the second ball, he drops the first. Large dogs can get two balls in their mouth. Not Moses. He manages to get two in his mouth only momentarily. To his distress, one ball or the other spurts out onto the floor.

Similarly, our minds don't seem big enough to hold onto grace and truth at the same time. We go after the grace ball—only to drop the truth ball to make room for it. We need to stretch our undersized minds to hold them both at once.

A paradox is an apparent contradiction. Grace and truth aren't really contradictory. Jesus didn't switch on truth, then turn it off so He could switch on grace. Both are permanently switched on in Jesus. Both should be switched on in us.

Truth without grace breeds a self-righteousness legalism that poisons the church and pushes the world from Christ.

Grace without truth breeds moral indifference and keeps people from seeing their need for Christ.

Attempts to "soften" the gospel by minimizing truth keep people from Jesus. Attempts to "toughen" the gospel by minimizing grace keep people from Jesus.

It's not enough for us to offer grace or truth. We must offer both.

That's what this little book is all about.

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Surprised by Grace

That first century Jewish culture understood truth far better than grace. Grace comes first in John 1:14 because it was more surprising.

When Jesus stepped onto the world's stage, people could not only hear the demands of truth but see Truth Himself. No longer fleeting glimmers of grace, but Grace Himself. "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).

When God passed in front of Moses, He identified Himself as "abounding in love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6). The words translated "love" and "faithfulness" are the Hebrew equivalents of grace and truth.

Grace is a delightful, fragrant word.

It intrigues.

Attracts.

Compels.

Dazzles.

It also confounds. It's as though God said, "You know about truth. It's taught in synagogues every Sabbath. But let Me tell you about grace…."

The Old Testament teaches the fear of God, spelling out the horrendous consequences of disregarding truth. It presents truth relentlessly. Uzzah was struck down just for steadying the ark with his hand.

There's certainly grace in the Old Testament—lots of it—but it was overshadowed by truth. The Pharisees, God's self-appointed gatekeepers, never emphasized grace. Christ's hearers had seen truth in the law of Moses, but it was He who gave them their first clear view of grace. The law could only reveal sin. Jesus could remove it.

Some churches today embrace truth, but need a heavy dose of grace.

Other churches talk about grace, but cry out for a heavy dose of truth.

I invited a lesbian activist to lunch. For the first hour, she hammered me, telling of all the Christians who'd mistreated her. She seemed hard as nails. I listened, trying to show her God's grace, praying she'd see the Jesus she desperately needed. She raised her voice and cursed freely. People stared. But that was OK. Jesus went to the cross for her—the least I could do was listen.

Suddenly she was crying, sobbing, broken. I reached across the table and took her hand. For the next two hours I heard her story, her heartsickness, her doubts about the causes she championed. I told her about Christ's grace.

After four hours we walked out of that restaurant, side by side. We hugged.

In our conversation, truth wasn't shared at the expense of grace, or grace at the expense of truth.

Birds need two wings to fly. With only one wing, they're grounded. The gospel flies with the wings of grace and truth. Not one, but both.

Permissions: Feel free to reproduce and distribute any articles written by Randy Alcorn, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this information, not protect or restrict it.

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