“The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” (Psalm 145:9 ESV)
Scripture draws an emphatic line in the sand between the elect and the reprobate. The former receives the special, regenerating grace of the Lord that brings spiritual life while the latter remains in condemnation. There will be sheep in the final judgment and there will be goats. There will be those who will dwell with Christ forever in eternal bliss and those who will be condemned to eternal destruction.
Despite this clear distinction, however, every human being, without distinction or exception, is the recipient of divine grace. David writes, “The LORD is good to all,” which is a beautiful affirmation of the common grace of God. While the Lord does withhold special grace from some, it is equally true that “he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).
God’s merciful dealing with humanity is for his utmost glory. While he is providential with his grace, he is by no means stingy with it. He bountifully dispenses his grace on mankind to restrain evil and to prevent man from falling into the deepest depravity of which he is capable. He also grants innumerable blessings to even the most rebellious of his image bearers. No man can truly say that he has received nothing good from God, for even the breath he breathes testifies to the bountiful goodness of God to him.
This expression of the universal goodness of God is an expansion on David’s previous statement in verse 8. The steadfast love of the Lord is, in its truest sense, restricted only to those united with Christ. While the reprobate is merely an external observer of the glories of redemptive grace, he fully enjoys the blessings of common grace. John Calvin says it this way:
Forgiveness of sin is a treasure from which the wicked are excluded, but their sin and depravity does not prevent God from showering down his goodness upon them, which they appropriate without being at all sensible of it.
God offers fullness of joy (Psalm 116:11) to all, but those who reject Christ receive only a taste of that joy and are ignorant of the true blessing that taste is. They are like a guest whom you invite into your home to share a meal. The guest enjoys a taste of the familial joy that exists within the home, but after the meal, he must exit the house, and the doors are closed behind him. He receives true joy and goodness, but it is shallow and fleeting compared to the deep, abiding joy and goodness which a son enjoys. The guest is a mere observer rather than a true participant of the blessings of the family.
It is only through Christ that the rebel becomes a son (John 1:12). Many are called to receive the full benefits of adoption and the abiding, steadfast love of the Lord, yet their rebellion prevents an inheritance because they refuse to repent, believe, and enter the house as a son.
All creation has experiential knowledge of divine goodness. Every human being has been touched by divine grace and mercy. Yet, there is so much more offered through Christ. This is the offer of the gospel. And this is why we engage in missions: to tell the world that, while common grace is wonderful, the redemptive grace of Christ is infinitely more wonderful.
How great and marvelous is God to exercise grace unconditionally. If God merely showed common grace, we would not have even the slightest grounds for complaint. All creation, without exception, owes God praise for his common grace.
Therefore, to the unbeliever, we say, “Come and receive infinitely fuller grace in Christ. Do not be content to receive the blessings of a guest, but come receive the eternal and steadfast love of the Lord as a son.”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
You are a merciful God who dispenses your common grace to all humanity. You give sun and rain to all of your creation. We pray that those who only know the blessings of common grace would be drawn into your spiritual family through faith alone in Christ alone.
In Christ’s name, amen.
Prayer Requests:
- Tuesday: Pray for more teammates to join the Central Mediterranean team, as there are great needs. Especially pray for teachers for the Balkans S.T.E.A.M. school.
- Wednesday: Pray for the anti-trafficking ministry in Czech Republic and for someone to join that team as its lead.
- Thursday: Pray for the ongoing conflict in Israel and for the safety of all involved. Above all, pray that Jews, Muslims, and other unbelievers would come to know Christ as their Messiah.
- Friday: Pray for an evangelistic English as a Second Language ministry in Poland and for members to be added to that team.
- Saturday: Pray for the 29 new missionaries commissioned at ABWE recently to have fruitful and effective prefield ministries.
- Sunday: Pray for the unity of churches in the Middle East, which is constantly under strain and threat.
- Monday: Pray for missionaries to remain supremely faithful to the proclamation of the gospel.
