δουλογος: Friday Thoughts

Anon,

Piper is right in describing how the death of Christ is an expression of God's mercy and grace that is extended to all men equally.

Just as sunlight and rain are not mercies that attend the elect only, but everyone, so too, mercy and grace are available to all, bar none.

The problem is that we have to qualify what we mean when we say that.

Grace is not a substance; not a thing that you receive in part as though you could chip a bit of grace off a larger chunk of grace, and keep collecting more and more of it; nor is it like a substance in that it exists in some way separate from the one extending it. Grace is something that God, in the perfection of His divine character extends to people. it is an expression of the nature of God. It is the same with mercy, though people don't often think of mercy as some disembodied entity like they sometimes do with grace.

If God has, in His grace and mercy, determined to elect a group of guilty sinners from amongst a larger group of guilty sinners, we recognize that as an act of mercy and grace - an act that declares the character of God. To show mercy to guilty sinners in electing to justify them through the death and resurrection of Christ and appropriated through the means of a faith that God provides to those whom He has elected to impart this mercy upon.

Notwithstanding, in order for these elect sinners to even be born, God must allow/endure, the lives of sinners who are not recipients of this particular grace, but who benefit from it nevertheless.

When Abraham pleahs for the lives of everyone in the city, he appeals to God's justice - will you destroy the righteous along with the wicked? If there are ten righteous men in the city, will the God of all the earth destroy these righteous people on account of those who ware wicked amongst whom they live? That is, will you snuff out the life of the innocent just to destroy the guilty?

The answer of course was no. So that if there had been ten righteous men in that city (and there wasn't) God would have spared the lives of every wicked sinner in that city for the sake of the innocent ones who lived there.

That is an expression of God's grace and mercy. It is this same grace and mercy which is being exercised daily in this world - God allows the wicked to continue living for the sake of the elect - that they might be born, and live, and by faith be redeemed according to God's preordination.

Thus the temporal benefits that flow from the mercy and grace of God that is presently being directed at the elect has unilateral consequences. Because God is merciful and gracious to the elect, that same mercy and grace means that every living thing on earth continues to benefit from the life that God supplies.

Even the gospel is preached to everyone, elect and non-elect alike - even though none will ever receive it in faith apart from grace. For every person, apart from grace will only ever reject the gospel, for we all are in a state of rebellion, unwilling to be reconciled to God apart from His working in us - a work that we have no desire for Him to do in us, apart from His instilling it in us the very act of grace and mercy we are talking about - the same act that bleeds out temporal benefit to all mankind.