Common Grace: Three Views

The last couple of weeks, as I have worked through Fisher’s Marrow of Modern Divinity and re-reading Andrew Fuller, I’ve been thinking about “the well meant offer” and common grace. I do not believe the Gospel offers salvation to the reprobate or that grace is common and wanted to have another study of the whole issue. After a few weeks of re-hashing the arguments I remained more convinced than ever, both the well meant offer and common grace are not scriptural ideas.

I put together the following video that helps define the three views by Rev. Hanko.

Sink into Nothin

A month ago I sent an email to Gospel Mission Books, asking about used books, and found a copy of Reformed Dogmatics by Herman Hoeksema (single volume)…for $4 bucks! Here is a quote I found today;

…the element of preservation, which implies that God by His omnipresent power bears all things, and causes them to continue to exist. God must literally hold all things in His hand. He cannot, as the Deist would have it, withdraw Himself even for a moment from the works of His hands. If He did, they would at that very moment sink back into nothing. God upholds all things. The providence of God is not a continued act of creation: for to create means that He calls the things that are not as if they were. But by His providence He nevertheless causes all things that are not as if they were.

 

jm

The Thesis

By Herman Hoeksema

We are all acquainted with the term antithesis. Perhaps, most of us have used the term. Many of us frequently employ the word to denote the proper relation and attitude of the Christian to the world. In general it signifies that the Christian is not of the world, though he is in the world; that he is a child of light, and the world lieth in darkness; and that light can have no fellowship with the darkness. The words of II Cor. 6:14-18 express the antithesis: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you; and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Recently the truth of the antithesis is become the object of a new interest and is receiving a new emphasis.

[read the rest here]

Herman Hoeksema: A Theological Biography by Baskwell

Quote: Summary In the Christian Reformed Church in America in 1924, one of its ministers, Rev. Herman Hoeksema, resisted the adoption of the ‘doctrine’ of common grace and its being given confessional status within the church. The ‘doctrine’ maintained that God has a favorable attitude towards to all humanity, particularly in a free offer of the Gospel to all. Common grace also allows good works in the civic and cultural realms to be attributed to non-believers; works which God finds acceptable and is pleased with. Closely connected with the latter, common grace also designates one of the functions of the Holy Spirit as working in the hearts of unbelievers to restrain sin. Hoeksema resisted these ‘innovations’ as detrimental to both the Reformed Church and its heritage. As a result of his stance, Hoeksema was expelled from the ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. Together with two other ministers of like mind and a small faction from his church, Hoeksema founded the Protestant Reformed Churches in 1924. Herman Hoeksema was an interesting man to say the least. In many ways, he was a study in contradictions. He was both insightful and innovative, some would say brilliant, he was logical to a fault, and he had an inordinate love of fighting. In this thesis both the man and his theology are examined, especially from the standpoint of common grace. [end quote]

Read it online here.