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Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Psalm 7-10
Romans 1:16-32

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Romans 1:24 (CSB): “Therefore God delivered them over …”

Romans 1:26 (CSB): “For this reason God delivered them over …”

Romans 1:28 (CSB): “And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over…” (emphasis mine throughout)

Reflecting on God’s Word

Theologians call it “common grace.” It’s the grace God lavishes upon all people, regardless of their association with Him or behavior. Someone could be the most evil of people, and he would still be the object of a measure of common grace until he exits this life.

Matthew 5:43-45 (CSB): “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (emphasis mine)

Did you get that? God doesn’t just send sunshine and rain on those who follow Him. He sends it to everyone! That’s common grace.

God’s common grace manifests itself in multiple ways, one of which is illustrated in the verses I previously referenced from Romans 1. Clearly, as we read Romans 1:18-32 and see that it ends in unfettered sinfulness and even applauding such a sorry condition, we realize we are looking at an unbeliever. So, as we observe the downward spiral of an unbeliever, we realize that it is in that context that we read of “God delivering them over.”

If I could oversimplify what this looks like, it’s as if God has unbelievers fenced in. Their sinful choices are limited. Yet, if they persist in sin and want more, God will honor their choice and remove a protective barrier so that they can go into deeper sin. God will remove another barrier if they persist in that state and desire to engage in even greater degrees of disobedience.

But God’s common grace shows up in the fact that sinners do not immediately become as bad as they can be. They have to insist on breaking through God’s protective barriers around them. And those barriers are manifestations of His grace.

This principle of common grace works in the life of Christians as well. Have you ever had a Christian friend or a Christian leader you respected fall into some public, grievous sin? We may be tempted to think that they went from living a life of holiness straight into that sin that destroyed them and harmed those around them. But that’s not the case. In reality, God’s common grace and His protective barriers were being abused for quite some time in the shadows. It only became known when the most grievous of sins became public.

This principle demonstrates how sinful sin really is. When we break God’s laws, it’s not merely a sinful choice that we make. It is when we are literally pushing against God’s loving, protective barriers. When our sin progresses to something worse, it’s because we were content to violate His Word and push until He removed His barrier of protection to let us do what we desired.

But God’s love and common grace show up even in that scenario. It’s called … consequences. The pain of consequences is a reminder that sin is stupid. Consequences are good in that they motivate us not to commit the same sin again and encourage others not to do it either.

So, in a world that is sin-sick and where even Jesus-followers disobey God’s clear commands, we see God’s common grace. It is there to keep us from getting any worse than we are, and is there to punish us when we violate His Word to give us an opportunity to repent.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to help you see what He has done and is doing to help you stay away from sin and on the road to greater degrees of holiness.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into common grace, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“What is common grace?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)