What Is Common Grace?

What is common grace? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. We'd love to hear from you. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites, and of course you can always email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Jason calling in from Missouri. Jason, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, I was just calling because recently I've been going through and kind of just looking at some of the differences between Islam and Christianity, because I know they have a lot of similarities. One of the primary ones being that Muslims claim that Jesus was just a prophet and not the Messiah, so I was just kind of wanting to see what kind of verses that are in the Bible that you can point and say, no, this was the Messiah, this is who the prophets were talking about.

Boy, I mean, there are so many places to go, Jason. I think it's excellent that you're studying this, that you're looking into this right now. And of course one of the big problems, I mean, not just with Muslims minimizing the identity of Jesus Christ, but so many people are willing to say, well, Jesus was a good religious teacher, he was a prophet, you know, he was a zealot, he was something, but he wasn't God. And that's the issue. And at the heart of this is, I would say, a great deception that's out there. I mean, one of the ways that the evil one is working, the primary way that the evil one works in the world today, the spirit of the antichrist, as John says in 1 John, is to confuse people about the identity of Jesus. And so when you have these religions that claim to believe in Jesus and say, oh, no, we confess that he was a prophet, that he was a great teacher, but they reject who he said he was, you have a real issue. Now, where would I go in scripture to highlight that Jesus was more than just a prophet? There are a number of places, but one place in particular that I might go is John 8 and a discussion that Jesus has with the religious leaders. The Jews answered him, this is verse 48, are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?

Whoa, take it easy there. And Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor my father and you dishonor me, yet I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. The Jews said to him, now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Well, by the way, the Jews recognize something there that, you know, when he says keeps my word, this is the word of God. That's why they said, well, Abraham died, didn't he keep it? And so this is more than just, you know, Jesus claiming to be a mere man or a great teacher. This is the one who taught Abraham the word, if you will. Are you greater than our father Abraham who died and the prophets who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?

Now that's a very important question. John chapter eight, verse 53, the Jews say to Jesus, who do you make yourself out to be? Who are you claiming to be here? And Jesus answered, if I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my father who glorifies me of whom you say he is your God, but you have not known him. I know him.

If I were to say I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. And so the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old and you say you have seen Abraham. And Jesus said to the John chapter eight, verse 58, Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you before Abraham was, I am.

And so what did they do? They picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. Now, now where does that language come from?

I am. Jesus is echoing the burning bush scene where, you know, Moses says, you know, who shall I say sent me? When I go to the children of Israel, you know, what do I, what's your name? God, essentially. And God says to him, I am that I am. And so here Jesus is identifying himself with, with the Lord God almighty. This is why the Jews there, what do they do? They pick up stones to throw at him. And so his, his claim, I mean, this is an answer to their question.

Who do you make yourself out to be? Jesus responds very strongly here. And as a result, they want to kill him. And so there's, there's no mistake about what Jesus is claiming in this text. And if we're going to do justice to the words of scripture, if we're really going to say, Oh, you know, Jesus, you know, I believe Jesus was a great teacher or a prophet.

Well, listen to what he said, because he claimed to be more than just that. And Jason, if you're talking to Muslims about Christianity, a lot of times you can take them to passages in the gospels and in the epistles that really clearly demonstrate that Jesus is God. And what they'll, what they'll fall back on is they'll say, well, those, those documents were corrupted. You know, we can't really trust them.

And so it's sort of like this double-edged sword. They'll say, no, we respect the Bible. We respect, respect the teachings of Jesus, but then they've made themselves the ultimate judge of those, those teachings. So that when it contradicts with what they say, they reject it as, as some kind of a corruption. And so that's just something you're gonna have to watch out for.

Thanks for reaching out. It's fascinating. And it's not just Muslims, as you said, there are many in our culture who would say, Oh, good guy, prophet, you know, great teacher. We want to accept everyone. I mean, in a, in a pluralistic society, you know, religious pluralism where, I mean, this was very similar to how the Roman empire was as well, by the way, it's just like, Oh yeah, whatever gods you want to bring. Sure.

We love them all. So long as your God doesn't challenge our gods, like so long as your God doesn't challenge our idols. And that's precisely, precisely what happened in the first few centuries is the Christian God, Jesus, the true God did in fact challenge the pagan gods of the world and overcame them.

And there's a lot more that we could say about that, but it's just, you're right, Bill. It's, it's people want to accept their own version of Jesus. They don't want to accept Jesus as Lord God almighty. And it's not just idols. It's, I don't want a God who challenges me and what I want, right?

Well, that's, I mean, that's the thing. I think today we, we have become the greatest idol. It's everyone, everyone following, you know, the dictates of their own heart. I'm, I'm, I'm the King. I'm the Lord.

I'm the sovereign. So don't get in the way of that. And Jesus does. He does big time.

Yeah. This is core Christianity with pastor Adriel Sanchez. Love to hear from you. If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life doctrine, theology, give us a call right now. Here's our phone number 833-THE-CORE. We'll be taking calls for the next 15 minutes or so. 1-833-843-2673.

Let's go to CJ calling in from Kansas. CJ, what's your question for Adriel? Yes, I was wanting to know. I heard a pastor say that the Antichrist will not know who he is when he comes.

I was wondering if you could clarify this. That's an interesting point. So a couple of things I would want to say, CJ, I mentioned 1st John just with the previous caller in, and the Bible is very clear that the spirit of the Antichrist has already been at work in the world ever since the days of the apostles early on deceiving people about the identity of Jesus Christ and the nature of his work on our behalf. So Satan wants to confuse us about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.

And we see that everywhere. We see the influence of the spirit of the Antichrist everywhere. But it does seem like in the New Testament there's one figure in particular associated with the second coming of our Lord who leads this great rebellion, this great deception.

Paul seems to refer to him in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 as the man of lawlessness. And your question, CJ, is does the Antichrist know that he's the Antichrist? Or is he deceived himself? Well, we know that all of this is happening according to the spiritual forces that are at work behind the scenes, satanic influence, satanic possession, demonic possession.

And I mean, my sense is, yes, there is some kind of a self-conception here, at least in terms of this rebellion that's being led. I just want to read some of 2nd Thessalonians 2 where Paul says, Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. You see, it seemed like in Thessalonica there were some Christians that were saying, hey, the day of the Lord has already come. Maybe the second coming has already taken place.

And he says, don't let people trip you up. Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first. The Greek word that's used there is the word for apostasy, this great apostasy. And the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

Do you not remember that when I was with you, I told you these things, and you know what is restraining him now, so that he may be revealed in his time. So he's not yet been revealed. The revelation of the Antichrist is probably going to happen at the same time. It's going to be contemporaneous with the coming of our Lord, who's going to destroy him with the breath of his mouth.

And so that's what I would say to you, is it does seem to me, at least, like there is some sense of understanding. Obviously, these prophecies are very clear. And the last thing I would just add is it's our job not to fix our attention or our focus on who is the Antichrist? Is it this leader in tech?

Is it this politician? No, our focus needs to be on the true Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, growing in our understanding of who he is, growing in his word, growing in the love that's wrought in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. That's where God wants us to focus. And that's how we're prepared for the great challenges that the scripture says will come prior to the second coming. AMT This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Love to hear from you if you have any questions about the Bible or the Christian life. Maybe something going on in your personal Christian walk that is troubling to you. Maybe something happening in your church that you're kind of confused about or wondering what to do. Feel free to give us a call at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to a voicemail from one of our listeners. This is Christopher. AMT My question is, John 1034 says that Jesus said, you are God. Are we God? Yes or no? I just want to know a simple answer to that question.

Thank you. JZ All right, simple answer is no. We are not God's, not like God is. I mean, so one of the big things that we affirm as Christians is the distinction between the Creator, God the Creator, and the creature. And so we were made in the image of God, and through the grace of God, we can become God-like, if you will.

But that distinction between God the Creator and us as creatures made in the image of God never goes away. And so that text that you're referencing in John chapter 10, it's a quotation from the book of Psalms in Psalm chapter 82. So it's really important to understand the context as with everything in the Bible, but going to that Psalm right now, Psalm chapter 82, verses 6 and 7, listen to what it says here. I said you are God. This is God speaking to his people, in particular the judges, the rulers among his people. I said you are God, sons of the most high, all of you.

Nevertheless, like men, you shall die and fall like any prince. And then verse 8 says, arise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall inherit all the nations. And essentially what was happening here was great injustice among the people of God. They were supposed to be God-like in judging and in exercising just judgments, but they didn't do that.

And so what happened? They were judged. Arise, O God. You know, this is the end of the Psalm. Again, judge the earth.

That's what's happening. Even at the beginning of the Psalm, God has taken his place in the divine council. In the midst of the gods, he holds judgment. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?

See what's happening there? You're saying, look, you're called to rule well, to be just judges, to exercise authority, and yet what you've done with this position of leadership that you've been given is you're showing partiality to the wicked. Instead, verse 3, give justice to the weak and fatherless. Maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy. Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

By the way, this is what God calls us to, right, as his people. This is what doing justice looks like. It looks like caring for the widow and the orphan, the destitute, those who are being crushed by oppressors. It looks like standing up and giving a voice to their cries and coming to their assistance. That's what wasn't happening in Israel. You think about when Jesus shows up in the gospels, the religious leaders at that time who were called to judge justly. Instead, Jesus says, hey, they're devouring widows' houses. They're not providing for or caring for widows.

On the contrary, they're devouring their homes. What's the judgment? Well, you're going to die. You're going to die. And that's what's happening there. So, again, context is so important.

And there's your simple answer that I get longer than I shit on. So, yeah. Thank you for your brevity.

Not. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life. By the way, Christopher's question there came from the book of John. And we have a Bible study on the book of John. We have a bunch of great Bible studies from both the Old and New Testament that we would love to get in your hands because we are convinced that as you study God's word, it will help you grow in your faith.

Yeah. This study in particular that we put together here at Core Christianity on the Gospel of John is one of the more popular studies. I've heard so many good things about the study, the 10-week study through the Gospel of John. Many people have been edified by it.

And so we just want to offer that one in particular to you today. And it's a wonderful resource, especially if you're looking to dig into one of the Gospels. Maybe you're a newer believer and you're thinking, okay, where do I start? Well, I always tell people, man, the Gospel of John is a great place to go. And this resource is going to help you go through the Gospel of John and illuminate it some for you. And so get a hold of this resource over at corechristianity.com.

Check out some of those Bible studies and some of our other resources. You can find out more by going to corechristianity.com forward slash radio. Again, corechristianity.com forward slash radio. Well, we do receive voicemails here at the Core. You can call us 24 hours a day with your voicemail 833-THE-CORE is the number. You can also email us at questions at corechristianity.com.

Here's an email from Sadie. She says, I always hear about God's grace and I think I understand what it means, but a friend of mine was talking about the doctrine of common grace and I'd never heard that term before. Can you please explain it? Yeah, great. So this is a wonderful question. I mean, when we think about grace, there are different ways that that's been defined. I like the definition of God's grace is his demerited favor.

In other words, it's not just that we don't deserve it, it's we deserve the opposite. We've demerited his grace. We deserve God's judgment and curse, right? All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And yet what does God do? He sends his son into the world to redeem us.

That would be God's saving grace. And oftentimes when people think about common grace, they're contrasting that or distinguishing between God's saving grace. And so God's saving grace is what he's done in history to redeem us from our sins through his son Jesus Christ. Common grace is God's general goodness to the entire world.

It's what preserves society. It's what sustains through God's providence, you know, the nations of the world, the peoples of the world. It's not leading us per se to salvation in the same or doesn't save us in the same way that the preaching of the gospel does. But you just think about the many ways in which God is good to the nations of the world, even the nations of the world that reject him. Jesus made this very clear. He said in Matthew chapter five, as we're encouraged to love our enemies, you know, those who persecute us and whatnot, he says that we're doing this in one sense, just as our father loves his enemies.

He says in verse 45, Matthew five, verse 45, that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven for he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. That's common grace. You know, the fact you know, the fact that God is giving the nations of the world, you know, medicine and crops and all of these things, it's his general goodness. You also, I think, see an example of this in Acts chapter 14, the preaching of the apostles, Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, and they say in verse 16, this is Acts 14 verse 16, in past generations he allowed all nations to walk in their own ways, yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. There again is common grace. It's the goodness of God to humanity to preserve and sustain humanity, and the goal of that preservation is so that we might experience his saving grace as well, so that we might come into the knowledge of Jesus Christ and walk with the true and the living God and have our sins forgiven. And so, Sadie, appreciate that question and giving us an opportunity to talk about those two words, common grace and saving grace.

Great explanation. Thank you for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. By the way, we're going to be recording a second episode of Core Christianity in just a few minutes after our live program ends.

And if you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, feel free to give us a call. You can call us for the next 30 minutes or so. Here's the number, 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673.

Let's go to Marty calling in from Wichita, Kansas. Marty, what's your question for Adriel? I have a problem. There's a lady in our church that's been very rude to not only me but other people. And I've tried in numerous ways to win her friendship and try to love her like Christ says I'm supposed to. And she just denies that there's anything wrong. And she interrupts people. She's going to be talking to someone and she'll come up and just interrupt you and just start talking to them about something else. And I'll speak to her. I'll say hi to her. And she won't speak to me. And I've asked my preacher what to do. And he says, well, just pray for her.

And it's kind of tough to love someone that is rude. I have a son in a wheelchair and she'll speak to him and she'll come up and talk to him. And the other day I was trying to say hi to her and she said, I'm talking to your son. I said, you can't even say hi to me? She said no. She just kept talking to my son. So it seems, Marty, like maybe she has a personal problem. Is it just with you?

You mentioned there are others, but it sounds to me like for whatever reason it's something that she has against you? Well, I don't know. But yesterday we had communion, first Sunday of the month, and I couldn't take it. But she did.

She didn't have a problem taking it. So I'm baffled. Now, okay. And Marty, are you saying you couldn't take it because you just felt like your heart was not in a good place because of this situation?

Yes, yes. Well, I'm so sorry to hear about this situation. I mean, these kinds of conflicts within the body of Christ are so painful because either these are your brothers and sisters that you're worshiping side by side with. And let me just say at the Lord's table, you know, where we're partaking of the Lord's Supper together, that should be the picture of our unity together as the body of Christ. Just as one body, the one body of our Lord Jesus Christ was broken for the remission of all of our sins.

We are one body. And this person, this is your sister in Christ. And it's always, you know, when there are situations like this, you know, it's always so heartbreaking because we're called to be unified as a church all throughout the pages of the New Testament.

It's what Jesus prayed for in his high priestly prayer in John chapter 17. And so the first thing I would say is, you know, I think your pastor's advice to be praying for her is really good, but it sounds to me like she, for whatever reason, has an issue with you, and she hasn't been clear about what that is. And so I would say, maybe confronting is too strong of a word to use, but definitely wanting to get to the bottom of, hey, you are my sister in Christ, and I don't know if I've done something to offend you, or if I've sinned against you in some way, but if I have, let me know because I want to repent of that, I want to confess that, but I sense that there is something that you have against me.

And I'd like to know what's going on here. Additionally, I would say to you, Marty, we all need the Lord's Supper. I mean, we come as broken sinners to the table, recognizing that our hearts are not perfect. And so, I mean, if you were harboring and clinging to evil in that moment or something like that, I would say you take that to the Lord at the table and say, God, be merciful to me because this is my sister and we're united through baptism and through the body of your son, Jesus Christ.

Bring peace and reconciliation and help me, oh Lord, to get to the bottom of whatever this is because it's hurtful. And it's not a good witness for the church when we're divided like this. And so pray, but I think it sounds like there needs to be more of a direct communication with her. And maybe this is something that your pastor, your minister can help with in saying, oh yeah, just speaking as a pastor myself, it's always hard. We want to see the people in our church loving one another and getting along. And when there are these kinds of divisions that keep us from being able to take communion side by side, oh boy, there's a real issue there.

And so this is an important thing. And I would hope that your pastor or the elders of that church, that your church would be willing to come alongside of you guys and help you work through whatever this is so that there can be true unity and peace and restoration in a sense of the love of God that you've been given through Jesus Christ. And so let me just take a quick moment to pray for you, Marty. Father, be with Marty in this situation, Lord. Bring healing and bring clarity and bring restoration and be with him and be with this sister and be with the pastor as well. We pray, Father in Jesus' name.

Amen. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833, the CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.