Common grace—What is it?

TL;DR:

Common grace is the protection and care that God gives to all creatures, regardless of their relationship with Him. Common grace may take different forms, but all types point to God’s loving nature.

The Bible teaches that God shows both common and particular grace. God’s “particular” grace is to those who put their faith in Christ. His common grace is His protection and care of all creatures, regardless of their relationship with Him. Common grace is all the beneficial and good things God does for all people, even if they choose to reject Him. Scripture shows that one form of common grace is when God protects people from committing sin, as He did for Abimelech in Genesis 20. Another form is just the opposite: when God gives people over to their sin as a way to open the door to repentance for them (Romans 1:28; 1 Timothy 1:20). The Bible teaches that God’s common grace includes the provisions He makes for all humankind—sun, rain, plants, etc. (Matthew 5:45; Acts 14:17). Regardless of the type of common grace, all forms are evidence of our Lord’s loving nature (1 Timothy 2:4).

from the old testament

One form of common grace is God's intervention in society. He proactively restrains sin and protects people from doing evil. For instance, in Genesis, God prevented Abimelech from sleeping with Sarah to protect him from sinning (Genesis 20:6).
The psalmist said, "The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made" (Psalm 145:9).

from the new testament

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about loving our enemies as a way to emulate God, who "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).
The Lord’s kindness is evident through the simple, good things that all men enjoy: the rain, the harvest, joy in the heart (Acts 14:17).
Another form of common grace is when the Lord allows bad situations to happen or revokes His restraint of evil. Those who deny God may find that He “[gives] them up” to their sin (Romans 1:28). Paul, in his letter to Timothy, mentioned two men who were "handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme" (1 Timothy 1:20). God's common grace at times works to lead people to repentance and the knowledge of the truth.

implications for today

A trend a few years ago was “paying it forward” by doing anonymous acts of kindness for complete strangers without any effort to be acknowledged for it. Maybe you’ve had your toll paid for by the person in the car in front of you, or you noticed that someone rolled in your garbage can from the curb. Those kinds of unexpected, undeserved gifts make our day.

But the truth is that we get those types of gifts every day. When we wake up in the morning and hear the birds singing and see the sun shining, when we pass some wildflowers on the way to work, when we enjoy the night constellations—we’re the beneficiaries of God’s common grace. Those gifts are available to everyone, even those who don’t acknowledge the Provider.

Even believers can take God’s gifts for granted, though. We should be intentional about thanking God, who created a world that reveals special gifts to us each day. Even the less pleasant form of God’s common grace—such as letting us learn from our sins—is something we should thank Him for because it helps our spiritual growth.

We should be grateful for all forms of God's common grace, as it shows His love for us.

understand

Common grace is God’s kindness shown to all people, regardless of their faith.
Common grace can bring people to repentance.
Every form of common grace points to God's goodness and invites gratitude.

reflect

How and how often do you recognize the simple blessings in your day as evidence of God's grace toward you?
When have you experienced God holding you back from a harmful choice, and how did that shape your understanding of His grace?
How can you grow in thankfulness for both the pleasant and the difficult forms of God’s common grace in your life?

engage

How does understanding common grace affect the way we view those who don’t yet believe in Christ?
What are some ways God might use both blessings and hardship as acts of grace to lead people toward repentance?
How can we encourage one another to be more aware of and thankful for God’s daily expressions of common grace?