The End of Common Grace

The basic ambiance of the universe is one of reconciliation, and it has been for 6000 years. That is about to change. When the Lord gathers His people, then His attitude toward those who remain (except for a small preserved remnant) will not be reconciliation, but wrath.

Today, things generally go well. Murphy’s law “what can go wrong will go wrong” is humorous because it really doesn’t square with reality. Even among unbelievers and God-haters and Christ-rejecters, common grace remains both operative and lavish. A lot of things that could go wrong don’t: Near-misses that could have been serious accidents; unexpected grace from an employer (“you screwed up but I’ll give you one more chance”); a sick loved one who suddenly recovers after the doctors have told you “it’s incurable and irreversible.” This is God being gracious, and this is “common”; that is, available to all. As the scripture says, it rains on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45).

The new normal will be a world without common grace, and it will be truly frightening. After the rapture, Murphy’s law will be business as usual. Those who aren’t interested in God when He is proactively gracious will get a taste of life without His grace. Some think this may lead to remorse or even repentance. If so, there’s no hint of it in Revelation. Rather, because sinful men have enjoyed God’s goodness so consistently and for so long, they have come to think that they DESERVE His compassion.

The absence of common grace is just one part of the horror that awaits. The trumpet and bowl judgments are God’s positive response to the wickedness in men who refuse to repent. I would expect that if the wrath of God were redemptive, we would see evidence of a huge revival during these judgments. However, John tells us that “…the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands… and they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (Rev. 9:20-21 – more of the same at Rev. 15:9) The work of God is that we believe in Jesus (John 6:29) and Jesus told us that “the night is coming when no man can work.” (John 9:4)

God’s wrath is not intended to lead to the redemption of the wicked. Rather, we see in Romans 2:4 that “… the goodness of God leads you to repentance” – that His divine forbearance and longsuffering are for our ultimate salvation; that “whosoever will” has ample time to turn from his wicked ways, and that all can “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8)

What is about to come upon the earth is not the sort of thing that a prudent man can either endure or avoid by stocking up dried food and having a secret bunker in the country. There is only one safe place, and that is IN CHRIST. If your trust is in anything or anyone besides Jesus Christ when the trumpet sounds, you will face a future that is a whole lot worse than you could imagine, and contrary to what some believe and teach, there will be no “second chance.”

My concern is for two types of people (and I hope you will forward the link to this post to anyone you know who may qualify). First: those who are lost. Some may not have heard; many have heard and have not believed. Second: those I call the “Matthew 7:21 crowd” – those who are practicing a religion but lack the relationship with Christ. Paul says we should examine ourselves (2 Cor. 3:5). Do you love Jesus? Do you hate sin? Do you regularly hunger for the scriptures? Do you love other believers? Is your faith transforming your life?

If you truly believe that all God expects from you is an hour on Sunday morning, a life sanitized from gross sin, and regular financial contributions, then you are distant from the Savior. If you pay lip-service to the commands of Christ and spend more time in front of the TV than in the scriptures, you need to seriously consider whether you are truly saved, because you probably are not. Perhaps you just had an emotional experience once in a church, said a prayer, maybe got baptized, and now you think you’re safe.

You will see Jesus Christ face-to-face. You will be required to give an account to Him if you are His. If you are self-deceived, He will look at you and say, “Depart from Me. I NEVER knew you.” If that frightens you, it should.

This is not intended to be gloom-and-doom. But it is intended to be a sober warning. Please don’t be deceived by any of the following beliefs: 1) that the end times are probably a long way off (even if true, your death and judgment could happen at any time), 2) that if one is prepared, he can survive God’s wrath, or 3) if one is left behind when the rapture happens, he can then “get saved” during the period of wrath that follows, or 4) if someone is involved in some form of “Christian religion” then he will be saved.

Remember Lot’s wife?