Common Grace vs. Salvation

Grace is simply undeserved kindness that God shows upon His creatures. It is His ability to bless even the worst of sinners like us, without asking anything back. I have come to learn that there are two kinds of graces; common grace and special grace. Let us look at these further.

Common grace is the overall common goodness of the Lord bestowed upon all of His creatures without discrimination, and free of charge. Consider how all of us freely enjoy the warm winter sunshine, which also gives us light. How much do we pay for a breath of fresh air? Think about a good summer rain that graciously gives the abundant waters to quench our thirst (Act 14:17).

Have you ever wondered why the world’s evilest people who cheat, rape and murder, and those who publicly blaspheme God and scorn at Him; are still allowed by the same God to breathe and equally enjoy the beauties of nature like the rest of us (Mat 5:45). Think of yourself; no matter how much you have sinned, no matter how long you spent your time away from the church door, no matter how many mornings you woke up without ever saying, “thank you Lord”, the Owner of your life still continues to be gracious you – you still eat good food and enjoy a good night sleep after a hot bath.

I have noticed a good habit from some who travel long distances; a word of prayer before they depart. That is indeed a good thing that I recommend, however, think of this: there are still a million more people around the world who travel to different places with zero care for some ‘safe journey’ prayers. Yet they are still equally protected to safe & sound arrivals by the One who is gracious and kind.

Have you ever found yourself in a desperate situation or some emergency – in desperate need of help from above? Upon calling on His name, guess what? He answered! And you received your fair share of joy. It’s the great Apostle Paul who reminded the unbelieving pagans of Athens that God is not far from everyone of us (Act 17:27). That means the good Lord and His mercies always go before each one of us, to protect and provide for – no matter how spiritual far from Him we find ourselves. 

However, of all these mercies that we everyday enjoy, none of them can wash away our sins nor save us from this imminent judgment that hangs upon every sinner (Rom 2:9). We are all still naturally evil at heart; displeasing to the same gracious God through our thinking, talking and behaviour; there is none who does good, not one (Rom 3:10-12). Therefore, we desperately need something more than common grace – we need special grace, a.k.a salvation. Salvation is simply a process in which the Almighty (through Christ) forgives us of all our sins (past, present, future) and changes us into new creatures that automatically love our Lord and desire to obey Him (2 Cor 5:17). That cannot happen naturally no matter how many of your prayers have been answered through common grace.

This is why Jesus said to Mr. Nicodemus, “Marvel not when I say unto thee, ye must be born again” (John 3:7). In other ways He was saying, “Beloved, God has really been gracious to you your whole life. He has intervened on your behalf many times when you needed Him, but that is not salvation; it's not good enough to take you to heaven; you must be washed of all your sins; you must be clothed with the perfect righteousness of Jesus – you must be born again!

Therefore, I ask you my beloved reader; how much do you appreciate this common grace that you have freely enjoyed your whole life? Even more than that I ask; have you experienced the joy of the special grace? Are you saved? Is there evidence that you are saved? If not, you can be saved here, today, now! It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done; the grace of the Lord is wider than your sins. I leave you with this wonderful promise from my Bible, It says, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:13). Thank you.

Sinothi Ncube