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Richard Tallach · #**178** (**permalink**) 07-05-2009, 06:21 PM

Well, I doubt I can do any better than Van Til!

But there is the point that they are called graces in Scripture, whether we're talking about the elect or not. They're not called operations of God's despite, hatred, loathing and contempt in the case of the reprobate.

There is also the case that if God can be nuanced in His attitude to the elect before they're converted and even afterwards, why may He not be nuanced in His attitude to the reprobate before the Spirit stops striving with them or they end up in Hell.

You may plead "logic" but I don't feel I am forced to choose between God both having hatred for the reprobate and God being gracious to the reprobate in this life, by Scripture, any more than I'm forced to choose between God's sovereignty and Man's genuine responsibility.

There are sometimes mysteries and paradoxes in theology. Why does the Spirit strive with men who He knows He is not going to save? An ultimate reason will be that their condemnation will be greater because of the grace they have received. Is that the only reason, or are there other proximate gracious reasons, which is why common grace is called grace

Both Hodge and Dabney held to common grace as well as Kuyper.

The Gospel offer is well meant to all who hear it. If any who hears believes they will be saved. Because the chill is in their will rather than in something like their arms and legs, the "can't" is as much a "won't" as a "can't". It is a moral and not a metaphysical can't/won't, so they are completely responsible for what they do with the message.

If the Spirit is sometimes striving graciously with those who don't become believers this increases their guilt. Of course if the Spirit wanted to regenerate them He could. How these things are fully resolved I don't pretend to know but I am content to believe that God has compassion on sinners, even ones that are not going to Heaven. The full hatred of God will be felt by the reprobate in Hell. Those who have spurned more of God's (common) grace in this life - all other things considered -will have a sorer punishment.