The Curse-Reward of the Wicked Well-Doer
Hoeksema's polemical pamphlet defends the Reformed doctrine of total depravity against the 1924 common grace position adopted by certain Reformed churches, which he argues contradictorily claimed the unregenerate can perform genuine good works. Through sharp logical analysis, he demonstrates the theological incoherence of attributing both wickedness and reward to the unregenerate, grounding his critique in the Heidelberg Catechism and Canons of Dort.
The theme of this pamphlet will, no doubt, occasion the reader to remark that this time I am dealing in glaring contradictions. The wicked, he will say, certainly is not a well-doer; and the ideas of “curse” and “reward” are mutually exclusive and stand in relation of direct contradiction to each other. And this remark is quite to the point. However, the better informed and particularly the Protestant Reformed reader will not find it difficult to surmise the occasion and origin of this theme...