Confusion of Grace and Providence
David Engelsma argues that the common grace theory, particularly as taught by Abraham Kuyper and Richard Mouw, commits a fundamental theological error by conflating the doctrines of grace and providence. He defends the Reformed distinction between providence (God's sustaining and governing of all creation) and grace (God's redemptive blessing of the elect), demonstrating how this confusion undermines biblical Reformed theology and ecclesiology.
David J. Engelsma It is a fundamental doctrinal error of the theory of common grace, as taught by Dr. Richard Mouw, by his mentor Abraham Kuyper, and by his numerous allies in Reformed and Presbyterian churches worldwide, that it confuses grace and providence. Many maintain that the existence of the world is grace; that man did not become a devil at the fall was grace; rain and sunshine are grace; Beethoven’s musical ability was grace; that my decent, unbelieving neighbor does not commit the...