Common Grace
Recent discussions among biblical counselors have focused on common grace. While common grace is an important issue in biblical counseling, it is simplistic to limit these discussions to common grace.
More Than Common Grace
When thinking through a theology of what the Bible says about extra-biblical literature, we need to develop a robust theology of at least the following issues. I list them in no particular order—other than the foundational importance of the final theological category):
To understand what the Bible teaches about the use of extra-biblical sources, we need to theologically think through:
God’s Sovereign, God-Glorifying Common Grace: The Bible’s teaching on the noetic effect of common grace, along with the God-glorifying purpose of God’s sovereign common grace. We do not “pit” common grace against saving grace. The Noetic Effect of Sin/Total Depravity: How does the noetic effect of common grace interact with the noetic effect of sin? Natural/General Revelation: Creation reveals the fingerprints of God and His ordering of the cosmos (Genesis 1-2, Psalm 19, Romans 1). Fallen Creation: Creation is groaning and imperfect (Romans 8). The Creation Mandate: God’s original command that we subdue, have dominion
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