{"id":8537,"date":"2021-10-19T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T14:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/schaeffersghost\/?p=8537"},"modified":"2021-10-16T09:29:51","modified_gmt":"2021-10-16T15:29:51","slug":"common-grace-2-64","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/schaeffersghost\/2021\/10\/common-grace-2-64\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Grace, 2.64"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This post is part of a series walking through the second volume of Abraham Kuyper\u2019s\u00a0Common<\/a>\u00a0Grace<\/em><\/p>\n

There is\u00a0always<\/span> something \u201cunholy\u201d attached to affliction\u2013we simply fail to see this at times because we are part of a fallen world. But we also fail to see it as believers<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause suffering is so often a means to the sanctification of our inner life and so often stirs the prodigal son to go back to his father again, people have even sought in suffering in part something excellent, something precious, something to which we even must ascribe an almost holy<\/em> character. In this way, reality has been turned into its opposite. Suffering has become something that we should not evade and loathe but something that seems almost desirable and attractive.\u201d (552)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We forget that unfallen man would never have cried from sorrow; and in our forgetfulness our feelings have shaped our theology in inappropriate ways. This further leads people to intentionally pursue suffering, embracing Christ\u2019s suffering on the cross as beautiful in itself, rather than as bearing the curse. Scripture clearly teaches the opposite.<\/p>\n

But what is \u201cthe curse\u201d? It is not just suffering, it is \u201can unholy atmosphere\u201d that \u201cenvelopes that entire earthly realm.\u201d (553-554) This prevents thriving\u2013\u201cthriving\u201d which is what we really (should) mean when we pray for \u201cGod\u2019s blessing\u201d\u2013rather than worldly success, we seek holiness. The Old Testament law of \u201cLevitical purity\u201d was to be an ongoing reminder of this truth.<\/p>\n

Nor should we limit the curse to extraordinary suffering, while seeing the rest of life as good. The curse works through everything outside of \u201cthe kingdom of glory.\u201d (555)<\/p>\n

All suffering is therefore tied to sin and unholiness. There was none of this in God\u2019s original creation. Only when sin entered and the curse fell did suffering arise\u2013all of it. This is what \u201cJesus bore\u2026 for us beginning with his incarnation.\u201d (557) In the transfiguration of Jesus we see him temporarily setting aside the \u201cunholy pressure of the curse that restricts our human life,\u201d (557-558) only to grow again as he neared Jerusalem. We are therefore to understand and to battle suffering as part of the curse\u2013as something unholy.<\/p>\n

Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the\u00a0City of Man Podcast<\/a>\u00a0and an Associate Profess<\/em>or of Political Science at\u00a0Southwest Baptist University<\/a>\u00a0in Bolivar, MO<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kuyper on the unholiness of suffering. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1469,"featured_media":7410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,6,115],"tags":[942,1128],"class_list":["post-8537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-christian","category-classics","category-philosophy","tag-abraham-kuyper","tag-common-grace"],"yoast_head":"\nCommon Grace, 2.64<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kuyper on the unholiness of suffering.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/schaeffersghost\/2021\/10\/common-grace-2-64\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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