"According to theologians, God has two kinds of attributes; absolute and relative. The absolute attributes describe what God is like in Himself, totally apart from His creation. God is love even if there are no human beings around to know about it. God is truth, and God is holy. These are essential characteristics of His being. But when God created humans, He has to 'translate' these attributes into His relationship with them, and so we have what theologians call the 'relative attributes.' Truth becomes faithfulness, holiness becomes justice, and love becomes grace and mercy." (Warren Weirsebe, Heirs of the King, pg. 98)
It is in this light that we approach the issue of grace. We know God's love, which is manifested to us partly as grace is infinite, always extended to us, from before the dawn of creation until the culmination of all things in the Kingdom and beyond. His love is infinite, absolute, and eternal. But what of His grace? Is God's grace completely unconditional? Eternal? Unwavering?
God does not grow weary of waiting or providing. Complete grace is extended to each of us in our unchosen state. Further grace is given to us when we enter into the redemption provided by the blood of Jesus Christ. But what of those who purpose in their heart to reject God? Surely utter grace is not extended to these individuals forever. Yes; it is only by the grace of God that the wicked prosper, not to mention that they exist at all. But, if Scripture is any indication, there is a point where their rejection of God, their wicked sinfulness, reaches the point where grace is eclipsed. One of the most glaring examples of this complete rejection of God is Pharaoh of the Exodus.
It is by nothing other than the grace of God that Pharaoh exists at all. It is evidence of further grace that he reigns as the ruler over the most powerful and influential empire of the entire world at the time. If this is not an indication of God's grace towards Pharaoh, then surely we shall not see grace extended to any. However, Pharaoh does not recognize it as such. As Moses goes to Pharaoh in the name of "I AM," the heart of Pharaoh is revealed. Ten times, Pharaoh hardened his heart towards Moses and Aaron, the messengers of God, thereby rejecting God Himself. (Exodus 7:13, 14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 34, 35; 13:15). Seven of these times are before God's first hardening of Pharaoh's heart. This is very helpful. In these repeated hardenings and rejections, we see the grace of God multiplied in the life of Pharaoh. This is significant. Again and again and again and again and again and again and again we see the patience of the Lord. This fact was not lost on any party. As we see in n Exodus 9:13-17.
Here the Lord declares to Pharaoh through Moses: "For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth." Translated: I have full right and privilege and power to wipe you off the face of the earth because of your pride and your disobedience. "If by now" implies that, by all natural reasoning, the mentioned action should have come to pass. However, it has not. "But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain..." Once again, this is very helpful. God is cueing Pharaoh in, telling him (and us) to pay attention, because God is about to make a big announcement. ("Big" might be an overstatement, especially since this has already been revealed to Moses. It is, however, big for Pharaoh and for us, since, from this point on, Pharaoh is completely without excuse, as if there was excuse the first six times.) Here we see the reason for God's patience, the reason for His mercy, the reason for His over-abundant grace with Pharaoh. I used to be of the opinion that God's grace was for the sake of Pharaoh, and I am fairly confident that this position is biblically supported in other texts, specifically those of the New Testament. However, this text leaves little room for deviation. Even though "for Pharaoh's sake" may have been a piece of the motivation, it most certainly and definitively takes a back-seat position to God's true purpose, His ultimate purpose: HIS GLROY! We see this reason is previously stated in verse 14: "so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth." and then again following this direct introduction, "...in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth." Although way beyond the scope of our discussion, it is vital to understand that God's glory and Pharaoh's sake are not mutually exclusive; it is only when Pharaoh decides to pit himself against God that the opposition arises. God pursues His glory. Period. Isaiah 42:8: "I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give glory to another, nor My praise to graven images."
If all of this has not been clearly presented to Pharaoh at this point, God clearly communicates Pharaoh's sin, beginning with the word "still." To understand the significance of this connector word, it is best to look at in full context of verses 16-17: "But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth. Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go." I can almost hear the emphatic, yet pleading tone, as if God is saying,
"I am going to make My name known. I am going to be glorified. And I really really want you to be a part of it. I want you to join in in glorifying Me. That is My desire, but if you are going to chose not to be a part of it, then I am going to glorify Myself in spite of your choice. I have been holding out, waiting, postponing your utter destruction in desperate hope that you would desire to join with Me and stop pitting yourself against me. However, despite all of My grace, all of My grace upon grace upon grace, and despite all of My mercy and patience and lovingkindness and longsuffering with you, nothing has changed. You are still in the same position, the same attitude of heart as when I first revealed myself to you."It is in this light that I think we must understand the word; "Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go." And so, with this emphatic statement by the omniscient God who created, searches, and knows the heart of man, Pharaoh's intentions are declared and ultimately revealed to be completely opposed to God. It is at this point where we see what God has seen all along: Pharaoh has decided to not be a part of what God is trying to do, no matter how many chances he has. Even after all of God's grace, Pharaoh still will not relent. "But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion." (Ex. 3:19).
With this understanding, I am of the opinion that it is Pharaoh's choice which brings an end to God's utter grace. I personally believe this comes at the point when God begins to harden Pharaoh's heart (and action only taken after Pharaoh hardened his own heart 7 times), and begins to further His glory. "I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt...the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst" (Ex. 7:3, 5). For this point forward, what I am referring to as the end of utter grace, we see more signs and wonders, more hardenings of Pharaoh's heart (both by himself and by God), more glory to God. The grace of God, however, changes. It is no longer an utter, complete, despite-circumstances grace. It is a limited grace. Grace in the sense that Pharaoh is still ruling, still powerful, still breathing, still alive (at least for a time). Then, as the Israelites are approaching the Red Sea, we see the end of grace towards Pharaoh. Here God declares his final earthly judgment on Pharaoh, a judgment due to Pharaoh's decision to oppose God. In a final (I hesitate to even use that word) act of glorifying Himself by way of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, God makes a declaration predicated on a statement of Pharaoh's heart (Ex. 14:3): "Thus I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord" (Ex. 14:4). In the following unforgettable tale of the pursuit and eventual death of the armies of Egypt, we see no more grace. No more mercy. No more patience. No more Pharaoh. And then Pharaoh, full of sin and hardness of heart, enters into eternity, before the throne of judgment. A place where God's justice and holiness reign. A place beyond the reach of the love, mercy, and grace which was abundantly poured out upon Pharaoh during his days on the earth. A place where Pharaoh now gives praise to God along with all of creation, "For it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.' So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God." (Romans 14:10-11). A place where he is condemned forever to eternal damnation. And so we see a seemingly ultimate end of grace in eternity. I submit, however, that the unconditional grace ended before Pharaoh's passage into eternity, that it ceases when he choose in his heart to reject God.
In this case, we see the determination being made by the God of the universe Who, among the "all things" that He knows, knows the heart of man and determines when they have absolutely decided to reject Him.
But where does that leave us? Where does it leave us humans who are searching desparately to understand the application of grace, to understand how far it extends? Those who desire to know when sin and rejection of God, when hardness of heart, no longer merit our complete grace? (That phrase may seem oxymoronic as grace is defined as unmerited favor, however, I think we have established that there is a definite point where grace is no longer extended, so this terminology is appropriate.)
To be honest, I am unsure. (I know, all that build up and no resolution!) We are to love as God loves which inherently includes extending grace beyond grace beyond grace. However, as I have stated, there is a definite point where sin and rejection and hardness eclipse the extension of grace, and what some have termed "tough love" begins to take affect. I do not believe that this point is completely discernible on our own. In fact, it is only discernible by God Himself, even though it affects us, it affects me, directly! And so, as it always seems, we are left with this: "You will find Me when you search for Me with ALL your heart" (Jer. 29:13). We are left with seeking the Lord, seeking wisdom, seeking discernment, seeking HIM, for in Him are all things.
And so we proceed with caution, understanding that there is, in fact, a point where grace ceases.
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