Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her (Genesis 20:6)
Genesis Chapter 20 is part of the larger narratives that recounts Abraham’s journey when he was called by God to leave his father’s house (Genesis 12). That call involved a number of journeys of which Chapter 20 was one. The narrative tells us Abraham and Sarah arrived at Gerar. At Gerar, Abraham and Sarah lied about their relationship as husband and wife causing Abimelech to go for Sarah (v 2). Before Abimelech will do anything, God appeared to him (v.3). Note that the text is careful to point out to us that Abimelech had not yet touched Sarah (v.4).
So God graciously restrained Abimelech from sinning against him. The Restraining Grace of God is the grace of God that keeps us from sinning. God kept Abimelech, a pagan king from sinning. And it is intriguing that God said: “it was I who kept you from sinning against me.” Now from the context of the narrative, wasn’t this a sin against Abraham and Sarah? What this points us to is that, ultimately, all sin is against God. Every sin is a breaking of God’s law. The Westminster Catechism in Question 14 asks the question “What Is Sin?” And it answers:
Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God
God’s Restraining Grace again is that grace which keeps us from becoming worse than we presently are. If left on our own, all of us will be worse than we are now. In our lifetime, we would have committed more heinous sins. Think through all the temptations you have fought. Think through all the sins you have kept yourself from. Imagine giving in to every illicit thought that creeps into your mind.
In the hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessings, we read these words
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
You didn’t give in to all these not because you are so disciplined and so godly. It was all the grace of God at work in your life. Does that discount and discredit our efforts towards godliness. No it doesn’t. But even those efforts are all the grace of God at work in our life. Philippians 4:12 calls on us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Then it goes on to tell us in v.13 that it is God who works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
In fact, the world will be an uninhabitable place if it were not for the Restraining Grace Of God. The wickedness we see now will be at a different level. Imagine if left on our own to follow our every instinct. We will be more than animals.
If we have seen others do things that we never did; and if they have done worse than we, this is owing to restraining grace. If we have not done as bad as Pharaoh, it is owing to divine restraints. If we have not done as bad as Judas, or as the scribes and Pharisees, or as bad as Herod, or Simon Magus, it is because God has restrained our corruption. If we have ever heard or read of any that have done worse than we; if we have not gone the length in sinning, that the most wicked pirates or carnal persecutors have gone, this is owing to restraining grace. 1
These words point us to the Restraining Grace of God. We owe everything to God. Our salvation. Our sanctification. Our victories over sin. It is all a work of God’s grace.
Notes
- Jonathan Edwards, Restraining Grace, A Great Privilege, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/works2.vi.i.vi.html
Grace and Truth 