What Is Common Grace?
In today’s post, we’ll address three important questions for biblical counselors:
- What is common grace?
- What can we learn from Reformed theology about common grace and how biblical counselors may engage with extra-biblical information?
- What resources could biblical counselors study in order to become theologically-informed about common grace and biblical counseling?
To download a free copy of my 114-page, 44,500-word PDF document on Common Grace and Biblical Counseling, see:
- Kellemen, Bob, Common Grace and Biblical Counseling: Wisdom from Reformed Theologians, 2026.
For an introduction to common grace, including numerous definitions, see:
- Kellemen, Bob, What Is Common Grace?, 2024.
In the list below, an asterisk/* and bold indicate that if you could only read one book by or about that theologian, this would be the book.
7 Resources on John Calvin and Common Grace
Primary Sources
- Calvin, John, Commentary on Titus, 1551.
- Calvin, John, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1536, 1539, 1559.
Secondary Sources
- *Bavinck, Herman, Calvin and Common Grace, 1909. (This first appeared in The Princeton Theological Review Vol. 7 No. 3 (1909), translated by Geerhardus Vos.)
- Kellemen, Bob, John Calvin on Common Grace, 2022.
- Kellemen, Bob, John Calvin: “Integrationist?”, 2024.
- Kellemen, Bob, A Trilogy on Common Grace, the Sufficiency of Scripture, and Biblical Counseling: Calvin, Kuyper, and Van Til, 2025.
- Kuiper, Herman, Calvin on Common Grace, 1928.
10 Resources on Abraham Kuyper and Common Grace
Primary Sources
- Kuyper, Abraham, Common Grace: God’s Gifts for a Fallen World, Vol. 1, 1901.
- Kuyper, Abraham, Common Grace: God’s Gift for a Fallen World, Vol. 2, 1902.
- Kuyper, Abraham, Common Grace: God’s Gift for a Fallen World, Vol. 3, 1903.
- Kuyper, Abraham, Principles of Sacred Theology, 1898.
- Kuyper, Abraham, The Stone Lectures, 1898.
- *Kuyper, Abraham, Wisdom and Wonder: Common Grace in Science and Art, 1905.
Secondary Sources
- Kellemen, Bob, Abraham Kuyper on Common Grace, 2024.
- Kellemen, Bob, Abraham Kuyper on God’s All-Encompassing Common Grace: Every Square Inch of Human Existence, 2024.
- Kellemen, Bob, Abraham Kuyper: “Proto-Integrationist”?, 2024.
- Kellemen, Bob, Common Grace and God’s Glory: Kuyper on Amazing Common Grace, 2024.
18 Resources on Herman Bavinck and Common Grace
Primary Sources
- Bavinck, Herman, Biblical and Religious Psychology, 1920.
- Bavinck, Herman, Calvin and Common Grace, 1909. (This first appeared in The Princeton Theological Review Vol. 7 No. 3 (1909), translated by Geerhardus Vos.)
- Bavinck, Herman, Christian Worldview, 1904.
- Bavinck, Herman, Christianity and Science, 1904.
- *Bavinck, Herman, “Herman Bavinck’s ‘Common Grace,” (Raymond Van Leeuwen, Trans.), 1989.
- Bavinck, Herman, The Philosophy of Revelation, 1908-1909.
- Bavinck, Herman, Reformed Dogmatics, 4 Vol. Set, 1891, 1895, 1901, 1904.
- Bavinck, Herman, Reformed Ethics, Vol. 1: Created, Fallen, and Converted Humanity, 1906.
- Bavinck, Herman, Reformed Ethics, Vol. 2: The Duties of the Christian Life, 1907.
- Bavinck, Herman, Reformed Ethics, Vol. 3:Christian Life in Society, 1908.
- Bavinck, Herman, Reformed Social Ethics: Perspectives on Society, Culture, State, Church, and the Kingdom of God, 1911.
- Bavinck, Herman, The Wonderful Works of God, 1909.
Secondary Sources
- Kellemen, Bob, Herman Bavinck on Common Grace, Part 1, 2022.
- Kellemen, Bob, Herman Bavinck on Common Grace, Part 2, 2022.
- Kellemen, Bob, When We Minimize Common Grace, We Minimize God’s Sovereignty and Goodness: Bavinck’s Biblical and Religious Psychology, 2024.
- Matson, Brian, Van Til on Bavinck: An Assessment, 2008.
- Sutanto, N. G., God and Humanity: Herman Bavinck and Theological Anthropology, 2026.
- Sutanto, N. G., God and Knowledge: Herman Bavinck’s Theological Epistemology, 2021.
12 Resources on Cornelius Van Til and Common Grace
Primary Sources
- Van Til, Cornelius, Christian Apologetics, 1956.
- *Van Til, Cornelius, Common Grace and the Gospel, 1972.
- Van Til, Cornelius, The Defense of the Faith, 1955.
- Van Til, Cornelius, Introduction to Systematic Theology, 1967.
Secondary Sources
- Bahnsen, Greg, Van Til’s Apologetic: Critical Analysis, 1998.
- Frame, John, Cornelius Van Til: An Analysis of His Thought, 2024.
- Kellemen, Bob, Cornelius Van Til on Common Grace: In His Own Words, 2024.
- Kellemen, Bob, Cornelius Van Til: “Zombie-Infected”?, 2024.
- Kellemen, Bob, Van Til, Kuyper, Bavinck, and Biblical Counselors: An Assessment, 2024.
- Matson, Brian, Van Til on Bavinck: An Assessment, 2008.
- Poulton, Jared, Presuppositional Counseling: An Introduction to Van Til’s Influence Upon JayAdams, 2024.
- Poulton, Jared, Reforming Counseling: The Adaptation of Van Tilian Concepts by Jay Adams, 2025.
10 Resources on David Powlison and Common Grace
Primary Sources
- Powlison, David, 25 Years of Biblical Counseling: An Interview with Jay Adams and John Bettler Conducted by David Powlison, 1993.
- Powlison, David, Affirmations and Denials: A Proposed Definition of Biblical Counseling, 2000.
- Powlison, David, Crucial Issues in Contemporary Biblical Counseling, 1988.
- Powlison, David, Critiquing Modern Integrationists, 1993.
- Powlison, David, Cure of Souls (and the Modern Psychotherapies), 2007.
- Powlison, David, How Does Scripture Teach Us to Redeem Psychology?, 2012.
- Powlison, David, Let’s Celebrate This Golden Anniversary, 2018.
- Powlison, David, Modern Therapies and the Church’s Faith, 1996.
Secondary Sources
- *Kellemen, Bob, David Powlison on Common Grace, Biblical Counseling and Secular Psychology, 2024.
- Kellemen, Bob, Powlison on Biblical Counseling and Secular Psychotherapy, 2024.
5 Resources on John Frame and Common Grace
Primary Sources
- *Frame, John, Biblical Counseling, General Revelation, and the Sufficiency of Scripture, 2016.
- Frame, John, The Doctrine of the Christian Life, 2026.
- Frame, John, The Doctrine of God, 2002.
- Frame, John, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief, 2013.
Secondary Sources
- Kellemen, Bob, John Frame on Common Grace, Biblical Counseling, and Christian Integrative Counseling, 2024.
6 Resources on Other Reformed Theologians on Common Grace: Charles Hodge, Tim Keller, John Murray, and R. C. Sproul
Primary Sources
- Keller, Tim, What Is Common Grace?, 2003.
- Hodge, John, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, 1888.
- Murray, John, “Common Grace,” in the Collected Writings of John Murray, 1935-1973.
- Sproul, R. C., Common Grace, n.d.
Secondary Sources
- Kellemen, Bob, 7 Reformed Theologians on Common Grace, 2022.
- Ponter, David, Charles Hodge on Common Grace, 2009.
Join the Conversation
What additional resources would you recommend related to common grace, biblical counseling, and Reformed theology?
