Does Anyone Deserve Grace?

I think you already know the answer to that question. However, I've recently been discussing this with some friends, mostly in response to the Blaise Pascal quote I included in this post a few days ago. In the midst of some very good and helpful statements, Pascal makes an odd remark: ". . . as so many make themselves unworthy of His mercy . . ." The way this is worded appears to be self-contradictory. If anyone is worthy of mercy, can mercy be called mercy? How does one become worthy of it? How does one make himself unworthy of it? I'm under the impression that ALL are and always will be unworthy of God's mercy, by virtue of sin (no pun intended).

There are several possible explanations for this. The most obvious one is that Pascal wrote in French, so our translation may be flawed. Or perhaps it was a simple mistake on Pascal's part, an oversight. My favorite explanation is what we might call a "reverse Calvinist" argument - "Many" actually means "all" in this context. Perhaps you have a better explanation. From my reading of Pascal's writings, I am assured that he does know quite well what mercy is, and how undeserving of it we are. He's clear on the subject in other places.

Tony Hayling has recently posted a superb article titled "Deserving Grace," which I recommend as an excellent treatment of the topic. I'm not sure what Pascal meant by his phrase, or if I agree with it, but I'm certain of Hayling's words and know they are spot on. Here's the link:

Deserving Grace (Click to view article)

As a convenience, Tony has even recorded the article in an embedded MP3 player. Now that's service!

You can also find some extended Pascal quotes, including the one we are discussing, at this link:

http://www.monergism.com/paradox_of_the_greatness_and_w.php

Pascal on God's Self-Revelation

This quote from Blaise Pascal nicely sums up a theme we've studied of late:

God has willed to redeem men, and to open salvation to those who seek it. But men render themselves so unworthy of it, that it is right that God should refuse to some, because of their obduracy, what He grants to others from a compassion which is not due to them. If He had willed to overcome the obstinacy of the most hardened, He could have done so by revealing Himself so manifestly to them that they could not have doubted of the truth of His essence; as it will appear at the last day, with such thunders and such a convulsion of nature, that the dead will rise again, and the blindest will see Him.

It is not in this manner that He has willed to appear in His advent of mercy, because, as so many make themselves unworthy of His mercy, He has willed to leave them in the loss of the good which they do not want. It was not then right that He should appear in a manner manifestly divine, and completely capable of convincing all men; but it was also not right that He should come in so hidden a manner that He could not be known by those who should sincerely seek Him. He has willed to make Himself quite recognizable by those; and thus, willing to appear openly to those who seek Him with all their heart, He so regulates the knowledge of Himself that He has given signs of Himself, visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who seek Him not. There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition.

Blaise Pascal, Pensees #430

I find I can read a paragraph from Pascal over and over, and each time I see something new in it. And to think, the Pensees (A French word meaning "thoughts, ponderings") were only his scribblings - scattered ideas that might have eventually been organized into a very different sort of book, had he lived longer. They were posthumously gathered and published, to the delight of many saints in subsequent generations.