Romans 9:14-21 “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! (15) For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." (16) So then it is not of him, who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. (17) For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." (18) Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. (19) You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For, who has resisted His will?" (20) But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?" (21) Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honour and another for dishonour?”
In the previous section, we saw very clearly in scripture, that it is God Who decides who can be saved and who cannot be saved. That truth seemingly then contradicts the earlier truth that we saw, where men decide of their own free will, as to whether they will accept or reject the salvation of God. Clearly these two seemingly contradicting truths must be reconcilable in scripture, for if they were not reconcilable, it would create confusion among the saints, and God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). And so, as we will see in this section, the reconciliation between these two seemingly contradictory truths is relatively simple, for it is precisely because man has a free will that God then chooses. Many, when they see the truth in scripture that God is the One Who chooses who can and cannot be saved, then question the justness of God, for the question is then asked, how a just God can arbitrarily condemn one individual to the eternal punishment of the second death, while at the same time blessing another with the gift of eternal life. Some, in trying to explain God’s actions would then argue that God as our creator is Sovereign, and He can do whatever He pleases. The above passage of scripture certainly seems to support that viewpoint, for in it, the apostle Paul tells us very plainly that God, as our creator, has the power to make each one of us exactly as He chooses. But in the same passage, Paul also tells us plainly that there is no unrighteousness or injustice with God. And so, although it is true to say that God our creator is Sovereign, and as such, He can do whatever He pleases, it is not true to say that that is the reason why God allows some to be saved and others not, for that would then make God unjust, which we know, He is not. And so, in light of the truth that God is not unjust, how do we understand God’s decision as to who will and will not be saved?
Michael E.B. Maher
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