I have never liked Romans, chapter 9, for the verse in the title and for verses 19 through 21, "You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?" But who are you, a man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me thus?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for beauty and another for menial use? (RSV)
Part of the reason these verses have always been so disturbing to me is that they have always seemed impossible to reconcile with a loving God, who says He "so loved the world" (John 3:16) (...ahem, not just those He arbitrarily picked) and "No one who believes in Him will be put to shame." (Romans 10:11). How can it be true that God loves all sinners and showed His love for us "in that while we were yet sinners He sent Christ to die for us" (Romans 5:8), if there are some sinners on whom He chooses not to have compassion (see Romans 9:14)? It never made sense. The nagging question was always there, "How do I know if God made me for "destruction" or "mercy"? Really, how does one know? This morning I finally found the answer, by reading with my "grace glasses" on! Understanding that righteousness comes by faith is the key.
Verse 7 starts out by telling us this: "...not all are children of Abraham (the father of righteousness) because they are his (blood) descendants." Verse 8: "...it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as descendants." Earlier in Romans (3:16) God tells us, "That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants--not only to the adherents of the law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all." So it is by faith that we are made descendants of Abraham, that is, children of God, not by birth or by "election". I like the way the Message Bible puts verse 11: "What God did...made it perfectly plain that His purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don't do, but a sure thing...." We are His when we believe.
Verse 16 confirms this, saying, "So it depends not on man's will or exertion, but upon God's mercy." At first glance, though, it looks like this was not true for Pharoah, because it says "I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing My power in you, so that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth" (verse 17). Note that it does not say showing My power to you but in you. In other words, God did not create Pharoah as a human puppet to accomplish His goals. His desire was really to work with Pharoah and through Pharoah, giving him power in response to his faith, but Pharoah chose to resist this opportunity. What verse 18 is actually saying is that God willed mercy for Pharoah, but Pharoah refused it. The trust was up to Pharoah. The consequences (hardening of his heart which leads to destruction) were not.
Verse 22 says that God "endures with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction...." If God had predetermined who was a "vessel of wrath" and who wasn't, why would He need to have patience with them? In truth, we are all "vessels of wrath made for destruction" because of our sin. But verse 23 says that He endures us with patience "in order to make known the riches of His glory for the vessels of mercy, which (riches, not vessels) He has prepared beforehand for glory...."! He patiently tries to reveal to sinners the riches of His glory prepared and available to them, if only they will receive His mercy! Hallelujah!
The whole remainder of the chapter is devoted to driving home the fact that righteousness comes by faith, and those who refuse to receive what God has through for them through faith alone ( and rather trust in themselves, their own power, position, or works) receive, instead of grace (unmerited favor), a hardened heart, leading to destruction. The last verse says, "He who believes in Him (including Pharoah and any other human being) will not be put to shame. Again, the trusting is up to us. The consequences are not.
One last thought regarding this: Atheists assume they are "free thinkers", choosing what they will and will not believe. In actuality, their choice ends with whether or not they choose to let God bless them and have mercy on them. After that, the condition of their hearts is a natural consequence, not something over which they have control. They think they have power, but like for Pharoah, God always has the last word. It does bear repeating one more time: The trusting is up to us. The consequences, good or bad, are not.
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