Romans 9:14-18
I’ll be posting more thoughts on 9:13 this week. But for this sermon, we moved on into verses 14 through 18; which shed light on what we’ve covered so far. Let’s take it verse-by-verse.
What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!
Note how Paul’s perceived objections clarify his previous statements. Here he assumes his readers will object to what he just said in verses 6-13. Where we might want to change the meaning so that God’s justness won’t come into question, Paul confirms that he meant what he said. Honest consideration of God’s sovereign selection does cause concern. And we can confront this concern head on with clear thinking.
God is just in his sovereign selection of some for grace. On what does Paul base this assertion? He bases it on a quote from Exodus 33:17-23.
For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
Before looking up this reference, you might assume that it has to do with God’s dealings with Pharaoh, since this is mentioned later in the passage. But it has nothing to do with Pharaoh and everything to do with God’s identity. Moses and God are having an intimate conversation, almost like two friends, and this exchange takes place:
Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
I recently visited a friend at work and saw all the details of what he does there. I feel like I know him so much better for it. This is something like what Moses experienced. God passed before him, proclaimed his name, and stated his occupation. This is what God does. He is gracious and merciful to whom he is gracious and merciful. This is at the heart of his glory, central to what it means to be God. If you want to know and worship him, you must consider and accept his sovereign grace.
So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
A misconception that makes all this hard to swallow is that God is like a bouncer at a popular club. Everyone wants in and he smugly decides whom he’ll allow. But this is not the case. Paul has already established earlier in Romans that all are under sin, no one is righteous, and no one seeks for God (3:9-11). People are not eagerly clamoring to be with God for eternity. They are tripping over themselves to escape God. That is why God’s sovereign grace is good news. If his mercy and compassion depended on human will or exertion, we would all be damned. Praise God his love does not depend on us!
Yet, many of us desire to base our salvation on ourselves. Some interpret this and similar passages as God ‘electing’ only those whom he foreknows will turn to him. Do you see how this interpretation puts the decisive work back into our hands? Yet Paul is unrelenting in his assertion that it is based on God’s will and purposes alone, not our present or future will/exertion.
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
One more Old Testament example of God’s dominion over who receives mercy and who is hardened: Pharaoh. This quote is from Exodus 9. Paul’s point here is that God’s purpose in his dealing with people is to show his power and proclaim his might because he is God.
This is why Ephesians 2:8-9 is true: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Praise God that our salvation is not dependent upon our power and might, but his.
And if this weren’t enough, Paul brings it home in verse 18:
So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
We like the idea of a world in which “God helps those who help themselves.” We would like this verse to mean that God hardens those who harden themselves. And Paul could have easily said that, because if you go back and read the Exodus account of God’s dealings with Pharaoh, you’ll see that one chapter says Pharaoh hardened his own heart and the next says that God hardened it. They are both given hardening credit. But Paul didn’t say that God hardens those who harden themselves. And he didn’t say that God helps those who help themselves. Why? Remember Romans 3. Left to ourselves, no one helps themselves and everyone hardens themselves. That’s why this is called mercy.
You might be thinking, “Surely Paul doesn’t really mean that God has mercy and hardens whomever he wills independent of human will and exertion. That would bring human responsibility into question.” Indeed Paul did mean what he said and it does bring human responsibility into question. If he didn’t mean it, he wouldn’t address this objection in verses 19-29 (which we’ll be tackling next week).
Concluding Thoughts
Have you received God’s mercy and compassion through Jesus Christ? Or are you standing on your own will and exertion?
Do you feel that you’re so far away from God that there is no way he would ever save you. Embrace this good news: it doesn’t depend on your will or exertion. It depends on the merciful and powerful God. You are never beyond hope. Pray, talk to God, asking to receive his grace through Jesus Christ.
Is there someone you worry about? Someone you long to see come to Christ but you can’t even imagine it because they are so far from him? Embrace this good news: it doesn’t depend on their will or exertion. It depends on our merciful and powerful God. No one is beyond hope. Pray, talk to God, asking for his grace on their behalf.
God is sovereign. God is just. And thankfully, God is merciful.
Discussion Starters
- What do you think is the key message of this passage?
- What did you learn from this passage (something you didn’t previously know)?
- Which point in this chapter spoke to you the most?
- Why do you think God included this chapter in the Bible? What’s the point?
- Do any of these truths apply today? Which ones? How do they apply?
- Are there truths in this passage that contradict the ideas we hear in the world? If so, what are they?
- Is there something in this passage that surprised you? If so, how were you surprised?
- Are there any verses in this passage that confuse you or that seem to contradict other parts of the Bible?
- In view of what we have read, what changes do you think God would want you to make in attitude, words, or actions?
