Romans 9:14–16

God’s free choice

If we are totally candid, it is likely that God's answers so farl may not entirely satisfy us, nor answer to our satisfaction the rationalizing question, Why Jacob rather than Esau? We too may want to ask the question Paul expects from his readers.

What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

In any discussion on the doctrine of election, it is almost inevitable that the question will be asked, Is God being fair? More specifically, Is it fair for God to condemn people in some far off continent who haven’t heard the gospel or who haven’t had the same advantages he has given us?

In addressing such questions, a couple of things need to be kept in mind. Note first of all that the Bible speaks only of an election to salvation. It never speaks of a double election, where some are designated from eternity for condemnation, thus creating a situation where they never had a chance to be saved. Verses 18 and 22 of this chapter have been misunderstood that way by some, and these verses will be discussed later in context.

Second, note that the real conundrum here—the area where one could more legitimately question God’s rightness and fairness—is, Why should God be merciful to anyone? After all, punishing the evildoer is simple justice. And keep in mind, in the first three chapters, Paul established beyond the shadow of a doubt that by nature all are under God’s wrath and thus deserve his punishment.

Gentiles have the natural knowledge of God written in their hearts, but they rebelliously suppress that knowledge. Hence “the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them” (Romans 1:18,19). The self-righteous moralists who think they are in God’s good graces because their outward conduct is a little better than that of others have to hear God’s verdict, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things” (2:1). And the Jews who pride themselves on having the law are solemnly warned, “You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’” (2:23,24).

All have sinned and should justly be punished for their disobedience. That makes sense. That we can understand. What we can’t comprehend is why God should still be merciful to such sinners. And yet that’s the quality he reveals about himself when he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” From God’s declaration about himself, Paul draws the inescapable conclusion, “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”

This statement forces us to wrestle with some very weighty concepts, such as mercy and grace. “I’m saved by grace.” We say it easily; it rolls off our lips. But stop and think of what that really means: “I did absolutely nothing to qualify for being saved. I was as bad as the next person. God did it all. It is a pure gift.” Paul is right in telling the Ephesians, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (2:8,9).

And what is the “gift” that God’s grace has given us? Paul gave the answer to that question in the opening sentence of his letter to the Ephesians: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (1:3-5).

From eternity, “before the creation of the world,” God chose us to be his children. And why did he do it? Because it was “in accordance with his pleasure and will.” In other words, he did it because he wanted to.

Nor is this simply Paul’s analysis of the situation. James says the same thing in a passage that the King James Version nicely translated as, “Of his own will begat he us” (James 1:18). We might paraphrase it, “Because he wanted to, he made us his children.” What child ever decided to be conceived and born? It just doesn’t work that way—neither in the biological world nor in the spiritual world. Our spiritual life, our becoming children of God, “does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”

God’s sovereign will, reflected by his underlying mercy, is going to be accomplished. Everything that happens in this world is guided and controlled by him in the interest of his elect. Even the evil things that wicked people perversely do are used by a merciful God to accomplish his gracious purpose. A case in point will come next: God’s dealing with Pharaoh at the time of the exodus.