Is God unjust to choose some and not others? That’s the burning question that Paul’s teaching on unconditional election in Romans 9:6-13 has elicited. If not, why not? And why was Pharaoh’s heart hardened? Find out in this message.
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Is God Unjust To Choose Some And Not Others?
Romans 9:14-24
In C. S. Lewis’ book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there is a discussion between Susan and Mr. Beaver.
Mr. Beaver says, “Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Oh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…
“Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Here, C. S. Lewis catches something of the truth and glory of God.
Brothers and sisters, when I teach the Bible, it is my duty to teach to the very best of my ability what I believe the Bible says, NOT what I want the Bible to say. Sometimes that it is a very difficult job. Some people have invented a feel-good God and a feel-good Jesus. This feel-good God exists to make us feel God. Friends, the God of the Bible does not exist to make you feel good. I know that some of you will not like my sermon this morning. It is probably not going to make you feel good. It flies directly in the face of some things you hold very dear. But it will help you to understand the greatness and the majesty of your Creator. Our text this morning reveals us to a God who is majestic in His sovereignty, but is not safe. By that I mean that the God revealed in Romans 9, does what He wants, when He wants, to whom He wants. He is answerable and accountable to no one. So, buckle your seat belts again. I thought last Sunday’s message was going to be tough. This one is even tougher.
Let’s go back and see Paul’s flow of thought so far. Paul begins in the first five verses of chapter nine to tell us of his great sorrow and unceasing grief for Israel, his kinsmen according to the flesh. He is so grieved that he says he could wish that he could trade places with his unbelieving Israelites. That is, he could wish that he could be accursed and separated from Christ in order that they would be accepted and reconciled to God. But the fact that the majority of Israelites had rejected Jesus as their Messiah, brings up a difficult question. God had made promises to Israel. But did the fact that most of Israel did not believe in Christ mean that God’s word had failed? Paul’s answer is a loud, resounding “NO!” The reason he gives is that they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel. In other words, not every physical descendant of Abraham was part of God’s true Israel. God’s promises were made to the true spiritual Israel.
But who is the true spiritual Israel, and how did someone become part of the true Israel? To answer that question, Paul brings up the examples of Isaac and Ishmael, and Jacob and Esau. Isaac was accepted, Ishmael was rejected. Jacob was accepted, and Esau was rejected. Isaac was made part of the true Israel by God’s almighty power. God caused him to be conceived and brought into the world as a fulfillment of His promise, even when his mother was old and barren and could not humanly speaking produce a child any longer. That is a picture of the new birth that all believers experience. Jacob was included in the true Israel, and Esau was rejected, before either one had been born or had done anything good or bad. All of this was because of God’s purpose, God’s choice and God’s call. He goes on to state that God loved Jacob and hated Esau. All of this points to God’s unconditional election, as the basis for who is admitted and who is excluded from the true people of God. Our admittance into God’s kingdom and family is not due to our faith or good works, but ultimately is due to God’s sovereign choice of us.
Now, some interpreters disagree with this line of interpretation. They say Paul is not talking about the salvation of individuals at all. Rather, they say, Paul is simply talking about the fact that God chooses what role each nation will fulfill in working out His plan for the world. They say that Genesis 25:23 is talking about the nation of Edom serving the nation of Israel, not Esau serving Jacob. They say that Malachi 1:2-3 is really talking about God loving the nation of Israel, and hating the nation of Edom. Well, though there is some truth to the fact that God has nations in mind in this passage, Paul is still making a very important point. God is free and sovereign in whom He chooses. Then Paul applies that truth to the salvation of individuals. He says that God sovereignly determines who belongs to His people.
Therefore, I believe that Romans 9 is talking about the salvation of individuals, not just the role nations will play in God’s plan. A person included in God’s true Israel was saved, and the person excluded was lost. Let me give you some reasons for that conclusion.
- The whole point of Romans 9:1-3, is that most Israelites were lost and perishing. That’s why Paul is so sorrowful and grieved, and would be willing to trade places with them. Their need is for eternal salvation.
- In 9:8, Paul mentions the “children of the flesh” and the “children of God”. Well, Romans 8:16 makes it clear that the children of God are born again believers. Since it is the children of God who are included in the true Israel, salvation is what is at stake, not the role of a nation in working out God’s plan.
- In 9:15 and 18, we are told that God has mercy on whom He desires. What does he mean by “mercy”? Is this talking about the role of nations, or the salvation of individuals? It’s clear to me, that this is talking about salvation.
- In 9:22-23, vessels of wrath are opposed to vessels of mercy. Therefore, mercy has to do with not receiving the wrath of God against sin. Again, this is referring to salvation. We also know this because these vessels are prepared beforehand for glory, as opposed to vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.
- In 9:24, these vessels of mercy are called. We, we have already learned from Romans 8:30 that to be called means a man is justified and glorified. In other words, he is eternally saved.
- In 9:25-26, we discover that to be called is to become part of God’s people, and beloved by Him, and sons of the living God.
- In 9:27, these same people are called the remnant that are SAVED!
- In 9:30, Paul describes the Gentiles that have been brought into the true Israel, and says they have the righteousness which is by faith. In other words, they are justified and saved.
- In 10:1, Paul says, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their SALVATION!”
Paul is definitely talking about salvation. Well, who needs salvation? Nations or individuals? Individuals!
- Romans 9:16 does not say, “So then it does not depend on the nation who wills or the nation who runs, but on God who has shown mercy.” No, he says it does not depend on the man.
- Romans 9:18, “So then He has mercy on WHOM He desires…” Not, “on the nation He desires.
- 9:24, “even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.” This makes it exceedingly clear that Paul is not talking about nations, but individuals, because he speaks of individuals who are called from among Jews and Gentiles.
So, with that I rest my case. I believe it is exceedingly clear that Paul is showing the absolute sovereignty of God in the salvation of individuals. He does show His sovereignty over nations, but only so that He can show how that truth applies to the salvation of individuals.
Now, in verses 14-24, Paul brings up two objections to his teaching on unconditional election.
1) Is God Unjust To Choose Some and Not Others? 9:14-18
2) Is God Unjust to Judge Those He Has Hardened? 9:19-24
We will look at the first objection today, and the next one the next time I preach.
Is God Unjust To Choose Some and Not Others?
Paul knows what objections would arise from His teaching on God’s sovereignty. He has spent many years teaching and preaching, and has had to deal with questions and objections wherever He went.
Folks, you know that you are interpreting Paul correctly, if these objections occur to you. If you believe that Paul is teaching that God chooses those He knows will choose Him, this objection in verse 14 won’t make any sense. That doesn’t seem unjust at all. But if Paul is really saying that God chooses whom He will bring into the true Israel, not based on anything in them, but only His own will and pleasure, that seems unjust. It is the same with the objection in verse 19. The question is, “Why does God still find fault with sinners, when they are only carrying out His will?” Well, that objection only makes sense, when you understand Paul to be saying that He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires (9:18). If that is true, why would God find fault with those He has hardened?
First, we need to make a distinction between justice and fairness. Fairness is to give the same thing to all people equally. If I had five children, and was being fair to them, I would have to give all of them an ice cream, if I gave one of them an ice cream. I admit, that God is not fair, when we define fairness in this way. God does not give every person exactly the same thing. If God were perfectly fair, every person in the world would be born in a place where they would have access to a Bible, and a gospel church, and sound Biblical preaching. But that is not the case! There are multiplied millions in the world who have never had access to any of those things. Some people in this world are much more blessed than others are. It’s just a fact. And, if God unconditionally chooses who He will save, He is not fair. He does not give the same thing to all people.
But justice is not the same as fairness. Justice has to do with punishing those who deserve punishment. To charge God with injustice, means that we believe that there are people who deserve better than what God is giving them. It means that some people deserve heaven, but God is sending them to hell. If a man really deserves eternal life, but God punishes him in hell, that is injustice. However, every man deserves hell. Therefore it is no injustice for God to punish all. If He decides to show mercy to some who deserve hell, that is his business. That is not injustice; it is mercy. If God decides to show mercy only on some, is He being unjust to the rest? Not at all. They are receiving the punishment that they deserve, which is the essence of justice.
If we were to decide that God is unjust, we would have to have a standard of “justness” by which we would weigh God’s actions. What standard would we use? Do we really think our own opinion of what is right or wrong should be the standard of judging God?! The only standard we could use, is the standard He has revealed to us about His own character. God is just. He is the standard. If we were to impose our standard of what is just on our Creator, it would be the height of foolishness and arrogance. It is right for God, if He so wills, to punish evil. It is also right for God, if He so wills, to show mercy. Both decisions are righteous when God makes them.
Notice, the structure of 9:15-18. Verses 15 and 16, are parallel to verses 17 and 18. Verses 15 and 17 have Paul quoting an Old Testament passage. In verse 15 Paul quotes a passage that has to do with God granting mercy on whom He desires. In verse 17 Paul quotes a passage that to do with God hardening whom He desires. Verses 16 and 18 are a conclusion to his argument. Both begin with “So then”. Verse 16 concludes that receiving divine mercy doesn’t have to do with anything in man, but God alone. Verse 18 concludes that hardening doesn’t have to do with anything in man, but God alone.
In Romans 9:15, Paul quotes Exodus 33:19. In Exodus 33:18 Moses cries, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” In verse 19, God shows Moses His glory. How so? He made all His goodness pass before him, and proclaimed the name of the Lord before him, and said that He would be gracious to whom He would be gracious, and He would show compassion on whom He would show compassion. Do you see that when God shows His glory, He puts His excellencies on display. And one of His chief excellencies is His sovereign freedom to show mercy and compassion to whomever He will. He is not constrained by anything outside of Himself. His sovereign freedom is of the essence of what it means to be God. He is Jehovah – “I am who I am.” “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” It is just for God to show mercy to whom He will, because in doing so He is demonstrating His glory.
What is Paul’s conclusion? Romans 9:16, “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.” The man who wills refers to man’s choices. The man who runs refers to man’s actions. Paul is saying that whether a person receives mercy or not does not depend on his choices or actions. What then does it depend on? “God who has mercy.” And God has mercy on whom He has mercy. Now, this is exactly the opposite of what most Christians believe. They believe that it is your choices and/or actions that determine whether you will be saved. No, ultimately, it depends on God alone.
Then in Romans 9:17, Paul goes back to Exodus 9:16 to quote a passage about Pharaoh’s hardening. “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” God clearly says that He raised up Pharaoh to demonstrate His power and so that His name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth. God brought a plague on Egypt, and demanded through Moses that he let God’s people go free, but Pharaoh refused. So, God brought another plague on Egypt, and Pharaoh still refused. God did this nine times, and nine times Pharaoh wouldn’t budge. Why did Pharaoh resist God’s command so fiercely? Because God had hardened his heart. If Pharaoh’s heart were not hardened, he might have let the children of Israel go free after the first plague. But if that was the case, God would not have had an opportunity to show His power and proclaim His name through all the earth. So, God hardened his heart, which gave God the occasion to demonstrate His mighty power in miracle after miracle and proclaim the greatness of His name throughout the earth.
Now, what do we mean when we say that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart? We mean that God ordained that Pharaoh’s would become hard in its unbelief and rebellion.
Now, how did Pharaoh’s heart become hardened? Some people believe that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, and in response to that, God hardened it even further. However, the Biblical evidence will not bear that out. The first reference to the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart occurs in Exodus 4:21, “The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.” The Lord said to Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. The next reference is in Exodus 7:3, “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.” Again God says that He is going to harden Pharaoh’s heart. Why? So that He will multiply His signs and wonders. In other words, to demonstrate His power. Notice how the Bible refers to the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart:
- Before the first plague. Exodus 7:13, “Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.”
- After the first plague. Exodus 7:22, “But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.”
- After the second plague. Exodus 8:15, “But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.”
- After the third plague. Exodus 8:19, “Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God.’ But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.”
And in every case what the Lord had said was, “I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go” (Ex.4:21; 7:3). So, the point is that whether the text says that Pharaoh hardened his heart, or that his heart was hardened, in each case it was happening “as the Lord had said.” What had the Lord said? “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.” Behind all the texts which say that Pharaoh hardened his heart, or those that say his heart was hardened, is the Plan and Purpose of God. God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is not described as a response to what Pharaoh does, but as His sovereign rule over what Pharaoh does. That’s why Paul draws the conclusion he does in Romans 9:18, “So then, He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” Paul does not say, “He hardens whoever first hardens themselves.”
So, the Biblical evidence suggests that Pharaoh hardened his heart in response to God hardening it, not that God hardened his heart in response to Pharaoh hardening his heart.
In other words, God’s mercy and hardening are His free and sovereign acts. God was not responding to Pharaoh when He hardened his heart. Neither God’s mercy nor His hardening are His responses to man’s choices or actions. God takes the initiative in both. Both God’s election and His hardening are unconditional.
Conclusion
How then should we respond to this God? Love and fear Him! For most of us, our God is much too small! He is not a feel-good God. He does not exist for our benefit. We exist for His benefit. We are not the center of His universe. He is the center of our universe. Until we can love this God who does whatever He wants, whenever He wants, to whomever He wants, we don’t see His glory. Can you love the God of the Bible? Or do you want to fashion Him into your own image? Do you want to sand down His rough edges, and make Him into a tame lion? If you do, you will never see all His glory.
Can you love the God revealed in the Bible? The God who works all things after the counsel of His will? The God who does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’
Do you fear Him? Have you become so chummy and familiar with Him, that you are no longer able to fear Him? That’s what I’m afraid has happened here in American Christianity. God is our buddy. We hang out together. He’s the Man Upstairs. Although it is true that we can have an intimate relationship with God, beware of trying to become overly familiar and chummy with God. Beware of anything that causes you to lose a sense of awesome reverence for Him. Paul has painted a picture of a God who is awesome in His majesty and sovereignty. If that picture of God seems jarring to us, then it is we who have a truncated view of God.
If you are a Christian, come and bow down and worship Him for who He has revealed Himself to be. Do not try to fashion Him into the kind of god you want Him to be. Delight in Him for who He actually is. That is where true joy is found!
If you are not a Christian, come and bow down and surrender to Him. Though He is a God of infinite majesty and sovereignty, He is also a God of love and grace. He has sent His only Son to reconcile sinners to God. He is the only Mediator between God and man. He has died for sins, the just for the unjust, in order to bring us to God. Believe in Jesus Christ today! Surrender your will to God today! Turn from sin and receive the truth of God’s gospel! If you are not a Christian, the question for you is not “Has God chosen me?” You will never know the answer to that question until you answer this question, “Will you turn from your sin and believe in Jesus Christ?” If you will give Him your life, and begin to follow Him, you will soon discover that He has chosen you before the foundation of the world!
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