God’s Sovereign Purpose in Mercy and Hardening
Romans 9:17–29 (NLT)
17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” 18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”
20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? 22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. 23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. 24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.
25 Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea,
“Those who were not my people,
I will now call my people.
And I will love those
whom I did not love before.”
26 And,
“Then, at the place where they were told,
‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called
‘children of the living God.’ ”
27 And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out,
“Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore,
only a remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth
quickly and with finality.”
29 And Isaiah said the same thing in another place:
“If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
had not spared a few of our children,
we would have been wiped out like Sodom,
destroyed like Gomorrah.”
Message
Last week, we studied “God’s Sovereign Mercy” in Romans 9:10-16. Today let us continue studying on God’s sovereignty. See verse 17.
17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.”
This is written in Exodus 9:16. So, God not only make sovereign choice to show mercy to some but also make sovereign choice to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen (18). Then, we could raise a question, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?” (19)
God is the Creator, and we are His creation; therefore, we are not in a position to accuse Him of injustice for carrying out His sovereign purpose. Like a potter with clay, God has the right to deal differently with people while showing both His justice and His mercy. (20-23)
The heart of some, including some Jews was hardened and refused Jesus (28-29, Isaiah 1:9, 10:22-23) while some Jews (27, Isaiah 10:22) and some Gentiles were chosen by God (24-26, Hosea 2:23, 1:10).
