Sunday School Notes: Romans 9:14-24

¹⁴ What shall we say, then? Surely there is not unrighteousness with God, is there? Certainly not! ¹⁵ For He says to Moses, “I shall have mercy on whomever I have mercy and I shall have compassion on whomever I have compassion. ¹⁶ Therefore, it is not of the one willing, nor of the one running, but of God mercying. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “Unto this very thing I raised you out, that I might demonstrate in you my power and that my name might be proclaimed throughout all the land. ¹⁸ Therefore, whomever He has mercy on whomever He wishes, and He hardens whomever He wishes.

¹⁹ Then you shall say to me, “Why, then, does He yet find fault? For who resists His will?” ²⁰ On the contrary, who are you, O man, answering back to God? Shall that which is molded say to the molder, “Why did you make me this way?” ²¹ Or does not the potter have authority over the clay out of the same lump of clay to make on the one hand to make [it] unto a vessel of honor or one unto dishonor? ²² But [what] if God, wishing to demonstrate wrath and  make known his power endured with much patience vessels of wrath having been prepared for destruction, ²³ and in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which He prepared beforehand unto glory? ²⁴ Even us whom He called not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles.

I’ve provided a translation of verses 14-24 of chapter 9, but this week we jumped straight to 20-23, with some reference back to the other verses. We’ll go back over 14-24–particularly 14-19–next week, but this week, Mike wanted to play with Play-Doh. By way of illustration of 20-23, Mike gave us each a small tub of Play-Doh and told us to make whatever we wanted with it. There was one tub he mushed into an amorphous shape and then left on the floor to do with itself whatever it wanted to do. From this exercise, he drew a couple of important points. As the molders, we had complete freedom to make with our lumps of Play-Doh whatever we wanted, and the Play-Doh had no say in the matter. While some of the group made creative use of their lumps, others of us didn’t fare as well. Indeed, some were glorious vessels, and others were clearly destined for destruction! As for the lump on the floor, as you might expect, it didn’t do anything–it remained in the state it was in to begin with. However, Mike’s mushing of the lump left the mark of his fingers in it, which reminds us that even the “vessels of wrath” are created by God in His image and bear His fingerprints.

The point of these verses is to assert God’s sovereign authority to act as He pleases without any reference to the desires of men. Some commentators believe this passage to be a detour from Paul’s main argument in chapter 9, but we didn’t think this was the case. In this chapter, Paul is answering the question, “What about the Jews–has God forgotten them?” And his response is, “No–but not all Israel is truly Israel.” God hasn’t abandoned His people, but His intention is not to save everyone based on their ethnicity. There are those within Israel who are saved, and those that aren’t–and the deciding factor that determines the saved from the unsaved is God’s sovereign decree of election. Hence, from the same lump (Israel), He can make vessels of honor, and vessels of dishonor; those He will save, and those He won’t save. This same principle holds true not just for Israel, but for the whole of humanity (from the same lump of Adam-clay, he makes the saved and the unsaved). But since Paul is discussing Israel’s situation (and using examples from the Old Testament), it seems natural that this would be his main point.

We also discussed whether or not God actively decreed the condemnation of the non-elect, or whether He just passed over them. Did God just predestine to salvation, or was there a “double predestination,” both to salvation and to damnation? Some, even in Reformed circles, are uncomfortable with the idea of “double predestination” largely because it makes God seem harsh and callous, picking and choosing people to save or to burn. Since we are all guilty before God from birth and deserving of hell, surely God doesn’t need to actively condemn; the mere act of not electing us is sufficient for us to remain in our sin and be justly condemned. However, since God knows the hearts of all people–including the non-elect–He knows every person that enters the fiery pit. How could He not, therefore, have made some kind of active decision? Further, if nothing happens by chance, but God is working all things for the good of His people (Romans 8:28), then God cannot be a passive bystander with regard to anything. If the universe is upheld by His active decree, then even the fate of godless souls are in His hands.

It is important to remember that God’s decision to elect is not the same as His decision to condemn. When God decides to condemn someone, He doesn’t have to do anything to make that person worthy of condemnation–he or she already is. God’s choice to condemn is the same as His choice to leave them to their sinful nature, or, in the language of Romans 1, to hand them over to the lusts of their hearts. However, when God elects to save, He has to do something to that person to bring them to salvation: He changes the heart, gives the gift of faith, and enables repentance so that person may believe and trust in Christ. We must never forget that condemnation is always justly earned, whereas salvation is the gracious gift of God through the merits of Christ that we could never earn.

Next week we’ll explore the rest of this passage in more detail, and perhaps take up any lingering questions from this week. Please feel free to contribute your thoughts and questions in the comments.