Romans 9:14-29
God’s Prerogative (v. 14-18)
Objection – God isn’t fair!
Observation
Mercy is underserved
Judgment is deserved
God’s Perspective (vv. 19-24)
The creature’s accusation
The Creator’s authority
His power
His patience
His plan (1 Cor 1:21)
God’s Pleasure (vv. 25-29)
To save believing Gentiles (Hosea 2:23)
To save believing Jews (Is. 10:22-23, 1:9)
More to Consider
A socialist once came to see Andrew Carnegie and soon was railing against the injustice of Carnegie having so much money. In his view, wealth was meant to be divided equally. Carnegie asked his secretary for an assessment of everything he owned and at the same time looked up the figures on world population. He did a little arithmetic on a pad and then said to his secretary. "Give this gentleman l6 cents. That's his share of my wealth." Sermonillustrations.com
Before leaving this section, we need to discuss the “hardening” of Pharaoh (Rom. 9:18). This hardening process is referred to at least fifteen times in Exodus 7–14. Sometimes we are told that Pharaoh hardened his heart (Ex. 8:15, 19, 32), and other times that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Ex. 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27). By declaring His Word and revealing His power, God gave Pharaoh opportunity to repent; but instead, Pharaoh resisted God and hardened his heart. The fault lay not with God but Pharaoh. The same sunlight that melts the ice also hardens the clay. God was not unrighteous in His dealings with Pharaoh because He gave him many opportunities to repent and believe. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 544.
The criterion for inclusion or exclusion in “My-People” is whether sinners pursue righteousness by faith or in self-reliance (v. 32; 10:3–4, 9–10). That is, those destroyed prepared themselves for their destruction. People are predestined to condemnation so long as they choose to continue in their ways and resist God’s grace. Ted Cabal et al., The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007), 1694–1695.
