Romans Series # 43 June 19, 2002
Title: When God Seems Unfair Remember These 2 Things
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Email: pastorsarver@yahoo.com
Introduction: Welcome to New Life in Christ. We are currently in Chapter 9 of Romans as we continue with message #43 of our verse-by-verse study of the Book of Romans.
Read Romans 9:18-29
Opening Prayer
As a father of four children, I sometimes have to make decisions that affect their lives. Decisions such as: friendships, dating, bedtime, entertainment choices, allowances, etc... Very often these decisions seem unfair to one or more of the children. In rare cases they will grow angry and demand that I, the father, explain myself. In those situations, the first thing I do is make very clear that because I am the parent and they are the child, I do not have to explain or justify any of my decisions or actions to them. This does not mean that their criticism of me being unfair is valid. It does not mean that I do not have good reasons for the decisions and actions I take. It just means that I don’t have to answer to the demands of a child.
In a way the verses we just read are related to a similar situation. Paul has just explained how God chooses to show some people mercy, while at the same time hardening the hearts of others, in particular the people of Israel. Their reaction was similar to my children’s in the aforementioned illustration. They accused God of being unfair and demanded that he explain himself. In response to this, Paul writes these verses. In them we learn two things we all need to know when God works in ways that seem unfair to us.
First: God is not answerable about his decisions or actions.
Second: God is not arbitrary in his decisions or actions.
The first thing we all need to understand is that God does not owe us an account of why he does what he does, whether in his dealings with Israel and the Gentiles or any other matter. God is not answerable to us about his decisions or actions, yet an accusation against God and the demand for explanation from God is exactly what some people were seeking.
Read Verse 19
“Why does God still blame us? For who resist his will?” In other words these people are saying, “God hardened our hearts to reject the Gospel and no one can resist his power so what right does he have to hold us accountable for rejecting the Gospel?” Clearly implied in these questions is an accusation that God is unjust and unfair and that he should explain himself.
Keep in mind that this question is not asked with a humble attitude, but with a “talking back to God” attitude as verse 20 states. God is not opposed to us seeking genuine answers to perplexing questions, provided we do so with humility, submissiveness, and an acknowledgement of his right to decline to answer. This is why many Old Testament prophets could sincerely ask God tough questions and not be rebuked while at the same time Job was rebuked by God for demanding an account from God. When we don’t understand God’s ways we need to remember that. . .
1. God is not answerable about his decisions or actions.
This is the basic principle that Paul conveys in verses 20 and 21.
Read Verses 20, 21
In verse 20 Paul asks an important and enlightening question, “Who are you, O man, to talk back to God?” In other words, what right have you to question God or demand explanations from him? You’re just a man and he is God. Could you imagine in the Army a soldier with the rank of private going to the commanding General and accusing him of being unfair for rescinding his unit’s pass privileges and then demanding that he explain himself. The General’s response would be “Who are you O private to talk back to a General?”
God is God and we are not, therefore we have no right to accuse God or question God. Remember your position and God’s position. He is the highest general and we are the lowest private. He is the Father and we are the children, or as Paul explains in verse 21, he is the Creator and we are the creation.
In verse 21 Paul uses the analogy of God as a potter and people as the clay to make the point that we are not in a position to question God. The analogy should not be taken too far since humans are not entirely like clay. We have the ability to make choices, to resist God’s will, and even to talk back to God unlike clay. In other words, we shouldn’t think that every aspect of our lives, including our eternal destiny, is determined by God alone. That would be taking the analogy way too far and beyond the scope of what Paul intended. One thing that will become clear in chapters 10 and 11 is that God’s choices concerning our lives are determined by our choices concerning God.
The imagery of the potter and the clay is also used in Jeremiah Chapter 18 in which God said he was like a potter preparing Israel, the clay, for judgment, but then he call Israel to repent so that he can mold them differently and do good to them. (Jeremiah 18:1-11) This passage and other Scripture verses make clear that God has given us limited free will. Our choices affect God’s choices by his own design. This is a side issue at this juncture for the primary point that Paul is making in verses 18-21 is that...
1. God is not answerable about his decisions or actions.
In verse 21 Paul says that God can “make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common uses.” The clay represents humanity as a whole. Out of that clay, God has chosen a small lump and fashioned the nation of Israel for a very noble purpose. They were a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a people belonging to God who were to be used by God to show the world his character and ways. This is a very noble purpose but doesn’t God have the right to now take this lump of clay, Israel, and use it for common use? In other words, God is perfectly justified in removing them from their prestigious positions as his “trophy case” and use them instead as his “trash can.” Does God have to explain himself or defend himself for doing this? Of course not! He is the potter and people are the clay, to do with as he sees fit.
1. God is not answerable about his decisions or actions.
Does this mean that God doesn’t have good reasons for his decisions and actions? No! Paul never said that, he only said that people had no right to demand that God defend or explain his actions. As a parent I may tell my children that they have no right to question me but that in no way indicates that I don’t have good reasons for doing what I do. Of course I have good reasons for the choices I make and so does God.
In verses 22-24 Paul makes very clear that God does have his reasons for his choices and actions. This leads us to the second thing we need to understand when God works in ways that seem unfair to us.
2. God is not arbitrary in his decisions or actions.
Read Verses 22-24
It should be noted at this juncture that the translation of verse 22 is greatly disputed. There many ways to translate this verse and each one significantly changes the meaning. If you were to read several modern translations of this verse you’d see this variety of translations. I am no Greek expert so I cannot speak as an expert to which translation is best, but I believe that the New American Standard Bible translation best fits the context.
In the NASB verse 22 reads “What if God, although willing to demonstrate his wrath and make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?” In this translation God was willing to punish those who rejected him but decided instead to be patient. In this context this means that God was patient with the people of Israel even though they only deserved destruction. This is important because it shows us that God’s actions and decisions are not capricious or arbitrary but are rather governed by mercy and grace.
God always acts with a good purpose even if it is unknown to us. God had been very patient with Israel in the past and has now removed them from their prestigious spiritual position and he has done both of these things with a good reason. What are God’s reasons for the way he has dealt with Israel? God doesn’t have to answer that question but he does gives us some insight into why he does what he does in the latter part of this verse and in verse 23. The main thing we need to understand is not God’s reasons but that...
2. God is not arbitrary in his decisions or actions.
It says in verse 22 that these vessels, which represent either the nation of Israel as a whole or individual people - it is not clear which, were “prepared for destruction.” The word “prepared” makes it sound like God simply chooses and arbitrarily prepares some people for eternal destruction. This is not the case. The Greek word for “prepared” can also be translated as “suitable” or “fitting” and the word is in the passive rather than the active voice, which indicates that it is something they did to themselves rather than God did to them. Here’s the point, God has been very patient with those who were only suitable for destruction because of their own choices and actions. God’s choices were based on their choices.
God is not unfair! God is not capricious! God is not arbitrary in his decisions! In fact God has been very merciful and patient to those who do not deserve mercy. Every decision he has made has been governed by his mercy and grace. Why has God been so patient in withholding judgment? One reason is given in Romans 2:4 which says that God is patient in order to lead people to repentance. Romans 9:23 gives us a second reason why God has been so patient with rebellious Israel.
Paul says God did this to “make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy. . .” The “riches of his glory” refer to the greatness of his grace and mercy. In other words, we look at Israel with all of her rebellion and see that God must indeed be “rich in mercy.” The history of Israel that we have in the Old Testament glorifies God and encourages us because he has been so patient with those who been so rebellious. Some people misunderstand God’s patience as being unwillingness to judge or as lacking in goodness when actually just the opposite is true.
Contemporary Christian singer Chris Rice has a song that speaks to this issue. The song is entitled “Am I Naive?” Some of the lyrics to the song are:
I hear that a God who is good
Would never let the evil run so long
But I say it’s because you’re good
You’re giving us more time
Because I believe you love to show us mercy
But when will you step into our sky blue
And say that’s quite enough, and your time is up.
Chris Rice is saying the same thing as Paul was saying. God has not poured out judgment not because he is unwilling but because he is merciful, but the day will come when God will judge. In either case, whether God pours out judgment or shows patience and mercy, it is not an arbitrary decision. He does so for a good reason.
2. God is not arbitrary in his decisions or actions.
In verse 23 Christians are referred to as “objects of mercy” and indeed we are, but we are not “objects of mercy” because of God’s arbitrary choice. God chose us for a reason, albeit not a meritorious reason, but for a reason nonetheless. God did not show us mercy because we deserve it, worked for it, or were born of a certain nationality or ethnic group, but rather we are now objects of his mercy because of trusting in Christ and his righteousness.
Some people interpret verses 22, 23 to mean that some people are born “objects of God’s wrath” and are destined for destruction and that some people are born “objects of mercy” and destined for heaven. The Bible does not support this teaching. The Bible says that everyone was born an object of wrath.
Read Ephesians 2:3, 4
While everyone has made themselves only fit or suitable for judgment, a person is not fated to remain an object of wrath but can respond to the Gospel and become an “object of his mercy.” If we do that we’re no longer “prepared for destruction (vs. 22)” but rather are “prepared in advance for glory.” In this case the word for prepared is a different Greek word than in verse 22, and more importantly it is in a different voice. Rather than the passive voice this verb is in the active voice. This changes the whole meaning which is why it is translated differently. Please note that the New International Version makes very clear that it is God who prepared us in advance for glory. Simply put the difference in grammatical construction in verses 22 and 23 means that we made ourselves suitable for destruction but that it was God who has and is preparing or making a suitable for Glory. People are responsible for their own judgment but God is responsible for salvation. In either case, God’s choice depends on our choices because. . .
2. God is not arbitrary in his decisions or actions.
God’s choice to have mercy on people is not limited to any certain nation or ethnic group. As Paul states in verse 24 God calls people from the Gentiles and the Jews. He then gives a series of Old Testament quotations to back up that statement and to backup the current nature of the church in which Jews were a minority. He uses these quotes to show that God had always planned a community of people, the church, composed of people from all nations and that only a remnant of Jews would be a part of the church. I am just going to read and briefly comment on these verses before we close since they are fairly straightforward.
Read Romans 9:25-29 and comment briefly.
Conclusion: Every one of us will encounter times when God seems unfair. We will all run into tricky theological questions and actions that seem to call God’s fairness into question. In these situations we all need to remember two things.
First: God is not answerable about his decisions or actions.
Second: God is not arbitrary in his decisions or actions.
Closing Prayer
