Why would Paul expect his audience to respond “Who can resist His will?”, if he is only saying that God can grant mercy to those who have faith and harden those who do not?
Quick answer. I’m not sure. However, it does not shake my conviction regarding what I believe Paul’s point is for 2 reasons.
- I should expect that my reaction to Paul’s point will be different than his original readers reaction. Generations separate us from the original readers. There are vast cultural differences, different perspectives, and different religious upbringings that all guarantee that the modern reader will react differently to Paul’s teachings than the original reader would. For example, some Jewish Christians from Paul’s time period may have responded with mixed reactions, perhaps surprise, frustration, or even disbelief, to a statement that individuals did not need to be circumcised to be saved. We know this is true from Acts, as some were teaching within the church that people needed to be circumcised. However, if a pastor were to get up in a church today and teach an entire sermon on how one does not need to be circumcised in order to be saved, most people would be confused as to why such a topic even needed to be addressed. There would be no emotional reaction to the message as it would seem obvious, fair, and right. Without growing up in the Jewish faith of that time or being surrounded by it, the reaction that we will experience to Paul saying that God is just to grant mercy to some, and not to others on the basis of faith and not on the basis of who belongs to the nation of Israel, will be vastly different.
- There are other instances in scripture where the “anticipated responses” do not match what I would expect them to be and actually seem similar to this one.
- In Jeremiah 18, God declared to Israel that they are destined for destruction because of their disobedience. However, if they repent, God will relent and establish them. This message should bring hope for they are not truly destined for anything. They can choose to turn to God. In verse 11, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you, from his way, and reform your ways, and your deeds.” But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his heart.’” God has just presented them hope, yet they respond with saying that it is hopeless. They have a choice and could turn and receive salvation. Yet still, they act as though they are destined to not receive it.
- In Ezekiel 18 we see God speaking a similar message to the House of Israel. In this chapter, he is responding to a common proverb that was used in Israel during that day: “The fathers eat the sour grapes, But the children’s teeth are set on edge (18:2).” He declares that this is no longer going to be a proverb and refutes it by declaring that each man is responsible for his own sin. This goes two ways: It means that a son is not responsible for his father’s sin, but it also means that a man is not considered righteous just because his father is righteous. And just as a man can not “ride” on his father’s righteousness, so a man can not “ride” on his past righteousness. If a man is righteous, but turns away from God, nothing righteous he has done will be remembered, and instead, he will be held accountable for his sin. In the same way if a man turns from his iniquity to righteousness, God will not remember any of his iniquity and he will be remembered as a righteous man. In Ezekiel 18:29, he again anticipates a reaction from Israel that does not seem to be a “proper reaction.” He says, “But the house of Israel will say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’”
In the same way, in Romans 9, Paul has actually presented hope. Anyone, those who are from Israel and those who are not, who follow in the steps of faith of Abraham, can be adopted as children of God. Yet still, Paul anticipates his readers to question God’s righteousness and justice.
Back to Romans 9 | Part 3