TheoloJeep

Introduction: The Crisis of Modern Theology

We live in a day when God is spoken of, but rarely feared. People profess to know Him, yet openly dismiss His commandments. Marriage is redefined. Life in the womb is discarded. Truth is molded to personal preference. Even in the church, sermons are softened so as not to offend, and God is re-cast as a gentle grandfather who simply wants us happy.

We no longer tremble before a holy God. We have forgotten that He is sovereign.

Romans 9 stands like a thunderclap in the middle of Paul’s letter to the Romans. It shakes our modern sensibilities and destroys the idols of human pride. It declares a God who is not at our mercy but before whom we must bow.

The refrain that echoes throughout is Paul’s stinging question: “Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” (Rom. 9:20).

The God We Have Forgotten

It is He who hung the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens.

It is He who tells the seas, “You shall come this far and no farther.”

It is He who raises up mountains and lays down valleys.

It is He who sustains every heartbeat, governs every kingdom, and overthrows every tyrant.

It is He who declares the end from the beginning.

This is the God of Scripture. The God who commands and is obeyed. And yet we, the clay, dare to say no to the Potter.

Exposition of Romans 9:13–24

Jacob and Esau (vv. 13–15)

Paul begins with the shocking statement: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (v.13).

We recoil at the word “hate.” But Scripture shows that God’s hatred is holy and just (Prov. 6:16–19; Ps. 5:4–5; Ps. 11:5). His love is pure, His wrath is pure, His hatred is pure. Unlike our sinful emotions, His are perfectly righteous.

The scandal is not that God hated Esau. The scandal is that He loved Jacob. Neither deserved it. Neither earned it. But God chose Jacob, according to His own good pleasure.

God’s Justice Questioned (vv. 14–16)

Paul anticipates the objection: “Is there injustice on God’s part?” (v.14).

To human ears, election sounds unfair. But “fairness” assumes God owes us something. He owes us nothing but judgment. Grace, by definition, is undeserved.

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” (v.15).

Mercy is God’s prerogative. It does not depend on man’s will or effort (v.16). Our modern age insists salvation must be a cooperative effort—God offers, man accepts. But Paul shatters that illusion. Dead men do not rise by their own will. Lazarus did not climb out of the tomb until Christ called his name (John 11:43).

Pharaoh as an Example (vv. 17–18)

God raised Pharaoh up for a purpose: to display His power and glory.

Pharaoh hardened his own heart, and God judicially hardened it further. God used Pharaoh’s rebellion to magnify His name.

This is not limited to Egypt. History is full of Pharaohs—tyrants raised up, allowed to rage, and then toppled. Nebuchadnezzar, Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin—all are reminders that God rules even over those who oppose Him.

The Objection of Responsibility (vv. 19–21)

Paul anticipates another objection: “Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?” (v.19).

If God is sovereign, how can man be responsible? Paul’s answer is sharp: “Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” (v.20).

The image is clear: God is the Potter, we are the clay. He has the right to fashion vessels for honorable use and dishonorable use. This is not tyranny. This is sovereignty.

Job learned this lesson. After 37 chapters of lament, God thundered from the whirlwind: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4). Job repented in dust and ashes.

Vessels of Wrath and Mercy (vv. 22–24)

God endures vessels of wrath with patience, to display His power and wrath, while preparing vessels of mercy for glory.

Jonathan Edwards described sinners as hanging by a slender thread over the pit of hell, held up only by the hand of God. Every breath is mercy. Every moment is patience. Yet the day of judgment will come, and only God’s sovereign grace separates the vessel of mercy from the vessel of wrath.

Historical Development

Augustine vs. Pelagius (5th century)

Pelagius taught that man was essentially good, able to obey God without divine grace. Salvation, he argued, was a matter of free will.

Augustine thundered back: man is dead in sin, bound in will, and utterly dependent on grace. Romans 9 was his cornerstone. The church sided with Augustine at the Council of Carthage (418), condemning Pelagianism as heresy.

Luther vs. Erasmus (16th century)

Erasmus argued for the freedom of the will. Luther responded with The Bondage of the Will (1525), calling it “the very hinge on which the Reformation turned.” Luther declared that apart from grace, the will is bound in sin. Election magnifies God’s glory.

John Knox: The Lion of Scotland

Knox, the fiery Scottish Reformer, proclaimed God’s sovereignty with boldness. When accused of being too harsh, Knox replied: “I am not master of myself, but must obey Him who commands me to speak plain and to flatter no flesh on the face of the earth.” For Knox, the sovereignty of God meant fearless proclamation. He believed, as Romans 9 teaches, that God raises up kings and casts them down. No tyrant could withstand the decree of the Almighty.

Jonathan Edwards: The Weight of Glory

Edwards, the great American theologian, preached election not as a cold doctrine but as a source of awe. In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, he reminded listeners that they lived every second at the mercy of God. For Edwards, election magnified the preciousness of grace.

Charles Spurgeon: The People’s Preacher

Spurgeon, perhaps the greatest preacher of the 19th century, never apologized for election. He once said:

“I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterward.”

For Spurgeon, election humbled pride, exalted God, and assured the believer.

Answering Objections

“Election makes God unjust.” – No. Justice would be for all to be condemned. Grace is undeserved mercy.

“Election violates free will.” – No. Our wills are enslaved to sin. True freedom comes only when Christ makes us alive.

“If God chooses, why evangelize?” – Because God ordains both the ends and the means. Paul was told in Corinth: “I have many in this city who are my people” (Acts 18:10). Election guarantees the success of evangelism.

“If God chooses, why pray?” – Because prayer is the very means by which God accomplishes His will. Sovereignty fuels prayer; it does not render it useless.

Application

For unbelievers: Stop pretending God is small. You are clay in the hands of the Potter. Repent and believe before judgment falls.

For believers: Election should humble you. Why you? Only God knows. But He loved you, chose you, and redeemed you.

For the church: Do not water down this doctrine. Preach the whole counsel of God. Sovereignty produces fearless evangelism, humble worship, and bold faith.

Who Are You, O Man?

Romans 9 silences human pride. It humbles the skeptic, strengthens the saint, and glorifies the Savior.

It is He who chooses His elect.

It is He who makes dead men alive.

It is He who saves—from Himself, by Himself, and for Himself.

It is He who redeems, regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies.

It is He who owes us nothing but promises us everything in Christ.

The Potter is sovereign. The clay must bow.

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Rom. 11:36)