Understanding God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

I suppose that in all the Bible there are no more weighty or ultimate or perhaps difficult words than these words in verses 22 and 23 of Romans 9 because what Paul is doing here is giving what I think amounts to the most ultimate answer in all the Bible for the existence not only of evil or sin but why God faults or blames or judges pours wrath on sin when he in fact is sovereign so here we are and the context is you will say to me then why does he still find fault for who can resist his will so the issue is why is there faulting on God's part if God is sovereign over the human will [00:00:00]

Father, as we tackle this most ultimate of all texts in reaching to the place where we can scarcely dream to go I pray for steadiness of mind and faith and confidence in your goodness and your wisdom and your justice and your truth and I pray for hearts receptive that you would guard me from error and that you'd lead us into great god-glorifying mission advancing truth I pray this in Jesus name Amen so to say it again why does he still find fault the great issue here is why is there judgment why is there wrath if none can resist the will of God [00:01:16]

God desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power has endured with much patience vessels of Wrath prepared for destruction in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy which he has prepared beforehand for glory now the beginning here simply is if and the Greek it's just if then you can see that it breaks off here everybody admits that this sentence breaks off the the if clause does not have a then clause to go with it which is why the ESV has begun with a what if but what if or if still leaves us with the same question [00:04:00]

He says if if God desiring to show his wrath so God is desiring to show his wrath and he's desiring to make known his power to show his wrath those are his two desires here if he has thus endured with much patience vessels of Wrath prepared for destruction in order that he might make known the vessel the riches of his glory on the vessels of Mercy which he's prepared hand for glory then what and my suggested answer and this is what every interpreter has to try is that the the the rest of the sentence would be negatively no legitimate objection can be raised [00:05:01]

If God is doing this if this is what he's doing then no legitimate objection can be raised or positively then God is righteous to act this way and that I say that's the reason I mean I say that's the the way we should complete this sentence because verse 14 shows that so I Paul's thinking is there then unrighteousness with God enacting this way and we saw back here in verse verse 21 has the Potter no right over the clay this is Paul's burden to show that God is right in acting this way [00:05:58]

Paul's answer to how God can be righteous in finding fault or showing wrath or destruction on the vessels of Wrath on people whom he chooses to show wrath to one more question in this session this word desiring here every time you see a participle like that desiring to show wrath and to make known his power he endures there's a logical relationship between the desiring and the enduring and what is it and there are two possibilities usually suggested although he desires or because he desires [00:07:13]

Let's paraphrase it both ways if God although he desired to show his wrath and make known his power has endured instead with much patience vessels of Wrath prepared for destruction no legitimate objection can be raised here's the other way if God because he desired to show his wrath and make known his power has endured with much patience vessels of Wrath which is it and I'm going to suggest that it's because largely because the logic works better that way but even more clearly I think that sentence in verse 22 is picking up on this sentence right here in verse 17 [00:07:57]

For the scripture says for this very purpose I have raised you up God talking to Pharaoh I have raised you up that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth so that is the same motive of verse 22 what if God desiring to show his wrath and make known his power so he's referring back to the motive of verse 17 but the motive in verse 17 is that it's God's purpose it's God's desire it's it's because he has this purpose to show his power and make his name proclaimed that he raises Pharaoh up [00:09:02]

He raises him up and hardens him and makes him a vessel fit for Wrath that's the connection between the two and so the intention of Paul here is if God because he had the purpose because he desired to show his wrath through Pharaoh and make known his power in the Red Sea and all the ten plagues has endured with much patience vessels of Wrath Amy Pharaoh and the armies prepared for destruction then no legitimate objection can be raised now what we want to see next time is if we've established that the the answer to this question is first to say that God has an aim [00:10:02]

Which is expressed here the hell of that aim namely this enduring and the purpose of that aim this in order to has not yet been made clear and this right here this in order that is going to be the ultimate theodicy the ultimate justification of the ways of God to man and how he can find fault with those over whom he exercises absolute sovereign control that's where we'll pick it up next time [00:11:02]

The question is if God passed over most of Israel back in chapter 9 verses 6 & 8 and chose some children of the flesh and if God hated Esau and loved Jacob and if God raised up Pharaoh and hardened whom he pleased in all those cases running through this chapter from verse 6 to this very point then why is there faulting on God's part that's the great question is God righteous in in faulting and that's what he's attempting to answer here and and I just want to make clear that he is giving an answer [00:02:35]

A lot of people take verse 20 who are you O man to answer back to God which we've addressed already and say he's not giving an answer he's just shutting us down he's telling us don't go there he's saying stop asking questions and don't think about those ultimate realities well if that were true then I think what he would stop us right there that'd be the end this this the rest of this this right here he would just X out but he doesn't exit out we've already seen one kind of answer with the clay pot here and now here's the most ultimate answer so let's read it [00:03:25]