Romans 9:14-18 God's Righteousness

Our human minds have trouble grasping the fact that God can choose someone over someone else and still be righteous.  Yet we can in no way ever accuse God of being unrighteous.  If He was, then He wouldn't be God.  His method of choosing is wholly a matter of grace.

"If God acted only on the basis of righteousness, nobody would ever be saved ... All of us deserve condemnation, not mercy," my commentary said.

Paul also looks at Moses versus Pharaoh.  "Moses was a Jew; Pharaoh was a Gentile, yet both were sinners.  In fact, both were murderers!  Both saw God's wonders.  Yet Moses was saved and Pharaoh was lost.  God raised up Pharaoh that He might reveal His glory and power, and He had mercy on Moses that He might use him to deliver the people of Israel ... God willed it that way ... It was not a matter of righteousness but of the sovereign will of God."

"God is holy and must punish sin, but God is loving and desires to save sinners.  If everybody is saved, it would deny His holiness, but if everybody is lost, it would deny His love.  The solution to the problem is God's sovereign election ... Nobody can condemn God for the way He extends His mercy because God is righteous."

"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."

Father, help me never to doubt Your love for me and Your righteousness.  Lead me to know that Your decisions are always right and perfect and to understand how little my human mind can grasp of Your workings.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford