19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? ~ Romans 9:19-21
Today, we return to our study of Romans 9-11 where we are learning about how the sovereignty of God is crucial to the development of our faith. As we have considered before, Romans 9 is about Israel’s past with God, while Romans 10 is about Israel’s present with God. And, Romans 11 is about Israel’s future with God. The subtle message here is this: Will we seek to know and have a personal relationship with God?
In v.19 of today’s passage we read, “One of you will say to me, ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?’”
Through this backward looking question, the Apostle Paul continues to establish the righteousness of God. This question comes from Isaiah 29:16 where God isolated Israel's rebellion. In context, the Lord declared that the people of Israel drew near to Him with their mouths, but their hearts were far from Him. They put on a facade thinking they were right with God. All the while, their hearts were not engaged with God and thus they were to be blamed.
In our fallen condition, man naturally finds fault with God when we do not understand why things are as they are. We blame God because we know that He is the only one who can really do anything about it. Our accusations of God echoes the accusation of God made by the devil throughout all human history.
In v.20 of today’s passage we read, “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”
In reply, the Apostle Paul indirectly compares the difference between God and man. Man is finite, frail, and foolish. God, on the other hand is infinite, all powerful, and all wise. Sinful man’s question of the righteous God is senseless since man is the one who chose differently than God. In context, the Apostle has been establishing the fact that the sovereign will of God will always come to fruition. This means we always have the same choice whether to be willing with God or not. Many would accuse God of being arbitrary but that is not the point here. The point is will we bow our wills to God and believe.
In v.21 of today’s passage we read, “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?”
No one tells our Maker how to make him. Yet, rebellious man wants to try to blame God for the consequences of our poor choices. No matter how intelligent we are, we will never know it all. There are many things in this world, due to our fallen nature, that we do not know and understand. Yet, God knows things that are true of you and me that we do not know of ourselves. He knows who will embrace Him and who will not. He does not make that choice for us, but He enables us. And, He has always known the outcome.
It is true that God chose to save His elect before the foundation of the world, and those elect people are consistently referred to as the "chosen" of God in the scriptures. The Bible repeatedly confirms that believers are both predestined and elected unto salvation. It is also true that man is responsible to repent and believe in Christ. The experience of every Christian confirms that repentance from sin and belief in the blood of Christ to wash our sins is something we must do, willingly, to be saved.
When a clay pot has a lump in it, in order to smooth it out, the potter puts it on his wheel and shapes it with his hands. While shaping the clay, the potter uses water to soften it. As a result the stiffness is removed, making the clay malleable. This is how God works in our lives. Instead of discarding us, He painstakingly has reshaped us. It is His desire that His reshaping would be experienced by all, but some have resisted the touch of the potter.
I am discovering that it is the default mode of my soul to resist God. This, of course, is futile for God will always have His sovereign way. I am also discovering that when His will is realized in my soul and my life, it is the best possible thing for me. This, of course, is Paul's point here. God sends no one to hell, people choose that for themselves. But, make no mistake about it, it is God who sends us to heaven. And, it is His sovereign will that we experience the benefits of heaven while we are on this earth. And the reason for this is that others might benefit from His work in our lives, resulting in the birth of faith in the God of the Bible within their souls. This is His calling on all of our lives.
