Why God Doesn’t Owe You an Explanation

[bdavidc]

For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ~ Romans 9:15

You don’t want to hear this. Most people in this society don’t want to hear this. But the Bible says it: not all who call themselves God’s children are His children. Ouch. I know that’s a hard pill to swallow. You might think I’m being cruel. If that sounds harsh, it’s only because the truth cuts deeper than we want it to. In Romans 9: 1–24, Paul wrestles with the fate of his people Israel with a pain that drips off his pen. He is no cynic, no self-righteous Pharisee, saying “ha ha, I told you so.” He grieves with a love that says, if I could trade my own salvation for them, so that they might know Christ, I would gladly do it. But despite Israel’s glorious history, despite God’s promises to Abraham, despite all of that, Paul says clearly that being born into the right family is no guarantee of being born of God.

Paul says, “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Romans 9:6). Translation: Just because someone is religious. Just because they claim to be Abraham’s seed. Just because they were born into a Christian culture and call themselves Christians, it doesn’t mean they are children of God. The promises are not based on your blood, on your effort. “It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise” (Romans 9:8). It’s not about nationality, or tradition, or good works. It’s about God, and God choosing to show mercy.

It’s at this point that people get offended. They want a God who measures up to their ideas of fairness. They want a God who will give them credit for their efforts, even if it’s just a little credit. But Paul sees this coming and says it to their face: “Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!” (Romans 9:14). God owes no man mercy. If He did, it would not be mercy. He said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy” (Romans 9:15). God is not waiting for our permission to be God. God raises up whom He will. God casts down whom He will. He let Pharaoh be lifted up just so He could cast him down for His own glory.

So, what do you do with a God like that? Paul answers the protest before we can even form it: “Why does he still find fault?” The answer? “Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” (Romans 9:20). That’s not an un-serious answer. That’s reality. God is the Potter, we are the clay. He can make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor, and He does not have to explain Himself to us. That’s not evil, that’s sovereignty.

But here’s the crazy thing. God could be perfectly just to judge everyone. Though God would be perfectly just to condemn all, He has chosen to show mercy to some. He has called some, not just from the Jews, but from the Gentiles as well, to become “vessels of mercy,” prepared beforehand for glory (Romans 9:23–24). If you’re reading this and your heart is soft. If you care about truth. If you long to know God, if you have ears to hear, that is not your doing. That is His mercy working in you.

God does not grade on a curve. He does not bend to human will. Salvation is not earned. It is a gift, and the Giver gets to decide where the gift goes. “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16). If you belong to Christ, it’s not because you somehow deserved it. It’s because God called you. And if you haven’t yet turned to Him, there’s no better day than today. Cry out to Him for mercy while it is still being offered.

The God of the Bible is not small, tame, politically correct. He is holy, sovereign, just, and merciful beyond comprehension. The question is not whether you understand everything that He does. The question is whether you will humble yourself before Him and trust what He has said.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Let that be your starting point today.

 

[amigo de christo]

To the LORD BE THE GLORY with all praises and thanksgivings . Onwards in the LORD

 

[marks]

But the Bible says it: not all who call themselves God’s children are His children.

It's just a simple truth. Jesus taught this in the parable of the sower. John wrote of these in his letter, they went out from us because they were not of us.

And I completely agree, God doesn't owe us an explanation, though He still tells us so very much, reaching out to humanity to repent and come to Him.

Much love!

 

[marks]

The question is whether you will humble yourself before Him and trust what He has said.

Given what you seem to think about this, why would the above be a question? If God has chosen you, you will come to Him, and at the time of His choosing, is that not so?

However, as God in fact invites not just a man, but Man to return to Him, we urge you, as though Christ Himself, be reconciled to God.

Much love!

 

[bdavidc]

Given what you seem to think about this, why would the above be a question? If God has chosen you, you will come to Him, and at the time of His choosing, is that not so?

You’ve hit the nail on the head in a way that just goes to the heart of the tension in Romans 9, and you’re right to challenge that point. If the bottom line of salvation is God’s sovereign mercy, and not our will, effort, lineage, or background, then why should Paul (or anyone else for that matter) exhort anyone to do anything?

The answer and it comes straight from Scripture, because God’s sovereign election does not abolish human responsibility; it creates it.

Romans 9 says unequivocally that God shows mercy to whom He wills (Romans 9: 15–18), and that He has every right to do so. But immediately after that, in Romans 10, sinners are summoned to believe: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

God’s call to repent and believe is both genuine and universal (Mark 16:15, Acts 17:30). The fact is, from our point of view, we just don’t know who the “vessels of mercy” are; only God does. That’s why Paul says: “We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). This is God’s summons through His ambassadors.

When someone says to me, “Well, if I’m chosen, I’ll come eventually, so I’ll just sit back and wait,” that is not submission; that is rebellion cloaked in fatalism. The Bible never gives people license to sit on their hands. It says “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15). The assumption there is that you are responsible.

Yes, if someone humbles themselves and cries out for mercy, it is because God is drawing them. John 6: 44 says, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” But here’s the thing: the ones God draws, come, and they come now, not later. There is no example in Scripture of someone sitting on their response who was not later judged for it (Luke 9:59–62, Acts 24:25).

The call still stands: repent and believe the gospel. If you do, that is mercy. If you don’t, that is rebellion. But don’t use God’s sovereignty as a backdoor way of disobeying God’s command. “God now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30). Full stop.

To borrow a phrase from Romans 9 again, “O man, who art thou that repliest against God?” The only appropriate response is humility and faith. God has spoken. The question is, will you bow or will you buck?

For anyone reading this and did not get the answer for the follow question:

“Given what you seem to think about this, why would the above be a question? If God has chosen you, you will come to Him, and at the time of His choosing, is that not so?”

Yes, if God has truly chosen someone, they will come, but that doesn’t cancel the command to repent now.

God’s sovereignty doesn’t excuse your delay. His command is clear: “God now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30). If you hear that and shrug, that’s not humility, that’s rebellion.

God chooses, yes. But He also says you must respond. If you won’t, that’s on you. Simple as that.