“Aug 20, 2024 - God Is Just”

Monday, August 19, 2024

God Is Just

Reading:  Romans 9:14-18
    
    Since God has acted by sending Jesus, the Jewish people must believe in the Messiah to be right with God.  Paul is anticipating Jewish objections to this shift in God’s approach—especially the fact that he has made a unilateral decision to change what he requires.  “What shall we say then?  Is there injustice on God’s part?  By no means!  For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion’”(Rom 9:14-15).  Is God unjust to change the rules so that even Jews are not automatically right with him?  Paul strongly denies the charge.  God is always free to bless certain ones and change his mind about what is required. 

    “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy”(Rom 9:16).   The heart of the Jewish objection to Paul’s teaching seems to be that God is unjust for ignoring the good deeds of the Jews and rewarding the evil of the Gentiles.  Paul protests that God’s will is sovereign and he has acted in a way that doesn’t depend on people at all.  He appeals to the Pharaoh of Moses’ day, whom God says he raised up “that I might show my power in you”(Rom 9:17).  “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills”(Rom 9:18).  God has every right to use people in the way he chooses in order to bring about his purposes.  He is not unjust to act to fulfill his promises—even if we feel we deserve better.  We must remember that our past in sin disqualifies us from eternal life on our own.  We all need God’s mercy, not his justice.  

    All this is very challenging thinking.  Paul is pushing back against the view that we have a right to sit in judgment on God and his ways—accusing him of injustice.  We must see God as not only powerful (able to raise up and choose whom he wishes) but also good (willing to unfold plans that will bless even more people).  Rather than questioning and challenging him, we must learn to trust him. 

-----------
One Thing to Think About:  Do I really believe that God is powerful and good?

One Thing to Pray For:  Humility and remembrance of who I am compared to God
 

Share