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Pastor's Blog June 17, 2021
"View of God in Romans XV"
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There is a passage in Romans 9 that usually doesn't sit well with Adventists. After asking a rhetorical question concerning whether or not God is just (verse 14) and then appealing to the story of Moses and Pharaoh as the basis for his argument that God is merciful and compassionate (verses 15-17), Paul draws a startling conclusion about God in verse 18: "So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires" (NASB).
On the surface, Romans 9:18 looks like a statement about God's injustice and arbitrariness: "sometimes God has mercy and sometimes he doesn't, and that's just the way it is." But that isn't really what Paul is saying in this verse. It is true that Paul says God has mercy on whom he wills and hardens whom he wills, but this is a statement about the possibility of God's power rather than a statement about God's character. While it is true that God is all-powerful and has the ability to be merciful to some and harden others, is that really how God uses his power?
Look at how Paul describes God's exercise of power in Romans 9: God "will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion" (verse 15); whatever happens depends on God's mercy (verse 16); God makes his power known by dealing patiently with those who reject him so he can have mercy on those he has called to follow Jesus (verses 22-24); it's his love and mercy that drive God to be kind to the Gentiles and make them his people with Israel (verses 25-26); and God shows his power by mercifully preserving his people and rescuing them from annihilation, destruction, and their own sinfulness (verses 27-29).
Similar to what Paul says in Romans 1, God has shown that he is powerful and no one can escape his will. But also similar to what Paul says in Romans 1, God has shown his power by how he interacts with us: in mercy, compassion, love, and kindness.
Friends, the evidence that God is merciful and uses his power for compassionate purposes is found in your own lives. If you think about how God has acted with love and kindness toward you in Jesus, then you will know that God's power is shown in mercy and not arbitrariness.
God bless,
Pastor Nathaniel Gamble
