Introduction

(Read vv. 14–23) On Wednesday morning, I was listening to a sermon on our passage, and the preacher called Romans 9 “the most hated chapter in the Bible.” That surprised me, but he’s probably right. And Romans 9 may also be the most debated chapter in the Bible. And the center of the hornets’ nest is the passage we just read.

That’s because Paul addresses one of hottest debates among Christians—the relationship of divine sovereignty and human responsibility in the salvation and condemnation of sinners. Does God’s sovereign decree or man’s free choice ultimately determine who will be saved? We’ll talk plenty about the issue this morning.

But today’s passage, vv. 19–23, also addresses another complex question—the problem of evil. It’s one of the hardest questions people ask of the Bible. If God is sovereign and good, then why does evil exist. Afterall, if God is all-powerful, you must believe he could have prevented evil from entering the world. And if God is good, why didn’t he stop it? So, is he not sovereign? Is he not good? Or does he have a good purpose for allowing it?

I first became fascinated with this issue when I wrote a seminary paper on it. I read many views, and I studied many passages of Scripture. The Bible never fully explains God’s reason behind allowing evil to exist, but no passage comes closer to explaining God’s reason than our passage for today.

So, we don’t just get to open one can of worms this morning; we get to open two! Hopefully, we come away with a better understanding of God and of ourselves and with greater confidence in God’s wise purposes even we can’t fully comprehend them.

That said, vv. 19–23 have an identical structure as vv. 15–18. Verses 15 and 19 begin both paragraphs with a difficult question. Paul follows with two answers for the question. Notice the question that frames today’s passage.

I.  The Question: Is God unjust to condemn the unelect (v. 19)?

To appreciate this question, we must ask why did Paul even ask if God is unjust? The reason is that v. 17 just said that God hardened Pharoah’s heart. He made him spiritually calloused so that he continued down a path of irrational rebellion. And v. 18 says Pharoah is not the only one God hardens. He is free to harden whomever he desires.

That’s hard to stomach, isn’t it? Why would a holy God harden someone? And how can God justly hold that person responsible for his sin if God decreed they would happen? That’s what Paul asks in v. 19. How can God find fault with someone who is simply doing what God willed?

And we aren’t merely talking about a divine slap on the wrist. No, vv. 22–23 say that eternity is at stake, eternal condemnation. So, the fundamental question is, “Is God unjust to condemn the unelect?”

Now, maybe you aren’t convinced that I am rightly tracking Paul. Maybe you believe all the fault lies with Pharoah. You say, “He made his own choices and God simply didn’t stop him. God played no role in determining Pharoah’s choice or his eternal destiny.”

But that’s not what the questions in v. 19 assume. They assume God elects some to salvation and hardens others. If the questioner has misunderstood Paul, he could have simply said that and moved on.

Or he could have simply answered, “Duh, lots of people resist God’s will. God wants them to be saved, but they reject him. So, God finds fault in their rejection.” But again, Paul doesn’t say that. He assumes the questioner is right to say, “No one resists his will.”

No, the only reason Paul would even ask the questions in v. 19 is if vv. 15–18 truly say that God’s sovereign will determines who will be saved. And vv. 20–23 assume that God is sovereign, that he elects according to his sovereign purpose, and that he condemns the unelect to judgment.

But if that’s so, how is God just to judge sinners if they are only fulfilling his sovereign will? That’s a tough one, isn’t it? Paul responds with two answers. First…

II.  First Answer: God has authority to pursue his will (vv. 20–21).

Paul begins by bluntly establishing God’s authority. He says…

We have no right to judge God. Paul’s first line is very sharp. “Who are you, O man, who answers back to God.” Paul is saying, “Excuse me? You are a man, right? And you think you have the right and the capacity to question God? Who do you think you are?”

God had the same response when Job accused him of injustice. He said, “Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me.Will you really annul My judgment?Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?Or do you have an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like His” (Job 40:7–9)? God spends 4 chapters asking these sharp questions. He refuses to be interrogated by us. He is the Lord, and we are his creation. We answer to him, not he to us.

That may sound harsh, but that authority structure is vital to a healthy relationship to God. Every parent, teacher, and coach gets that. You can’t enjoy a healthy home if parents don’t establish authority and demand respect. It’s a mess when children don’t get that. The same goes for a classroom. Have you ever observed a classroom where the students don’t respect the teacher? Nothing gets done and everyone gets frustrated. But when children honor their parents, and students respect their teachers, everyone thrives.

So, don’t look at v. 20a as harsh, and especially not as a distraction because Paul doesn’t have a good answer. No, understanding authority is vital to a healthy relationship with God. I must honor him as my Lord and Creator. I must believe his purpose is wise and good. I don’t have to understand everything he does; rather knowing him, and trusting him is enough.

So, when life gets hard, and you are tempted to be angry and bitter against God, don’t let yourself go there. Feel free to humbly bring your questions to Scripture or to wise and godly counselors. But refuse to entertain any thought that God is wrong or unkind. Refuse to sit in judgment of God. Refuse anger and bitterness because they only destroy. So, Paul first responds by defining the authority structure. With this foundation, he follows with an important perspective on God’s ways.

God has the right to use us as he pleases (vv. 20b–21). These statements draw on a common OT analogy. “Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord, and whose deeds are done in a dark place, and they say, ‘Who sees us?’ or Who knows us?’You turn things around!Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, that what is made would say to its maker, ‘He did not make me’; or what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’” (Isa 29:15–16)?

Isaiah confronts people for thinking that they are on equal plane with God and that they don’t have to obey his will. He uses the potter illustration to explain the massive gap between God and us.

And Paul does the same thing. The potter and the clay are not equals. One is highly intelligent and valuable, and the other is a clump of wet dirt. One is the creator, and the other is his possession, which the potter is free to mold however he desires.

Specifically, the potter is free to use a portion of the lump for “honorable use,” to make a beautiful vase that will be displayed in a prominent place. And he is free to use what’s left to make a bed pan, or something else that is less honorable.

No one thinks he is being unfair. I love the sarcasm of v. 20. When was the last time you heard a clay pot, say, “Hey, ‘why did you make me like this?’” It’s absurd! If I tried to make pottery it would all be dishonorable, but I’ve thrown a lot of firewood in my woodstove. I’ve never felt bad that I didn’t give this log a chance to be a beautiful table. I’ve certainly never had a log talk back to me. It’s a piece of wood! I can do with it what I please.

And God is saying that the gap between him and us is just as great. In fact, it is far greater because God is infinite. Therefore, God has the “right,” or more specifically, the “authority” to do with us what he pleases. He has the right to make one individual a vessel of honor. That’s referring to the elect. God shapes them to be beautiful, he showers grace on them, and displays his glory in them. It’s a marvelous work of sovereign grace.

And he has the right to make another vessel for “common” or “dishonorable” use. God knows this person will rebel against him. God plans to let him go and to judge him for his sin. Yes, the sinner freely rebelled against God, but God has the right to make him for this purpose.

Now, we don’t naturally like that, especially when the name and face of someone we love is involved. I’m not going to pretend it’s easy to digest what God is saying. But we must let the Bible correct us. Despite what our culture says, you are not the most important person in your life. Nor are we just a few steps behind God. There is an infinite gap between us.

Therefore, God is not obligated to give everyone an equal chance. He’s certainly not obligated to bring everyone to heaven. Rather, our Creator and Lord has every right to do with us whatever pleases him.

Now, that doesn’t mean that God will do anything and everything. God has a moral compass. Last Sunday night, we talked about the fact that God is bound by his own truly righteous character. God is not a pragmatic politician whose morals shift to whatever will get him elected. He’s certainly some sadistic creep who takes pleasure in evil. God is truly righteous, and he does what is righteous.

But God’s character alone binds him. I don’t have any authority to judge. Instead, God has the authority to do whatever he pleases to fulfill his righteous will. You don’t have to agree with me on election, but you must affirm God’s free authority. He is the potter, and we are the clay. I’d like to make 3 quick applications of this point.

See God as big and yourself as small. We all naturally have a big-me theology. It feels good, but it is not true, and it is deceivingly destructive. So, by God’s grace spend your life replacing it with a big-God theology where you see him as the sovereign potter and yourself as the clay. 2^nd…

Refuse to sit in judgment on God. That’s exactly what Satan tried to get Job to do. He took everything, but Job replied, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there.The Lordgave and the Lord has taken away.Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). I love that. We want to say, “The Lord took because he has something better for me.”

But Job didn’t know that, and his submission did not depend on that. He doesn’t bargain with God or question God; he simply submits to his will. As hard as it sometimes is, always refuse the temptation to judge God or to be embittered against him. 3^rd…

Humbly embrace all of God’s will. After Satan took Job’s health, Job 2:9–10 say, “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!’But he said to her…‘Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

Job says we can’t just embrace the pleasant parts of God’s will. We must accept it all. Some of you are enduring hard things that are difficult to accept. As hard as it is, don’t run from God’s purpose. He is the potter. He has the right to do what he pleases. Embrace him and his purpose, especially concerning election. So, God has authority to pursue his will.

III.  Second Answer: God has a good purpose, his glory. (vv. 22–23).

These verses are important because someone may reply to Paul’s first answer, “Sure, the potter can do whatever he wants with the clay, but why would he create a vessel only to destroy it? A righteous God must have a good purpose.” So, Paul responds with the fullest answer to the problem of evil and God’s purpose in election that is recorded in Scripture.

I must say that while these verses are structured as hypotheticals, none of this is hypothetical. This is God’s purpose. But since this is so hard to accept, he uses a question to gently invite us into his logic.

And notice that God’s glory is at the center of this logic. God’s purpose for the unelect is “to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known.” And God’s purpose for the elect is “to make known the riches of His glory.” So, God’s highest pursuit, the greatest good in all the universe is to make God’s glory known. We know that, but v. 22 especially presses us to appreciate the infinite value of God’s glory like few other verses in Scripture. Let’s discuss…

God’s Glory in Judgment (v. 22): I want to go ahead and note a subtle but significant difference between vv. 22, 23. Verse 23 says very specifically that God “prepared beforehand” the vessels of mercy. The verb is in the active voice. But when v. 22 says the “vessels of wrath (were) prepared for destruction,” Paul uses the passive voice.

It’s subtle, but it’s important. God does not take the same active role in planning evil that he does in planning mercy. God’s decree stands over both, but God is righteous. He clearly created the conditions in which evil would come about, but he did not create evil, and he never tempts us with evil. We must maintain the righteousness of God even if we can’t comprehend how all of this fits together.

That said, this verse describes God’s purpose in creating the unelect and his patience in not destroying them immediately. The language and thought are very similar to v. 17. Why did God raise up Pharoah, and why didn’t God bring him to his knees immediately? It is because of the surpassing value of his glory. God’s glory needed to be “proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” It was worth the delay and worth the destruction.

And v. 22 says that God’s glory also drives his purpose for the unelect. He patiently endures “to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known.” BTW, wrath here represents several of God’s qualities. God’s judgment manifests his righteousness, his knowledge, and his justice. And just as God’s power was clearly displayed in the exodus, it will also be displayed some day in the destruction of evil.

So, why does evil exist? Why didn’t God destroy Satan immediately when he rebelled? Why does God create so many people whom he knows will never be saved? Paul says that the ultimate reason is to display his glory.

I recognize that it’s hard for us to stomach that answer. We want to ask, “Does God not appreciate how much evil and suffering are in the world? How could a good God allow that? And how twisted and selfish of him. We would think that any earthly king who let his people suffer like that so that he could glorify himself was demented and sick.”

I don’t have a golden ticket that will put all those questions at ease, but the Bible teaches that God’s glory is worth it all. We struggle to see that, but our inability to appreciate the value of God’s glory does not mean it is not so. Revelation teaches that when we see God in his glory, we will gladly praise him as he judges the rebellion of men. So, the problem is not in God; it is our inability to appreciate just how valuable and good God’s glory truly is.

Rather than being angry at God’s purpose, we must pray that God would teach us to value his glory as he does. We should desire to see his glory more than we want to be comfortable. And we should passionately desire to display that glory through a transformed life and through proclaiming the gospel. And we must trust him with what we cannot see. Then thankfully, judgment is not the only way God displays his glory. Notice in v. 23…

God’s Glory in Mercy (v. 23): I want to emphasize that mercy is the primary way God glorifies himself. God actively prepares the “vessels of mercy” in a way that he does not prepare the “vessels of wrath.” And notice the link between vv. 22 and 23. The vessels of wrath serve “to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy.” Mercy is primary.

That’s because mercy is far more vital to the nature of God than is wrath. God is not eternally wrathful, but he is eternally merciful. So, his crowning display of glory is not in the judgment of the wicked but in the merciful salvation of his children. Every Christian here ought to stand in awe that God displayed mercy to you. You didn’t earn it. You don’t deserve it. But God loved you, he sent Christ for you, he saved you, and adopted you solely because he is good.

BTW, his goodness is not some hypocritical display to show off his glory. God is truly love. He is truly merciful. There’s no greater love God can show than to display his glory, because his glory is the greatest good.

And we could never appreciate God’s mercy without the backdrop of sin and wrath just like you can’t appreciate light without darkness. The story of God’s mercy would be terribly bland without evil just like any other drama.

We hate the villain in most stories, but the story would be nothing without them. What would Lord of the Rings be if men had destroyed the ring the first time? What would Star Wars be without Darth Vader? Without sin and condemnation, God’s glory would forever remain partially veiled. That would be an awful tragedy.

But it hasn’t. God has created the best story imaginable to display the greatest gift we can enjoy. And with this background, we can truly stand in awe of the mercy that is ours, relish it, and worship God for it.

Conclusion

So, our text begins with a really tough question. Is God unjust to condemn the unelect? The answer is no. God has the authority to do whatever he desires, and he has a worthy purpose for all that he does—the display of his glory.

Maybe you came today unable to fathom how God could ever send people to hell, especially someone as good as you. Please understand that this life is not all there is. Heaven and hell are real places, and the Bible warns that whoever does not believe on Christ will be in hell someday. You need to be saved. So, please come to Christ and be born again. God’s mercy is truly amazing, and we’d love to share how you can receive it through faith in the gospel.

And if you are saved, my central challenge is to trust the Lord to do what is right. That applies to every question, to the salvation of every loved one, and to every trial and difficulty of life. God is good. His purposes are always wise, true, just, and good. You won’t always know God’s reason, but that’s okay because we know the God whose purpose reigns over all.