Is God Unfair And Am I A Robot?

Again, we need to remind ourselves as to what Paul has asserted up to this point:

1. Most of Israel is in unbelief and rejected by God (Romans 9:1-5).

2. This is not to be understood as God failing.  The promise of the eternal promises only applied to the elect (Romans 9:6-13)

3. God is righteous in His freedom to choose some and to harden (leave in their sin and rebellion) others. (Romans 9:14-18).

Now if you stop and think about it, what question does this bring to mind. God chooses some and not others?  Well the natural question would be: “You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”” (Romans 9:19, ESV). How can God judge people if He had the power to show mercy to them and He did not?  And if God has that much power, who can possibly resist Him?

So there are 2 questions here:  The first is important and often asked in one form or another.  This could be one of the leading objections to this teaching.  If God is in the driver's seat, how can He condemn those who seemingly have no recourse?  He is going to answer that in verses 20 and following.  What is important is to allow the weight of that question to sink deep.  Let me take you to another example and you will see what I mean.

In Isaiah 10:5–6 (ESV) we read: "⁵ Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! ⁶ Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets."  It was God's will that the Assyrians be brought into the service of His intentions.  They were to punish Israel, God's disobedient people.  If you were to read verse 7 you will see that Assyria had no intention to cooperate with God in His sovereign purposes.  They had their own agenda.  But apart from that Assyria is viewed as a rod and it is God who is wielding the rod (confirm verse 15 – see below).

Now once Assyria is used of God to do His purpose and will, God says, "I will punish him." (“When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes.” (Isaiah 10:12, ESV)). 

Now let's look clearly at verse 15: “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!”  Questions:

1. Who is the ax and who is swinging the ax?

2. Who is the saw and who is doing the sawing?

3. Can the Assyrian control God or alter His purposes?

4. Does a man use, control, or in any way thwart God's actions or purposes?

"Cut that verse any way you want and it always comes out the same way.  God moved and used the Assyrian to accomplish His plans of judgment, and the He punished the Assyrian for what he did simply because he did it with the wrong motive and with no thought of God at all. Does this sound unfair for God to use people and then punish them for what they do?"[1]

The Apostle is about to answer that question, but he raises another: "For who can resist his will?'^[2] This again is a common objection.  It is most often framed this way: "If what you say is true then we are all puppets."   The Scriptures will answer that, but again allow that weight of that question to rest heavily upon your mind by noting that that the implied answer to this rhetorical question is "No one"!

After experiencing the most excruciating and most inexplicable expressions of God's will, Job said this: ““I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2, ESV)  And in Isaiah 14:27 (ESV) we read, "For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?"

If God is free to be merciful to whom He wants and just to whom He wants, why am I accountable; for how can I resist a God like that?  Paul will answer that question.

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Previous Blogs on this topic:

1	The Truth. The Whole Truth. And Nothing But The Truth	Romans 9:1-2
2	How They Have Fallen!	Romans 9:3-5
3	Proceeding From or Belong To. The Difference is Life and Death.	Romans 9:6–9
4	It's Not Who You Are or What You've Done.	Romans 9:6–13
5	"Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."	Romans 9:13
6	Is God Unjust?	Romans 9:14-16
7	God Is Free To Be Just. Would You Not Agree?	Romans 9:17-18
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[1] Reisinger, John G., The Sovereignty of God in Providence, Sound of Grace, Webster NY, USA, Undated, Page 15

^[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Ro 9:19). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.