3. Review from Last Time
• Why does God predestine some for salvation?
• It is in accordance to his own good pleasure.
• What stance on predestination appears most tenable?
• Between the prescient, Molinist, and Augustinian positions,
the Augustinian/Reformed stance appears more reasonable
from a Biblical standpoint.
• But doesn‘t God desire all to be saved?
• We need understand the various ‗wills‘ in God and do proper
exegesis. The full answer to this question will be given now.
4. The “Big Two” Verses
―This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.‖
(1 Timothy 2:3–4)
―The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is
patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to
repentance.‖
(2 Peter 3:9)
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5. So What is God’s Higher Purpose?
Respect for human freedom or God‘s glory and purpose?
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6. What Does the Bible Say?
In Romans 9, we find the same silent dilemma posed in 1 Timothy 2:4:
―I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I
have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed,
separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are
Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of
the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ
according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of
God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel‖ (Romans 9:1–6)
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7. ―Now it is clear what is at
stake in Rom. 9-11. Romans
9:1-5 states the problem: it
appears that what God has
guaranteed is in fact not
happening – the end-time
salvation of Israel. Has then
the word – the reliability – of
God fallen, and with it the
Christian hope as well?‖
- John Piper
www.confidentchristians.org
8. ―The question posed for the
apostle is: how can the covenant
promise of God be regarded as
inviolate when the mass of those
who belong to Israel . . . have
remained in unbelief and come
short of the covenant promises?
His answer would fail if it were
simply an appeal to the collective,
inclusive theocratic election of
Israel. . . . This means, in terms of
the stage of discussion at which we
have no arrived, ‗they are not all
elect, who are of elect Israel.‖
Murray and Weber
Commentary on Romans
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9. ―The interpretation which tries to
restrict this predestination or
unconditional election to nations
rather than individuals or to
historical tasks rather than eternal
destinies must ignore or distort the
problem posed in Rom. 9:1-5, the
individualism of 9:6b, the
vocabulary and logical structure of
9:6b-8, the closely analogous texts
elsewhere in Paul, and the
implications of 9:14-23. The
position is exegetically untenable.‖
- John Piper
www.confidentchristians.org
10. Exegesis of Romans 9:7-9
In Romans 9, we find the answer to the problem:
―Nor are they all children because they are Abraham‘s
descendants, but: ―through Isaac your descendants will be
named.‖ That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are
children of God, but the children of the promise are
regarded as descendants. For this is the word of promise:
―At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.‖
(Romans 9:7–9)
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11. Exegesis of Romans 9:10-13
―And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one
man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything
good or bad, so that God‘s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of
works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, ―The older will serve the younger.‖
Just as it is written, ―Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.‖ ‖ (Romans 9:10–13)
If there was ever a place for Paul to put in that God looked down through history and
chose people based on His foreknowledge of what they would do, it would be here. Doing
―good‖ would be choosing God as the Arminians say happens. But instead Paul takes
the example of twins and states specifically God‘s choice was made before they had done
anything in this life. It was all based on God‘s purpose/effective call.
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12. Called according to His purpose
―Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His
prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the
power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace
which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity‖
(2 Timothy 1:8–9)
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13. Exegesis of Romans 9:14-16
―What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For
He says to Moses, ―I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on
whom I have compassion.‖ So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who
runs, but on God who has mercy.‖ (Romans 9:14–16)
Why, if God‘s election is based on a person‘s individual choice would anyone charge God
with injustice? If God merely looks down through history and selects those who will select
Him, what injustice is that? Paul anticipates the reader‘s response and answers it ahead of
time. God‘s choice is not limited by a person‘s decision or their will; Paul specifically says it
is not based on a person‘s will or work, but on God who has mercy on certain individuals
that He chooses for His own reasons.
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14. John Agrees with Paul…
―But as many as received Him, to them He gave
the right to become children of God, even to those
who believe in His name, who were born, not of
blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of
man, but of God. ‖
(John 1:12–13)
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15. Jesus agrees with John who Agrees with Paul…
―Every plant which My heavenly Father
did not plant shall be uprooted. ‖
(Matthew 15:13)
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16. Does God Treat Everyone Equally?
• God chose Abraham out of all the other pagan individuals
• God appeared to Moses in a way He did not to others
• God gave Israel blessings He didn‘t give to Greece
• God appeared to Paul in a way He didn‘t to Herod
God has mercy on whom He has mercy…
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17. Exegesis of Romans 9:17-18
―For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ―For this very purpose I raised you up, to
demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed
throughout the whole earth.‖ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and
He hardens whom He desires. ‖ (Romans 9:17–18)
Why did God harden Pharaoh‘s heart? The Scripture says it was so that God
could demonstrate His power in overcoming evil and that His name would be
exalted in the whole earth. Paul then shows clearly how God is not limited by a
person‘s individual will – He has mercy on whom He desires and He hardens
whom He desires.
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18. Our question is answered
―For the wrath of man shall praise you‖
-Psalm 76:10
We get the answer to our question of what greater thing God
desires more than everyone‘s salvation. It is not a free-will love
relationship, but rather the glory God gets for His name by saving
some and demonstrating His wrath on the others.
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19. Exegesis of Romans 9:19-21
―You will say to me then, ―Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?‖
On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing
molded will not say to the molder, ―Why did you make me like this,‖ will it? Or does
not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel
for honorable use and another for common use? ‖ (Romans 9:19–21)
―Who resists His will?‖ Answer: No one! Paul‘s answer to the question he poses seems
harsh, but it reiterates the sovereignty of God over all creation including each individual.
But remember one important thing: the ‗clay‘ the potter is working with is fallen clay. One
receives mercy and the other is used for other purposes.
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20. Exegesis of Romans 9:22-24
―What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power
known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy,
which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from
among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.‖
(Romans 9:22–24)
Here is the final answer again to the question: it is for God‘s glory that He does not save
all. He shows His mercy to some and His justice to others. And He is just and right in
doing so. And remember – the vessels of wrath like being vessels of wrath and don‘t desire
or choose to be anything else. Lastly, note that the called are from both Jews and
Gentiles, so once again, individuals are in view and not nations.
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21. ―God addresses Pharaoh through Moses:
‗Let my people go.‘ This corresponds to
the kindness and long-suffering of pointing
the way to repentance (Rom. 2:4).
Nevertheless, God has already told Moses
that he is going to harden Pharaoh‘s heart
so that he will not let the people go. This
corresponds to the intention of God
expressed in 9:22 to show his wrath
precisely by means of enduring in much
long-suffering vessels of wrath. If God‘s
command to Pharaoh can be thwarted by
God‘s own decree to harden Pharaoh‘s
heart, then in the same way God‘s command
to men to repent and the time he gives them
to obey can also be thwarted in the case of
the vessels of wrath by God‘s decree to
harden whom He wills and thus show His
wrath on the day of judgment.‖
- John Piper
www.confidentchristians.org
22. What of Unbelievers?
―The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the
day of evil. ‖
(Proverbs 16:4)
―This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
―The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,‖ and,
―A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense‖; for they stumble because they are
disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. ‖
(1 Peter 2:7–8)
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24. ―The mention of that nation [Israel]
turns our attention to one of those
features in the Christian story which is
repulsive to the modern mind. To be
quite frank, we do not at all like the
idea of a ‗chosen people‘. Democrats
by birth and education, we should
prefer to think that all nations and
individuals start level in the search for
God, or even that all religions are
equally true. It must be admitted at
once that Christianity makes no
concessions to this point of view. It
does not tell of a human search for
God at all, but of something done by
God for, to, and about, Man. And
the way in which it is done is selective,
undemocratic, to the highest degree.‖
C . S. Lewis
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25. ―After the knowledge of God had been
universally lost or obscured, one man
from the whole earth (Abraham)is picked
out. He is separated (miserable enough,
we may supposed) from his natural
surroundings, sent into a strange
country, and made the ancestor of a
nation who are to carry the knowledge of
the true God. Within this nation there is
further selection: some die in the desert,
some remain behind in Babylon. There
is further selection still. The process
grows narrower and narrower, sharpens
at last into one small bright point like the
head of a spear. It is a Jewish girl at her
prayers. All humanity (so far as concerns
its redemption) has narrowed to that.‖
C . S. Lewis
www.confidentchristians.org
26. Mercy, Justice, and Election
All of humanity are
born sinners and
deserve justice
God chooses some
for salvation; these
receive mercy
God allows some to
continue in their sin;
these receive justice
27. Mercy, Justice, and Election
―What shall we say then? There is no injustice with
God, is there? May it never be! ‖
(Romans 9:14)
We get into trouble when we believe God owes us mercy. Mercy and
justice differ. There is no injustice in God giving some mercy and
allowing others to experience justice.
28. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 – Another Interpretation
―First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and
thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in
authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and
dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ‖
(1 Timothy 2:3–4) .
Paul is asking for prayers for all kinds of people including even the
ruthless and godless kings who were reigning over them (e.g. Nero). Paul
then goes on to say that God desires that no one class of people be left
out of His salvation plan; all ―kinds‖ of people will be saved.
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29. 2 Peter 3:9 – A Closer Look
―This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your
sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand
by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your
apostles. Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking,
following after their own lusts, and saying, ―Where is the promise of His coming? For ever
since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.‖ For
when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens
existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the
world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present
heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and
destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that
with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The
Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,
not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. ‖
(2 Peter 3:1–9)
―For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be
wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the
fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ―The
Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.‖ ‖
(Romans 11:25–26)
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30. 2 Peter 3:9 – A Closer Look
―The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is
patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to
repentance. ‖
(2 Peter 3:9)
Who is ―you‖? These are the Christians that Peter is writing to. What/who does the term
―any‖ refer to? Grammatically it refers back toward ―you‖. The statement then is one that
says God has no desire to see any of those He has chosen for salvation to perish and is
waiting for them to come to repentance. This would be the decretive will of God as He is
the One who grants repentance. ―The Lord‘s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but
be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who
are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of
the truth, ‖ (2 Timothy 2:24–25)
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31. ―Who are these of whom the apostle
speaks, to whom he writes? Such as had
received ―great and precious promises‖
(2. Pet. 3:1); whom he opposeth to the
―scoffers‖ of the ―last days‖ (2 Pet. 3:3);
to whom the Lord hath respect in the
disposal of these days; who are said to
be ―elect‖ (Matt. 24:22), Now, truly, to
argue that because God would have
none of those to perish, but all of them to
come to repentance, therefore he hath
the same will and mind towards all and
every one in the world (even those to
whom he never makes known his will, nor
ever calls to repentance, if they never
once hear of this way of salvation), comes
not much short of extreme madness and
folly.‖
- John Owen
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32. So does God choose some for Heaven and
some for Hell?
33. Double Predestination?
Double predestination refers to God actively
choosing some for salvation and choosing
others for Hell. This is not what the
Reformed view holds.
The Reformed view says that God
actively/positively chooses the elect for
salvation, but passes over the others in a
passive/negative fashion leaving them in their
sin. This is sometimes referred to as
‗abandonment wrath‘:
―And just as they did not see fit to
acknowledge God any longer, God gave them
over to a depraved mind, to do those things
which are not proper‖ (Romans 1:28)
34. Double Predestination?
―God then did manifest Himself such
as He is: that is to say, merciful and
just: merciful, since He delivers and
preserves from this perdition all whom
He in His eternal and unchangeable
counsel of mere goodness has elected
in Christ Jesus our Lord, without any
respect to their works; just, in leaving
others in the fall and perdition wherein
they have involved themselves.‖
- Belgic Confession of Faith
35. Much of the issues of God‘s sovereignty,
humanity‘s free will, and salvation comes down to the
question of whether God gives grace to everyone so
all have the chance to make a free-will decision to
choose God.
36. Two Possible Answers
1. Prevenient Grace
2. Irresistible or
Effectual Grace
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37. What is Prevenient Grace?
John Wesley believed in
humanity‘s total depravity. He
wrote: ―I believe that Adam,
before his fall, had such freedom
of will, that he might choose
either good or evil; but that,
since the fall no child of man has
a natural power to choose
anything that is truly good. Yet I
know (and who does not?) that
man has still freedom of will in
things of indifferent nature.‖
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38. What is Prevenient Grace?
If humanity was unable to choose God,
then how is man saved? According to
Wesley, God issues forth a prevenient
(‗coming before‘; ‗antecedent‘ grace) to
all of humanity that restores each
person‘s ability to choose God.
From the Wesleyan Church website:
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39. ―Wherein may we come to the
very edge of Calvinism? In
ascribing all good to the free
grace of God. In denying all
natural free-will, and all power
antecedent to grace. And in
excluding all merit from man;
even for what he has or does by
the grace of God.‖
- John Wesley
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40. What is Effectual Grace?
―All those whom God has predestined unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in
His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out
of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature to grace and salvation, by
Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the
things of God, taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them an heart of
flesh; renewing their wills, and, by His almighty power, determining them to that which
is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ: yet so, as they come most
freely, being made willing by His grace.‖
42. Prevenient or Effectual Grace?
We‘ll have to tackle this in the next lesson…
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43. Conclusions
• If God desires all to be saved, why aren‘t all saved?
• Paul shows us in Romans 9 that God elects some to salvation
based on His mercy.
• Isn‘t that unfair?
• No, some receive grace and some receive righteous justice
• How do the unsaved come to salvation if no person seeks
God?
• The two most plausible possibilities are prevenient and
effectual grace.