Sep
29
Written by:
Bob Flynn
9/29/2009 7:13 AM
What a dreadful thing it is to have God against us and to know that He who controls the, very breath of our lives, and all the elements of destruction around us, is compelled by His very nature to deal contrary to us, and to consume us, even as fire must consume every combustible thing that it touches! God is compelled to be against sin, and while He pities the sinner He hates the sin; and while we are against God, His very presence must be to us a consuming fire, and even heaven would be hell to the sinful soul, and it would fly from the awful blaze of His holy glance as from a lightning flash and long to hide itself in hell. (A. B. Simpson)
You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?" (Romans 9:19 NASB)
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? (Romans 9:19 KJV)
You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?" (Romans 9:19 NET.)
Well then, you might say, "Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven't they simply done what He makes them do?" (Romans 9:19 NLT)
The song sung blue for all the sinners of the ages, "It's not my fault, I'm just the victim here!" "Judge not lest ye be not judged." The problem is that we are saying it to Him Who gives us life! Can we somehow reconcile the free agency of humankind with the purposes of the Almighty by trying to defend that which cannot be proven? Namely, that the sovereign plans of God would somehow innialate the human will with its perceived freedoms. Do we really resist God's plans and purposes? Or do we essentially become the vehicle of our own destruction? We forget that the gravity of sin is wrath inflicted! We exercise our will to our own detriment thinking somehow we have won a battle only to look down to see ourselves standing in a pool of blood from self-inflicted wounds!
Why doth he still find fault - The particle still is strongly expressive of the objector's sour, morose murmuring. For who hath resisted his will - The word his likewise expresses his surliness and aversion to God, whom he does not even deign to name. (John Wesley)
This is a logical argument. God is the Potter and we are the clay. God is wiser than we are and we are foolish to question His will or to resist it. (The reference here is to Isa. 45:9.) To be sure, the clay has no life and is passive in the potter’s hand. We have feelings, intellect, and willpower, and we can resist Him if we choose. (See Jer. 18 where this thought is developed.) But it is God who determines whether a man will be a Moses or a Pharaoh. Neither Moses, nor Pharaoh, nor anyone else, could choose his parents, his genetic structure, or his time and place of birth. We have to believe that these matters are in the hands of God.
However, this does not excuse us from responsibility. Pharaoh had great opportunities to learn about the true God and trust Him, and yet he chose to rebel. Paul did not develop this aspect of truth because his theme was divine sovereignty, not human responsibility. The one does not deny the other, even though our finite minds may not fully grasp them both. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary.)
“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
‘How clumsy can you be?’ (Isaiah 445:9 NLT)
According to Paul, people who are left to pursue their own course of life would all be headed in a direction away from God and His will and on a road leading to self-destruction (vv. 11–12). Because God does intervene (and because no one resists His will) some are turned from the road that ends in death to the path that leads to life. When Paul wrote about this irresistible will of God, he accentuated the aspect of God’s mercy which he saw as humanity’s only hope (9:15–16). At the same time, he did not deny the reality that some people are their rebellion to God (vv. 17–18). (Zuck, R. B. A Biblical Theology of the New Testament)
For the Christian the idea of sovereignty is an encouraging one, for it assures him that nothing is out of God’s control, and that His plans do triumph. These are the principal attributes or characteristics of God, and this is the only God that exists. The God of the Bible is not a god of man’s own making or thinking or choosing, but He is the God of His own revelation. (Ryrie, C. C., A survey of Bible doctrine.)
Copyright ©2009 Robert Flynn