¹⁴ What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! ¹⁵ For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.

Not backing away from difficult issues, the apostle Paul drives ahead into a discussion that has continued unabated for two millennia. The distorted version of this was debated long before Christianity. It came in the form of whether humans were subject to inviolable fate or not, whether the pantheon of pagan gods had real control over the affairs of humans or not. Christianity brings the philosophical discussion into the realm of monotheistic theology. The emotional responses are similar regardless of the form the arguments take. If God (or fate, or pagan gods) control, then humans are not free agents, and therefore cannot be held responsible for their actions.

If this is not the case, and humans are free agents and therefore sovereign over their own lives and decisions, the logical inference then is that God (or fate, or pagan gods) is subject to something greater. But then, that which is greater must be the true God over all. But, if that god is not sovereign, there must be one greater than that. The logic strains under ad infinitum regression, and the ultimate controlling agent or influence of existence must remain unknown. Yet it is patently clear that man is not his own god, making absolutely free choices, for those choices are conditioned by things beyond his control. For example, one cannot choose whether one hears the Gospel, whether he lives long enough to encounter someone who will tell him the Gospel. Many of the most mundane things of life reside beyond our control. My IQ limits me from being an Einstein. My artistic deficiencies prevent me from painting a Rembrandt. My poverty keeps me from living in a mansion. I cannot choose any of these things (or I have very little choice).

Is not the resolution to this dilemma found in revelation from God Himself? Without His revelation we would consign ourselves to a never-ending vortex that would leave us in logical limbo. Paul has already asserted God’s foreknowledge, election and predestination. Now he raises the question we are all thinking: how could God be just if He chose Jacob over Esau, before they were even born? That seems unjust. Paul does not back down from the difficulty, but reinforces the reality. God clearly and unequivocally spoke to Moses (Ex 33:19), and we must (absolutely, we must) begin with God as He explains Himself. We cannot begin with ourselves and our sense of justice.

Lord, help me reorient my thoughts to line up with Your thoughts.