God Decides
You will then say to me, “Why does He yet find fault? For who has resisted His counsel?” Romans 9:19
Find Fault – Can anyone overcome the will of God? Of course not! God is all powerful. Whatever He determines to do, He does. Not a single creature in heaven or on earth can stop God from accomplishing what He Himself decides to do.
But this leaves us with a real problem. If no one can stop God from doing what He determines to do, does that mean that I am still responsible for my actions if God’s will lies behind them? That’s the question Paul faces in this argument in Romans. He has just claimed that God’s will directed the activity of Abraham, Isaac and Pharaoh. So, how can God hold these men responsible if God’s will directed their choices? Paul’s answer is not very comforting. It’s much like the answer Job gets. “Wakeup! I’m God. Who are you to question Me?” That answer leaves us cold – and possibly resentful. Why should God bully us by holding us responsible for things that He caused to happen just because He is God? Of course, the problem is that Paul offers an answer that assumes a great deal more than what is written. Without the assumption, we think this is unfair and evasive. Not so. The answer is found in Who God is. Paul assumes that we already know that God is holy. Therefore, whatever God does is exactly the right thing to do. And if God’s will stands behind my acts but does not relieve me from personal culpability, then I am in no position to complain, because what God does is exactly right and completely just and morally perfect even if I don’t understand or agree. The point is simple. The only necessary reason that moral responsibility is tied to some particular action is because God says so. What God says is wrong, is wrong. What He says is right, is right. And when He says I am guilty, I am guilty. End of argument.
A holy God never acts with selfish motivation, never sidesteps culpability on the basis of sovereignty and never passes the buck. If God says that I am responsible, I am responsible. He will never say this unless, in perfect holiness, it is true. I might not like the fact that it is true. I might not be able to see how it is true, but that does not mean it is not true. Since God never speaks a lie, I am simply called to accept what He says and live accordingly. I don’t get to tell the potter what he can do with the clay.
The Greek verb here is memphomai. You will find the root in Hebrews 8:8, Philippians 3:6 and Jude 16. While we are to be blameless, no one can argue with God about His pronouncement of blame. If God finds fault, then blame is due.
This is a tough one for most of us to acknowledge. In a world where we see nothing but legal loopholes, we all want a good attorney to plead our excuses. Many times we claim, “But, God, how could I have done anything else? All the circumstances were against me.” Be careful what you say when you stand before the Lord of the universe. Every secret is revealed. Every personal agenda, every duplicitous motive is on display. Better to come as the beggar, “Have mercy on me, a sinner,” than to think you’re right when God says you’re wrong.
