Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Therefore he shows mercy as he wills and hardens whom he wills, and being saved depends on his mercy rather than on human willing or effort. His mercy is willed toward all and is given to those who turn from sin, confess and forsake it, fear him and do right, and come to Christ, even the worst who turn back. His hardening does not force anyone to be wicked or make salvation impossible, but comes upon those who resist known truth and reject light and appeals for mercy, when after persistent rebellion he withdraws his Spirit and gives them up to their own hardness. Pharaoh shows this pattern, in that God kept him standing and brought him to the throne to display divine power and make his name known, enduring him with patience while he could have submitted and been blessed, yet bringing glory through his stubborn refusal. That sovereign right as Creator and Potter over vessels serves to show that salvation comes from him and not from merit, and his choice for life or destruction accords with the fitness settled by each person's own submission or rejection, and does not predestine anyone to be lost, though those who held unconditional election took it to mean mercy for some and no mercy for others by a decree fixed beforehand.
Mercy, Hardening, and Pharaoh
Therefore he shows mercy as he wills, and salvation rests on his mercy rather than on human willing or running. He knows character beforehand, even before birth, and his choice of Jacob over Esau did not deny his power to help Esau. He labors to help even those whose character he hates, and if they yield he can give them a righteous character. In this setting Pharaoh was raised up to display divine power and make the divine name known through all the earth, and the conclusion stands that God is not unrighteous or partial in judgment.
His mercy is free, yet it is not given without regard to response. He has mercy on those who love and obey him, on those who turn to him and forsake wicked ways, on those who confess and forsake sin, on those who come to Christ, and on those in every nation who fear him and do right. He also offers mercy and pardon to the wicked who turn back, even to the worst sinners, and he calls every soul to a character that can be saved. The having of mercy is present to those who obey, and since the elect were once without hope and without God in the world and children of wrath before afterward finding mercy, it cannot mean a decree fixed from eternity. For this reason he wills to have mercy on all, both on those who love and obey and on the wicked who turn from sin.
His hardening does not force anyone to become wicked nor make salvation impossible. He hardens those who resist known truth, reject light and appeals for mercy, and will not have him to reign over them. Hardening is the consequence of rejecting light rather than an unjust or arbitrary decree for loss regardless of conduct, and the degree of hardening corresponds to the light rejected. When people choose to do their part he works with them, so divine action and human choice work together.
The order is that a person first hardens his own heart, and only after persistent rebellion does God give him up to his own ways. Hardening is then God withdrawing his Spirit entirely, removing its softening influence and kind and reasonable appeals, leaving the heart strong and stubborn and given over to the consequences of its choices. He gives opportunities to become vessels of mercy and bears patiently, ordering events so that rebellion displays his power and brings him honor, but he does not utterly withdraw his Spirit until pleading is persistently rejected and the case becomes hopeless. A heart open toward him that confesses sin and separates from it will never find such hardness coming over it.
Pharaoh illustrates the pattern. Raising him up means keeping him standing during the appeal through Moses and bringing him to the throne to display power and make the name known, not creating or rearing him for rebellion. He was already wicked and became an enemy by refusing to release Israel and asking who the Lord was, becoming a vessel of wrath only after hating God and rebelling against his laws. God endured him with patience, delayed judgment, and ordered events so that resistance became the occasion for showing power.
Pharaoh could have fulfilled that purpose by submitting, acknowledging God, obeying and helping Israel, which would have brought blessing to him and Egypt and opened his heart to receive truth. In this he is set beside Nebuchadnezzar, who later yielded and displayed glory by obedience, whereas Pharaoh refused and fell under the divine hand. His hardening did not mean he was born for destruction or chosen for sin and condemnation, for the call was to salvation through mercy and grace which may be accepted or rejected, and yielding would have been better. Though removed from the purpose for which power and position were given, his stubborn refusal was still turned to praise, with glory brought through his stubbornness and purpose worked out despite refusal.
Patience and goodness have opposite effects according to response, leading some to conversion and making others more guilty and hardened, as the heat of the sun melts wax but hardens mud. The potter's clay pictures long patience before use in judgment, with the incorrigible after proving fit for that role employed as vessels of wrath while believers from Jews and Gentiles share glory as vessels of mercy.
Sovereignty and Human Choice
Romans 9:18 belongs to Paul's discussion of election and divine sovereignty and declares that God freely shows mercy and hardens according to his will. As Creator he stands like a potter over vessels with power and right to preserve for continued existence or to leave to destruction, working all things after the counsel of his own will whose counsel stands forever. He has the right to choose according to his will and wisdom whom to use as instruments of mercy and whom to use in judgment, and his choice of an instrument for judgment does not make that person wicked. Pharaoh was already wicked and proved fit for that role, yet God brought him to the throne and kept him standing during the appeal to let Israel go so that divine power and glory could be shown through him and the divine name made known. The same long-suffering, kindness, and patience that mark his sovereign right to act were shown toward the Jews, but their persistent disobedience fitted them for judgment while believers from both Jews and Gentiles become vessels of mercy who share his glory.
That sovereignty serves to make clear that salvation comes from him rather than from human merit or effort, while his decision for life or for destruction strictly accords with the fitness or unfitness of the person for continued existence. That fitness is settled by the person's own choice, since acceptance of revealed will and obedience to it are optional with one endowed with power of choice, so that it is his will that all who submit shall continue in life everlasting while all who reject must cease under condemnation. His call is to salvation through mercy and grace which may be accepted or rejected by choosing his way, for he does not choose anyone for sin, condemnation, or destruction. Pharaoh illustrates this, since he could have displayed God's glory by obeying, acknowledging God, and helping his people as Nebuchadnezzar later did, but by refusing God's way he was removed from the purpose for which power and position had been given him, though God could still turn human wrath to praise and show power nonetheless.
Those who become vessels of wrath do so by resisting his will, rejecting offers of grace and opportunities to become vessels of mercy, and proving persistently rebellious and disobedient. His mercy is not given without regard to character, and his hardening follows rebellion rather than causing it beforehand, for Pharaoh became an enemy only after refusing to release Israel, asking who the Lord was, hating God, and rebelling against his laws. God gives such ones opportunities, sends light and mercy, patiently bears with them and delays judgment so power may be shown, and when they persistently reject light and resist truth he gives them up to their own ways and orders events so rebellion displays his power and brings him honor. Hardening is therefore the consequence of rejecting light rather than an unjust decree, Pharaoh both hardening himself and being said to be hardened by God, showing divine action and human choice working together so that when people do their part God works with them. The verse thus agrees with human free agency, conditional salvation, and human responsibility, and does not teach arbitrary choice for salvation or loss regardless of choices or conduct.
Those who held unconditional election took the verse to mean that God has mercy on some and no mercy on others. In that line it stands as the strongest text for the doctrine that a certain number were decreed beforehand to eternal life and others to endless perdition before any development on their part. The same sovereign choice to show mercy to some and harden others was extended to mean withholding mercy as he pleases and passing others by, ordaining them to dishonor and wrath for their sin.
Against a fixed eternal decree, the having of mercy is present to those who obey him, for God is no respecter of persons but respects character and has mercy in every nation on any, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, who fear him and work righteousness. He shows mercy to those who respond, including obedient people and even the worst sinners whom he is willing to pardon when they turn from unrighteousness to him, and he hardens only after repeated rejection of appeals for mercy and resistance to the Spirit of grace, as with Pharaoh, from whom he then withdraws his Spirit. God has mercy only on the elect, yet the elect were once without hope and without God in the world and children of wrath before afterward finding mercy, which could not be if election were fixed from all eternity. He therefore does not predestine anyone to be lost, but calls all to salvation through mercy and grace which they may accept or reject.
Israel and God's Promise
Romans 9:18 stands within Paul's discussion of election and divine sovereignty in Romans 9, where God freely shows mercy and hardens whom he wills. It belongs to his answer about who are heirs of God's promise and how that promise is obtained, continuing the epistle's teaching on that subject. It falls within the larger argument of Romans 4-11, which presents humanity's sin and utter need and God's grace in saving people through Jesus Christ.
God's people and the Israel that is saved are not defined by descent from the ancient tribes according to the flesh, but all Israel that is saved is spiritual Israel made up of those who have faith in Jesus. The ancient tribes were not to be restored according to the flesh, and their place in God's people is fulfilled in Christ. Israel must not be understood only as Israel according to the flesh, but in light of Paul's distinction between physical descent and the people who belong to God's promise, so that the gathering of Israel prophesied by Hosea is the gospel work of gathering the true seed from all nations to Christ. God's promises do not give the literal descendants of Jacob special standing, and his purposes of grace are fulfilled in the believing remnant, not through a special privilege belonging to Israel by natural descent.
The vessels of wrath are rebellious Israelites and unbelieving Israel according to the flesh, who followed after the law of righteousness yet did not attain it because they sought it not by faith but by works and stumbled at the Stone. Their persistent disobedience fitted them for judgment, while believers from both Jews and Gentiles, including the believing remnant of Israel, are vessels of mercy who share his glory. God has the right to choose according to his will and wisdom whom to use as instruments of mercy and whom to use in judgment, and his choice of an instrument for judgment does not mean he made that person wicked. Pharaoh was already wicked and proved fit for that role, and God used him to display his power and make his name known, just as the potter's clay pictures God's long patience with the Jews who proved incorrigible before his use of them as vessels of wrath. The Gentiles who sought righteousness by faith gained the precedence over Israel according to the flesh, which was accursed from Christ for seeking righteousness by works.
Even though unbelieving Israel are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, God has not cast them off for stumbling at the Stone but endures them with much long-suffering and patience. Israel's blindness is partial in extent, leaving a remnant who may be saved through faith in Christ with the same privileges as believing Gentiles, in whom the promise is fulfilled. The promises of the kingdom to the descendants of Jacob were conditional, were forfeited by them under the old covenant, and can only be regained by obtaining an interest in Jesus, now the prince soon to be crowned King. The kingdom was taken from unbelieving Israel and given to a nation bringing forth its fruits, whose heirs are the poor rich in faith who love God.
Therefore he shows mercy as he wills and hardens whom he wills, and being saved depends on his mercy rather than on human willing or effort. His mercy is willed toward all and is given to those who turn from sin, confess and forsake it, fear him and do right, and come to Christ, even the worst who turn back. His hardening does not force anyone to be wicked or make salvation impossible, but comes upon those who resist known truth and reject light and appeals for mercy, when after persistent rebellion he withdraws his Spirit and gives them up to their own hardness. Pharaoh shows this pattern, in that God kept him standing and brought him to the throne to display divine power and make his name known, enduring him with patience while he could have submitted and been blessed, yet bringing glory through his stubborn refusal. That sovereign right as Creator and Potter over vessels serves to show that salvation comes from him and not from merit, and his choice for life or destruction accords with the fitness settled by each person's own submission or rejection, and does not predestine anyone to be lost, though those who held unconditional election took it to mean mercy for some and no mercy for others by a decree fixed beforehand.
Mercy, Hardening, and Pharaoh
Therefore he shows mercy as he wills, and salvation rests on his mercy rather than on human willing or running. He knows character beforehand, even before birth, and his choice of Jacob over Esau did not deny his power to help Esau. He labors to help even those whose character he hates, and if they yield he can give them a righteous character. In this setting Pharaoh was raised up to display divine power and make the divine name known through all the earth, and the conclusion stands that God is not unrighteous or partial in judgment.
His mercy is free, yet it is not given without regard to response. He has mercy on those who love and obey him, on those who turn to him and forsake wicked ways, on those who confess and forsake sin, on those who come to Christ, and on those in every nation who fear him and do right. He also offers mercy and pardon to the wicked who turn back, even to the worst sinners, and he calls every soul to a character that can be saved. The having of mercy is present to those who obey, and since the elect were once without hope and without God in the world and children of wrath before afterward finding mercy, it cannot mean a decree fixed from eternity. For this reason he wills to have mercy on all, both on those who love and obey and on the wicked who turn from sin.
His hardening does not force anyone to become wicked nor make salvation impossible. He hardens those who resist known truth, reject light and appeals for mercy, and will not have him to reign over them. Hardening is the consequence of rejecting light rather than an unjust or arbitrary decree for loss regardless of conduct, and the degree of hardening corresponds to the light rejected. When people choose to do their part he works with them, so divine action and human choice work together.
The order is that a person first hardens his own heart, and only after persistent rebellion does God give him up to his own ways. Hardening is then God withdrawing his Spirit entirely, removing its softening influence and kind and reasonable appeals, leaving the heart strong and stubborn and given over to the consequences of its choices. He gives opportunities to become vessels of mercy and bears patiently, ordering events so that rebellion displays his power and brings him honor, but he does not utterly withdraw his Spirit until pleading is persistently rejected and the case becomes hopeless. A heart open toward him that confesses sin and separates from it will never find such hardness coming over it.
Pharaoh illustrates the pattern. Raising him up means keeping him standing during the appeal through Moses and bringing him to the throne to display power and make the name known, not creating or rearing him for rebellion. He was already wicked and became an enemy by refusing to release Israel and asking who the Lord was, becoming a vessel of wrath only after hating God and rebelling against his laws. God endured him with patience, delayed judgment, and ordered events so that resistance became the occasion for showing power.
Pharaoh could have fulfilled that purpose by submitting, acknowledging God, obeying and helping Israel, which would have brought blessing to him and Egypt and opened his heart to receive truth. In this he is set beside Nebuchadnezzar, who later yielded and displayed glory by obedience, whereas Pharaoh refused and fell under the divine hand. His hardening did not mean he was born for destruction or chosen for sin and condemnation, for the call was to salvation through mercy and grace which may be accepted or rejected, and yielding would have been better. Though removed from the purpose for which power and position were given, his stubborn refusal was still turned to praise, with glory brought through his stubbornness and purpose worked out despite refusal.
Patience and goodness have opposite effects according to response, leading some to conversion and making others more guilty and hardened, as the heat of the sun melts wax but hardens mud. The potter's clay pictures long patience before use in judgment, with the incorrigible after proving fit for that role employed as vessels of wrath while believers from Jews and Gentiles share glory as vessels of mercy.
Sovereignty and Human Choice
Romans 9:18 belongs to Paul's discussion of election and divine sovereignty and declares that God freely shows mercy and hardens according to his will. As Creator he stands like a potter over vessels with power and right to preserve for continued existence or to leave to destruction, working all things after the counsel of his own will whose counsel stands forever. He has the right to choose according to his will and wisdom whom to use as instruments of mercy and whom to use in judgment, and his choice of an instrument for judgment does not make that person wicked. Pharaoh was already wicked and proved fit for that role, yet God brought him to the throne and kept him standing during the appeal to let Israel go so that divine power and glory could be shown through him and the divine name made known. The same long-suffering, kindness, and patience that mark his sovereign right to act were shown toward the Jews, but their persistent disobedience fitted them for judgment while believers from both Jews and Gentiles become vessels of mercy who share his glory.
That sovereignty serves to make clear that salvation comes from him rather than from human merit or effort, while his decision for life or for destruction strictly accords with the fitness or unfitness of the person for continued existence. That fitness is settled by the person's own choice, since acceptance of revealed will and obedience to it are optional with one endowed with power of choice, so that it is his will that all who submit shall continue in life everlasting while all who reject must cease under condemnation. His call is to salvation through mercy and grace which may be accepted or rejected by choosing his way, for he does not choose anyone for sin, condemnation, or destruction. Pharaoh illustrates this, since he could have displayed God's glory by obeying, acknowledging God, and helping his people as Nebuchadnezzar later did, but by refusing God's way he was removed from the purpose for which power and position had been given him, though God could still turn human wrath to praise and show power nonetheless.
Those who become vessels of wrath do so by resisting his will, rejecting offers of grace and opportunities to become vessels of mercy, and proving persistently rebellious and disobedient. His mercy is not given without regard to character, and his hardening follows rebellion rather than causing it beforehand, for Pharaoh became an enemy only after refusing to release Israel, asking who the Lord was, hating God, and rebelling against his laws. God gives such ones opportunities, sends light and mercy, patiently bears with them and delays judgment so power may be shown, and when they persistently reject light and resist truth he gives them up to their own ways and orders events so rebellion displays his power and brings him honor. Hardening is therefore the consequence of rejecting light rather than an unjust decree, Pharaoh both hardening himself and being said to be hardened by God, showing divine action and human choice working together so that when people do their part God works with them. The verse thus agrees with human free agency, conditional salvation, and human responsibility, and does not teach arbitrary choice for salvation or loss regardless of choices or conduct.
Those who held unconditional election took the verse to mean that God has mercy on some and no mercy on others. In that line it stands as the strongest text for the doctrine that a certain number were decreed beforehand to eternal life and others to endless perdition before any development on their part. The same sovereign choice to show mercy to some and harden others was extended to mean withholding mercy as he pleases and passing others by, ordaining them to dishonor and wrath for their sin.
Against a fixed eternal decree, the having of mercy is present to those who obey him, for God is no respecter of persons but respects character and has mercy in every nation on any, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, who fear him and work righteousness. He shows mercy to those who respond, including obedient people and even the worst sinners whom he is willing to pardon when they turn from unrighteousness to him, and he hardens only after repeated rejection of appeals for mercy and resistance to the Spirit of grace, as with Pharaoh, from whom he then withdraws his Spirit. God has mercy only on the elect, yet the elect were once without hope and without God in the world and children of wrath before afterward finding mercy, which could not be if election were fixed from all eternity. He therefore does not predestine anyone to be lost, but calls all to salvation through mercy and grace which they may accept or reject.
Israel and God's Promise
Romans 9:18 stands within Paul's discussion of election and divine sovereignty in Romans 9, where God freely shows mercy and hardens whom he wills. It belongs to his answer about who are heirs of God's promise and how that promise is obtained, continuing the epistle's teaching on that subject. It falls within the larger argument of Romans 4-11, which presents humanity's sin and utter need and God's grace in saving people through Jesus Christ.
God's people and the Israel that is saved are not defined by descent from the ancient tribes according to the flesh, but all Israel that is saved is spiritual Israel made up of those who have faith in Jesus. The ancient tribes were not to be restored according to the flesh, and their place in God's people is fulfilled in Christ. Israel must not be understood only as Israel according to the flesh, but in light of Paul's distinction between physical descent and the people who belong to God's promise, so that the gathering of Israel prophesied by Hosea is the gospel work of gathering the true seed from all nations to Christ. God's promises do not give the literal descendants of Jacob special standing, and his purposes of grace are fulfilled in the believing remnant, not through a special privilege belonging to Israel by natural descent.
The vessels of wrath are rebellious Israelites and unbelieving Israel according to the flesh, who followed after the law of righteousness yet did not attain it because they sought it not by faith but by works and stumbled at the Stone. Their persistent disobedience fitted them for judgment, while believers from both Jews and Gentiles, including the believing remnant of Israel, are vessels of mercy who share his glory. God has the right to choose according to his will and wisdom whom to use as instruments of mercy and whom to use in judgment, and his choice of an instrument for judgment does not mean he made that person wicked. Pharaoh was already wicked and proved fit for that role, and God used him to display his power and make his name known, just as the potter's clay pictures God's long patience with the Jews who proved incorrigible before his use of them as vessels of wrath. The Gentiles who sought righteousness by faith gained the precedence over Israel according to the flesh, which was accursed from Christ for seeking righteousness by works.
Even though unbelieving Israel are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, God has not cast them off for stumbling at the Stone but endures them with much long-suffering and patience. Israel's blindness is partial in extent, leaving a remnant who may be saved through faith in Christ with the same privileges as believing Gentiles, in whom the promise is fulfilled. The promises of the kingdom to the descendants of Jacob were conditional, were forfeited by them under the old covenant, and can only be regained by obtaining an interest in Jesus, now the prince soon to be crowned King. The kingdom was taken from unbelieving Israel and given to a nation bringing forth its fruits, whose heirs are the poor rich in faith who love God.