Is God fair? If God is good and also has power and authority over everything, then why do some who have lived relatively good lives deal with suffering and difficulty and those who have lived relatively selfish lives not? Is it fair when God chooses to bless one person and not another?
This is the question in front of Paul, who just pointed out in previous verses that God especially blessed Jacob over his brother Esau, before the two were even born. How is that fair? Where is the justice in that?
It's first helpful to look at the word "injustice" in verse 13. The Greek word here is the negative version of the Greek word Dike. Dike is expected conformity to a standard designated by a higher authority. When we say something is unjust, we're saying that it does not conform to a standard that we are all accountable to. So to rephrase the question regarding God, we would ask "Does God ever act in a way that does not conform to a standard that he and all of us are accountable to?" Paul's reply is a big "NO".
He explains by quoting Exodus 33:19, in which God establishes that he will bring about goodness toward whoever he wants. (v.15) God's behavior conforms only to the standard of his own will. His choices are not limited by our perceptions of what is fair. Although often God brings about blessing or suffering in connection to human behavior (often enough, in fact, that we wrongly assume our behavior is the determining factor) his own will is the ultimate determining factor as he portions out pleasure or suffering.
Paul quotes Exodus 9:16, which reveals that God used the Pharaoh that mistreated the Israelites in Egypt to ultimately demonstrate his own power and goodness. (v.17) God's self-serving agenda is his ultimate priority.
That last bit might make you cringe. It makes me cringe a little bit, too. The reason is that we tend to picture God in our minds like a bigger, stronger version of us. And if that's what God is, then we have every right to cringe at the thought of an infinitely powerful egomaniac running all of reality. But the Bible repeatedly teaches that God is perfect.
Perfection is something we can't even picture. We know it's out there, but it's always out of reach and just out of sight, too. If God is perfect, in every possible sense of the word, then his agenda SHOULD be the highest priority, because it will be perfect. His character SHOULD be the focus of attention, because it is perfect. And when we think of the perfection of God, if any negative ideas come to mind (like boring, snobby, uptight, arrogant) we aren't actually thinking of perfect, but something else that we've invented. When we think about the fairness of God in dealing with humanity, it is VITAL (I don't know how to stress that more) that we remember his perfect goodness, perfect love and perfect... perfection!
It is God's perfect agenda that enacts mercy on those he chooses. It's also his perfect agenda that brings about the hardened stubborness of those who reject him. (v.18)
So what does it mean to say that God "hardens" someone? Does he take control of their will? If so, how can they be held responsible for their hardness against God? (v.19)
I don't think we have good reason to believe that God actually overrides the will of humans, causing them to stubbornly reject him against their will. The nearest example is Pharaoh. A re-read of Exodus, chapters 7 through 9, shows that both Pharaoh and God are said to harden Pharaoh's heart. In some way we can't see, hidden "behind the scenes", both wills are involved.
Throughout the Bible there are verses emphasizing God's sovereignty (his authority and power over everything) and human free will. Some passages even emphasize both almost back to back! The tendency in the debate over this issue of "free will vs.predestination" is to emphasize one over the other, and in the process ignore truth presented in scripture. But the truth is that we may not be able to even comprehend how the will of God and humans are compatible.
This seems to be Paul's point in verse 20. It's ridiculous to think that a molded object would say to it's maker "Why did you make me like this?", because a molded object can't even converse on the level of it's creator, let alone understand anything about motives or anything else! A molded object doesn't even think. And compared to God, neither do we. (v.20) Whatever human free will actually is or wherever it comes from, if God sat down and explained it to us, the last thing we would say is that our will has been violated by his. That entire conversation would just go way over our heads.
Additionally, (as if Paul's point in verse 20 isn't strong enough) it isn't even our right to question God's purposes for us or anything else he has created, any more than the computer screen or steering wheel in front of you has any rights of any kind. (v.21)
As I've mentioned before, Hugh Ross has written a great book called "Beyond The Cosmos", which illustrates how multi-dimensional space-time theory can provide compatibility between God's sovereignty and human free will. The two do not form a contradiction, but rather a challenging puzzle with a logical solution. I'd recommend "Beyond The Cosmos" to anyone wanting to examine this debate in both a biblical and logical manner. (Math skills not required, but still very handy!)
I don't believe our sense of peace over the events of life will come from understanding WHY they happen. Those answers are outside our capacity to comprehend right now. (Maybe forever.) But peace can be found in remembering who God is. He is perfect, infinite love. Perfect, infinite knowledge, perfect infinite power, and perfect infinite goodness. Whatever our circumstances, if those things are true of God, then we're in good hands.
Next- God's Goodness Toward Both Friends And Enemies
Coffee House Question- What do you think the potential problems are with over-emphasizing God's control or human free will?
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