God's Promise of Election Fulfilled (Part 2)

You can almost hear the cries of the multitude saying that God is full of injustice, accusing God Almighty of being a tyrant, and harsh dictator. We have seen that God always fulfills his promises to his people, yet we see that in fulfilling them to the child of faith that the child of the flesh has seemingly been left out in the cold. Paul, being full of the Spirit of God, knew that it would be the cry of the people as well. And so under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit here is what this apostle penned: What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. Romans 9:14-18

How many of us have sought and sought the Lord for the salvation of a friend or loved one only to see them die in their sin and spend an eternity in Hell? When we have prayed and prayed and this happens our flesh wants to jump up and say God is unjust! Yet can we truly say this, can the Israelites say this about God either? The answer is no, we can not say this. You see the scriptures are clear that God shows mercy to those whom he pleases and that he hardens the hearts of whom he pleases. All the while fulfilling his promises, and working out the salvation of man. This too is part of God saving us, that all of our salvation relies upon him and his mercy. God uses each one of us how he sees fit, because God’s personal glory of Himself is God’s chief aim. His mercy and his hardening work in complete unity with his justice, because it is all who God is. It is so crucial for us to understand that God works his sovereign will as he sees fit, and it is not unjust, it is perfectly just, even if we don’t understand it fully. This is a truth that we need to believe and accept by faith, and then we can seek to work it out to understanding.

Lord God,
I may not understand how you work out callings and election unto salvation. Yet I believe that you are in control. I want to understand this truth because you have inspired the apostle Paul to write it down that we might now and grow in the knowledge of you. So I pray that you would open the eyes of my heart and that my understanding may become clear.