Category: Romans 9

Romans 9:23 – Undeserved Glory

Posted on by Will

and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,

Truth to Learn

God chose some to know the glory of heaven for eternity.

 

Behind the Words

“Riches” is from the Greek word ploutos which refers to “fullness or abundance.” It is often associated with possessions or money and is thus often translated as “wealth” or “riches.”

The expression “had prepared beforehand” is translated from the Greek word proetoimadzō, which is composed of pro, meaning “before, in time or place” and hetoimadzō, meaning “to prepare” or “to make ready.” Hence, proetoimadzō means “to prepare beforehand” or “to predestinate.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense, indicating action that was done at a point in time in the past (a single action, not a process).

 

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse we talked about one class of people, namely those who are sinners whom God has prepared for damnation. In the current verse Paul talks about the other class of people. This class of people also includes sinful people, but God has chosen them and has declared them to be righteous.

According to Paul, the reason that God did this is so that He might make known “the riches of His glory.” This is a Hebrew expression meaning the abundance or fullness of His glory. But what does this term “glory” refer to? It often refers to the glorious manifestation of his presence (called the shekinah glory). The use of the word in today’s verse, however, refers to the eternal state in the presence of Almighty God. This eternal state blends together everything that constitutes honor, dignity, purity, love, and happiness. All these attributes are in various places attached to the word “glory,” and all mingle in the eternal state of the righteous.

In the previous verse we noted that the “vessels of wrath” were “prepared for destruction.” The word “prepared” is translated from a form of the Greek word katartidzō, which means “to establish, arrange, or prepare.” In the current verse Paul says that the “vessels of mercy” (the saved elect) were “prepared beforehand for glory.” So we see that the Potter prepared the vessels of wrath for the damnation that they will receive as a result of God’s righteous judgment, but the vessels of mercy were prepared beforehand (before time) to be recipients of His gracious gift of salvation. The opening verses of Ephesians also speak of this preparation before time began:

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as his sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (Ephesians 1:3-5)

That should be enough to make any born again Christian fall to his or her knees and thank our heavenly Father for choosing us and granting us His salvation, not because we deserved it or earned it, but because He chose to do it!

 

Application

Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you for choosing me in spite of the fact that I am an undeserving sinner. I don’t know why you chose me of all people, but I praise you for it! You deserve all the praise and all the glory!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:22 – Unfair Grace

Posted on by Will

But if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

Truth to Learn

God endures the sinfulness of sinners so that His wrath and power will be seen and understood.

 

Behind the Words

“Show” is from endeiknumi, which means “to point out or to show forth something about oneself.”

The verb translated “make … known” is gnoridzo, meaning “to make something apparent or known to someone else.”

“Endured” is from the verb pherō, which means “to carry or bear like a burden.”

The word “longsuffering” is translated from makrothumia, which refers to “the ability to endure pain or suffering inflicted by others for a long time before getting angry.”

“Destruction” is from apōleia, which is based on the verb apollumi, meaning “to destroy fully.” The Complete WordStudy Dictionary says of this word: “apōleia refers to the state after death wherein exclusion from salvation is a realized fact, wherein man, instead of becoming what he might have been, is lost and ruined.”

 

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse we saw that the Apostle Paul postulated that it is fair for God to declare some righteous (through His grace) and to allow the remainder of mankind to remain destined for Hell because of their sinfulness. But that implies that there must be two classes of people on the earth, unforgiven sinners and forgiven sinners. In this and the following verse Paul will show that, in fact, there are two classes of people, and God has a purpose in allowing both.

The first class of people is the class of unforgiven sinners. Remember, according to what Paul demonstrated back in Romans 3:23, all of us are sinners. There is no human being except for Jesus Himself who is without sin. We all deserve Hell. Paul here states that God is desirous of showing His wrath against sin and sinners and He is also desirous of making His power known. In order to do this, though, He is currently being long suffering, enduring the pain of the sinfulness of those who are not chosen, until the day when He will finally pour out His wrath on the sinfulness of all mankind.

God is continuing to endure the pain of the sins of the unsaved sinners in this world. At the same time, however, he knows the eternal damnation that they will receive when He finally slams down the gavel of His judgment on them. But what about our sins? Is God longsuffering with us? The answer is no, because our sins are covered by the blood of Christ and He sees us as sinless, holy, righteous vessels of glory. We are the second class of people, the forgiven sinners.

 

Application

On the surface this appears harsh and unfair, but keep in mind that God cannot allow sin to abide in His presence. The unfair thing is that He has declared us to be righteous and without sin (because the penalty for our sins has been paid by Jesus Christ on the cross).

Truly, that is not fair! Praise God for His grace!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:21 – The Master Potter

Posted on by Will

Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

Truth to Learn

God made us, we did not make Him. He has the right to make us and use us however He sees fit.

 

Behind the Words

“Potter” is translated from the Greek word kerameus, which refers to “someone who shapes clay into useful or artistic objects, that is, a potter.”

“Clay” is from pēlos, which means “wet muddy clay.”

The word translated “lump” is phuroma, which refers to “a mixture of liquid and solid that is kneaded.” The same word is used to describe a mass of clay and a mass of bread dough.

 

Meaning Explained

In explaining the previous verse we noted that what Paul said was, “Now wait a minute! Who are you to argue with God?” Do we have the right to tell God that He made a mistake? Do we have the right to tell the perfect, eternal, sinless, all knowing, all powerful God that He is wrong?

That is arguing from the human point of view. Paul now completes the argument by making it from God’s point of view. He does this by making reference to another Old Testament passage. This one is also quoted from Isaiah:

For all of us have become as an unclean thing, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy rag; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, who stirring himself up to take hold of You; for You have made us waste away because of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:6-8)

In making this argument Paul is clearly showing that God is the one who has made us and not the other way around. Since He made us, He is the potter and we are the clay. This in not just a metaphorical statement. We really are made of clay. Our father Adam was made from the dirt.

And Jehovah God formed the man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

In today’s verse Paul is declaring that God, as the potter, has the power and the right to make one vessel (man or woman) unto a dishonorable end and another one to an honorable end.

As we have said before, this expresses a big God, little man perspective. Unfortunately, today it is in vogue to believe in a big man, little God perspective, where we are the ones in control and we tell God what we want Him to do. But that’s not the way it really is! We have “turned it upside down.”

 

Application

Many Christians today would rather skip over this and the following verses because they don’t fit with their own image of who God is. Who are we to tell God how to act? God is the one who is in control, and He will do as He pleases. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and whom he wants to He will harden. He makes one vessel unto honor, pardoning him or her by His grace, and He makes another vessel unto dishonor, condemning him or her to Hell for his or her sinfulness and impenitent heart.

Who are we to tell God, “That’s not fair!”?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:20 – It Is Fair!

Posted on by Will

But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?"

Truth to Learn

We have no right to tell God who should be saved and who shouldn’t.

 

Behind the Words

This verse starts of with an unusual Greek word. It is menounge, which is a compound word made up of men, meaning “indeed,” oun, meaning “but, now, or therefore,” and ge which is an emphatic particle, making this an emphatic exclamation which basically means, “but indeed!” In today’s vernacular we might say, “Now wait just a minute!”

The Greek word translated “reply” is antapokrinomai, which is a compound of anti, meaning “against” and krinomai, meaning “to reply or to answer.” This word means “to make an argumentative reply against someone” or “to dispute a statement just made.”

“The thing formed” is translated from plasma, which is the noun form of the verb plassō, meaning “to shape or form something as with clay or wax.”

 

Meaning Explained

What Paul is saying is, “Now wait a minute! Who are you to argue with God?” Do we have the right to tell our maker that He made a mistake? Do we who are imperfect and sinful have the right to tell the perfect, eternal, sinless, all knowing, all powerful God that He is wrong? I don’t think so.

In this verse Paul is quoting from Isaiah who says,

Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"? (Isaiah 29:16)

Isaiah is chastening the Jews for making themselves and their actions more important than God. He says, “You turn the order of things upside down, putting yourselves in place of God.” That is the same message that Paul is declaring to the Jewish Christians in Rome. They had made their desires and intentions to be of more importance than God’s; they had accepted a little God, big man theology just as many Christians have today.

Similarly, who are we to tell God who is to be saved and who isn’t? It’s His choice, not ours! He chooses us, we don’t choose Him. Wait just a minute! We have no right to tell God that He can’t decide who is to be forgiven their sins and declared righteous and who should suffer the agony of Hell.

As we discussed a few verses back, God is righteous, which means that He always does what is right, and He is holy, which means that He is without sin. Therefore, He always does the right thing without even a hint of sinfulness in it. If He chose to allow most of humankind to go to Hell because of their sinfulness and chose to save some of mankind from that fate by declaring us righteous, then we have no right to question Him in doing so. He is God!

 

Application

In the final analysis it really is fair for God to allow most of mankind to go to Hell and save a few from that fate. It is fair for Him to make that choice! After all, God did it that way and He is sinless and He is always right!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:19 – No Fault Sovereignty

Posted on by Will

You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?"

Truth to Learn

It is completely fair for God to do as He decides.

 

Behind the Words

The Greek verb translated “find fault”  is memphomai, meaning “to find fault, to blame, or to censure.”

“Resisted” is translated from anthistēmi. This is a compound word made up of anti, meaning “against” and histēmi, meaning “to stand.” So, quite literally, this word means “to stand against.” Understand, however, that the emphasis of this word is on the result rather than the process. In its usage here, Paul is not saying, “who has put up a fight against God’s will” but “who has prevailed against His will.”

“Will” is from boulēma. This is the noun form of boulomai, which we compared with thelō back in verse sixteen. It refers to “intention or purpose.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul has been very methodically and meticulously describing God’s sovereignty in choosing some and not choosing others. Every Jew knows that God chose Abraham and called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans. From there Paul showed that Isaac was the chosen son of promise rather than Ishmael, the first born of his flesh. He then gives the example of Jacob and Esau. Even though Esau was the first born, God said “Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated.” And He did so without taking into account anything either of them did in their lives.

His next example is Pharaoh. Pharaoh had a hardened heart toward God and His chosen people as a result of his sin nature (which we all have). But God hardened Pharaoh’s heart even further so that He (God) might receive praise and glory. Thus Paul declares

He has mercy on whom He determines, and whom He determines He hardens.

From our human perspective we look at this and say, “That’s not fair!” This is the first objection most people have to God’s sovereignty. Paul now gets to the other objection. If God is in total control and no one can resist His will in election, then why does he condemn sinners? Why doesn’t He just forgive everyone their sins and not send anyone to Hell for being a sinner?

Actually, this is just another way of saying, “That’s not fair! God shouldn’t choose some to go to Heaven and allow others to go to Hell.” Paul will address this in his response in the next verse. So as not to take all the wind out of his sails, let me simply state that the problem with this objection is that it assumes that we know better than God. But, how can we who are finite beings with a sin nature ever suppose that we know better than an infinite, loving, holy, righteous God.

 

Application

We have no right to criticize God for the way He chooses to run His creation. Instead of complaining and fighting His will for us, we need to better understand Him and His will for us. As we do, we will fall on our knees asking for forgiveness for even questioning His will and His sovereignty.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:18 – God and God Alone

Posted on by Will

So, then, He has mercy on whom He determines, and whom He determines He hardens.

Truth to Learn

God makes the decisions regarding whom He shows mercy to.

 

Behind the Words

The word “mercy” is from eleeō, which we looked at in verse fifteen. It refers to God’s action of showing mercy, not just His feeling of compassion.

“Determines” is translated from the Greek verb thelō, which we looked at in verse sixteen. It refers to God’s determined will and so we translated it as “determine.”

The Greek verb translated “hardens” is sklērunō, which is based on the noun sklēros, meaning “hard.” In reference to a person, it carries the idea of being “stubborn, unyielding, or unmoved by persuasion.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul now makes his second summary statement regarding God’s sovereignty and his purpose in election. He has just shown that it was God who controlled the heart of Pharaoh after he had hardened his own heart against the Israelites and their God. And, Paul has shown in the previous verses that God chooses whom He will love and whom He will hate. Paul has quoted the Old Testament where God said,

I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (Exodus 33:19b)

Paul then used Pharaoh as his example of this declaration. He now restates it as a summary statement of fact:

Therefore He has mercy on whom He determines, and whom He determines He hardens.

If you read the previous verse explanation and all the verses quoted, you will see that it was Pharaoh who initially hardened his own heart out of his own sinful and prideful nature. But eventually, God took over and caused him to harden his heart even more. There are two principles to understand here. The first is that we are all sinful, and left to our own devices we will commit sinful acts against God. The second is that God is overall sovereign and will, at His own choosing, either pardon that sinfulness and declare us righteous through the blood of Christ, or He will allow our sinfulness to send us to everlasting punishment in Hell, which is what we all deserve.

“But what about man’s free will?” you may ask. Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that unregenerate man has a free will. That is a concept of theologians and others who don’t think it is fair for God to make all the decisions regarding our eternal future. The only free will that is spoken of in the New Testament is the free will that born-again Christians have regarding how they behave after salvation. As children of God, Christians can choose to obey God or to obey their sin nature.

 

Application

God is ruling all of creation, including you and me. If you are a born-again Christian, do you choose to submit to Him, or do you want to be in control?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:16 – All His Doing

Posted on by Will

So then it is not of the one willing, nor of the one running, but of God who shows mercy.

Truth to Learn

God deserves all the praise and glory for our salvation.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “willing” is a form of the Greek word thelō, which we have looked at before. It refers to a person’s will. But there is another Greek word which also refers to a person’s will. That word is boulomai. Thelō refers to a person’s determined will, whereas boulomai refers to a person’s desirous will. It is like a child being sent into a candy store with a limited amount of money. His (or her) desirous will is to have everything in the store. But the child determines (decides) to purchase what can be acquired with the money he or she has; this is the child’s determined will. The current verse uses thelō indicating that it is not the one deciding (determined will).

The word translated “running” is the Greek word trechō, which means “to run” or “to walk hastily.” By implication it means “to run a course in an effort to achieve an objective.”

“Shows mercy” is from eleeō, which we looked at in yesterday’s verse. It refers to the act of showing mercy.

 

Meaning Explained

In the preceding few verses Paul talked about God’s loving some people and hating others, about God having mercy on some and not on others. He has made the point that God does so in complete righteousness because He is a holy and a righteous God who can do no evil. Paul now makes his first summary of these points. He says that the choosing is not about the one willing, nor the one running, but of God, the one showing mercy. It’s not about the person who determines or decides to get saved. Neither is it about the one who works hard to keep all the rules. It’s all about God determining who He will show mercy to.

In other words Paul is saying that salvation is not based on someone choosing to be saved nor is it about someone keeping all the rules or completing a course of action to earn righteousness. You see, both of these imply that a person deserves salvation because they did something to earn it. Instead, according to Paul, it is based on God showing mercy on someone who does not deserve it.

Here’s what Albert Barnes said about this:

Salvation in its beginning, its progress, and its close, is of him. He has a right, therefore, to bestow it when and where he pleases. All our mercies flow from his mere love and compassion, and not from our deserts. The essential idea here is, that God is the original fountain of all the blessings of salvation.

But Paul does not stop here. In the next verse he will use Pharaoh as an example of someone whose heart God hardened so that He could demonstrate His power.

 

Application

What we need to see in these verses is that God chooses some and not others so that He alone will get the glory. If salvation is in any way our doing, then we can take some credit for it. If we did something to obtain it, then we should get at least part of the credit. But God says that He wants to get all the credit. He wants all the glory and all the praise. Let’s give it all to Him!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:15 – Sovereign Over All

Posted on by Will

For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

Truth to Learn

God’s compassion and mercy are based on His choice, not ours. He is sovereign over all.

 

Behind the Words

“I will have mercy” is translated from the verb eleeō, which means “to have compassion or mercy on a person in wretched circumstances.” The emphasis of this verb is on the intent to take action. It refers to the showing of mercy rather than the feeling of compassion.

The Greek verb translated “I will have compassion” is oikteirō. This verb also refers to having compassion or mercy, but the emphasis is on the tender feeling of compassion rather than the intent to take action.

 

Meaning Explained

By way of further explanation of his current rhetorical question (Is there unrighteousness with God?), Paul is going to show a few examples of God’s sovereignty over mankind demonstrated through His actions. The first example involves the Israelites and Moses.

Allow me to set the background for today’s quotation from the book of Exodus. God has led the people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and up to Mount Sinai. There, Moses was called by God to come up the mountain where he remained for forty days to receive the Law.

While Moses was up on the mountain, however, the Israelites got impatient with him and his God. They demanded that Aaron, Moses’ brother, create a golden calf for them to worship. On coming down from the mountain, Moses saw the golden calf and the people celebrating and worshipping their false god. He became so angry that he broke the tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments.

After this, Moses went before God and confessed the sins of the Israelites asking that they be forgiven. As he met with God in the tabernacle in the wilderness, a pillar of smoke appeared before the door of the tabernacle. Moses was speaking to God face to face but could not see him because of the smoke. God proclaimed that Moses had found favor in His sight (Moses was chosen) so he pleaded

Please, show me Your glory. (Exodus 33:18)

This is the point at which God proclaimed that it was His choice alone to show mercy to whomever He chose, and that He would feel compassion on whomever He chose.

The Jewish Christians in Rome would have recognized this quotation of the Old Testament as a proclamation of God’s righteousness and His sovereignty over all of mankind, to do as He pleases without violating anyone’s righteousness. He was refusing to show mercy to all the Jews but was expressing his feeling of compassion toward Moses by His own choice and thus allowed Moses to behold some of His glory.

 

Application

Before we put God in a box and expect Him to do whatever we ask (or tell) Him to do, let’s recognize that God’s compassion and mercy are based on His choice, not ours. He is sovereign over all!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:14 – The Righteous Choice

Posted on by Will

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Absolutely not!

Truth to Learn

God’s choosing of some to be saved is totally right.

 

Behind the Words

Paul asks the question, “Is there unrighteousness with God?” However, the Greek text says “Is there not unrighteousness with God?” In Greek, the double negative is not as it is in English where they cancel each other out. A double negative in Greek is a statement of emphasis of the negative. So this verse could be read, “Is there any unrighteous at all in God?”

“Absolutely not!” is translated from mē genoito. A literal translation of this would be, “May it not be!” In our vernacular we might say, “No way!”

 

Meaning Explained

Now that Paul has very clearly stated the case for God’s choosing (election) of those whom He wishes, he asks another of his rhetorical questions. He is doing this in anticipation of the expected objection to election, namely that it isn’t fair. To say that it isn’t fair is to say that it is not right, that it is unrighteous. Is there any unrighteous at all in God?

We tend to think from the human perspective that some deserve God’s divine grace and others don’t. That is, we think that those of us who “accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior” deserve God’s grace and, therefore, are chosen. But that’s not how it is from God’s perspective. From His perspective none of us deserve His grace. Here’s what Paul said in chapter three:

 

As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one." (Romans 3:10-12)

In other words, none of us deserve God’s grace. We all deserve eternity in Hell! We are unrighteous but God is righteous. That’s why Paul proclaims once again regarding God being unrighteous, “May it not be!”

You may recall Abraham’s conversation with God when God told him that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy the righteous people along with the wicked people. Here’s what Abraham said.

Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25)

Abraham recognized that God always does what is right; therefore, he pleaded for the righteous inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah (even though we know in reality that there is none righteous). The bottom line is; we are totally unrighteous and God is totally righteous.

 

Application

None of us deserves God’s grace and God is not obliged in any way to show mercy to any of us. We are not chosen because we have accepted Christ as Savior; we accept Christ as Savior because we are chosen. That is why all of us who are born again Christians should proclaim

Thank you, God, for choosing me!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:13 – Love and Hate

Posted on by Will

As it is written, "I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau."

Truth to Learn

God chooses whom He loves and whom He hates.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “loved” is from the verb agapaō, which refers to a self-sacrificing love.

“Hated” is from the Greek verb miseō, which refers to “an active hatred that is made evident in words and actions.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul now quotes another Old Testament passage for his Roman Jewish Christian readers to consider. It is quoted from Malachi 1:2, 3

"I have loved you," says the LORD. "Yet you say, 'In what way have You loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" Says the LORD.

"Yet Jacob I have loved;  But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness."

Now, I can just hear some of you saying, “But that’s not fair! God is love, according to I John 4:8, 13, so how can He hate anyone?” Perhaps from our human perspective it does not appear fair, but we know that God is righteous, that is, He always does what is right. Therefore, if He says that he loved Jacob and hated Esau then we have to accept that it is righteous love and righteous hatred.

Let’s look at a couple of things the Bible says about God:

And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I, Jehovah your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:1,2)

God is a Holy God, that is, He is set-apart from all sin and sinfulness. He is pure and without sin! He always does that which brings glory to Himself. He is holy!

because I will proclaim the name of Jehovah, ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock; His work is perfect. For all His ways are just, a God of faithfulness, and without evil; just and upright is He. (Deuteronomy 32:3,4)

According to this verse, all of God’s ways are just; they satisfy perfect justice and they are absolutely right. He is without evil; He is just and upright.

God does not always tell us why He does things, but if we believe that He is a holy and just God and if He is without evil as these verses proclaim, then God’s choosing is without sin and it is right and just. He cannot do otherwise.

So … even though we don’t understand how or why He chooses some to righteousness and not others, we have to believe that His choosing is right, and just, and holy!

 

Application

Paul is very clear in his teaching that God had a love for Jacob that He did not have for Esau. And, he already made it clear that this distinction was made independent of the actions of either of them. God’s choice is always right and without sin. Who are we to argue with Him?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved