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So then it is<\/em><\/span> not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n God deserves all<\/strong> the praise and glory for our salvation.<\/p>\n The word translated \u201cwills<\/span>\u201d is a form of the Greek word thel\u014d<\/em><\/span>, which we have looked at before. It refers to a person\u2019s will. But there is another Greek word which also refers to a person\u2019s will. That word is boulomai<\/em><\/span>. Thel\u014d<\/em> <\/span>refers to a person\u2019s determined will, whereas boulomai<\/em> <\/span>refers to a person\u2019s 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\u2019s determined will. The current verse uses thel\u014d<\/em> <\/span>indicating that it is not the one deciding (determined will).<\/p>\n The word translated \u201cruns<\/span>\u201d is the Greek word trech\u014d<\/em><\/span>, which means \u201cto run\u201d or \u201cto walk hastily.\u201d By implication it means \u201cto run a course in an effort to achieve an objective.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShows mercy<\/span>\u201d is from elee\u014d<\/em><\/span>, which we looked at in yesterday\u2019s verse. It refers to the act of showing mercy.<\/p>\n In the preceding few verses Paul talked about God\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s all about God determining who He will show mercy to.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Albert Barnes said about this:<\/p>\n 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.<\/em><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s give it all<\/strong> to Him!<\/p>\n In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\nTruth to Learn<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Behind the Words<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Meaning Explained<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Application<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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