Whatever Happend to Sin, Part 2: Sin and the Mercy of Election

“What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 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 does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy…. So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires…. What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.” (Romans 9:14-16, 18, 22-24)

Probably one of the greatest reasons people object to the doctrine of God’s sovereign right in unconditionally electing some, by His great mercy in Christ Jesus, to eternal life is the misunderstanding about sin that persists. This is not the only reason for people’s rejecting of this wonderful Biblical truth (that would be an oversimplification of the matter, as some truly reject unconditional election due to exegetical reasons (misunderstandings of certain texts, such as 1 Timothy 2:4-7, 2 Peter 3:9, etc), and others due to other reasons that are not based upon ill-philosophy stemming from an incorrect world-view (by this I mean the misunderstanding of sin)), but I think that it is quite a hindrance to many. A proper understanding of sin (this implies its moral wretchedness and corruption, its complete control and enslavement of the will and the intellect (besides God’s common grace), and how it condemns us rightfully to be accursed of God under the standard of the Law) will show us God’s mercy in electing any to salvation, why election is necessary, and why God, even in His absolute mercy, is not required to save every single human being that has ever lived.

To understand how merciful God is to elect anybody (in other words, to understand that He does not have to save any person), we must understand how appalling and dishonoring sin is to God, and dishonoring and destructive to the human being who is sinful. We should not be surprised (as I fear many are) that God hated Esau. The Bible is clear that God “[hates] all who do iniquity.” That He “[destroys] those who speak falsehood” and “abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit” (Psalm 5:5-6). We should be delightfully surprised, however, that God loved Jacob (a deceitful man, equally as evil as Esau) (Romans 9:13, Malachi 1:2). We should be surprised that David, a murderous, adultering, merciless, liar could “by [God’s] abundant lovingkindness… enter [God’s] house” (Psalm 5:7).

Sin is an absolute outrage to God. He is perfect, and in His presence no sin can dwell (4-5). Yet God is known as “Him who justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5). This is complete injustice. The ungodly deserve the full wrath of God. God cannot just forgive people of their sins. God deserves a vote of “no confidence” for such action (or so it appears in the Old Testament). No judge deserves to remain upon the bench (especially the judge of the universe who is expected to and demanded of to uphold impartial justice for all). This is the god that is worshiped by most today, however, as they claim a god who universally accepts everyone because everyone is just not that bad, in their worldview.

However, this is not the God of Christianity. Rather, the God of Christianity only justified (and today continues to justify) the ungodly because He looks to the most crucial event in human history: the life, death, and resurrection of the anointed One. All are sinful when compared to God’s holy standard: “There is no distinction [between Jew and Gentile]; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Yet God’s righteousness is made evident to the watching universe and demonstrated toward all who believe, who are “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” He is the one “whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.” In more common language, Jesus took the complete wrath of God on behalf of all who trust in God (to be the justifier of the ungodly). Why did Christ have to take the wrath of God? “This was to demonstrate His righteousness.” Why did God have to demonstrate His righteousness? “Because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed” by people such as Jacob and David. God had forgiven them their sins, but no justice had been served. Christ took the wrath of God “for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:22-26). Why are they justified on the basis of faith in Christ? So that no one can boast except in God in Christ Jesus. Thus God is always the benefactor and we are always the beneficiaries (Romans 3:27-31). God is shown to be God. If Christ had not died, it would be impossible for God to be both just and the justifier of those who trust in Him to justify them. God would have to condemn all to hell to uphold His justice (which cannot be sacrificed). This is how abhorrent sin is to the Holy God.

This shows how sin is rightly condemned by God (to which we shall return shortly). Let us now turn our attention to the corrupting of sin. I have demonstrated elsewhere that sin leaves us completely evil in the sight of God. We are completely unable to please God. Yet sin corrupts us to the point where we will not turn to God (and in fact we cannot). Paul says, “there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God” (Romans 3:10-11). It is not that there is only “none who does good” (Romans 3:12), but there is none who truly seeks after the God who deserves all his/her worship. Sin corrupts the intellect of mankind so greatly that no one even comprehends and embraces God. The intellect is so corrupted that it is repulsed by God into convincing the will to not seek for God. They will not seek because “a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.” Why not? “Because they are foolishness to him.” Such a one does not see the need for God and does not see the infinite worth of God. In fact “he cannot understand [the things of the Spirit of God], because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Corinthians 2:14). The depths of God, or the things of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), are revealed to us only by the Spirit of God and only made valuable to us by His regenerating work in our hearts. Thus, the natural man (as opposed to the spiritual man) is incapable of repenting of his/her sins and turning to God in Christ and casting him/herself upon God for mercy. A heart of stone cannot be molded into a faithful heart; it must be replaced (cf. Ezekiel 11:19).

This is because “those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.” On the other hand, “those who are according to the Spirit,” or those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit to see the value of Christ and the unsearchable riches of God, set their minds on “the things of the Spirit.” Why? Because “the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” Why is the mind set on the flesh death—spiritually dead and incapable of turning from sin to find forgiveness in Christ? “Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:5-8). This is how corrupting sin is. Humans, outside of the work of the Spirit, are complete and utter slaves to the sinful nature (Romans 6:12-23, Ephesians 2:1-3, 2 Timothy 2:26). According to Bernard (I do not know who Bernard is), “…the will itself, undermined by sin, imposes a necessity upon itself. But the necessity, being voluntary, cannot excuse the will, and the will, being led astray, cannot escape the necessity…. [The] soul, in some strange and evil way, is held under this kind of voluntary, yet sadly free necessity, both bond and free. It is enslaved because of the necessity, and free because it is a will” (John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion, 98).

Because of this complete and utter disdain for God (the fact that we are imperfect is enough to condemn us), all humans are worthy of Hell. God would be completely just to send every single human ever to hell. Jesus actually warns the people of a crowd with whom He is speaking that they should not be surprised that bad things happen to people. “There were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.” Now, one would expect Jesus to gasp and denounce the cruelties that had occurred. That would only seem right. However, Jesus, understanding the people’s lack of understanding of sin says to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners that all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?” Was it because these people were so much more evil than everyone else that such had befallen them? “I tell you, no.” This was surely a shocker to the people. “But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Jesus addresses that this kind of a fate rightfully falls upon all who are sinners. In fact, a worse fate befalls sinners, as they face the wrath of God. This was an act of cruelty by a cruel man; but such a fate is rightly deserved by sinners.

Jesus then addresses what could be called a natural disaster, or an accident; though indeed it occurred under the divine providence of God. “Do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1-5). Jesus makes clear that all who remain in sin are worthy of the same fate. All sinners deserve such. Now, do not be mistaken. There is no indication that Jesus was not outraged about Pilate’s attack (as Pilate had no right to do what he had done) or that He was not grieved by the death of those upon whom the tower had fallen (as Jesus knew that death was a result of sin, and He rightly hated sin and its effects). However, Jesus knew that sin is deserving of hell, and so warns His audience to turn from their sinful ways lest they incur the same consequences.

It is not a good argument that it would be unfair of God to send someone to hell while saving another. Consider this: if God were to be fair, He would send both you and I to hell right now. If God were fair, He would never have sent Jesus Christ, the only righteous man to ever live, to die in our place. It is quite unfair that God laid the iniquity of us all upon Jesus. It is thus unfair for God to save all those who are in Christ Jesus—all who have been covered by His blood and made righteous by His righteousness. Fair is not what is in question.

We should not be surprised that God would hate Esau, who was a wretched sinner; but we should be surprised that God is so merciful to save Jacob, who was a wretched sinner. No where in the Bible does it say that God is (or has to be) completely fair. He is an impartial judge. He thus saves completely out of His free choice. Otherwise God would be playing favorites, as He would be saving those who achieve righteousness (even the degree of righteousness to trust in Christ of their own self-determination) above those who did not achieve such a degree of righteousness. Yet God’s election “Does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Romans 9:16). Thus you cannot claim that you are any better than Osama Bin Laden except by the grace of God in Christ Jesus (and it is still Christ’s righteousness that sets you apart before God, not your own).

In spite of the fact that God is not required to be merciful toward any, He has been extremely merciful and patient toward all of humanity, including those whom He has not elected unto salvation. You ask how He has been merciful? Do they not live, move, breath, eat, sleep, receive rain, warmth, have relationships, see sunsets, the moon, go for long walks on the beach, and enjoy countless other aspects of creation? God has been incredibly patient with them, and thus merciful. After all, “the wages of sin is death,” and yet they are not immediately destroyed. Though they count His patience lightly and as weakness on His part, not taking the opportunity which He has given them to repent and return for times of refreshing in Christ Jesus (Acts 3:19, Romans 2:4, 2 Peter 3:3-9). They reject His kindnesses and absolutely blaspheme Him.

God awaits the full number of His elect Church to be saved (2 Peter 3:3-9, Revelation 6:10-11). This is why He is patient. During this time the rain falls on both the righteous and the wicked (Matthew 5:45). In fact, God “Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:25). He has created all men everywhere that they might seek for Him (26-27), yet they all turned away and willingly suppressed God’s revelation (Romans 1:18-32), though all of nature bears witness to God (Psalm 19:1-6). God has “endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared beforehand for destruction” (Romans 9:22). He has done this so that those prepared by the Potter to be vessels of mercy would be given the necessary time to repent and so that they would declare that God was greatly merciful and glorious in His dealings with all, including the vessels of wrath. They have been given ample time to repent, though they have not and will not. God is just to condemn them. Do not let this strike you lightly.

Since He chose Jacob rather than Esau while “the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls” (Romans 9:11), is there injustice with God? The answer: “May it never be!” God, being God, the Creator and Sustainer of all, has the complete right over His creation. He is not required to give mercy to any, but rather, as He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Romans 9:14-15). It is God’s right to have mercy upon whomever He pleases and to not give mercy to whomever He pleases. In fact, “He hardens whom He desires” out of His own sovereign right (Romans 9:17-18). May we, as Christians, weep for those whom God does not elect; for theirs’ is an unpleasant lot.

But if God hardens, then how does He find fault? “For who resists His will?” We do not have a right to talk back to our Creator in such a fashion; it is His divine right (Romans 9:19-20). I will not comment on this, but allow the Scripture only to speak: “The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?” (Romans 9:20-21). He does not have to give mercy to both vessels. He could rightly give mercy to both vessels or give mercy to no vessels. It is His divine prerogative.

In light of sin, we should not be surprised at all that God shows wrath to those who are vessels of wrath. They were created and destined to be outside of Christ and to not take part in God’s forgiveness and grace in Him (and they willfully reject Christ). Thus they are completely sinful and deserving of God’s wrath. They willfully sin throughout their whole lives and thus are rightly condemned by God and face His wrath. It is not as though any of them repent or seek to please God and He just rejects them. Rather, any “one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out,” Jesus promises (John 6:37). Though they were destined for wrath, they still earned it.

Our delightful surprise should come at the fact that God makes some to be vessels of mercy; that He destines some to be partakers of His grace in Christ. We should be overjoyed that He does all of this “to make known the riches of His glory…upon…even us, whom He [“prepared beforehand for glory” and] also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles” (Romans 9:23-24). We are the ones who are getting what is undeserved, not those who are receiving God’s wrath (though according to Paul’s Potter metaphor and the illusion paid to Esau and Jacob, this is “so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand,” and not according to the good and bad that one does; God elects unconditionally of both good and evil. However, this is a mystery of God’s glory that He does what He desires unconditionally and yet He is absolutely merciful and just, for He has the absolute right over His creation).

Let us meditate on God’s great love in saving us, brothers and sisters in Christ. “For while we were still helpless [unable to save ourselves, unable to turn to God to save us], at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners [enemies of God], Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8). “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:9-11). Let God’s undeserved love toward you (you received it unconditionally, if you are in Christ, upon the condition of Christ’s dying for you) drive you toward loving all people, especially those who are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Dear Christian, pray for the lost. You do not know who are and who are not the elect. Perhaps God has employed the means of your prayers to save a lost person. God’s election is complex, so do not presume anything, but do as you are commanded. Share the gospel, pray for your enemies, all peoples everywhere, and those whom you personally know who are lost. For consider this word by John Calvin, who does not allow for fatalism:

…The scoffers make such a commotion with their stupid arguments that almost everyone is confused. If, they say, the Lord has planned the moment of our death, it is inevitable and there is nothing we can do about it. So, when people try to avoid dangers on a journey, or call in the doctor to obtain drugs for the sake of health, or abstain from certain foods to protect a weak constitution, or refuse to live in a run-down house, the scoffers say they are trying to find ways of achieving their own ends. They maintain that these are vain attempts to alter God’s will because his sure command fixes the limits of life and death, health and sickness, peace and war [faith and unbelief,] and everything else which men try to achieve or avoid by their own efforts. These shallow people imply that the prayers [and works] of the faithful must be misguided and unnecessary, because they beg the Lord to act in things which he has decreed from eternity. Attributing whatever happens to the Providence of God, they excuse the person who has deliberately planned it. Has a murderer killed an innocent man? He has only, they say, carried out God’s will. Has someone committed theft or adultery? He is merely the one who carries out what the Lord has ordained. Has a son stood by, waiting for his parents to die, without trying to do anything? He must not oppose God, who had planned it all from eternity. In this way, all crimes are called virtues, because they must be according to God’s will.

When it comes to future events, Solomon reconciles human deliberation with divine Providence quite easily. While he scorns the stupidity of those who dare to undertake anything without God’s help, as if they were not under his control, he also states, ‘In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps’ (Prov. 16:9). This suggests that God’s eternal decrees in no way prevent us from providing for ourselves, and arranging all our affairs (subject to his Lordship). The reason for this is clear. The one who has fixed the boundaries of our life, has also entrusted us with the care of it, given us the means to safeguard it, warned us of the dangers which threaten us, and supplied remedies so that we may not be overwhelmed. Now, our duty is clear: since the Lord expects us to defend our lives, we must do so; since he offers his help, we must take it; since he warns us of danger, we must be careful; and since he supplies remedies we must use them. Some will say that if a danger is not fatal, it will not hurt us, and if it is fatal, nothing can be done. But what if these hazards are not fatal simply because the Lord has given you the means to fend them off and surmount them? Try to match your reasoning with the way God actually works: you infer that no precautions need be taken in danger, because if it is not fatal you will escape anyway; whereas the Lord urges you to take precautions, just because he does not will it to be fatal. These crazy protesters overlook what is staring them in the face: that the Lord has given men the ability to think and to be careful so that they may use it (in submission to his Providence) to preserve their lives. The opposite is true; by neglect and laziness, they bring upon themselves the troubles he has linked with such behaviour. How is it that a careful man, in taking safeguards [or a Christian in trusting in Christ], avoids impending danger [or avoids the wrath of God], while a foolish man [or an unbeliever], through thoughtless daring [or through unbelief], perishes? It must be that wisdom and folly are, in both instances, instruments of divine dispensation. God has chosen to conceal all future events from us, that we may prepare for them in uncertainty, and never cease to emply the remedies we have been given, until all hurdles have been overcome or have proved too much for us. So, as I said before, the Providence of God does not act in itself; but, by working indifferent ways, it assumes as it were a visible form….

Despite all this, the Christian should not ignore lesser causes. He should consider those who help him as ministers of divine goodness and not overlook them, as though their kindness deserved no thanks. He should feel under real obligation, admit to it and try all in his power to reciprocate. In short, he will honour and praise God as the principal Author of all the blessings he receives [thus giving God all the glory], but will also respect the people who are God’s agents. He will be aware that is it God’s will that he should feel under obligation to those by whom God has chosen to show him kindness. If he suffers loss through carelessness or stupidity, he will believe it was the Lord’s will it should be so, but at the same time he will lay the blame at his own door. If someone for whom he should have cared, but whom he has neglected, dies of a disease, he will not excuse himself, but will feel it was his fault. In the case of theft or murder, fraud and malice [or unbelief], he will be even less able to justify it on the grounds of divine Providence. Rather he will recognize clearly in each crime the distinction between the justice of God and the sin of man. In future events, he will notice lesser causes. If he receives help from other people, he will recognize it as God’s blessing, but he will not therefore fail to take measures or be slow in accepting help. He will avail himself of every sort of assistance, see them as hands held out by the Lord and true instruments of divine Providence. As he cannot know the outcome of any work in which he is engaged (except that in everything the Lord will provide for his good), he will aim for what he thinks best, as far as he is capable. In every course of action, he will commit and entrust himself to God’s right way. However, his confidence in outside help will not be such that its presence represents security, and its absence poverty to make him panic. His mind will always be fixed on the Providence of God alone, and nothing that happens to him will be allowed to distract his gaze. So Joab, while he acknowledges that the result of the battle is completely in God’s hands, is not passive, but energetically carries out his duties. ‘Be strong,’ he says, ‘and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight’ (2 Sam. 10:12). This same conviction will keep us free from rashness and false confidence and will stir us to unceasing prayer. As the same time it will fill our minds with strong hope, enable us to feel secure and shout defiance to all the dangers which surround us! (John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion, edited by Tony Lane and Hilary Osborne, Baker Book House, 2004, 77-80).