Think Wink.

Moving on with the previous post, I want to see if God must make mercy available to all men in order for him to be just. There are two texts that I want to look at, Romans 9:14-16 and Romans 3:25-26.

Let us take them in reverse order.

25 [Jesus Christ,] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26).

We are moving on in regards to God’s justice and mercy, as this seems to be a big thought in my mind these past few days. In this text, we see God being unjust, or exercising non-justice, in that he was passing over past sins. What Paul means is that God is giving mercy, justifying, saving, people instead of punishing them because these people are sinners deserving to go to hell. The illustration of the injustice of God doing this is David and Bathsheeba. Picture yourself as her mother or father…no as her father. David has forced himself upon her, raped her in a way. Then when she became pregnant with a bastard child, David tried to cover it up and then when that didn’t work, killed her husband. You are her father. You have been shamed by this sexual act of David, your king, your daughter is humiliated, your son-in-law is dead. And God says he is going to forgive this man, God says he won’t punish David’s sin. You would call God unjust for that, I know that I would. This has massive implications for the righteousness that God says he is going to impute to us to save us, it is no longer a righteousness that perfectly conforms to the law. But that is another post.

So what does God do? He sends forth Christ to take upon himself the punishment for those sins passed over and thus vindicate God. God is now just to give mercy, to forgive sinners, because he has taken their sins and placed them upon Christ and they are punished on the cross in his death. His righteousness is perfect because no sin is ever left unpunished. God’s justice is left intact. Thus no one can ever say God is unjust to give mercy to anyone he choses because he still exercises his judicial wrath against their sins, only instead of the sinner going to hell and suffering for eternity, God punishes the sin on the cross in Jesus Christ. God is vindicated as just when he gives mercy.

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy (Romans 9:14-16).

Now we come to Romans 9:14-16. The objection is raised against Romans 9:11-13 that God is unjust to give mercy to Jacob and not even offer it to Jacob, God is unjust to pass over not according to works. But Paul answers with Exodus 33:19 and “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” That is Paul’s answer to God’s unfairness to offer mercy to some and not others: God can because that is what he does. God does not make a general offer and hope people take, he gives it to people. He gives it based not upon who has asked for it, but to those he has purposed according to election. It is to “whom I have mercy…whom I have compassion.” God is no none can say God is unjust for not giving mercy to all for he does not have to do so. He can give it to whomever he pleases to give it to and he is just to do so for that person’s sin has been punished in Christ.

Thus Paul concludes with Romans 9:16, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” It no longer matters if the person works for anything or desires anything. What only matters is if God extends mercy to that person. Mercy is up to God to give out as his personal gift to a sinner, a righteous man cannot receive mercy for he is not condemned.

My conclusion is this. God is perfectly just to give mercy to just one person because he has punished that person’s sin in Jesus Christ on the cross. If God were to extend mercy to just one person, no one can say they are being treated unfairly because they are being punished in hell for their sins. The person who receive the mercy will not complain because they are in heaven and not in hell. God’s justice is in no way diminished by unconditional election, particular redemption, and predestination because of the cross of Christ.

Related posts:

Edwards, Mercy, Fairness, and Predestination

The Righteousness of God pt. 1

Justice Mercy and Homework