Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Romans 9:18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 9:18 So then, He has mercy on whom He wills (chooses), and He hardens [the heart of] whom He wills. |
Bible Question (short): Why does God still find fault? |
Question (full): Freedom of the Will is from what I have read and heard a great book - I agree with your synopsys - We do what we desire most at the moment. I sin because I desire to sin more than I desire Christ. And when I don't sin, I do so because I desire Christ more than I desire sin. I totally agree that God must intervene for a person to be saved - my question was more along the lines of those who are not saved - those who are hardened: "What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; " (Romans 11:7, NASB95) I agree that God is unable to sin - but my question I guess is more about us as evangelicals protecting God from the problem of evil when, at least is seems that in Romans 9, Paul protects God in a different way - not by saying God let's evil men do what they do and so making them guilty - but that God is working, hardening them, making sure of their damnation - using them for His own Glory - and he is not guilty, but they are guilty for God can do anything He wants to with his clay - God has skill and knowlege that we do not have and so God does things we cannot understand. I am not advocating that God is guilty for our sins - but - that based on Paul's argument, that question should come up - Why does God still find fault? I guess it was more an observation - that most of the teaching in the church about God's role in hardening would never cause someone to ask why God still finds fault with us - rather we never ask that because we understand we did it, and God didn't make us do anything - but is that Biblical? If it is Biblical then why did Paul give us the question? |