The Question Presented

THE QUESTION PRESENTED
What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! (Romans 9:14).

Notice the question. Is there any injustice with God? It is the justice and the righteousness of God which is being questioned here. This question arises from the previous verses. Is God just in choosing Isaac and not Ishmael? Is God just in choosing to love Jacob and hate Esau? Is God just in choosing Israel to be His chosen people and in not choosing another of the nations of the world? Is God just in choosing some to be saved and not choosing others? A similar question will be raised in Romans 9:19 when Paul asks the question, “If God has determined our actions, then how can He find fault in us and judge us?”

Before we look at the answer to these questions, I want you to notice something. These two objections which Paul brings up would never have arisen if we were not meant to understand that the choice of election rests with God. If Paul had been teaching that God merely looks down the corridors of time to see what men will choose and then elects them on the basis of their own decision, then there would be no basis for the question of whether God is just in choosing certain men. The very fact that God's justice in election is questioned in this passage points to the fact that election originates and is based only in God. Paul's doctrine of election raises this objection. I would suggest that any view concerning election which does not give rise to this question is an improper view of election. If we come to a proper view of election, then this objection concerning God's justice will always arise.

How do we answer the question? Is God unjust? Paul retorts, "May it never be! Absolutely not!" But if God is absolutely just and righteous, then why is He able to choose some and not choose others? Why isn't this unrighteous? The answer is found in the following verses.