It Depends on God Who Has Mercy

Who is responsible for your salvation? Is it something that you earned, or even wanted? The apostle Paul clarifies in his letter to the church at Rome that we, being dead in our sin, are incapable of even desiring reconciliation with God, so the only explanation for our being drawn to love and serve Christ is that the Lord had mercy on us. In his prior example of Jacob and Esau, it is obvious that some people receive His mercy, and others do not. Is God righteous to bless some with His compassion and not others? Paul answers that question in Romans 9:14-18 by referring to God's self-disclosure to Moses that the essence of His being is to show mercy and compassion on whoever He freely decides to bless in that way, while allowing others to continue in their desire for sin, allowing them to experience the consequence of their rebellion. This difficult and sobering truth highlights the marvel of God's grace in the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit in conjunction with our testimony of Christ in drawing unworthy sinners to faith, so that "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13).