Day Twenty-Three: Romans 8-11

This will be a longer post, probably 3 times as long as usual.  I was tempted merely to share something from Romans 8, which is easily one of the most moving chapters in the entire Bible.  But since Romans 9 is in today’s reading, I want to model what it’s like for me to interact with a difficult text.  If you didn’t struggle with it, feel free to skim or skip the reading.  But I wanted to give a resource to those, who like me, don’t understand.

The basic argument of Romans 9-11 is that God has not been unfaithful to his covenant people Israel.  He develops this with several arguments: 

First, people merely descended from Abraham are not necessarily and automatically part of God’s covenant people: “for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people.” (9.6) There is a pattern of God choosing some, out of sheer mercy, to be his people.  To his people he has always been faithful. This is the argument of Romans 9.

Second, it is not God who has been unfaithful, it is Israel.  They have been religious but have failed to accept God’s way. If they would have responded in faith, then they would have been saved: “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  This is the argument of Romans 10.

Third, God has temporarily allowed Israel to be hardened in order to bring people from every tribe, tongue and nation into God’s people.  This is a grand expansion of the people of God.  In fact, Paul seems to anticipate a mass conversion of Jewish people before the end: “Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles come to Christ.” This is the argument of Romans 11.

The heart of our difficulty with this section is that in Romans 9, Paul says this: “God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen” (9.18).  He then anticipates the objection, “Why does God blame people for not responding?  Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”  (9.19)

The frustrating thing is that he doesn’t really answer the question that he has raised.  He simply says, “Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God?  Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’” (9.20)  In other words, God is God, you’re not.  He is free to take and make and break us as he chooses.  

It is not unjust for God to damn everyone.  It is his right as Creator.  He doesn’t have to give anyone an explanation or an opportunity to be saved.  He doesn’t owe us anything. He is God.  This should make us tremble more than we do.

And yet, the reason why I struggle with this text is not because it doesn’t fit my conception of justice, but that it doesn’t fit my conception of God’s goodness.  Somehow it doesn’t seem to fit the pattern I see in Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22.  It doesn’t seem to fit the supreme act of self-definition that I see by Jesus Christ on the cross.  It simply doesn’t fit.  And so I struggle.  I talk to God. I tell him, I don’t understand.

I suppose I don’t begrudge Tolkien for making Orcs and Balrogs and Wargs that are predestined for destruction, created mainly as foils, darkness to make the contrast with light all the brighter.  But it is very different when the Orcs may be your friends, classmates, or family members.  In the end, you want to believe that they reject God because they hardened their own hearts, not because they were hardened by God.

There are a few alternative interpretations.  For example, maybe Paul is specifically talking about Israel in Romans 9, and how God chooses to harden them, which we will learn in Romans 11 is temporary.  In other words, this was a special occurrence in the case of Israel (and Pharaoh in 9.17).  God doesn’t usually harden people’s hearts, but he does reserve the right to harden some when it serves his larger redemptive purposes.  Hardening Pharaoh’s heart led to the salvation of his people in Exodus; hardening Israel’s hearts led to the salvation of many, many Gentiles.  This interpretation helps me a little, simply because it better fits my schema.  It is not airtight. 

At the end of the day, this passage which I struggle to understand does not set aside other clear commands and statements of Scripture.  

It is not given to us so that we would despair of not being chosen. Scripture clearly calls us to entrust our souls to Christ, if we do, we are God’s children (Romans 8.15-17).  

It is not given to us so that we will not share our faith, because “God knows who’s going to be saved anyway.”  That is a disobedient response.  (Romans 10.9-15)

In other words, cling to the clear things you understand and continue to struggle and trust with what you don’t.  For me, this is what I wrote in my journal today: “I’ve been trying to find a way not to believe in predestination, but Romans 9 won’t let me.  So I give in, admit that God is God, that he is good, and though this is beyond my understanding, I submit to it.”

Lord, when your ways and plans seem hidden to me, I run to the cross, where you are clearly revealed.  I cling to the picture of you revealed in Jesus Christ.  I trust you with what I don’t understand. Amen.