Romans Chapter 9 Vs. 16

God's Sovereign Choice

So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. Rom 9:16

Many will seek to do the things of God, but many will do these things for the wrong reasons. Just being a good person and doing things their way according to how they believe, no matter what they do, will not be shown mercy. We live in a society today that this has become the norm. Many have created their own God instead of obeying God’s Word. This will be a fatal mistake as many in that day will cry out “Lord, Lord” but the Lord will tell them, “Depart, I never knew you.”

It is God and He alone who shows mercy. It is His gracious choice of certain people unto eternal life. Salvation is not initiated by human choice and even faith is a gift of God. Salvation is never merited by human effort.

1Pet. 2:9-10 “But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:” “Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

We read also in Titus:

Tit. 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

The Apostle Paul then presented his third illustration, the Egyptian Pharaoh of the Exodus. To him God said through Moses, I raised you up (i.e., brought you onto the scene of history) to display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth (cf. Exo. 9:16). God’s power (cf. Rom. 9:22) was demonstrated as He freed the Israelites from under Pharaoh’s hand. And other nations heard about it and were awed (Exo. 15:14-16; Jos. 2:10-11; 9:9; 1Sam. 4:8).