Romans 9:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

NIV: It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

NASB: So then, it does not depend on the person who wants it nor the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.

CSB: So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy.

NLT: So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

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

NKJV: So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

Paul is making the case that God deciding who will receive His favor, or His mercy—and who will not—is not unjust. In the previous verse, Paul quoted God's words to Moses: that He would show mercy and compassion on whomever He chose to, or not, accordingly only to His own will. Another way of putting it might be that God retains the right to give His mercy to whomever He wants. He's not obliged to do anything for anyone, so God choosing some for mercy and not others cannot be unfair in the negative sense that word most often means. In fact, the most "fair" thing to do would be to withhold mercy from all people; mercy is a benevolent form of "unfair" treatment.

Now Paul makes it clear that receiving God's mercy, or not, has nothing to do with human will or work. God is not being unfair, in choosing only some for mercy. No person can ever earn His mercy, so nobody has more of a claim to deserve it than any other. God owes His mercy to absolutely, positively no one. By definition, "mercy" is something given to those who do not deserve it or have not earned it. If it's earned or deserved, it's not an issue of grace or mercy, an idea Paul frequently uses in this letter (Romans 4:2–5; 11:6).

In the following verse, Paul will offer one additional Old Testament example, about a time God chose to particularly withhold mercy for His own purposes.

Romans 9:1–18 finds Paul heartbroken over the rejection of Christ by his people the Jews. They have been given so much as God's chosen people, and Paul insists that God will keep His promises to Israel. Not everyone born to Israel is truly Israel, though, Paul writes. Specific examples are given to show that God does, in fact, choose those who will receive His blessings. The following passage tackles whether this choice, by God, is fair.

Romans 9 begins with Paul describing his anguish for his people Israel in their rejection of Christ. After describing all the privileges God has given to the Jewish people as a nation, Paul insists that God will keep those promises. However, not every person born to Israel belongs to Israel, he writes. God reserves the right to show mercy to some and not others, as Paul demonstrates from Scripture. God is like a potter who creates some vessels for destruction and others for glory. God has called out His people from both the Gentiles and the Jews to faith in Christ, the stumbling stone.

Romans 8 ended with Paul's grand declaration that nothing can separate those who are in Christ Jesus from the love of God. Romans 9 turns a sharp corner and finds Paul heartbroken that his people, the Jews, have rejected Christ. He insists that God will keep His promises to Israel, but that not everyone born to Israel is truly Israel. God will show mercy to whomever He wishes, calling out His people from both the Jews and the Gentiles to faith in Christ. Romans 10 will find Paul discussing how Jewish people can be saved.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.