Unconditional Election (Part 3)

Many consider the doctrine of election to be the most controversial subject in the  Bible. No topic has sparked more theological discussions and debates and spawned more opposing factions and denominations. In the face of all the clashing opinions and emotions surrounding the concept of election, we need to direct our minds and our hearts back to the pages of Scripture and simply submit to what it undeniably and unavoidably says. And there is no better place to go to than Romans 9 where Paul gave the most extensive instruction on election found anywhere in the Bible. In Romans 9-11, Paul was defending the character of God and he based his defense on, of all things, the doctrine of election. In 9:6-29, Paul showed how unconditional election reveals God in all His glory. In other words, it puts on display all of God’s glorious attributes, especially His sovereignty, His justice, His mercy, His wrath, His power, and His faithfulness. In vv. 20-29, Paul responded to the obvious question in v. 19 with a series of rhetorical questions of his own and used one of the most well-known illustrations from the Old Testament to show that God has the right to do anything He wants and we have no right to question anything He does.