Romans 9:19-24 // Predestination and Theodicy

Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (Romans 9:19-24)

The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. (Proverbs 16:4)

So here I am, muddling through the parts of the Bible that most strongly seem to support predestination.  It is not because of Romans that I am skeptical of predestination, but because of the rest of the Bible. I am also familiar with another text that I have used to teach predestination, which I have pasted above. So why don't I believe in predestination? Well, I sort of do. I believe in a kind of predestination, but not a kind where God actively chooses some to be lost. Maybe nobody teaches that, I hope they don't. But that is the distinct impression I have got from people and it is also the impression that these texts give. I want to show that the latter of these impressions is untrue.

So the fact that God hardens some people, that could make us feel like we can blame God for our sin and justify ourselves. Paul is not saying this is valid, he is only anticipating this objection to his teachings. Paul meets it interestingly, he breaks from logic for the first time in this book, and goes to dogma, though it is logical dogma. Paul says we should not question God, and hammers that point home. This is very good advice. If God is really all-powerful, all-loving and all-wise, it is just dumb to question him, since we are none of these things. So Paul doesn't address predestination here, he basically says we shouldn't question God on the subject.

So Paul could have replied, God is not unjust because the wicked chose to be wicked before God hardened them and God simply knew this would be the case beforehand, he did not choose it for them.

But sinners who are going to be lost because they will always refuse to be converted are least damaging to God if they are really obviously his enemies. The man who uses profanities and gets drunk every day is less of a threat to God's reputation than the charismatic pastor who teaches lies or is a hypocrite. Likewise sin operating to the full will fill us with a hatred of sin that we would not have without seeing the consequences of it. Without evil consequences of divorce we would not understand why God says he hates divorce. Without evil consequences of oppression we would simply call it good business practice. Well, maybe we do call it that. There are many sins that our society does not see as sinful because the consequences are hidden or compensated by wealth, technology, government and probably other things as well.

God does not choose some to be lost. God does not force anyone to choose him or to reject him. God chooses to save everyone and some choose to avail themselves of this salvation. God is love.

God will pay the wicked back for the wrong they have done to us. God will not let the evil of the wicked be in vain, he will make it an illustration that will help eradicate sin from the universe forever. God's ways are just.