Here’s my claim: in Romans 9, Paul teaches the (Calvinist) doctrine of unconditional election—the teaching that God chooses to save some and not others, not based on anything in them (whether faith or fruit, present or foreseen), but based solely on his sovereign will and purpose. Evidence for this view comes in two steps: first, Paul addresses two of the same objections still raised against Calvinistic doctrine; and second, he doesn’t answer the objections the way an Arminian would.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said if no one ever accuses you of preaching antinomianism, then you probably aren’t preaching justification the way Paul did. Why not? Because Paul anticipates this very objection in Romans 6:1: “What shall we say then—shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” So if people make the same accusation against our preaching, it’s a good indication we’re preaching the gospel like Paul did.
The same could be said of the doctrine of election in Romans 9. Twice in this chapter, Paul raises what appear to be natural objections against his teaching on election (Rom. 9:14, 19). I say “natural” because these are the same objections people still make when election is taught a certain way. You can read them in books and hear them in sermons. In fact, before Romans 8 helped me to understand it more clearly, I leveled these same two objections against the doctrine of unconditional election.
So here’s my claim: in Romans 9, Paul teaches the (Calvinist) doctrine of unconditional election—the teaching that God chooses to save some and not others, not based on anything in them (whether faith or fruit, present or foreseen), but based solely on his sovereign will and purpose. Evidence for this view comes in two steps: first, Paul addresses two of the same objections still raised against Calvinistic doctrine; and second, he doesn’t answer the objections the way an Arminian would.
So what are the objections?
1. Unconditional Election Makes God Unjust
We see this objection in verse 14. Paul has just been discussing two Old Testament case studies in election. First, God chose Isaac over Ishmael (Rom. 9:6–9); second, he chose Jacob over Esau (vv. 10–13). Paul stresses that Jacob was chosen and loved over Esau unconditionally—“though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God’s purpose of election might continue” (v. 11).
To which the natural human response is, “But that’s not fair! To claim God chooses and rejects people without any regard to their character, whether good or bad, would make God unjust!”
Which is exactly why Paul raises that objection in verse 14: “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part?” As with Lloyd-Jones’s quip about antinomianism, the mere fact that Paul predicts this objection indicates that he’s teaching unconditional election. After all, how often does the Arminian teaching of conditional election based on foreseen faith provoke such a response?
But though this argument favors unconditional election, it doesn’t settle the matter. After all, Arminians also deny God is unjust in election. So we need to listen to Paul’s explanation for why this charge is “by no means” true before we declare victory for either side. Perhaps the objector has misunderstood Paul. If so, we should expect some clarification.
