Free Will: The Elephant in the Room

We have all experienced that uncomfortable moment when a difficult issue—whether economic, marital, political, or social—lingers in the air, yet no one wants to address it for fear of conflict. That unspoken tension is perfectly captured by the idiom “the elephant in the room.” Within theological circles, that elephant is none other than human free will.

Romans 9 opens with Paul lamenting Israel’s rejection of the gospel (9:1–3). But how could this happen, given their extraordinary blessings and covenant promises (9:4–5)? Has the word of God failed (9:6)? Absolutely not. While God promised Abraham offspring (Genesis 12:1–3), Paul points out that not every physical descendant of Abraham is a true child of God (Genesis 21:10–12; Galatians 4:23). Thus, the word of God had not failed because “they are not all Israel who are of Israel” (Romans 9:6–7 NKJV).

The physical descendants of Ishmael were not the heirs of salvation; rather, it was “the children of the promise” (9:8). While this distinction may initially seem shocking, it perfectly aligns with the original promise (9:9). Citing Genesis 18:10 and 14, Paul reminds his readers that God promised Abraham and Sarah a specific son—Isaac—through whom the covenant would continue. But the narrative becomes more striking from here.

Isaac took Rebekah as his wife (Romans 9:10; cf. Genesis 24), and like Sarah before her, she was barren. After Isaac pleaded with the Lord, Rebekah conceived twins, Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:20–28). While they were still in the womb, before they had done anything good or bad—“that the purpose of God according to election might stand” (9:11)—God loved the younger Jacob and hated (that is, rejected) the older Esau (Romans 9:12–13).

Having introduced the reality of double predestination, Paul anticipates the objection: “Is there unrighteousness with God?” His answer is emphatic: “Certainly not!” (9:14). God possess the absolute freedom and right to show mercy on whomever He wills (9:15). By referencing Exodus 33:19—where Moses asks to see God’s glory—Paul demonstrates that this has always been God’s prerogative: “So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy” (Romans 9:16).

Paul’s point could not be clearer. The salvation of Isaac and Jacob—and not Ishmael and Esau—was in no way conditioned on free will (“not of him who wills”) or human effort (“nor of him who runs”). It rested solely on God’s sovereign grace. This is Paul’s direct confrontation with the elephant in the room, decisively addressing the question of free will.

To drive this home, Paul introduces a famous Old Testament antagonist: Pharaoh. God sent Moses to Egypt to deliver His people, yet He also hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 4:21). While the precise nature of this hardening is hotly debated, God’s purpose in it is unmistakable: “that My name may be declared in all the earth” (Romans 9:17).

That purpose continues to be fulfilled today every time the account of Exodus is proclaimed across the globe, displaying God’s power. Consequently, God retains the absolute right to show mercy and to harden, just as verse 18 declares: “Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.”

Once again, Paul anticipates human objection (9:19) and responds with the well-known analogy of the potter and the clay (9:20–21). Just as the potter has total authority over the clay to shape it as he desires—a reality I witnessed firsthand, which brought the force of this illustration home—so God has ultimate authority over mankind to accomplish His purposes.

He presses the analogy further by highlighting God’s attributes of wrath, power, longsuffering, glory, and mercy. Notice especially his word choice regarding the “vessels of wrath prepared [katērtismena, meaning “to fit, prepare, or make ready”] for destruction” and the “vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory” (9:22–23).

The ultimate destinies, therefore, of elect Jews and Gentiles (9:24) unto glory and reprobate Jews and Gentiles unto destruction, were determined by God before the foundation of the world. This sovereign decision was never conditioned on free will or human effort, but on God’s freedom to love and to hate, to show mercy and to harden.