Romans 9:14-18, God's Mercy is Given at His Discretion (v. 15)

The Explanation (v. 15–18)

Salvation by mercy, not justice (v. 15–16)

God’s mercy is given at His discretion (v. 15)

The "for" at the beginning of v. 15 indicates Paul is now supporting his "May it never be!" statement, and he begins to do so with a reference to God’s revelation to Moses. The order of the phrasing (in the Greek "Moses" actually comes before "for") seems to draw more emphasis to the person of Moses (Cranfield, 2:471). In Paul’s vindication of the righteous of God, it is important to keep in mind the Jewish background from which he makes his argument. This will be especially important as we work through the later verses of this passage. Paul is not giving a modern day rationalistic proof in which he seeks to cover every aspect of the issue, rather there are certain assumptions about the nature of God that he treats as being already understood (such as His sovereignty or the authority of His revelation). Paul here refers to Moses as a person with special insights into the character of God (Exodus 33:11). Not only that, but the present tense of the verb emphasizes that the authority of this revelation still holds true today.[1]

The quotation that Paul selects comes from Exodus 33:19. On the surface the statements seem incongruous. Paul is defending the righteousness of God yet uses a quotation that says nothing of righteousness, but rather mercy. The context of the verse helps illuminate the matter. In Exodus 32 the nation of Israel grows impatient while Moses is meeting with the Lord on Mt. Sinai and proceeds to construct and worship the golden calf. In chapter 33 Moses intercedes for the people, and v. 19 is God’s response to Moses’ request in v. 18, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" The full response of the Lord in v. 19 was, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."

Paul saw these words as an appropriate answer to the suggestion that there is unrighteousness with God because he understood them as affirming the freedom of God’s mercy as part of His very nature. Paul is essentially saying, “If you want to say God is unrighteous in electing some but not all, well here is what God actually says about Himself, that He is free to give mercy to whom he chooses.” Paul is laying the foundation of any good argument: he is addressing the terms (Lloyd-Jones, 155).

God’s unconditional election is not a question of righteousness, but rather a question of mercy.[2] Paul has already spent eight chapters up to this point in the epistle laying out the desperate state of humanity and their need for salvation that lies completely outside themselves. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" and "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 3:23–24; 6:23 emphasis added). If God were to act justly in salvation, all of humanity would be condemned. For God not to elect a person to salvation before they are even born is to give them the just treatment they deserve, and for God to show favor to a person, any person, is purely an act of grace; which Paul points out He is free to distribute as He pleases.

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[1] λεγει as a Perfective Present tense stresses the applicability of scripture to the present situation, emphasizing that the results of a past action are still continuing (Wallace, 532-33).

[2] The term for mercy, ἐλεέω, is used four times within this five verse span.