Romans 9:19 - Who can resist His will?

9:19

Paul has been talking about the sovereignty of God, and that He alone decides who He has mercy on. Paul then anticipates the objection “Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?”. Behind this objection is the assumption that if God is sovereign then we are not responsible for our actions. The sovereignty of God and human responsibility are seen as being incompatible. Arminians essentially follow this reasoning, and Molinism seeks to solve the apparent incompatibility. The most important thing we need to realise is that the Bible sees not contradiction between the two. We are time bound creatures, limited in knowledge and understanding. God is eternal and unlimited in knowledge and understanding. We are actually not qualified to make definitive statements on the matter. This does not mean we should not think about it at all, but we should remember who we are. Above all else, what the Bible says must be the starting point, and set boundaries. If our “wisdom” leads to a conclusion that is contrary to what the Bible says, then it is our wisdom that is wrong, not the Bible.