{"id":6216,"date":"2006-04-18T17:41:00","date_gmt":"2006-04-18T17:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/simplethoughtsfromscripture.wordpress.com\/2006\/04\/18\/romans-914-21-the-hard-and-soft-responsible-love-of-god"},"modified":"2006-04-18T17:41:00","modified_gmt":"2006-04-18T17:41:00","slug":"romans-914-21-the-hard-and-soft-responsible-love-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2006\/04\/18\/romans-914-21-the-hard-and-soft-responsible-love-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hard and Soft Responsible Love of God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The Hard and Soft Responsible Love of God<\/h2>\n

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God\u2019s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, \u201cI will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.\u201d So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, \u201cFor this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.\u201d So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, \u201cWhy does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?\u201d But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, \u201cWhy have you made me like this?\u201d Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? <\/span><\/p>\n

(Romans 9:14-21 ESV)<\/span><\/p>\n

God shows mery to whomever He wants. His sovereignty shows itself in His mercy.<\/p>\n

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. <\/span><\/p>\n

(Romans 9:16 ESV)<\/span><\/p>\n

WILLS -> No one can decide on their own to receive God\u2019s mercy. Mercy is a product of God\u2019s will to love<\/a>, not man\u2019s will. One could say this is God\u2019s will of command<\/span>.<\/p>\n

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, \u201cFor this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

(Romans 9:17 ESV)<\/span><\/p>\n

RUNS-> No one can run the world. No one can act alone. God\u2019s mercy shows itself in His will of action<\/span>. God acts to put people in power. God acts in this way so He can show His power and so He can show His name. (What is that name? \u2013 The name is of a God of all people \u2013 a God who loves.)<\/p>\n

So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. <\/span><\/p>\n

(Romans 9:18 ESV)<\/span><\/p>\n

Does Romans 9:18 mean that God has mercy on some and on others He hardens? Yes.<\/p>\n

You will say to me then, \u201cWhy does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

(Romans 9:19 ESV)<\/span><\/p>\n

But why? It is because some wills of action by God are based on our response to Him.<\/p>\n

ILLUSTRATION:<\/p>\n

MERCY \u2014> WILLS | WILLS \u2014> HARDENS<\/p>\n

COOPERATION | OPPOSITION<\/p>\n

Mercy is God\u2019s will of action in the realm of cooperation. God shows His mercy to those in an anticipation of cooperation. When God shows mercy to His children to do His will, it is an act of \u201csoft\u201d responsible love. God is being gentle with someone because He knows there will be cooperation.<\/p>\n

Hardness is God\u2019s will of action in the realm of opposition. When God hardens His children to do His will, it is an act of \u201chard\u201d or \u201ctough\u201d responsible love. God is pressing harder to shape someone because He knows there will be opposition.<\/p>\n

Of course, we may question this kind of work from God. You will say to me then, \u201cWhy does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Why does God act like this to me? But if God\u2019s power is an act of His responsible love, then we should be cooperative, not in opposition to God\u2019s will in our lives.<\/p>\n

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, \u201cWhy have you made me like this?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

(Romans 9:20 ESV)<\/span><\/p>\n

It is as if God works with different types of clay. God\u2019s children are the different types of clay. What kind of lump of clay am I? Am I a lump of clay that God can mold with soft hands? Or does God have to soften me? Am I so hard that God has to soften me? Does He have to be tough in His responsible love to make me learn? Does He have to press and push, so that I will soften up to His will?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hard and Soft Responsible Love of God What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God\u2019s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, \u201cI will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.\u201d So then it depends not on human will or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2886,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,6],"tags":[903,1260,10],"class_list":["post-6216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-romans","category-simple-thoughts","tag-god","tag-love","tag-simple-thoughts"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Hard and Soft Responsible Love of God<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Hard and Soft Responsible Love of God is a simple thought reflection on the hard and soft sides of God's love.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2006\/04\/18\/romans-914-21-the-hard-and-soft-responsible-love-of-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Hard and Soft Responsible Love of God\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Hard and Soft Responsible Love of God is a simple thought reflection on the hard and soft sides of God's love.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2006\/04\/18\/romans-914-21-the-hard-and-soft-responsible-love-of-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jim Erwin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/revjimerwin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-04-18T17:41:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Erwin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@revjimerwin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Erwin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2006\/04\/18\/romans-914-21-the-hard-and-soft-responsible-love-of-god\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2006\/04\/18\/romans-914-21-the-hard-and-soft-responsible-love-of-god\/\",\"name\":\"The Hard and Soft Responsible Love of God\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-04-18T17:41:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2006-04-18T17:41:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#\/schema\/person\/d60794d59235a0279dec26398d994dcb\"},\"description\":\"The Hard and Soft Responsible Love of God is a simple thought reflection on the hard and soft sides of God's love.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2006\/04\/18\/romans-914-21-the-hard-and-soft-responsible-love-of-god\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2006\/04\/18\/romans-914-21-the-hard-and-soft-responsible-love-of-god\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2006\/04\/18\/romans-914-21-the-hard-and-soft-responsible-love-of-god\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Hard and Soft Responsible Love of God\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/\",\"name\":\"Jim Erwin\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#\/schema\/person\/d60794d59235a0279dec26398d994dcb\",\"name\":\"Jim Erwin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/70772a6e533e4bcbd0ac0e0af2d62ff1?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/70772a6e533e4bcbd0ac0e0af2d62ff1?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jim Erwin\"},\"description\":\"My name is Jim Erwin. 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