14 What shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with God? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” 16 So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, IN ORDER TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND IN ORDER THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. Romans 9:14-21 (LSB) Read verses 19-21 on the site.
The more I deal with those who “resent” the doctrines we hold to here at Possessing the Treasure, such as the doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone, the doctrine of Regeneration, and the doctrine of Election, among many others, the more I have prayed for God to show me why it is that so many reject what is clearly presented in His Word….
The answer to those prayers seems to be that those who have a problem with Paul’s presentation of the Sovereignty of God in Ephesians 1 & 2 and Romans 9, for example, have that issue because they are somehow centered in their pride while looking at the Sovereignty of God as some sort of insult to it. It is as if they are demanding “their rights,” and see the Sovereignty of God as something that violates those rights. The Apostle Paul did not have this issue and neither should we.