Romans 9, Predestination & Total Depravity

Actually, Paul does not explicitly quote or refer to any OT text in his potter and clay analogy in Romans 9. There is a minority school of thought that Paul is not referencing any OT passage, he’s merely using a common illustration from nature. This, of course, is a very handy position for a Calvinist, since the OT texts that do use the potter and clay analogy actually say the opposite of what Calvinists maintain Paul is saying in Romans 9. I maintain that to hold this position denies the interpretive hermeneutic that the Bible is “one book from one mind” that Calvinists use for every other doctrine they espouse. Therefore, I proceed based on the assumption that Paul at least had in mind, if he was not consciously paraphrasing, certain OT texts when using the potter and clay analogy. The three significant OT texts that make use of the Potter/Clay imagery are Jer. 18.1-12, Isa. 29.13-16, and Isa. 45.9-13.

 

Jeremiah 18
 

Question: “Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?” The Reformed answer to that question is, “Because He’s God, He’s sovereign and does whatever He wants to, and if you don’t think that’s fair then who are you that repliest against God?”

 

Romans 9:21 – “…does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another vessel for common use?”

 

The most general theological consensus on both sides of this issue is that Paul is referencing Jeremiah 18:1-10. So then this text (Jer 18:1-10) is Paul’s answer to, “Why does He still find fault?”

 

Even a cursory reading of this passage will produce the undeniable conviction that the analogy of the potter and the clay is God (the potter) and the NATION of Israel (the clay). Jeremiah, like Paul, is speaking of nations, not individuals.

 

Verse 3,4 – “Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.”

 

Was the vessel spoiled in the hand of the potter because that’s what the potter wanted? No, the potter remaking the vessel as it seemed good to him was his RESPONSE to the vessel being spoiled. Am I reading my doctrine into this? Absolutely not. Continue reading:

 

Verse 6 through 10 - “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or a kingdom, to pull down, or to destroy it; IF that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, [THEN] I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up, or to plant it; IF it does evil in My sight by not obeying my voice, THEN I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.” (Emphases mine)

 

The potter wants to make a vessel. Sometimes he winds up making a vessel that it was not his original intention to make. He does this as a response to the clay – the original vessel was spoiled so he remade it. God has a plan for a nation – Israel. “At one moment I might speak…” This is not an immutable decree made in eternity past. It occurs in time – “at one moment” or “at another moment.” BUT, Israel is as spoiled clay – verse 15 – “My people have forgotten me, they burn incense to worthless gods and they have stumbled from their ways…” So God responds to what the nation DOES. His will is not set in immutable, unchangeable stone – it is set in clay. Could it possibly be any clearer that God is dealing with NATIONS and that the nature of His dealing is CONDITIONAL? Therefore, if one holds that Paul is referencing this text, this is what he is talking about in Romans 9 when he says, “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” Paul is saying that God’s mercy and hardening to nations is conditional! Just read Jeremiah 18! Who does He desire to show mercy to? Those who love and obey Him. Who does He desire to harden? Those who disobey and refuse to repent. So Paul’s answer to the question, “Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?” is this: “Who are you that repliest against God? God has plainly stated in Jeremiah 18 that He shows mercy to those nations that love and obey Him and He punishes those that disobey. YOU (Israel) have disobeyed, and God is just in His dealings with you, who are you to say that He isn’t?”

 

Reform Theology’s position on how Paul is using this passage in Jeremiah 18 has Paul taking the idea of the potter and the clay completely out of context. Jeremiah 18 explicitly tells us the opposite of what Reform Theology says Paul is saying in Romans 9. If Paul IS saying what Calvinists say he is, why would he use as a supportive text (Jeremiah 18) one that explicitly states the opposite? So Calvinists in effect have Paul saying,

 

“Jeremiah 18 means something different to us than it did to the original hearers. Even though Jeremiah 18 says that God’s dealings with nations are conditional upon the nation’s behavior, I, Paul, am telling you that God shapes and forms and predestines individuals by His own sovereign, immutable, monergistic choice and I’m referencing Jeremiah 18 to support it even though Jeremiah 18 is talking about nations, not individuals, and says that God deals with nations conditionally, not monergistically. Even though there are other scriptures that would be more appropriate to use in support of my point, I’m using this one that doesn’t really support what I am saying.”

 

Furthermore, notice Israel’s reaction in verse12, “But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each one of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’” Does this not bear a strange resemblance to the Calvinist doctrine of total depravity and God’s exhaustive sovereignty? And yet, in this text, God Himself is arguing with that notion. God is saying, “No, it’s not hopeless, I have defined the options and their consequences, YOU make the choice. It is my right, as the potter, to deal with you any way I please and this is the way I have sovereignly chosen.”

 

Isaiah 29

 

Verse 16: You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay; that the thing made should say of it’s maker, ‘He did not make me’; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding?’

 

This passage is the closest to Paul’s phraseology in Romans 9. For that reason, some believe this is the passage Paul had in mind, not Jeremiah 18. Notice the context. Verses 13-14: “BECAUSE this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear is a commandment of men learned by rote; therefore…the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discerning of their discerning men shall be hid.”

 

In Romans 11, Paul paraphrases verse 10 – “For the Lord has poured over you a deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, the seers.” (Is 29:10) If you continue reading, you will discover in verse 13 (given above) the reason WHY the Lord has done this. “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote…” (Is 29:13) Paul is merely restating here what Jesus had already said. Jesus, in Mathew 15:3-9, refers to exactly the same text in Isaiah to support His statement to the Pharisees, “…you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.”

 

So we see that the Lord had done certain things to Israel – he had shut the eyes of the prophets and covered the heads of the seers – BECAUSE of the lip service with no heart service of Israel. They had “invalidated the word of God for the sake of…tradition.”

 

“…therefore…the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discerning of their discerning men shall be hid.”

 

Concerning this passage in Isaiah Tom Belt says,

 

“Israel is saying that her existence and survival as a nation are the result of her own doing. “He did not make me!” Israel is also saying that her present actions are entirely hidden from the Lord. “He has no understanding!” And the Lord says, “I am the potter and you are the clay. For you to talk like this is ridiculous. I have made you, and I know what you are doing, and you will suffer the just consequences of your behavior.”

 

Isaiah’s use of this imagery reflects only a slightly different application than that of Jeremiah. Jeremiah uses the imagery to affirm that judgment and blessing are God’s response to Israel. Isaiah uses this imagery to remind Israel that they didn’t create themselves, that God is their “maker” and that he directs their present formation and defines the consequences of their actions. Jeremiah stresses the clay and its responsiveness while Isaiah stresses the Potter’s freedom. Isaiah 29 is a picture of the pot saying, “I got here by myself,” to which God replies, “No, I made you a nation and I decide what happens to you should you choose to ignore me now.” Jeremiah 18 on the other hand is a picture of the clay saying, “It’s no use! God has determined judgment for us and it’s fixed,” to which God replies, “I freely determine the options and the consequences, but you make the choice.” (http://www.gregboyd.org/gbfront/Custom/4/Documents/beltstudies.htm)

 

Isaiah 45

 

Verse 9: Woe to him who strives with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter! Does the clay say to him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?

 

First of all, notice that GOD SAYS that the earthen vessel IS STRIVING WITH THE POTTER! That explicit statement should be enough to counter the determinist idea that the pot has no power and no say in what the potter does.

 

Tom Belt again:

 

“Secondly, Isaiah here makes essentially the same point he makes in Ch. 29, to affirm to Israel that their existence and unique status as a nation lie not with themselves but with God, their “Maker” and “Creator,” something God wants them to recognize and submit to for their own benefit. The imagery of Potter/Clay is brought in NOT to demonstrate that God predetermines the salvation of people unconditionally, but rather to demonstrate the stupidity of the independent claim, by a man or a nation, that one’s existence, survival, and future begin and end with oneself. (http://www.gregboyd.org/gbfront/Custom/4/Documents/beltstudies.htm)

 

2 Timothy 2:20-21

 

This is beside the point but the same is true of individuals as well as nations. This is confirmed by Paul in 2 Tim. 2:20,21:

 

“Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

 

What does it take to be a vessel of honor? The Reformed answer is, “Only those who have been predestined and chosen before the foundation of the world to be vessels of honor will be vessels of honor.” But that’s not what this scripture says, is it? It says that ANYONE will be a vessel of honor IF HE CLEANSES HIMSELF from these things. What things? Verse 19 – “…abstain from wickedness.” Verse 22 “…flee from youthful lusts…”

 

Being a vessel of honor or dishonor is not the result of a predetermined immutable decree of God made in eternity past but is CONDITIONAL on the individual’s behavior. One does not cleanse himself because he is a vessel of honor. One is a vessel of honor because he cleanses himself – and that applies to “anyone.”

 

The Potter and the Clay - Conclusion

 

“Nothing about the Potter/Clay analogy in the OT or NT leads to the conclusion that God unconditionally predetermines the eternal destiny of individuals, which determinists understand to be the point of Paul’s use of the imagery in Rom. 9:21. Given Jeremiah and Isaiah’s use of the analogy, Paul would hardly be making such a point. Thus, in my view, Paul’s use of the Potter/Clay imagery in Rom. 9:21 is only to the purpose of disproving the Jewish claim that God is unjust in rejecting Israel, that in hardening them he was unfaithful to his covenant obligations” – Tom Belt. (http://www.gregboyd.org/gbfront/Custom/4/Documents/beltstudies.htm)

 

And THAT is what the context (context!) of Romans 9 is all about.

 

Finally, if one wants to hold that Paul has no OT text in mind, but is using the analogy as a general illustration from nature to the end that God monergistically predetermines the eternal destiny of every individual, as has been suggested by some, one still has to wonder why the Spirit of Truth infallibly inspired Paul to use the analogy in a way that is totally independent of, even contrary to, the way the Holy Spirit of Truth infallibly inspired Jeremiah and Isaiah to use the same analogy.

 

Concerning Pharaoh, God did indeed harden his heart. BUT - Pharaoh also hardened his own heart. (Exodus 8:15, 8:32, 9:34) 1 Samuel 6:6 – “Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts?” Furthermore, Pharaoh revealed his arrogance and pride by saying, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?” God’s hardening was not something that was predetermined independently of anything that Pharaoh said or did. The fact that God had to provoke or harden Pharaoh so that he would choose to resist God leads one away from the Calvinist doctrine of Total Depravity. Why would God have to provoke or harden Pharaoh if he was totally depraved and unable to submit to God? All God would have to do is just let Pharaoh alone knowing that he would choose and act according to his depraved nature - no provocation or hardening would be necessary. Indeed, if man is utterly and totally depraved from birth, and unable to come to God, as Calvinists teach, why must God harden ANYBODY? The Reformed doctrine of Total Depravity conflicts with the Supralapsarian doctrine that God has to harden individuals unto damnation. The point of Paul’s reference to Pharaoh is NOT Pharaoh’s individual, allegedly predestined reprobation, but is the LESSON that God was teaching the whole world – “that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.” (Ex 9:14). As Daniel says, “…the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and…He sets over it whomever He wishes.” This has to do with who rules what nation. None of this has to do with individual salvation and reprobation.

 

For the sake of argument, even if we grant the Calvinist notion that God sovereignly, immutably predestined Pharaoh for wrath, independently of anything Pharaoh said or did, there is the further problem, from the Calvinist perspective, of the validity of applying Pharaoh to ALL reprobated individuals. There is no scriptural or logical reason to do so, when, as we see in the next section, the weight of scripture is against that notion.

 

NEXT: Unneccesary Comparisons