Romans 9:15

Romans 9:15 says, For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  Paul was speaking to the unbelieving Jews in these verses, and those we verses have just looked at.  Just as God chose Isaac the younger over Esau the elder, so the gospel was now going to the Gentiles, the younger, as opposed to the Jews, the elder.  This was based not on God suddenly deciding to work through another group of people, but on the hardness of heart of the Jews, God's chosen people who were to bring His message to the world.  In this verse, Paul cited the example of Moses and the Pharoah.  God stated His right to show mercy on any He chose to show mercy on and withhold that mercy from those He chose to.  Now, once more, we could make this an arbitrary election or rejection, but I believe as always it is based on faith.  God was working through Moses to deliver the Jews from Pharoah because Moses had faith in God's calling.  When God works through us today, it is because of our faith in Him and not the nature of our birth.  Verse sixteen adds, So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.  I believe Paul was stressing the fact that we cannot come to God by our own ability, but only through faith in Christ.  We cannot will ourselves into the family of God.  We can only respond to God in faith.  The key to salvation is always to freely choose to put our faith in Christ.  God calls everyone, but gives everyone the ability to reject His call if they so choose.  Verse seventeen continues, For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.  I believe that this means that God allowed Pharaoh to become powerful, not that He made him powerful.  When we read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, I believe that simply means that God allowed him to choose to stand firm in defiance of God.  I do not believe that we can say that God calls some to salvation and that He causes others to be incapable of coming to salvation.  I know there are some who believe otherwise. They believe our eternal destiny is determined even before we are born, but I will always believe that it is our free will to choose. Verse eighteen concludes, Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.  In keeping with what I have just stated, I believe this means that God has mercy on those who come to Him through faith and rejects all others.  The hardening of the heart is due to people rejecting God, not God rejecting people. We are told that God stands at the door and knocks, and that He will come in to any who open the door.  There would be no reason for God to knock at our heart's door if our relationship to Him were already determined.