The Potters Promise: A Commentary on Romans 9

Book by Leighton Flowers

Précis:

Chapter 1: Changing Your Perspective of the Potter

Biblical analogies help mankind better understand God. God the Father, God as a Rock, and Shepherd comfort and educate us. The ‘Potter’ is what Flowers chooses for his book. God is the Potter, we are the clay. As a prior Calvinist, Flowers believed the analogy to mean the Potter seeks to glorify Himself through irresistibly molding vessels to either be objects for wrath or objects for mercy. God molded and used his creation anyway He sees fit which results in His goal of Self-glorification. He shares his change of perspective to a more loving and Jesus influenced theology. He states “God is most glorified not at the expense of His creation, but at the expense of Himself for the sake of His creation.” Calvinists and non-Calvinists both think God is glorious and wants his glory displayed, but disagree on how it is done. Flowers teaches that God receives glory in His redeeming of humans whose wrong choices have broken their clay. Soteriology is focused upon. The TULIP acronym of Calvinists systematic, and its keywords such as ‘election’ and ‘foreknowledge’, is introduced as points of contention for the books later chapters. Personal testimony and introductory remarks are present in this chapter. It is mentionable that the author does not bash his opponents, many who are friends and colleges. Some were also family friends and relatives. It seems that the author is trying to shed light on this subject to free Calvinists from a prison of bad doctrine. This goal would also bring joy and assurance to one’s theology and life. He shares from a passion of this subject, and this bent helps us want to continue to read.

Chapter 2 The Potter’s Choices

Election as defined from a Calvinistic viewpoint is the starting point of this chapter. This word and meaning are the targets of attack for Flowers. The average person may not even know or care about this discussion, but for a Calvinist, which the author was, it is very important. It has everything to do with one’s salvation, and it also reflects on the Potter, who is the subject, and ultimately who the discussion will point to. Did the Potter only make onechoice of ‘unconditional effectual salvation’ for particular individuals, before creation? This point of the debate would automatically mean that the uncalled ones were elected to damnation. This is the logical outcome from the TULIP acronym to which Calvinists hold dear. This chapter will begin to unpack 3 points of debate, and show that the Potter, according to Flowers theology is a God of choices in His redemptive actions. It opens with an insightful look at a Jesus parable called ‘The Wedding Feast’ of Matthew 22, which was pivotal to the author’s journey out of Calvinism and from believing in ‘divine election’. It shows God not just ‘electing’ by one choice those who would fulfill His promise blessing but in reality had at least 3 choices in His dealings with mankind. He lists them as:

Divine Choice #1: The choice of His (the king’s) servants, who were given the task of sending out the invitations.

Divine Choice #2: The choice to send the invitations first to His own country and then to all others.

Divine Choice #3: The choice to allow only those clothed in proper wedding garments to remain for the feast.

God is the king in this parable. The wedding feast is the kingdom prepared for us. The invitation is sent to Israel the king’s people, both good and bad. The messengers are the prophets and apostles. Here the theology of election is given a more biblical footing by this chapter. God chooses a nation through which His law and Word would be sent to the world (Rom.3: 1-3). Two observations should be made here: God did not choose Israel due to high moral standards or impressiveness, nor did its messengers have the highest qualities. Also, the choice to send the message to His own nation first and then the gentiles is not based on their goodness. “The servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, good and bad alike” (vs. 10). Many are called. Calvinists look at our first two choices and presume it shows God’s unconditional election principle through all of scripture. But these first two choice only deal with the many are called idea. It has nothing to do with few are chosen. Flowers says “The “few” who are “chosen” represent those who responded freely to the invitation sent by the King through His unconditionally chosen servants from His unconditionally chosen nation”. These chosen are the ones who showed up to the wedding with proper attire.

Important takeaway from this chapter: God’s divine election has to do with Him choosing a Nation, then choosing messengers to herald His invitation (message). This is distinct from His choice to save whosoever willingly responds to that invitation in faith.

Chapter 3 The Potter’s Freedom

In this chapter, sovereignty is talked about. And because Calvinists hold dear to the idea that God is in control of every minute detail of life, including every dust particle that floats around and even our besetting sins, Flowers tackles it in this chapter. Some great points of debate are given against this hard nosed view.

· A better view of sovereignty is God’s infinite and mysterious ways of accomplishing His purposes and ensuring His victory in, through, and despite the autonomously free and evil choices of creation.

· Sovereignty is not an eternal attribute of God. Divine Sovereignty is complete power and control over creation. Therefore it would have to be a temporal attribute because it deals with creation at a certain time period. Time is a earthly principle. God lives in the eternal now. I AM.

· A Calvinist would deny the eternal attribute of omnipotence, by presuming that God has no alternative to ‘meticulous deterministic rule’ over His creation. Flowers says:“ In short, the Calvinist denies God’s eternal attribute in his effort to protect the temporal one. Additionally, an argument could be made that the eternal attributes of God’s love and His holiness are likewise compromised by the well-meaning efforts of our Calvinistic brethren to protect their concept of deterministic sovereignty over the temporal world”.

We are beginning to see a better view of salvation by taking Flowers views in this chapter. Following the Scriptures lead, we simply see that man is without excuse, being called to salvation by a loving God, who provided a sacrifice for all mankind, and offers this good news to all His creation freely. We can choose – it’s our choice-not Gods.

Chapter 4 The Potter’s Promise

We will now look at a concept that is crucial in rightly understanding the biblical teachings in relation to election, predestination and salvation. This is where much of the problems with Calvinism sprang from in the author’s life. The concept unpacked in this chapter is called: Judicial Hardening: The Potter’s Sinless Use of Sinful Wills (sub chapter title). It could be referred to the doctrine of Judicial Hardening. I believe that this concept is very helpful to ones theology. It also fuels the books main thesis. This concept will also give a nice entrance into the remaining chapters in this book and its purpose: a commentary on Romans 9.

Mankind is free to make their own choices, and God will always keep His promises. This poses a problem: how will God complete His plans if man will not obey? What tools does God use to complete His purposes? It is called: Judicial Hardening: The Potter’s Sinless Use of Sinful Wills. Important to this thou are three idea given in the book. These three examples are used by Calvinists to prove that God is ‘meticulously deterministic’ in His plans and purposes. But this would leave mankind as pawns in a chess game with no free will. Lets look at the three;

1) Joseph being sold by his brothers into slavery: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Gen. 50: 20)

2) Pharaoh hardened by God to accomplish the Passover: “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.” (Ex. 9: 12)

3) The Crucifixion of Jesus: “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[ a] put him to death by nailing him to the cross… They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.” (Acts 2: 23; 4: 28).

All Christian scholars agree on the fact that at least, God allowed these sinful actions to take place for a greater plan and purpose. Here in the book we are given the idea of ‘compatibilism’. In this theory human choices are exercised voluntarily but the desires and circumstances that bring about these choices occur through divine

determinism. This idea has the notion that God is involved at the level of determining men’s evil desires in such a manner that they could not have refrained from the given moral action. Flowers disagrees here and shares a better concept.

While agreeing that God does intervene in mans affairs to complete His plans, He is not ‘deterministic’ in this, controlling every aspect, including evil intentions. God is not the author of evil. God’s involvement is purely redemptive, and He uses judicial hardening at times (see examples above) to accomplish His promises. It is good to not that anyone is hardened by God as to not thwart The Lord’s plan, is the same person that can benefit from this action. In other words, those who crucified the Lord Jesus could later receive salvation. The author says “God’s intention is only to redeem, save, and restore throughout this entire event, yet to do so he must permit evil men to fulfill their own evil desires. God did not determine the desire, He uses a sinful will to accomplish His will.

Chapter 5 A Commentary on Romans 9

Here is where the book starts the commentary. I will attempt to go verse by verse to accomplish this précis.

· In verses one and two and three, Paul models a self-sacrificing Savior. He shows the same desire in Chapter 10:1. Some Calvinists would have to believe that Paul was more merciful than God, if these hardened Jews were had no hope of salvation.

· Verse 4 picks up an earlier reference to Romans 3:1-2. “ what advantage has the Jew?” Two major points are introduced in chapters 2 and 3: 1. Salvation is intended for whoever believes, regardless of nationality (Rm. 2: 28-29). 2. There is still a blessing or benefit for being of ethnic Israel: “the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God” (Rom 3: 2, NIV). In Romans 9, Paul sets out to unpack these two points in light of the fact that so many Israelites do not believe the very words that have been entrusted to them.

· The Jews at this time felt because they were Jewish, they were the elect as a whole. But how do we explain some not believing? Did God’s promise fail? No. Not every Israelite from the seed of Abraham is chosen for the noble purpose of carrying the words of God, Paul seeks to prove that God’s promise to Abraham has not failed: “… in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 12: 3b).

· Some of Israel was chosen for ‘ignoble purpose’. They crucified Jesus. Was this fair for God to do? Is it right that some of the Jews were blinded from seeing the Messiah? But Paul will go on in next three chapters to show how this was abundantly merciful.

Romans 11:6-8 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.” That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.

· Here we see that God’s promise to Abraham has not failed. He purpose of electing and blessing Israel has not failed even though most Jews stood in opposition to the word of God at that time- and they are ‘the elect’ !

· KEY THOUGHT: “As verses 4 and 5 indicate, from them was the law, the prophets, the scriptures, the patriarchs, but has that now come to a complete halt? Is God no longer revealing his word through Israel? Has God’s word failed? Has the Potter broken his promise to Abraham?” Paul is asking, “Has God’s word failed since those carrying it are standing in opposition to it”. No.

· Israel had the ‘noble purpose’ of carrying God’s word to the earth, but these same people are not saved because of their nationality. The attitude of the day was “since we are the elect, and we have circumcision as a sign, surely we will not perish.

· Paul goes on in verses 9-12 to show how God choose Isaac, not Ishmael to be the one who fulfilled the promise. But this does not mean that God chose Ishmael to be damned , nor his grandson Esau to be cursed before birth.( He was not chosen either). It just means that Ishmael and Esau were not the chosen to fulfill the promise to bring in the messiah and His salvation.

· God’s choosing of select individuals or Nations is not based on impressiveness. He carries out His noble purposes, and gets Glory by choosing a weak vessel!

· The Potter uses spoiled clay to fulfill His Promises.

· A Calvinist views Romans 9 as literal when Paul himself meant it to be allegorical. See Gal.4.

· Verse 13. Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. This text does not show that God hated an unborn baby for no reason. Referring back to Malachi 1:2,3 this verse is emphasizing nations. What began with individual people became the course of the nation. The selection had to do with the roles these two groups play in history. The Lord shows His love for Jacob (and really all people) by using his lineage to bring the promised blessing to the whole Earth. God hated Esau in the sense that He did not make Esau’s descendants channels of revelation but rather ‘ his mountains a desolation ans appointed his inheritance for the jackels’.

· This election of Jacob and Esau is not a selection for eternal salvation or damnation!

· Romans 9:14–33

“What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

· God is not unjust in choosing individuals for his noble or ignoble purposes. His decisions are always redemptive.

It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

· ‘It’ refers to God’s promise to bring His word to pass despite Israel’s unfaithfulness.

For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

· As Pharaoh was judicially hardened, so was the already rebellious Israel.

Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

· God’s will is accomplished at times by having mercy on Israel and at times hardening them.

One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

· Why does God blame us? —A manmade argument from a rebellious heart. The clay here represents calloused Israel. Some for honor some for dishonor.

What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As he says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”

and,

“In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ ”

Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”

It is just as Isaiah said previously:

“Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.”

What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.””

· God’s word and His Glory are revealed through Mercy-ing ( a term I first encountered in the Flowers book) and hardening Israel.

· All nations are blessed and benefit from this work of God.

· We see Paul’s own commentary on these issues – He relates it to faith in the Word as securing righteousness instead of by keeping the Law. And that is God’s ultimate purpose. The Potters purpose.