Part III – Of the unfree will of man
GROUP 1: Read Romans 3:9-12
1) Whom did Paul mean by “all”?
- Does “all” mean literally all?
- If so, what does that say about the degree of freedom of our will and what we really can or cannot choose freely?
2) Was this only Paul’s own conclusion? Why not? [cf Ps 14:1-3 & 53:1-3; →
- What could it mean that this psalm is actually repeated?
- Hint: When do good teachers make sure to repeat something?
3) Read: Jn 3:27, Jn 6:63-66; 1Cor 2:8.14; Ro 9:29. Do these or other passages of scriptures describe the will of men as free, or rather as being bound to choose wrong?
4) in Read: Jn 8:44-45: What did Jesus identify as the cause of such bondage?
GROUP 2: Read Ps 139:14-17
1) According to this psalm, does God’s foreknowledge only foresee? Or does it make the foreseen events inevitable? [cf Eph 2:10, 1Pet 1:1-2; Jn 6:63-65]
2) Does God’s omniscience just foreknow facts? Or does “knowing” someone carry the sense of a love relationship? cf Gen 4:1
- In the case of God’s foreknowledge, could this be a love relationship “in advance”, i.e. before creation? cf Mt 7:23
3) Read again Ps 139:16. Does the writer describe God’s foreknowledge as only foreseeing events, or as a relationship of love?
GROUP 3: Read Ro 9:19-33
1) What led Paul to anticipate the objection by his readers in v19?
2) (How) did Paul answer to these objections? =>
- How does the analogy of the potter and his clay speak to this problem? Does Paul add anything to the answer given by the OT? cf Isa 45:9; Jer 18:4-6 =>
- What kind of household vessels must be separated from others, and why? cf 2Tim 2:20 =>
- What arguments does Paul derive in v25-26 and in v29 from his quotes of Hos 1:1; 2:23, Isa 10:22 and Am 4:11, respectively?
3) Read again the conclusion in vv30-31. What did Paul mean here (and throughout Romans) by “righteousness”? cf Ro 1:17 →
- Given this context, is Ro 9 dealing with predestination for salvation?
- What then do you make of the theory that Ro 9 is only talking of predestination of some individuals for a special purpose in history, unrelated to their salvation for eternal life?
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