The question about justice is a very common one today. People cry out for justice and often grieve or become angry when they find that the outcome does not fit their understanding of the situation. In many cases they look to God and even blame him for things that they see as wrong. The apostle Paul anticipated this question about God’s justice in relation to why he chooses some people and doesn’t choose others in the matter of salvation. They ask the question ‘Is God unjust?’

Paul, after answering this question with a very strong negative, gives a comprehensive explanation to this in these passages. He says that God in his sovereignty is free to extend or withhold his mercy or compassion. He also shows God is free to create new life according to his purposes and thirdly, that God is free to call a people to himself from both the Jews and the non-Jews.

After having spoken about God’s sovereignty, Paul then goes on to show that God is not unjust from the point of view of man’s responsibility. Once again there are 3 reasons for this. Firstly, because it is by faith in Jesus Christ that people have their sins forgiven and this is open to both Jews and non-Jews. Secondly, ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ and thirdly, the good news of salvation by grace through faith has been there since the very early times.

God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are like two parallel lines which meet in eternity.