Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 7
In Romans 9, David says early Christians before Augustine did not read Paul as “doing away with free will,” and he emphasizes God’s love, justice, and foreknowledge; how does holding those three together change the way you read God’s sovereignty in Romans 9 without sliding into either arbitrariness or self-salvation?
Another way to ask: David says early Christians held together God’s love, justice, and foreknowledge in Romans 9, without denying free will. How does keeping those three together change how you understand God’s control without making God unfair or making salvation something we earn?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Holding love, justice, and foreknowledge together portrays God’s sovereignty as purposeful and morally consistent—never arbitrary or harsh—while still affirming human responsibility and real choices. It avoids self-salvation because God remains “in charge of everything,” yet avoids fatalism because God’s actions relate to foreknown human responses.
- David says that before Augustine, “no one read Romans 9 as doing away with free will,” though explanations varied.
- He insists God “can deal with us however he chooses in his sovereignty,” but “He’s never going to do it outside of his love…God is love.”
- He adds moral guardrails: “God is never going to do anything unjust…not based on anything arbitrary or harsh.”
- The unique divine factor is foreknowledge: “we don’t have his foreknowledge…he knows how Pharaoh is going to turn out…he knows how you are going to turn out.”
- He contrasts this with “perseverance of the saints,” saying early Christians taught we don’t know we’ll persevere, but can have “confident expectation if we’re walking with Christ.”