Well, listen our emails to us.

So Romans 9, the chapter Romans 9 has been mentioned almost 300 times in emails.

Lots of questions about that chapter.

Today a question about why Calvinists so often speak of election of believers as unconditional,

but the reprobation of the non-elect as conditional.

It's a question today from Henry, dear Pastor John, hello.

In Romans 9, 10-13, Paul says God loved Jacob and hated Esau before either had done anything

good or bad.

I've heard many Calvinists say election has nothing to do with works alone good or bad

present or foreseen.

That's true and glorious.

However, many of those same Calvinists say that when God predestines people to hell, he

ensures that they are deserving a judgment due to their past sins.

This sounds contradictory to me.

If election is unconditional, why is partition here so often presented as a conditional response?

Let's put the text, the key text in front of us and make sure we understand the question

in context.

Here's what Paul wrote in Romans 9, 11-13, though Jacob and Esau were not yet born and

had done nothing either good or bad, really important, really important.

They had done nothing good or bad.

In order that, Paul is explaining why he chooses the way he does, in order that God's purpose

of election might continue not because of works, but because of, and you might expect him

...