Pastor John, I know you are headed to the airport and for Dallas for a short trip to meet with

some of our partners in Texas, but before you head off, we have a question for you on Romans 9.

In fact, we have 150 emails now about Romans 9 by far the most asked about chapter in the

Bible. In our inbox, here's one of them, a recent email from a listener named Aaron.

Hello, Pastor John. I was reading Romans 9 today and came across what is known to be a very hard

to swallow passage and doctrine. While I believe God is sovereign, I can't help but take into account

and pause what if statement at the beginning of verse 22 is the language here being used as we

would use it today, almost implying that God can't, but doesn't necessarily mean he does it.

Is that a feasible interpretation? How do you explain this conjunction and its implications

on our interpretations of Romans 9.22? Well, perhaps just to encourage those who struggle with the

message of Romans 9, let me give a little biography, autobiography, I mean. When I was teaching

Bible and Greek at Bethel College, 1974 to 1980, virtually every class brought up the problems of

the sovereignty of God, vis-à-vis the will of man. If God is as sovereign-piper, as you say,

how can man be accountable for his sin? And eventually, in these discussions, I would go to Romans

9 as part of my answer. And there would be great disputes over how to handle Romans 9, especially

1 to 23. So in spring of 1979, I asked for a sabbatical. I had been there about six years

it was time. And from May of 79 through January of 80, as I studied, all I did was think and pray

over Romans 9, day and night, every day. I had to settle for myself. This is the point of what I'm

saying. This was a great struggle for me. I feel like Romans 9 is a watershed of how you view God.

I had to settle for myself whether this chapter meant what it seemed to mean, what I was saying it

meant, or did it have some other explanation. And out of that, nine months or so came the book,

the justification of God, an exegetical and theological study of Romans 9, 1 to 23. So I have

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