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This passage is packed with truth about God’s sovereignty and why He freely does what He does. But it also raises hard questions about responsibility for our own hearts and His justice. It reveals a mystery that attacks our easy-to-understand God of mercy when we must acknowledge that the text of verse 18 says God "hardens whomever he wills."

I see a pattern in the following verses. "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." (Verse 15) "[H]e hardens whom he wants to harden." ( Verse 18, NIV) Compare these to Exodus 3:14 where God reveals His name, "I am who I am." God is showing us how His name proclaims His sovereignty and glory–His very essence.

There’s no question that we’re responsible for our hearts. (Psalm 95:8, Jeremiah 4:4, Proverbs 4:23) However, here in Romans 9:17-18 Paul uses the example of Pharaoh to teach us about God’s sovereignty and His purpose of election by saying that God can harden our hearts if “he wills.”

It’s tempting to sugarcoat verse 18, but we must treat it honestly and fairly. If we look at verses 15-18 and conclude that God freely and sovereignly gives mercy and compassion independent of “human will or exertion,” then we must also conclude that God sovereignly hardens hearts in accordance with His justice and the other traits of His character. There is a tension between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, but these are not incompatible. This is a mystery that's been discussed for centuries and dissected by greater minds than mine. It’s difficult to accept, but there’s a purpose.

The truth is we all are sinners by nature in need of undeserved mercy who ought to humble ourselves before the one true God who hardens and softens hearts. However, the purpose of man’s responsibility and God's sovereignty, mercy, and hardening is given in verse 17, "that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." God wants to glorify His name!

Don't let the mystery frustrate you. Solving the mystery isn’t the purpose. Rather, proclaim His name, and remember that in times of hardship and failure we can find comfort in God's mercy AND sovereignty.