So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
Parallel translations
- WEB So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.
- KJV So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
- NKJV So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
- NASB So then, it does not depend on the person who wants it nor the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.
- NLT So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Salvation depends not on human willing or striving but on God who shows mercy. The decisive factor in our standing before God is his grace, not our effort.
Overview
Paul draws the conclusion from v. 15: the outcome of election rests not on the one who wills or runs but on God who has mercy. Human desire and exertion cannot generate God's saving favor; it flows from his merciful initiative. This humbles all human pride and directs the believer's confidence entirely to God's grace, the same grace supremely displayed in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Eph 2:8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,
- Phil 2:13For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- Matt 11:25–26At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
- Eph 2:4–5But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- 1 Pet 2:9–10But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Titus 3:3–5For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
- Rom 9:11Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,
- 1 Cor 1:26–31Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
- Luke 10:21At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.
- Jas 1:18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
- Isa 65:1“I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. To a nation that did not call My name, I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
- 2 Th 2:13–14But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
- John 1:12–13But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—
- John 3:8The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
- Ps 110:3Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
- Gen 27:1–4When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied.
- Gen 27:9–14Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so that I can make them into a tasty dish for your father—the kind he loves.
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 9:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.
How traditions read this
Is God's choice unconditional, or grounded in foreseen faith?
God's grace is prevenient and necessary, yet human freedom genuinely cooperates; God predestines to glory while rejecting both Pelagianism and double predestination.
Key points · Grace precedes and enables the will; free cooperation; the matter is held as mystery.
Augustine; Thomas Aquinas · Catechism §§600, 1037; Council of Trent, Session 6
Salvation is by grace alone and election is to salvation — but Lutherans refuse to teach election to damnation. The cause of salvation is grace; the cause of loss is human resistance.
Key points · Monergism in salvation; no double predestination; election preached for comfort, not speculation.
Formula of Concord, Art. XI
God elects according to foreknowledge — choosing those he foresees will believe. Romans 9 concerns God's freedom in history and the inclusion of the Gentiles.
Key points · Grace is resistible; "whoever believes" (Rom 10:13); election is corporate and "in Christ."
Jacobus Arminius; John Wesley · The Five Articles of the Remonstrance (1610)
Election is unconditional — "it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy." God sovereignly chooses whom to save, for his glory.
Key points · God's mercy is free and particular; the potter has rights over the clay (9:21); salvation is all of grace.
Augustine; John Calvin · Westminster Confession ch. 3; Canons of Dort
Each view is stated as that tradition would put it, with representative sources. Limitless Word presents them side by side and endorses none — see the methodology.