Can we criticize God?

Can we criticize God? Romans 9:18-21.

Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?" But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?" Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? Romans 9:18-21 (NKJV)

Many people try to find fault with God because something about the way He acts seems wrong. Why would He make a person to destroy the person? Why does He allow sickness or disease to take the lives of good people? Though there are many hard questions we can ask, one thing we must not do is close off our minds to Him.

In our passage, Paul wants us to consider "Why God would find fault in people?" For there are too many people who God does not grant grace for their sins, holding them accountable. Each time Pharaoh refused to let the people go, God hardened His heart more. So why did He even bother to find fault in him and become upset with him? Why did God not just ignore him or wipe him out on the spot?

This consideration has to be given to all people. A person who has committed violent crimes continues to do wrong and leave in his path a string of hurt or dead individuals. The person who persecutes Christians destroys God's work and both of these seem to be likely targets for wrath. Yet judgment is not swift.

What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? Romans 9:22-24 (NKJV)

There is a big difference between God's nature in the Old Testament from God's nature in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, God commanded respect or people would be punished. There was no grace for sin unless a sincere sacrifice was made; yet, you can read that God offered people opportunity to repent. Pharaoh was one of these and when he remained steadfast against God, God hardened his heart. Though his heart was being hardened, the display of God's greatness increased and eventually erased all doubt in Pharaoh's mind that the God of Israel was real.

It was only after he chased after the Children of Israel did God wipe out Pharaoh because he would not repent. In this and other stories, we can see that God had much grace towards the people in Old Testament times. Those who would not repent were dealt with; yet, God's enemies were given chances to repent.

Now in our time, what greater display of His love could He make than to give His own Son to die an excruciating death and suffer for the sins of all mankind? Now with that grace, could it be complete if He were to threaten people into repentance by pouring wrath out on people who do bad things? If that were true today, no longer would it be grace, it would be sure terror that would draw people to God.

Besides, it is known that God can destroy; it is also known that you cannot cross God without one day facing Him in judgment. Therefore, God holds back, waiting for people to repent.

The miracles He does now are seen in transformed lives, as He reached down to clean the hearts of people who have sinned. Great testimonies are all around us and His patience has produced people who love God; people who will never turn back to their old life.

The danger in criticizing God is that we are His creation and He has demonstrated to us His power, His love, and His grace; to criticize is to be ignorant.

Paul gives the example of the potter who sits at the wheel and molds the clay in to vessels. It is known that potters chose their clay and carefully inspect it looking for impurities. To ensure a good pot, the potter meticulously grooms it till it is ready to be fashioned. If you were watching this first hand, would you grow impatient telling him to hurry up?

Then the potter prepares the wheel and his tools by first scrapping away the remains from the last pot. Every groove of the table is inspected to ensure debris from the last vessel does not enter his new work. The reality is that by taking time to do this, it will pay off when you see the finished product.

Washing His hands, positioning His stool, the potter makes sure that he will be able to concentrate without any distractions. Then reaching for the clay, he readies it to spin and when the table starts to spin, a slow pace will become a ferocious motion.

In a violent fury the table spins faster and faster as the poster starts to move His hands over the clay. Sides appear, a bottom is formed and with great anticipation the potter carefully raises the height of the walls until it reaches the desired size.

Slowly the wheel decreases speed and the potter continues to look on for imperfections. At this point it is never too late to smash it back into a lump and start over and this is the grace that God has towards us. While we are formable, it is never too late to start over. However, once formed and the hardening process begins, there is no turning back.

The potter then takes the pot carefully to the kiln to allow fire to harden it and even at this point ruin could occur. The clay could discolor in drying, and steam or air bubbles could cause it to crack. The pot faces sure destruction as it braves the fire.

Once cooled, the pot is once again inspected. This is judgment day for the pot and now the potter looks at the work to see if it meets His standards. At this point can we criticize the potter should he throw it into the heap of broken pots? Could we be His critic?

There is no way for us to be critics of the potter. First, we are not potters and even if we were, the end product is not ours to say, it belongs to the potter who made it.

These same actions are those of God working in our lives to make us into His prized vessel. All of creation belongs to Him and should He choose to throw out an impure pot, we are no one to criticize, for we are not God.

Though this may seem harsh to us, consider that He did not hurry to our ruin. He takes much time, removing imperfections and giving us every opportunity to be that perfect pot. To us and to all no matter what their sin is, it is never too late to start over with God.