Rom. 9:22-23 and Open Theism (again).

>>>This is another copy and paste from section four("Against Open Theism") from my undergrad dissertation.<<<

4.1 Rom.9:22-23
No key Open Theist work expounds their theology in light of Rom.9:22-23 which is a serious defect. God’s purposes to reveal His glory in vv.22-23 require showing wrath and mercy as the result of ‘God’s determinate choice.’ An Open Theist systematic would have to give this choice to man, so that God’s glory being magnified is determined ultimately by the man’s choices. This increases human control and diminishes God’s control. This does not fit with God’s creative-purpose as he wouldn’t actively be seeking the greatest good but seeking human-freedom above His glory. It further doesn’t exegetically fit with the sovereign God of Rom.9 or the divine-preparer of vv.22-23.

God’s purpose in the passage is to show climatically His Glory; and for this purpose to be achieved he must sovereignly elect vessels for destruction and for mercy. This challenges Open Theism on two levels, first God is shown to be the divine-preparer and so must be behind human choice. Second, if God dynamically relates to the vessels to the degree Open Theists claim, then he is seeking this relational dynamic over the greatest good, the riches of His glory. This drastically distorts the text.