Is Predestination Fair?

September 11, 2026 by: Andy Naselli

Undeservedly Kind

A common objection to God’s sovereign election is that it’s unfair for God to choose to save only some humans not based on any human condition but solely on God’s sovereign good pleasure.

Paul directly answers this objection in Romans 9:14–18. He asks, “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means.” So it’s wrong to infer that God’s sovereign election is unjust.

And then to prove that there’s no injustice on God’s part, Paul argues, “For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’” Paul quotes Exodus 33 to prove that God can have mercy on whomever he wants.

And what does Paul infer from that? He concludes, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.”

Predestination

Predestination

Andrew David Naselli

In this addition to the Short Studies in Systematic Theology series, Andrew David Naselli carefully examines the doctrine of predestination and encourages believers to respond in worship.

So what’s decisive in whether an individual receives mercy is not human will or exertion. What is decisive is God, who has mercy. And then as further proof that there’s no injustice on God’s part, Paul argues, “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose, I’ve raised you up, that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’” Paul quotes Exodus 9 to prove that God can harden whomever he wants in order to accomplish his purposes.

And what does Paul infer about God from all that? He concludes, “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.” So, is it unfair for election to depend solely on God’s sovereign good pleasure? No. God is fair when he sovereignly has mercy on whomever he wants. That’s what Romans 9 directly teaches.

Elsewhere, Jesus indirectly answers this question about fairness with a story. His parable of the laborers in the vineyard in Matthew 20 illustrates that God is always fair and that sometimes he’s undeservedly kind.

He tells a story about a landowner who hired people to work in the vineyard. Early in the morning, the landowner hired laborers who agreed to work all day for a denarius (that’s a day’s wage), and then he hired more workers around 9:00 a.m., noon, 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m. And then around 6:00 p.m., the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last up to the first.”

God is fair when he sovereignly has mercy on whomever he wants.

And guess what he decided to pay the laborers that he hired at 5:00 p.m.? A whole denarius. Wow! An entire day’s wage for just an hour of work. And then he paid a denarius to the laborers hired at 3:00 p.m., noon, and 9:00 a.m. And the men who worked all day thought they would receive more, but they grumbled when they received only a denarius.

And the landowner said to one of the grumblers, “Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. I’m acting fairly. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose, I elect, to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Do you begrudge my generosity?”

This story illustrates an important principle: As long as God gives each person what he deserves, he is not unfair when he sovereignly chooses to be undeservedly kind to some.

Andrew David Naselli is the author of Predestination: An Introduction.

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