The Potter's Promise: A Biblical Defense of Traditional Soteriology

by Leighton Flowers

God has cut us all off in our sin by giving us the inherence to squander as prodigals and a forbidden fruit from which to take our own rebellious bite. He has allowed us all to go our own way. Why? To show off His meticulous deterministic power by predestining most to eternal torment from before creation? By no means! That is not what Paul is shouting from his rooftop. Paul has no reason to be ashamed of his conclusions about the Father revealed in these pages of Scripture because the motive of his Father is mercy for all. We can rest assured that the Potter’s plan is to show mercy to all, because that was His original promise made to Abraham…“all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). The promise is not for a few preselected families, or some particular group elected before creation, but for every single family of the earth! The promise of our sovereignly free Potter is inclusive, not exclusive. The Potter at the wheel in Paul’s narrative is a merciful Potter; One whose calling is irrevocable (11:29) and promises sure (9:4-6). He is a Potter with a redemptive purpose, a purpose He fulfills through molding unfaithful vessels for both noble and common uses (9:21). He is a Potter who weeps over His hardened clay while longing to reconcile them from their rebellious ways (Lk. 19:42, Matt.