Apakah Allah Tidak Adil? (Roma 9:13-15)

PA Khusus GRII Cikarang

Ucapan Rasul Paulus yang Sulit dalam Surat Roma

Selasa, 23 Juni 2020

Vik. Tommy Suryadi

Referensi utama:

  1. buku “Ucapan Paulus yang Sulit” karya Manfred T. Brauch
  2. com
  3. NIV Study Bible

Tema: Apakah Allah Tidak Adil? (Roma 9:13-15)

Untuk mengerti konteksnya, kita harus membaca Roma 9:10-16 (TB dan ESV)

Pertanyaan: apakah Doktrin Pemilihan (Election) / Predestinasi itu tidak adil?

Election (ekloge)

  • Strong: a (divine) selection.
  • HELPS Word-studies: divine selection.
  • NASEC – a (divine) selection.
  • Thayer – election, choice.

Pemilihan seperti apa?

  • Dipilih karena Allah dari sebelumnya sudah tahu bahwa orang itu pasti menjadi baik (bergantung pada respons orang itu di masa depan)? Tidak. Lihatlah hidup Yakub.
  • Dipilih bukan berdasarkan usaha manusia tetapi belas kasihan Allah (ayat 16).

Tafsiran:

  • Ellicott’s: Of him that runneth.—Atau metaphor taken from the foot-races as St. Paul may very possibly have seen them practised at Corinth. (Comp. Romans 9:16; Galatians 2:2; Galatians 5:7; Philippians 2:16.) The meaning is that the prize does not depend on human will or human effort, but on the grace of God.
  • Meyer’s NT: is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God who is merciful; it depends not on the striving and urgent endeavour of man, but on the will of the merciful God.
    • Running: a figurative designation of strenuously active endeavour, borrowed originally from the competitive races
  • Cambridge Bible: Not that human willing and running are illusions; but they are not the cause of mercy.
    • The word “runneth” belongs to St Paul’s favourite metaphor of the foot-race.
  • JFB: nor of him that runneth—maketh active effort (compare 1Co 9:24, 26; Php 2:16; 3:14). Both these are indispensable to salvation, yet salvation is owing to neither, but is purely “of God that showeth mercy.”
  • Matthew Poole: God’s election is not of Jacob’s, or of any other man’s, willing or running; i.e. it is not from his good desires or deeds, his good inclinations or actions, or from the foresight thereof; but it is of God’s mere mercy and good pleasure.
  • John Calvin: From the testimony adduced he draws this inference, that beyond all controversy our election is not to be ascribed to our diligence, nor to our striving, nor to our efforts, but that it is wholly to be referred to the counsel of God. That none of you may think that they who are elected are elected because they are deserving, or because they had in any way procured for themselves the favor of God. that it is neither by our will nor efforts, (for he has put running for striving or endeavour,) that we are counted among the elect, but that it wholly depends on the divine goodness, which of itself chooses those who neither will, nor strive, nor even think of such a thing.
  • Joel Beeke & Paul Smalley: Election is one side of God’s
    predestination of all people to either salvation by grace or damnation
    according to justice.

Pengakuan Iman Westminster 3.5-6

Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory, out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving Him thereunto; and all to the praise of His glorious grace. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath He, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore, they who are elected being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ; are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in due season; are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by His power, through faith, unto salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only.

Apakah Allah tidak adil?

  • Berdasarkan keadilan Allah, kita semua sepantasnya tidak selamat karena semua telah berdosa.
  • Namun Allah memberikan anugerah sehingga ada sekelompok orang yang selamat.
  • Orang yang diberikan anugerah itu selamat karena Tuhan Yesus Kristus yang menggantikannya (subtitusi). Kebenaran Kristus diperhitungkan kepada orang percaya dan dosa kita diperhitungkan kepada Kristus (imputasi).
  • Apakah adil jika Allah memberikan anugerah keselamatan kepada hanya sebagian orang? Allah punya hak memberikan anugerah keselamatan kepada siapapun. Tidak ada satupun manusia yang berhak menuntut Allah untuk memberikan anugerah.

Ilustrasi:

Ketika saya berjalan, saya melihat ada pengemis #1 lalu saya memberikan Rp. 5000,-. Setelah melanjutkan perjalanan, saya melihat pengemis #2 dan memberikan Rp. 2000,-. Ketika bertemu dengan pengemis #3, saya tidak memberikan apa-apa. 3 pengemis itu berkumpul dan mendiskusikan berapa uang yang saya berikan kepada masing-masing mereka. Pengemis #2 dan #3 berlari mendapatkan saya dan protes. #2 protes karena hanya mendapat Rp.2000,- dan #3 protes karena tidak mendapat apa-apa.

Berhakkah pengemis #2 dan #3 datang dan protes kepada saya? Saya akan menjawab “itu uang saya, jadi terserah saya mau memberikan atau tidak.” Begitu pula anugerah Allah. Hanya Allah yang berhak atas itu.

Catatan penting:

  • Kita boleh menuntut Allah hanya untuk hal-hal yang sudah dijanjikan Allah dalam Firman Tuhan.
  • Alkitab tidak menyebutkan alasan mengapa Allah menghendaki sebagian untuk selamat dan sebaliknya (misteri).

KESIMPULAN

  • Pemilihan bukanlah tentang keadilan tetapi tentang belas kasihan Allah. Menuntut keadilan Allah dalam bagian ini adalah hal yang absurd.
  • Jadi Allah bukan tidak adil. Ia adil dari selama-lamanya sampai selama-lamanya.
  • Pemilihan Allah memastikan keselamatan kita. Jika berdasarkan usaha kita, maka tidak ada yang selamat.
  • Pemilihan Allah mengajarkan kerendahan hati dan rasa bersyukur.
  • Pemilihan Allah memberikan kepastian dalam penginjilan.
  • Memahami bagian ini membuat kita semakin yakin akan keadilan Allah.
  • Ini membuat kita semakin rela untuk berserah kepada Allah. Kita merasa damai dan sukacita karena Allah adil.