[b]defiant_revolutionary wrote:[/b] [quote]Furthermore there would really be no righteous or wicked, because no one had a choice in the matter[/quote] Your first point was about having the Law when He decided whether we were going to obey it or disobey it in the first place. You're absolutely right; God could have chosen to forgo this life altogether and just dump some people in hell and save others. But He didn't. He decided that He is made glorious through humanity being created in a state of depravity after the Fall thus emphasizing His own righteousness, and then His power and grace being manifesting through Him choosing to save some from eternal punishment. The question could honestly be asked, regardless of your stance on free will. I could simply rephrase it: "Why did God give us rules if He already knows whether we'll obey them or not?" That is, of course, unless you are contesting God's omniscience. ;) Anyways, back to the bit I quoted above. Paul actually addressed this very issue in Romans 9. Romans 9:19 ESV You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" Here, the Romans are asking why God's saying that they're sinners since His will is obviously irresistible, and the entire passage before verse 19 is emphasizing that He truly "has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills" (vs 18). Most people can't stomach Paul's answer to this dilemma, as it's asking the questioner to realize their place. Romans 9:20-24 ESV But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-- even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? And finally, as to your accusation of injustice on God's part, the Romans had a similar accusation. Paul talked about how God said that He had hated Esau and loved Jacob before they had even done anything. He had simply created one for destruction and one for honor. Paul continues the thought in verses 14 and 15 (ESV), "What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.'"