Romans 9:21 : Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel un-to honor, and another unto dishonor? Let us not put such a strained construction on Paul's language as to make him teach that man has no freedom of will and of action, and, therefore, no personal responsibility. Paul is speaking of the use God makes of men and of nations; and whether God makes of a man or a nation a vessel unto honor or unto dishonor depends on the man or the nation. "Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work" (2 Timothy 2:20-21). Hence, as to whether a man is a vessel unto hon-or or unto dishonor, he alone is responsible. The same is true of nations, as the following lengthy quotation from Jeremiah clearly shows: "The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he was making a work on the wheels. And when the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, 0 house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith Jehovah. Behold, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it; if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if they do that which is evil in my sight, that they obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would bene-fit them. Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now everyone from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. But they say, It is in vain for we will walk after our own devices, and we will do every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart" (Jeremiah 18:1-12). Isaiah had said: "Woe unto him that striveth with his maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?" (Isaiah 45:9). Concerning the quotations from Isaiah and Jeremiah, Albert Barnes says: "The passage in Isaiah proves that God has the right of sovereign over guilty individuals; that in Jeremiah, that he has the same right over nations; thus meeting the whole case as it was in the mind of the apostle. These passages, however, assert only the right of God to do it, without affirming anything about the manner in which it is done. In fact, God bestows his favors in a mode very different from that in which a potter molds his clay. God does not create holiness by a mere act of power, but he produces it in a manner consistent with the moral agency of man; and bestows his favors not to compel men, but to incline them to be willing to receive them." God does not by any direct power make people either good or bad. God "would have all men to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4).