Romans 9:16

So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy.

-'it is not. question of human will or effort' (Mof), 'not on human wishes or human efforts' (TCNT). Again, don't get the idea that you don't have to obey God. The stress here is that receiving God's mercy isn't dependant upon how bad you think you deserve it or how hard you are trying to earn it. You cannot 'extort' mercy from God! 'Mercy is not extorted from God by the will of man or the performance of man' (McGuiggan p. 294). You cannot 'disobey' your way into God's mercy (Romans 10:1-3), neither can you 'earn your way in', or 'merit/deserve' your way in. An obedient faith in Christ is the only way in! (Romans 5:1-2)

'All of this must have had an awful ring for the Jew who felt God was obligated to him. It must have an awful ring for the moral or religious among us today for we are prone to feel that our religiosity and moral performance merit something.. mean, it's not as though God were being kind to moral riff-raff when he is being kind to us. Right?! Hmmmm.'