Is God Fair?

We are in no position to judge God, but He is our judge and we have no right to question His fairness, for what's fair is what He decrees as fair by its very nature and definition. One recalls the parable of the Prodigal Son whereby the elder brother is dispirited at the grace shown the younger one and thinks it's unfair. He should've celebrated the fact that he had always been the son and never suffered estrangement.

Too many Christians think that it is unfair that criminals who make deathbed conversions can get saved when they lived their whole life for Christ. They should've noted that they get to live for Christ, not had to live for Him. It is a privilege to live for Christ and one should be thankful for all the opportunities and be stewards of them. He has become the recipient of greater reward, as God rewards according to our deeds whether we are in Christ a short time or long time. We don't have to be Christians, we get to be Christians! Many who are first shall be last, according to Christ, and the last, first. The classic example of deathbed conversion is the famed thief or malefactor on the cross on the right side of Christ and to whom He said, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise."

In the final analysis, life may not always be fair because some people's portion is in this life and others have to learn the hard way--but God will make it all fair in the end at the judgment and He is just in all His ways. And so, who's to say that inequity defines unfairness? God is the moral center of the universe, thank God! 

Jacob was paranoid: "All these things are against me" (Gen. 42:36). Job had his time of being appalled at his circumstances and sudden disaster: "My worst fears have come upon me." But Paul said of his sufferings: "But none of these things move me" (Acts 20:24). We must never give up the faith that "If God can be for us, who can be against us?" They must come because the same hammer breaks the glass, forges the steal, the same sun melts the butter, hardens the clay--we either become bitter or better through the crucible of suffering or the school of hard knocks because God never promised us a bed of roses. Hardship or Reality 101 is part of the divine curriculum.

But don't break faith or lose heart--God loves us as His children and discipline means we belong to Him ("Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep thy Word," says Psalm 119:67). God's grace is not only necessary but sufficient for us ("My grace is sufficient for thee," says 2 Cor. 9:8). Believers have always inquired, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" [There are no good people!] Let's see why the Bible says, "...Can anyone say to Him, 'What hast Thou done?'" (Dan. 4:35).

Life is unfair, just look at what happened to Jesus. But don't jump to the conclusion that God is ergo unfair. It doesn't necessarily follow, as I intend to show. The question should not be, "Is God fair?" but are you fair? Who do you think you are? Do you trust yourself and your standards enough to judge the whole earth? God is fair is a given and a no-brainer to any person of faith--but we have a struggle when the trial, tribulation, suffering, adversity or temptation happens to us personally, don't we? Like when Job's comforters reprimanded him that he had preached to others, and now trouble comes to him and he can't take it (cf. Job 4:3ff "See how you have instructed many...but now trouble comes to you and you are discouraged....").

God sees the big picture and we only see our own little world! Who has the advantage? To get specific, is it fair that Jesus had to die? Even the objective onlooker realizes he suffered a great injustice at the hand of Rome, yet God is fair and decreed that this should this; He does not tolerate sin but remains holy, and untouched by sin, We tend to put God in a box, like saying, "I like to think of God as a ...." Luther said to Erasmus: "Your thoughts of God are too human." There is always more to God than we can apprehend! "The finite cannot grasp the infinite", the Greeks said.

Job was told, "Canst thou by searching find out God?" There is no "higher law" that God must obey: He is a law unto Himself--autonomous! Only He can set aside His laws. God wants to see if we will trust Him through thick and thin when the chips are down. Let the chips fall where they may, God is in control! He does what is right, He never does what is wrong, because all wrongdoing is a sin.

"How can God be just, and the Justifier?" The Bible says God's ways are unfathomable and inscrutable and no one can discern His ways, "as the heavens are higher than the earth" (cf. Isaiah 55:9; Rom. 11:33). ("How unsearchable his judgments and His paths beyond tracing out.") We sometimes cry out for justice, but do we really want to get what we deserve? Or do we want mercy and grace? Some will receive justice from God, and others mercy and grace (mercy is not getting what you deserve--judgment; grace is getting what you don't deserve--eternal life), but no one will receive injustice.

Grace and mercy are a form of non-justice, but not injustice--there is a nuance of meaning that you must realize here. Karma is disproved by Christ's sufferings--He certainly didn't deserve what He got at the hand of Rome. God tempers His justice with mercy and only give the evil-doer his due or just dessert, and not beyond what strict justice would demand--God is not cruel. Remember, God is not obligated to be merciful, just because He was merciful to one and we have no claim on His mercy and cannot demand it, but can only accept it as a gift by grace through faith in Christ.

People instinctively think that when something goes wrong that God is unfair. They don't think they could possibly be reaping what they have sown. Even Job didn't accuse God of wrong-doing and accepted evil at the hand of God as well as a blessing. What is fair is the question, not is God fair. For Abraham said, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" We don't judge God, he judges us! We don't have some standard of right and wrong and see if God measures up!

What God does is fair by definition because God is fair, period, no if's, and's, or but's. Today they say that art is what an artist says is art! It is similar with God. We say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder too. But God said all creation was good after He created it and we are not to object to His standards. R. C. Sproul says, "God is therefore never arbitrary, whimsical, or capricious, He always does what is right." Amen! Amen! He never acts out of character but is always true to Himself.

Because there is no immediate retribution, we tend to think we have gotten away with something--But God is only giving us space to repent and judge He will--either in Christ or at the Great White Throne Judgment at the Last Day. We want revenge sometimes but must not take the law into our own hands but trust God and His using the government to get the job done. "Vengeance is mine, saith the LORD." No one gets away with anything. What seems like God being unfair is often just suffering the consequences for our own foolishness or sin! 

Either they are disciplined by God as believers and their sins are judged on the cross, or they pay for their own sins in the final judgment for all eternity. The point is this: Something is fair because God says so--to have some other standard other than this self-attesting one would be to appeal to some standard higher than God. For instance, if I said, common sense should be the standard, because that's just common sense. (This is circular reasoning when we appeal to the source we are using as proof itself.)

Now in Psalm 73 Asaph bemoans the prosperity of the wicked--a common complaint against God. But Psalm 17:14 says that some people's reward is in this life ("...whose portion is in this life") and the rule still applies that they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7). We tend to think that if someone gets something, that we also deserve it. If God saves one person, for instance, He is not obligated to save another--He could have elected to save no one! Remember and keep faith in the goodness of God and the profundity or incomprehensibility of God--we cannot figure Him out and never will!

In the economy of God, it pays to trust God and it is more blessed to give than to receive, but also the laws of reaping what you sow and the promised rewards to people who are industrious and work hard are in effect despite being a believer or not. God blesses some people in all ways, but all in some ways, because of common grace given to all--"God is good to all, and His compassion is over all creation" (Psa. 145:9). God doesn't know how to be anything but good. The proof of the pudding is in the eating--"Taste and see that the Lord is good," says Psalm 34:8. God is good all the time! (Neh. 1:7).  Soli Deo Gloria! 

Why Does God Punish Us On The Day Of Judgment?

 “For the LORD is righteous, and he loves justice “ (cf. Psalm 11:7).

“”.. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne,” (cf. Psalm 97:2).

Are you referring to Judgment Day? “it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment (cf. Heb. 9:27; Deut. 32:35). “God is angry at the wicked every day,” (cf. Psalm 7:11; Deut. 32:35) But for our sake, He is not willing that any should perish and is patient (cf. 2 Pet. 3:9). God’s patience with man will end and He is bound to judge the world in justice because He is holy and sin offends Him. The only ones condemned are those who reject Christ as their Lord and Savior. They need not enter into judgment for this reason, but they must repent.

God is unjust to no one and renders to every sinner no more than strict justice demands. He gives sinners their due desserts. But He tempers His justice with mercy (cf. Hab. 3:2) and doesn’t punish as much as people really deserve (cf. Psalm 103:10). There remains therefore a day of judgment the Judge of all the earth may do what is right and avenge the evil done. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (cf. Gen. 18:25).

No one will get away with sin; they either accept Christ’s forgiveness by believing and repenting or they suffer themselves. God is not obligated to save anyone or it would be justice,, not mercy. God’s mercy is available to everyone who believes and God turns away no sinners. In sum, can we believe in justice without a Judge?  Soli Deo Gloria!

What About Hell? Well, What About It?

"... Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" (Gen. 18:25, ESV).
"For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men" (Lam. 3:33, KJV). 

NB:  JUSTICE DELAYED IS NOT JUSTICE DENIED!  

I heard an anecdote of a child asking the parent what the word heck was, and was told that it was where you go when you don't believe in Gosh!  Many people feel so uncomfortable about hell that they avoid the subject and it isn't even part of their vocabulary. In fact, this is the doctrine that probably gives Christianity a bad rap and people become antagonistic.  The word is often avoided in polite company and euphemisms are used, just as for death itself.  We're all guilty of not taking it seriously, even trivializing it or correcting someone's diction, even when offended.  We don't want to admit publically it exists because people object--a way of showing tact and sensitivity.  But the truth can be offensive.  Even the heathen will bid someone go there when they want to curse them, take revenge, or get even.  Sometimes it seems that at some time everyone wishes there was a hell, even if they don't believe in God--just for a place for their enemies to go. You may even hear an atheist tell you to go there when angry!

Now, God is also uncomfortable about hell; yes, He created it for the devil and his fallen angels and it's the "other place" where people realize who they wanted to be for eternity apart from God; however, God had no choice (what's He to do?) because He is holy and just and cannot tolerate evil but must judge it.  If He overlooked it without retribution, He wouldn't be just!  There is no other place to go as an alternative final abode; either one is with God or separated for Him forever--no middle ground of neutrality or no-man's land. 

The punishment and this is not a place to learn a lesson or to be reformed like a prison, but a place of comeuppance--being dealt their due desserts.  But God is just and people are not punished beyond what strict justice mandates and the more one knew to do right, the more accountable they are, that of whom much is given, much is required also.  There is final equity in hell for the just punishment of the lost or condemned. People in hell will not be able to repent, it's not a place of people changing their minds concerning their lives and lack of faith in God, for they will still insist that they are right and God wrong and accuse Him, instead of owning up to their own failings and evils.  You would think people would realize their failures, but they will not and only be hardened and committed in their animosity toward God. Repentance is the gift of God and a matter of grace, but there's no grace in hell; as it says in Dante's Inferno, "All ye who enter here abandon all hope!"

If we eliminate hell from our doctrine, Christianity would be a lot more palatable to the infidel and some even think that that is the weakness of the faith--this teaching. They may want to be apologetic for God, protecting His reputation, but hell is real whether we preach it or not; Jesus mentioned it twice as much as heaven and the same word for everlasting was used to describe it--it's not annihilation or the grave as cults lead one to believe.  Hell is a necessary doctrine because it must be  If God is just and didn't punish sin it would mean He has weakness or is nonchalant or not holy.  But God is almighty and holy and can do something about what offends Him.  Sin isn't just something that God can overlook like we can, because God is allergic to sin and good and evil are antithetical to God and they cannot co-exist.

The torture of hell might be that this is the place where there are no rules and people get what they always wanted, but the real hell of it is that God isn't' there and they will realize that God's presence is what gives us joy in life and the ability to live life to the fullest.  Just like it wasn't good for man to be alone and that's why God created Eve, hell could be a place of ultimate solitariness where one must contemplate forever what he did and have no one to blame but himself.  They will have to live with their depraved self without any redeeming value or blessings.  It's like having everything to live on and nothing to live for; in that case, even rich people are bored and find no purpose in life until they find true meaning in God.

Thus hell is the eternal monument to man's dignity where ultimate justice is meted out accordingly and in due measure, no more nor any less than required.  It's a salute to man's so-called free will and the choices he made and that all choices have ultimate consequences!  Time to pay the piper!  Time for the recompense of the wicked getting what they deserve.  If there was no hell we would lose an important anchor in preaching and society to the reality of sin's judgment.

We don't repent to get so-called fire insurance or a ticket out of hell, but we must realize there are consequences to our choices and decisions which God will judge.  Christians shall not come into judgment (cf. John 5:24; Rom. 8:1), but the wicked will be judged (cf. Rom. 2:6; Heb. 9:27) according to their works and the books opened to show that they fall short of the perfect requirements for heaven's entree in spite of their do-goodism.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Just And Justifer

"For the LORD is righteous, and he loves justice, / Those who do what is right will see his face" (Psalm 11:7, NLT). 
 "... Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne" (Psa. 97:2, NLT).
"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (cf. Gen. 18:25).

What qualifies God to be our judge?  Remember, God is our Judge; we are not His judge! He judges everyone according to what they've done; even the righteous according to their deeds, not their faith.  God is holy as His chief attribute that regulates all others and is without sin. Because He is just, He is obliged to judge all sin and evil.   Also, Jesus lived the sin-free life as what to expect of us, while the Ten Commandments delineated God's demands and expectations.  We know what to judge by as a measuring rod when we behold the perfect God-man, Jesus the righteous One.  God is a God of justice and sin and evil are incompatible with His nature just like matter and anti-matter cannot co-exist.  He wouldn't be holy if He let sin slide and let us get away with it.

But He did do something that allows a way out of exercising judgment on everyone.  By declaring all guilty of sin in Adam, He has the right to impute righteousness on those who are in Christ.  It's the principle of substitution and representation.  Adam was Christ's prototype and represents us, while Christ is the last example and our substitution that sets us free from Adam's sin.  God is just and must not compromise His perfect holiness and violate justice so He had to find a way to become both Just and Justifier.  He did this by sending His Son to be our replacement or substitute. His wrath is satisfied in Christ who died on our behalf.

God is not only offended by sin, But He's also angry at it and will take vengeance on it in due time.  God cannot even behold or look upon evil!  The only way to appease His wrath is by expiation or propitiation through the blood of Christ.  His demands were fully met and we can have this reconciliation on account of the blood of Jesus.  Note that God doesn't make us righteous but declares us righteous.  Just like God, we ought to be indignant at the evil in the world and for God to avenge in His time.

Now God is unjust to no one!  The exercise of grace and mercy are forms of non-justice but are not injustice.  The reconciled believer has been imputed with righteousness and is considered as if he'd never sinned in God's eyes--as righteous, not sinful.  But Paul says in Gal. 2:17 that the believer is, in reality, both sinner and righteous at the same time.  We never stop sinning but grow in our acknowledgment and holiness as we get to know our Lord.  The believer who thinks he can reach a point of maturity without sin is self-deceived!  This is where confession comes into play.  We must continually confess our known sin to remain in fellowship with God the Father and God the Son, as well as our believers in Christ ("forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us").

We must not reckon that justice delayed is justice denied, for God tarries to exercise His judgment on mankind and in His time the day of grace will cease.  It may appear that the sinner is getting away with cursing God and sin but his day will come and someday he'll give an account of himself.  God's goodness and delay are meant to give us time and space to repent and to bring us to realize our sin by conviction.

By definition, justice is rendering to someone their due desserts!  Giving them what they deserve, good or bad!  But Christians receive both mercy (not getting what we do deserve) and grace (getting what we don't deserve).  What we must realize is that God was not under any obligation of justice to be merciful to anyone--He could've condemned everyone all the same and remain holy and just.  However, to demonstrate His love, He found a way to be both just and justifier and to save some from the consequences of the coming wrath.

If God had to save anyone, it would be justice, not mercy and grace.  We can rejoice that God tempers His justice with mercy (cf. Hab. 3:2), knowing that He was under no obligation to save us, but loves us even while we were His enemies and still in our sin.  Rest assured that no one will ever be punished beyond that which strict justice demands they deserve, even in hell, if they are not covered by the blood of Jesus! 

Don't ask God for justice for your case, but mercy and grace!  Don't just say, "All I want is justice!"  Because you may get it and that is not what you want!  But note that vengeance belongs to the Lord and is not our prerogative or duty, we must have faith that God's will is for our best and He will determine what justice is and mete it out to His standards.  CAN WE BELIEVE IN JUSTICE WITHOUT A JUDGE?   In summation: We should become so convicted that we are great sinners and that God is a great Savior that we plead "guilty as charged":  "... God be merciful to me, the sinner!" (cf Luke 18:13, NASB). and concur with John Bunyan, in his book, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Christian And Governmental Law...

"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof" (cf. Lev. 25:10, KJV).
"When Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law" (Rom 2:14, ESV). 
"As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice ["taken away my right" per ESV]..." (Job 27:2, NIV).    "[T]o deny people their rights..." (Lam. 3:35, NIV).   ALL ITALICS MINE.   Pertaining to governance issues.  

Nowhere in the New Testament is the Christian told to obey the Law of Moses directly! We do not become somewhat Jewish to be good Christians!  The law is for the lawbreaker!  The Law was meant to show that we cannot keep it, not as a way of salvation ("For by the law is the knowledge of sin").  This doesn't mean that we are lawless or that the Law doesn't apply at all, though.  There is the timeless moral law of Moses or the permanent code of conduct, which is, not the ceremonial nor the governmental, judicial code or law.  What was moral then is still valid today and this is universal, absolute truth that doesn't ever change!  We all know "natural law" (cf. Rom. 2:15).

We can be assured that the Bible does stand for law and order and the rule of law (cf. Habs. 1:4).  Only God is a law unto Himself and can take the law into His own hands!   God condemns the perversion and mockery of justice and especially when the poor aren't given their rights in court.  In fact, the very concept of human rights is God-given and are conferred from God, not the government, which only secures them.  The only reason we have rights and animals don't is that we are in the image of God and have dignity!  We are no "animals in heat, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain"; God has a higher purpose for us!  Animals should be treated humanely and are stewardship, but have no, zilch legal status, standing, or rights in court.   Facetiously, we might say, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" (from Animal Farm by George Orwell).

Jesus can relate to us when our rights are denied because He was given a pathetic mockery of Hebrew justice by the Sanhedrin and of Roman justice under Pilate and tried under kangaroo courts.  But Jesus didn't insist on His rights nor even defend Himself, but left His destiny to the Father's will, purpose, and design.  We must recognize that only God is truly a law unto Himself and is autonomous!

We are all subject to a Higher Power and the powers that be, ordained of God.  But that doesn't mean the law is always fair or right, in fact, sometimes it's civil disobedience is the duty because we must obey God rather than man!  The apostles rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer for the sake of the Name.  NB:  Augustine who said that an unjust law is no law at all and Isaiah pronounced woes on those who decree unjust laws.

The Bible is our standard, not our traditions or customs.  The Constitution can be wrong, though it's the highest law in the land, God's laws supersede it.  That's why the Bible is considered part of Common Law in England according to the jurist, judge, and member of Parliament Sir William Blackstone.  The Bible doesn't endorse any system of government (i.e., monarchy, democracy, republic, etc.), but it does insist on the rule of law--no one is above or exempt from the law!  There have been tyrants in history who had delusions that they could lead in their own right and not "under God."  Even King John was forced to sign the Magna Charta in 1215 at Runnymede.  Pastor Samuel Rutherford wrote Lex Rex in 1644 to make them realize that even the king had to obey the law! NB:  The chief purposes of government are to keep evil at bay, maintain law and order, and rendering justice.

This is an important concept because Lord Acton's adage that "power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely" is always a temptation.  The danger in freedom has always been authoritarianism and William Penn foresaw this as he said that "if we are not governed by God we will be ruled by tyrants."  Two specific examples are obvious:  King Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, who said "I am the state," and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, who said, "Me and God." What they were implying was that what was good for them was good for the state!  Plutarch mused "Who shall govern the governor?"  We must always have a check and balance system to keep authoritarianism, despotism, and a subsequent loss of our civil rights from taking place.  Totalitarian regimes have no such system.

We break God's laws and the Bible commands us to obey the government (cf. Matt. 22:21; Rom. 13:1) or we live at our peril: but they actually break us; we are really breaking God's heart, not His laws!   A good Christian obeys the law of the land, even when in authority, but if the Bible is in conflict, he must resist.  We are not here to sanitize the society but to preserve and add flavor to it!

That means we cannot outlaw every sin and must realize that something can be legal and sin or the other way around, it can be illegal and not a sin.  We must get over the notion that when the government legalizes something that we shall suffer for their sin, for the Bible makes it clear that the soul that sins is the soul that shall die--even the children do not suffer for the sins of their parents.     Soli Deo Gloria! 

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

PERTINENT VERSES TO PONDER:

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good..." (Gen. 50:20, ESV).  
"But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks [gets their attention] to them in their affliction" (Job 36:15, NIV). 

"God left him, to try him, that he might know all that is in his heart," (cf. 2 Chon. 32:31) 
"[F]or he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men" (Lam. 3:33, ESV).
"I create the light and make the darkness.  I send good times and bad times..." (Isa. 45:7, NLT).
"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).  
"... Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10, NIV).  

"He speaks to them in their affliction." (cf. Job 36:15, NIV).
"Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver, I have tried you in the furnace of affliction" (Isa. 48:10,  ESV).  
"... 'We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God'..." (Acts 14:22, NIV). 
"... But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering" Romans 8:17, NLT).
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28, NIV).  
"Who best can suffer, best can do."  --John Milton

Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote the book, Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?  Note:  There are many quick answers:  There are no good people!  In the book Robinson Crusoe Friday asks why evil isn't destroyed:  "What about you?" Robinson replies.  And so why do good things happen to bad people?  What is good and what is bad then, if there is no God?   When we call something good or evil, we are referring to some standard or Supreme Good, which was seen as God by Plato.  Ponder not about debating good but wondering where the idea of goodness came from, if not God?

In short, God is love, but we must see the big picture of what God is doing for His glory and also not forget that God is one of justice, wrath, vengeance, vindication, and judgment.  God will surely fulfill all His attributes.   Also, justice delayed is not justice denied!  We see no justice, but God lives in eternity and sees the big picture.  When we say that it's not fair for innocent people to suffer, how we do know of their innocence?  And if God were to eliminate all evil in the world, what about the evil in us--Jesus said that only God is good!  We must have faith that God is working for the greater good and short-run evil will result in long-range good.  Likewise, we must praise God for the opportunity to do good when we see evil.  Instead of asking where God is, we must realize where the devil is!

The point is that we only see good in light of evil and evil is not God's fault!  God didn't create evil, but only the possibility of evil, which was necessitated because of free will!  This would make no sense if no one turned evil and rebelled against God; therefore, evil exists and must be reckoned with and judged.  Remember, Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and they come as a package: we can distinguish them and separate them, but evil exists only as a parasite on good.  If mankind had no choice of good or evil, there would be no love or hate in the world; we'd be robots, puppets, automatons, or animals with no free will or opportunity to know and love God.  Don't break faith because we all have to pay our dues.  God simply couldn't create a world of free people who have a chance to obey Him and then have none disobey or do evil!

We talk of injustice, intolerance, inequity, et cetera.  How could there be injustice without justice?  If there were no good, there could exist no evil!  Mankind was created good and went terribly bad, even Satan was once good!  But, fortunately, God is able to turn evil into good and His glory and wisdom will be shown in the end.  Most people just object to evil when it happens to them, but don't realize they are part of the problem too if they don't know God.  The point is that God sends good in envelopes of affliction to make us grow in our faith.  In the final analysis, we ought to celebrate the opportunity to see good in light of evil and to turn evil into good and to have the opportunity to do good when evil seems so certain and unavoidable to everyone to some degree--no one goes through life trouble-free.

Jesus learned obedience by what He suffered (cf Heb. 5:8) and didn't exempt Himself from suffering, nor guarantee we would lead a life in a bed of roses or in a rose garden.  "Jesus was honest enough to tell us we'd have tribulations" and that life was a test of our faith.  Would you believe in a Savior who wasn't sympathetic to suffering and had experienced none first-hand?  But God is the great Sufferer and when we break God's laws, we break God's heart.  When bad things happen, people act differently: some become bitter, some better!

Therefore, it is by adversity in life that we build character and learn the lessons of life to become mature.  And the existence of Satan, evil, sin, death, and adversity is not an argument against God, but for Him.  The ultimate question should not be:  "If there is a God why is there evil?" but the opposite:  "If there is no God, why is there so much good?" God is able to make "the wrath of man to praise Him" (cf. Psa. 76:10).

Faith is a choice and we must decide between good and evil. If faith were easy, it wouldn't be worth anything!  There is no easy answer to the existence of suffering, but it's just as likely to produce sincere faith as to destroy insincere faith; in a way, it's a litmus test!   There is no smoking gun evidence for or against God, so it takes faith both ways.  It isn't a matter of faith versus reason, but faith versus faith--which set of presuppositions you want to accept;  Faith in man and science, or God and His Word as the revelation.  Most people don't have enough faith to be atheists!

We must decide to believe and be willing to do God's will for our eyes to be opened to the truth.  God will authenticate Himself to us if we are willing.  God will not force someone to believe against their will, though He can make them willing (a paradox).  Faith can only be valid and of value, if it's difficult to attain!  That's because God is all-powerful or omnipotent and can overpower someone's will and make the unwilling willing--no one can reject His will (cf. Jer. 20:7; Rom. 9:19).

In sum, upon salvation, we enroll in the school of suffering, which is a given, and we must celebrate it as a red badge of courage that gives us braggadocio as it were and the right to say, "Been there, done that!"--this is Reality 101 and no one escapes it! God owes us no explanations:  "He is too deep to explain Himself, too kind to be cruel, and too wise to make a mistake!"  We answer to God not the other way around!  We are not to second-guess God: John Wycliffe tenet says, "All things come to pass of necessity."  We ought not get a martyr's complex, thinking the more we suffer, the more holy we are, but everyone is called to go through the school of hard knocks at times.

God knows that in our affliction, we will seek Him (cf. Hosea 5:15) and we should know that He gets our attention by affliction (cf. Job 36:15).   "People are born for trouble as sure as the spark flies upward" (cf. Job 5:7, NLT).  In the final analysis, one must acknowledge the fact that there are no easy answers as God didn't even explain Himself to Job.  God is too deep to explain Himself, too kind to be cruel, and to wise to be wrong or mistaken.  No religion, philosophy, or faith has the complete answer!  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Concept Of Biblical Fairness

"I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten...You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied"  (Joel 2:25,26).  [E.g., God making it up to Israel and attempting to even the score.]

"... No one can stay His hand or say to Him, 'What hast thou done?'" (Dan. 4:35).  

There are three possibilities for defining fairness:  the people's subjective opinion, the dictionary, or God Himself.  Who or what defines it becomes the highest standard and is in effect deified. There are no laboratory conditions to test the concept: all things being equal is a hard test and there are multiple variables and givens that can't be measured, but may be relative--only God sees and knows the whole story.

There is no doctrine of fairness in the Bible, but corresponding and related words might be goodness, righteousness, and justice.  The Doctrine of Fairness was a network TV policy for political ads in the 70s.  Actually the word "fair" is not biblical  (it should be pointed out that our very concept of fair play came from God Himself and is often cited as one proof that He exists!) and we all have our own idea of what it means (usually a concept we picked up at age 7) and often the first complaint in life we have is that something isn't fair.

God defines what fairness is (He defines what everything is because He is autonomous or a law unto Himself subject to no higher laws), not us. The word is highly subjective and everyone has their own idea of what it means like the concept of beauty being in the eye of the beholder.  The Bible doesn't mention the word but comes close in referring to being right, just, and good. Note that God is not righteous, good, nor just because He obeys some outside law, but He is intrinsically that way by nature.  We must be careful not to call good evil, or evil good (Isa. 5:20).

If God is required to be gracious, it is no longer grace--a form of nonjustice (passing by of justice for whatever reason and offering grace or mercy), which is not injustice (doing something evil or wrong).  Case in point:  If a parent disciplines a more mature son, and withholds discipline or punishment from the younger one (having a reason and not being arbitrary), is the parent unfair?  Or does he have the right to reserve to punish or not to punish?  "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and harden whom I will harden."

 God cannot be accused of evil, though He can use vessels of dishonor to accomplish His ultimate will.   God can be accused of no wrongdoing (N.B. recall that "in all these things Job did not accuse God of wrongdoing").  God is holy and never does what is wrong, but always what is right.  Abraham said, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"  He is our judge and not we his.  Looking the word up in the dictionary, it says that fair means showing no favoritism or prejudice and also playing according to the rules.

God is certainly "no respecter of persons."  By virtue of these definitions, God is not unfair in saving us, nor in making Jesus our Substitute or Vicar, who did it voluntarily and joyfully.  We have no claim on His favor, mercy, or grace.  God didn't save the angels who sinned and didn't have to save us to maintain His deity.  When we say that God is unfair we are holding Him up to our standards of right and wrong and making ourselves the moral center of the universe.  If God does something, it is fair; it is not that he does something because it is fair.  God always acts according to His nature and cannot be God in contradiction to Himself.  "Who can say to God, 'What hast thou done?'" (Dan. 4:35).

One important concept we all misinterpret is that we believe fairness equals being equitable--parents are accused of not treating their children the same.  Is the parent unfair because he wasn't equal?  They would always feel under condemnation because that is an impossible goal. God decides what fairness is, not us.  What can be construed as unfairness is being arbitrary, whimsical, or capricious?  God always has a reason for what He does, and His ultimate glory is the end result--"Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever," says The Westminster Shorter Catechism.  God thought this was more important than going according to our rules and subjecting Himself to our standards.

God is our judge and we cannot judge Him.  No one has a case against God or "can say unto Him, 'What hast thou done?'" This is the mystery of salvation:  God is both just, and the justifier of the ungodly.  God found a way to preserve His divine nature and to forgive and justify us.  God knows what He is doing with His universe and His thoughts are higher than ours, "as the heavens are higher than the earth" (Isa. 55:9).  Life seems unfair but basically, we reap what we sow-- there is no karma as many believe, because we often get what we don't deserve, and don't get what we do deserve.

Don't envy the wicked who "receive their portion in this life" (Psalm 17:14) Some people die and leave their reward behind, others die to go to their reward in heaven! God is good to all: to the elect unto salvation (special grace), to some in all ways, to some in some ways, but to all in some way (common grace).  But God's goodness is an attribute we can be assured of:  "God is good to all, and He has compassion over all that He has made" (Psalm 145:9).  As they say, "God is good all the time; all the time God is good!  Learn this and find out for yourself!   Even if we pay the ultimate price in martyrdom, God will reward it to us and make it up in all eternity--He sees the Big Picture!  When the psalmist saw their "latter end" he was assured of God's justice.

God is just and that is a legitimate doctrine. He is unjust to no one and only withholds justice from His elect--that is not a form of injustice, but of nonjustice.  Jesus willingly paid the price of His own volition and wasn't forced to go to the cross to die on our behalf.  One cannot say it was unfair that he suffered for us: He said, "Weep not for Me, but for yourselves."  We don't have a claim against God and God owes us nothing.  We have no case against God and that very thought is near blasphemy.  Jesus said that Satan "has nothing against [Him]."  John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, his epic and classical poem, to "justify the ways of God to man."  We stand trial and not God--just think about how God didn't answer any of Job's questions, but only revealed Himself to Him.

When we open the door to questioning God's attributes or character it ultimately leads to heresy and then can lead to apostasy and a falling away. When we say that it is unfair that Jesus went to the cross we are saying that God was arbitrary, or showed favoritism and/or prejudice, not karma. Jesus went of His own volition and volunteered for the mission--He did it the joy set before Him!

To say that it is unfair that we get saved when we deserve to go to hell is to malign the justice of God and impugn on His nature--there is no injustice with the Almighty.  Grace is a form of non-justice, or of withholding justice, but it is not injustice per se.  We were not elected unto salvation and faith because of our virtue or merit, but because "of His own purpose and grace" (not according to our works of righteousness which we have done" i.e., He did not save us out of favoritism nor whim, but His own glory.)  We do indeed deserve to go to hell and God is withholding justice from us, but that is not a definition of being unfair.

God tempers His justice with mercy (cf. Hab. 3:2) and  Aristotle said that justice itself is strictly just giving one what is his due dessert (reward or punishment) for what he has done and is culpable or responsible for.  God "has mercy on whom He will have mercy" (Rom. 9:16) and it is God's prerogative to decide whom will get mercy, not us. He reserves the right to demonstrate grace, or it wouldn't be grace it would be justice.  God is not obligated to be merciful or gracious just because He is to someone else or not anyone! God doesn't owe us anything and we have no right to demand justice or mercy.

According to Wayne Grudem, famous Reformed theologian,  "God's righteousness means that God always acts in accordance with what is right and is himself the final standard of what is right." (If there is a standard higher than God then He is not God.) We all have an inner sense of "oughtness" and being unfair is one of those.  Moses says, "All his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is he" (Deut. 32:4).  God Himself says, "I the LORD speak the truth, I declare what is right" (Isa. 45:19).

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (cf. Gen. 18:25).  God is the final standard of what conforms to His nature, which is what is right.  In Job, it says, "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?...Will you even put me in the wrong?  Will you condemn me that you may be justified?"  (Job 40:20,8).  We, as creatures, cannot judge our Creator:  the clay cannot say to the Potter, "Why have you made me thus?" God isn't accountable to us and is too deep to explain Himself to our finite minds. We are on the hot seat, as it were, not God.  There can be no standard higher than God, or that standard would be God.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Equality Of Sin

This question is raised by those who want to believe pseudo-saints sins are just as bad as rapists, murderers, or thieves. They may have a pride problem and self-righteous attitude and God hates pride, but the point is that there is a gradation of sin, though one can drown in 6 feet of water as well as 60 feet. Remember the words of our Lord who told Pilate that the one who delivered him over had the "greater sin." Are all sins equal in severity in God's eyes? Do all sins deserve the same punishment? Obviously, if there is justice in the afterlife, Hitler will get a severer sentence than your typical run-of-the-mill sinner. It was said of Judas that it would've been better had he never been born--and so there you are. Jesus did say that some sins deserve fewer whips than others. God is a God of justice as well as mercy and there will be no cruelty in hell, only what justice demands.

If all sins were equal, that would encourage the slanderer to go all the way from character assassination to murder, since they are the same. Jesus did say that lusting was committing adultery, but he didn't say they were the same. Rome has divided sin into mortal and venial. Those which destroy the grace of salvation are more serious and require penance and are called mortal. All sins are mortal in the sense that they deserve eternal hell, but no sin is mortal in the sense that it cancels the state of grace. All sins are venial to the Christian, in that he only needs to confess them and repent to regain fellowship, not a state of grace or salvation.

The closer you get to God the more you see your shortcomings and sins; you don't begin to see yourself as perfect or having "arrived." There are certain sins that are an abomination to the Lord: homosexuality, bestiality, incest, to name a few. Remember, how Lot said to the men in Sodom not to "do such a disgusting sin." We live in an age of sexual predators and perverts and this is becoming more rampant every day, but we must not go along with a society that we are just progressing in leniency and toleration; it is alright to be shocked and abhorred at our society. We are often shocked at others' sins when we should be shocked at ours.   NB: The Pharisees considered all commandments of equal weight, but Jesus changed that and called some more serious (cf. Matt. 23:23).  Soli Deo Gloria!