God is Fair ... Bad News
God is Fair ... Great News!
If you have ever suffered prejudice, you can really appreciate just how wonderful the truth is that God is fair. That's right. When we come before God, nobody gets special treatment ahead of (or behind) you because of their connections, social status or race. That's right, being daddy's little girl won't help or hinder. Being a member of an ethnic minority will not make it any better or any worse. The manner in which God will judge the world is the same for us all.
The Principles of God's Judgment
Without favoritism, God gives to each one according to what that individual has done. Romans 2:6,11 If someone strives to do good, God will give that person eternal life. But if someone is self-seeking and rejects the truth thereby following evil, he or she will suffer God's wrath. Romans 2:7-11
But is this truly fair? An astute person might observe, that since not everyone has had an equal access to a clear understanding of what God wants from us, do not some people have an advantage over others? For example, it would seem that by giving His Law to the Jews, this provided the Jews with an advantage over other nations. Paul responded that even those nations which did not receive God's Law show by their consciences that they are aware of God's laws. Since God will only judge each person by what he or she is aware of, God is fair! Romans 2:12-15
Those who did not have access to the Mosaical Law will be judged by their understanding of God's ways which is reveal by their consciences. If they are aware that they have sinned, then they will be condemned based upon their own understanding. Those who had access to the Mosaical Law and who sinned will be judged by that Law. So, in the end God is fair. All are judged by what they know.
Good News Turned Bad?
But just how much hope for me (or for anyone else) does such a fair system of judging inspire? Can either you or I claim to be without sin? Can anybody, based upon their knowledge of right and wrong, say "I am perfect and have lived up to the standard of God's glory?" It is common to hear even those people who assume that they are basically good admit to others, "but I'm no saint." Thus, while many who do not know scripture might consider themselves worthy of heaven based upon who they are, they are also aware that they are not perfect. That is, they know that they have sinned. Paul wrote, "For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law" Romans 2:12
Since everyone has sinned and fallen short of God's glory and since neither Jew nor Gentile has an advantage in judgment before God, God's righteous judgment is not particularly wonderful news to our ears even though it is just. If we could be saved based upon our own goodness, this would mean that we would be saved by works.
God is Fair When He Saves Through Grace Everyone Who Trusts in Jesus
The story of the gospel is utterly amazing and reveals the justness of God. On the one hand, the gospel tells us that Jesus' sacrifice provided atonement for sin. Because God has made it possible for sinners to be cleansed in Christ, God does not become corrupt when He declares a sinner to be righteous in Christ. The gospel reveals that God is just. Romans 3:22-26
On the other hand, the gospel also teaches us that Jesus' sacrifice is for all people since all have sinned and have fallen short of God's glory. Once again God is shown to be fair and just. God has not shown any unjust favoritism toward either Jews or Gentiles since He has made His priceless gift of salvation available to all who will trust in Jesus' blood. Romans 3:22-26 Truly the gospel reveals the justness of God as God equally seeks to save everyone who will trust in Jesus.
It does not matter who we are or what we have done, Jesus' sacrifice can handle our sin if we will trust in him. Nobody deserves to be saved, but God justifies everyone who comes to His Son. Is this not great news? I can be justified not upon the basis of who I am, but based upon who Jesus was as one who was righteous and faithful to God! Now this is grace! What an undeserved gift!
As Paul wrote in Romans 3:21-22, this justness of God's working in saving through Jesus all who would believe is outside of what the Law provided, but it was not unanticipated. The Law and the Prophets testified to this just manner in which God would act. Immediately, texts such as Isaiah 42:1-7; 40:3-5; 52:15-53:11; 51:4-5 and Joel 2:32 leap to mind.
Final Thoughts
If we have responded with the obedience of faith to the message of the gospel (Romans 1:5:16:26), we have reason to exult in God because we are no longer going to be judged based upon who we are, but have been saved on the basis of the grace extended to us through Jesus' sacrifice. Romans 5:1-2, 6-11; 7:6 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ that we can be set free from condemnation through being in Christ. Wow! Now this is something to get excited about and to praise God for.
Special Article Feature: Translation of Romans 3:21-26
Since in the Greek language "righteousness" and "justice" are the same word and since in this context Paul will use the noun, adjective and verb form of this word, the English student can better appreciate the underlying Greek if consistency is employed in translating the Greek. The following is a literal style rendering of the Greek text without any efforts to dumb it down.
"But now apart from law, God's justice has been made manifest, being attested by the Law and the prophets, even God's justice through [the] faith of Jesus Christ unto all who believe. For there is no distinction since all have sinned and have fallen short of God's splendor, being justified without cost by his grace through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus; whom God has publicly displayed as being the means by which sins are forgiven through faith in his blood, unto evidence of His justice in God's forbearance in overlooking the previously committed sins, for the purpose of [providing] evidence of his justice in this present time, in order that He might be just and the justifier of the one who is of the faith of Jesus."
Barry Newton, Copyright © 2003
Other Articles of Interest Might Include:
What About the Indian In the Jungle?
Should We Forget This Part of the Gospel? (God's final judgment)
Is Sincerity Enough? (Title: "But I Thought It Was OK")