The Fairness of God

“Is God Fair?
MP3 file
One of the first phrases a child learns; – It’s not fair!
It may be very fair, but essentially it’s an appeal for justice, and because we are largely self centered folk it is usually justice on our terms.

Do we want justice? – Good. The Kingdom of God is defined in the bible as justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It’s Gods Justice, and it’s really fair.

When the bible talks about Gods ultimate fairness it calls it Judgment.
Because when there is a right judgment made then you have justice – Yes?

I can see you hesitate – because there are a few catches

If I appeal for justice, yet there is non in my own life then judgment come back on me.

Jesus told the parable of the Unforgiving Servant …if do not forgive, neither will my father…

there is a principle of sowing and reaping.
Judgement is written into the universe to a degree.
ie – if you jump off a cliff – likley as not to break your neck.
We don’t so much break Gods laws as break ourselves on them.
(pilot who decides one day to land upside down…)
However the effects of one or other laws may not always be fair in their specifics…
ie if you push someone else off the cliff….

Most disasters are random and not just aimed at those who are more sinful. But we can avoid random disasters by listening to God…

The Apostle Paul says that if we would judge ourselves… we would not be judged.
But what most people practice is an ‘easy does it’ approach that wont judge others, because we don’t want to be judged. This may seem wise.
Yet isn’t the phrase ‘well done… good and faithful servant’ a judgement?

•-If don’t have judgment built into the universe -
There can be no success – because we don’t want to risk failure…
There can be no …excellence…no achievements…no Wimbledon…! There can be nothing to celebrate because nothing means anything without judgment.

If don’t have judgment built into the universe there is no forgiveness, which is the way some people would like it – because some people don’t want to admit anything wrong.

We all know when we think seriously that there are things in our lives that need to be judged. If I were to put a loudspeaker on your head to transmit every thought, I think you would soon be very anxious to turn it off.

However – we are also told in bible ..Judge not lest you be judged…
If you are prepared to have the same measure of judgment used on you…all well and good.
But have you noticed a judgmental person is usually unpopular?

So is God fair in his judgments? – Bible claims he is
• ..Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”" Gen 18:25

So what is fair? – how does God make right judgments? What are his criteria?
Here are five biblical criteria that Jesus gives us that would indicate that God is fair.

1. Quality (not quantity) (1Cor3:12-15)
Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.

God is obviously looking for any growth – but its quality growth he is after.
What’s more important to God? One disciple full of maturity and grace, or lots of people ‘mildly influenced’ by the gospel?
(examples – CT Studd, / seed..flower)

2. Opportunity
a. Matt 11:20-24 – Jesus tells them what they could have done…because they had the opportunity.
Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Woe to those cities…(or Matt 20 – dying thief…)

b. What would have done given the opportunity… because sympathized with.
Matt 10:41-42 “”He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. “”And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward.”"

3. Attitudes
a. – to God – Luke 19:21 – I knew you were a hard man…
Luke 19:21-23 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting (hard) man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ “”He said to him, ‘by your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? ‘Then why did you not put the money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’

The Lord calls evil that attitude that say God is a hard man (but still doesn’t act wisely!).
We are judged according to our attitude to God himself. If we call that which is good evil – or evil good, then we have switched the labels and there is an attitude issue.
John 15:22-23 Jesus says “”If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. “”He who hates Me hates My Father also.
We can’t hate Jesus and love God – and we can’t love God and hate Jesus….
If like one – you like the other.

b. attitude To one another.
Matt 25:31-46 – “”But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.”And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “”Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “”Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “”And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ “”Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ “”Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ “”Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “”And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”"

4. Abilities
Matt 25:14-23 “”For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them. “”And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. “”Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. “”In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. “”But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground, and hid his master’s money. “”Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. “”And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents.’ “”His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.’ “”The one also who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted to me two talents; see, I have gained two more talents.’ “”His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

God gives different resources or abilities to people – To those who much is given – much is expected… Isn’t that fair?

God judges our diligence – how much is produced with both ability and opportunity taken into account.

5. Actions
Romans 2:10-11 ‘There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honour and peace to every man who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.

God will judge what we did – & he is no respecter of persons. Rich/ poor, Jew / Gentile.

So before we say to God; ‘That’s not fair’ stop and know two things;

i) Be assured that he has all things in view – and will ultimately deal in fair judgments –
Shall not the judge of all the earth do justly? Gen 18:25

ii) Be careful about asking God to be fair with you – because I honestly don’t think we really want God to be fair – I would far rather he was merciful.

And the good news is that that’s exactly what God is;

We who know we are sinners (have judged ourselves) can be forgiven because God has made his final judgment over sin through the cross. And there is a simple promise in Romans that tells us how any judgment for sin that is upon us can be removed.
Rom 10:8-11
But what does it say? “”The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”"– that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “”Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”"

Quick bit of discussion
• Do you think it was fair that Jesus forgave the thief on the cross – but that Judas was condemned? – share you reasons?”