What's new
By:
Filters
Christian Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Focus on the Family

    Strengthening families through biblical principles.

    Focus on the Family addresses the use of biblical principles in parenting and marriage to strengthen the family.

    Read daily articles from Focus on the Family in the Marriage and Parenting Resources forum.

  • Guest, Join Papa Zoom today for some uplifting biblical encouragement! --> Daily Verses

  • The Gospel of Jesus Christ

    Heard of "The Gospel"? Want to know more?

    There is salvation in no other, for there is not another name under heaven having been given among men, by which it behooves us to be saved."

    Read The Gospel Online.

Is GOD FAIR!!!

2024 Website Hosting Fees

Total amount
$1,048.00
Goal
$1,038.00
Donate View
E

Eccl12and13

Member
Is GOD FAIR!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let me pose a question: Would it be fair for God to impose (1) set of laws on one child, and a different set of laws on another child and BOTH children receive the SAME reward?

Would it be fair of God to tell one child they cannot do something and if they don't do it, they will be rewarded, while the other child is able to DO that which his brother CANNOT but he still receives the same reward as his brother that could not?

Would YOU want to be judged by a judge like that? Abraham asked that same question of the ONLY ONE who would judge:

Gen.18
[25] That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

Is God a respecter of persons?

Acts 10
[34] Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

If you believe God is fair and not a respecter of persons, how can He say to the Jews keep my laws and if you do not you will be punished, but to the Gentiles, you do not have to keep my laws, as a matter of fact, I will still reward you even if you do not keep my laws. I will give the Gentiles the SAME reward as the Jews, but you Gentiles are free from the law!

Both get to enter into God's kingdom, but some HAD to keep the Law, while others did not!

Is that a righteous judge? Is that a Fair judge?
 
pray_persecuted_church.jpg


To answer you question yes he is :yes
 
Eccl12and13 said:
If you believe God is fair and not a respecter of persons, how can He say to the Jews keep my laws and if you do not you will be punished, but to the Gentiles, you do not have to keep my laws, as a matter of fact, I will still reward you even if you do not keep my laws. I will give the Gentiles the SAME reward as the Jews, but you Gentiles are free from the law!

Both get to enter into God's kingdom, but some HAD to keep the Law, while others did not!

Is that a righteous judge? Is that a Fair judge?
Click to expand...
I think you are right in your judgement that God has "burdened" the Jews with the Torah to the exclusion of the Gentiles - the Jews were obligated to keeep Torah, the Gentiles were not. Now, Paul tells us that no one is justified by the Torah. But we also know that Paul believes that some Jews under Torah do indeed achieve ultimate justification. So we can at least take comfort in the fact that while the Jew is under Torah, he is not necessarily doomed to ultimate loss by the burden of Torah. Therefore I disagree with your assertion that obedience to Torah was required for entry into God's kingdom - Paul would certainly not go along with such an idea.

Paul addresses the very question you raise - is God fair to be so "hard" on the Jews - in Romans 9, a passage often misunderstood to be a treatment of the matter of the election of individuals. Paul argues that, like the potter with his pot, God has the "right" to subject the Jew to the strictures of Torah, and the hardening of the Jew that this produces. Paul sees Torah as being given to the Jews to harden them (some of them, anyway) in order that the world can be saved.

God indeed does not treat everybody the same way. For example, I suggest that God uses Torah to make the Jew more sinful. And this is done for a specific purpose. The Torah is a terrible burden that the Jew had to be bear in the time leading to Christ. The Jews misunderstood the nature of their "election". They thought God had chosen them to be ultimately set above other peoples. In the strange and wonderful purposes of God, the Jew, instead, acts out the Christ pattern, having the sin of the world heaped on him through the sin-amplifying effet of Torah.

But there is a purpose behind all this - the Cross, where sin is defeated once and for all. And we owe those Jews who were hardened a great debt of gratitude. As Paul says:

What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,...
 
John 4:36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
John 4:37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
John 4:38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
 
Drew said:
Eccl12and13 said:
If you believe God is fair and not a respecter of persons, how can He say to the Jews keep my laws and if you do not you will be punished, but to the Gentiles, you do not have to keep my laws, as a matter of fact, I will still reward you even if you do not keep my laws. I will give the Gentiles the SAME reward as the Jews, but you Gentiles are free from the law!

Both get to enter into God's kingdom, but some HAD to keep the Law, while others did not!

Is that a righteous judge? Is that a Fair judge?
Click to expand...
I think you are right in your judgement that God has "burdened" the Jews with the Torah to the exclusion of the Gentiles - the Jews were obligated to keeep Torah, the Gentiles were not. Now, Paul tells us that no one is justified by the Torah. But we also know that Paul believes that some Jews under Torah do indeed achieve ultimate justification. So we can at least take comfort in the fact that while the Jew is under Torah, he is not necessarily doomed to ultimate loss by the burden of Torah. Therefore I disagree with your assertion that obedience to Torah was required for entry into God's kingdom - Paul would certainly not go along with such an idea.

Paul addresses the very question you raise - is God fair to be so "hard" on the Jews - in Romans 9, a passage often misunderstood to be a treatment of the matter of the election of individuals. Paul argues that, like the potter with his pot, God has the "right" to subject the Jew to the strictures of Torah, and the hardening of the Jew that this produces. Paul sees Torah as being given to the Jews to harden them (some of them, anyway) in order that the world can be saved.

God indeed does not treat everybody the same way. For example, I suggest that God uses Torah to make the Jew more sinful. And this is done for a specific purpose. The Torah is a terrible burden that the Jew had to be bear in the time leading to Christ. The Jews misunderstood the nature of their "election". They thought God had chosen them to be ultimately set above other peoples. In the strange and wonderful purposes of God, the Jew, instead, acts out the Christ pattern, having the sin of the world heaped on him through the sin-amplifying effet of Torah.

But there is a purpose behind all this - the Cross, where sin is defeated once and for all. And we owe those Jews who were hardened a great debt of gratitude. As Paul says:

What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,...
Click to expand...

Your reply brings up yet another question. Why would God be MORE HARD of the Jews? Is that FAIR? SIN is SIN!! There is no large sin or small sin. ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. So why be harder on them? The reward is the same for all, just as the punishment. Just does not make sense. Explain.

And how or why would God cause someone to break His laws even MORE? Because I must say, I NEVER read ANYWHERE where God gave something to someone to MAKE THEM BREAK HIS LAWS!!! Does not sound like a God that gave 'free will'. Explain.

I ask because you said above, "I suggest that God uses Torah to make the Jew more sinful". Also, when you say, "I suggest", are you saying that because you have some scriptures to go with your suggestion, or is this just something you came up with. Explain.
 
Eccl12and13 said:
Your reply brings up yet another question. Why would God be MORE HARD of the Jews? Is that FAIR? SIN is SIN!! There is no large sin or small sin. ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. So why be harder on them? The reward is the same for all, just as the punishment. Just does not make sense. Explain.
Click to expand...
Good question. Here is a proposed answer in extremely broad overview:

1. God's covenant with Abraham promised that Israel would be "blessing for the nations";

2. In Romans, Paul is deeply concerned with arguing that God has indeed been faithful to this promise - that God has indeed used Israel to bless the nations;

3. However, as per Romans 3, Paul recognizes that the way Israel will bless the nations cannot be through "showing them how wonderful Torah is". In Romans 3, he is pretty clear - Torah cannot be a blessing to the world in this way.

4. To put a finer point on this, Paul sees that the Jew, like the Gentile, is in Adam. So while the Torah is good, it is operating on a Jew who is as fallen as the Gentile.

5. How then can God use the Jew to bless the world and be faithful to his promise?

6. Answer: God uses Torah to make Israel draw the sin of the world onto itself. As per a line of reasoning you get in Romans 5, 7, ,9, and 11, Paul argues, cryptically perhaps, that God is using the Torah as a kind of "sponge" to soak of the sins of the world into the nation of Israel.

7. Why would God do this? Answer: to collect sin together into "one place" (national Israel) so that this sin can then be focussed down into one person - Jesus. And then, sin is condemned on the cross (Romans 8:3)

8. By using Israel as this "sponge for sin", God has indeed been faithful to the Abrahamic promise. Torah has, strangely, been used in this "dark" manner - making Israel more full sin, not less - for the ultimate benefit of us all.

9. Since the purpose of Torah was to "lure sin into Israel" and then into Jesus, the condemnation of sin on the cross brings the task of Torah to a close.

10. Since its task has been completed, the Torah is then retired with honour.
 
Here are a few Scriptures that seem to relate to this topic. The Lord bless you.


The Jews had the Word of God, and through them Christ came to all.
Romans 3:1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? 4 May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, "THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED."

The Jews came through Faith as we do now
Romans 4:13For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.

Sin increased so that grace may abound even more...Grace would be true righteousness for man because of the Spirit of in Him.
Romans 5:20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through our death in Christ we are able to produce fruit...being grafted on a tree which has the root of righteousness
Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

The Law's requirement is fulfilled in us, our flesh is dead, but now we walk according to God's Spirit in us.
Romans 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

God's Word is true, we are all Israel, all who have been called to be children of promise.
Romans 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: "THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED." 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.

Jesus caused the Jews to stumble for now, because they are still pursuing the law to obtain righteousness, and do not recognize that their own fathers came through faith.
Romans 9:30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written, "BEHOLD , I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.


Heart belief results in righteousness, and confession of Christ results in Salvation.
Romans 10:5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. 6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, `WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or `WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." 8 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, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Just as a remnant of gentiles was saved through faith during the time of the nation of Israel's calling, a remnant of Jews will be saved through faith during this time.
Romans 11: What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; 8 just as it is written, "GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY."

Paul tells us that the Jews will experience a great fulfillment because of the way God has used their sin and failure to bless the others. Praise God!
Romans 11:11 I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. 12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!


After the Gentiles that are called to be brethren come in, then the Nation of the Jews will come to faith in Christ.
Romans 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."

27 "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM,

WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."

28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. 32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
 
Romans 7:4-6 says...
4So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5For when we were controlled by the sinful nature,[a] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
I dont feel it is necessary for me to make comments at this time.
 
God choose Israel a very obstinate people people to work through so the Lord could reveal Himself to the rest of the world. It was the Jews who asked for the law. What seems like like God not being fair with eveyone is simple. God's programs on how he deals with people changes as well.

Paul mentions the word dispensation 4 times.

1 Corinthians 9:17  For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
Ephesians 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Ephesians 3:2  If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Colossians 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

The book of Acts and part of Romans is a very difficult part of scripture to understand. Until a person can understand a dispensation taking place and very slowly being made known at the same time God is dealing with Israel, there will be no correct way to rightly divided the word. God set aside his dealings with Israel as a nation when the temple was torn down at the end of Acts. The any solid evidence that the Gentile was no being dealt directly by God is recorded in Acts 15. The conclusion was that the Gentiles were not under the yoke of the law

God dealt with Israel with physical blessings, and a very much physical law that was impossible a man to keep.

James 2:10  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. By the way water baptism and the passover feast were ordinances contained within the law.

The law separated the Jews from the Gentiles until law was nailed to the cross and this wall of partition was torn down. The sad thing is man's religion combines the two and keeps people yoked to ordinances as they were before the finished work on the cross.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Galatians 6:15

In above verse circumcision could be replaced with any ordinance God had as they all have been abolished. Such ordinances as water baptism, Sabbath keeping, etc.

I hope someone can see God was making drastic changes.

Ephesians 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14  ¶For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

I hope this will help somoneone

Tomlane
 
Israel asked the same thing to God. This is their question after it had been made known in Ezekiel 18:20-24 that a man who had lived wickedly his whole life would be saved (like the man on the cross- Lk.23:43) would reap eternal life the moment he repented. On the flip side, God had also told them that the man who lived righteously his whole life would reap eternal death the moment he sinned, if he died at that moment. The same message is found in Eze.3:17-21; 33:12-20. These are God's unchanging ways toward all rebels of His Word, whether angelic being (Gen.6:1-4; Isa.14:12-15; Eze.28:11-18; 2 Pt.2:4; Jude 6), or human being (Gen.2:17; Ex.32:33; 34:7; Job.10:14; Jn.8:34; 44; 51; Rom.6:14-23; 8:12-13; 1 Cor.3:16-17; 6:9-20; Gal.5:19-21; 6:7-8; Eph.2:1-3; 5:3-7; Col.3:5-10; Jas.1:13-15; 1 Jn.1:6; 3:4, 8-10; 5:18; Rev.21:8; etc.). The words from God to the prophet Ezekiel have nothing to do with the Torah or Mosaic Law; they were written 1,000 years after the Exodus and just reflect how one is to know if they are a child of God or a child of the devil. God's ways are fair, ours are not. Christians today use the same human philosophy as Israel did. It seems that all people made righteous and given a covenant have always determined their sins could not bring the spiritual death penalty to their souls and be condemned... starting with Eve (Gen.2:17; 3:4). These are no more than the lies brought by seducing spirits that were taught from doctrines of demons in order to lead the redeemed astray. Many Christians still sin and tell lost friends that their sins condemn them, even though they do the same and will be judged the same as the lost friend (Rom.1:29-2:3).

Ezekiel 18
25Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

26When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

27Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

28Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

29Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the LORD is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?

30Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

31Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

32For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
 
It always seemed to me that God was unfairly harsh in the Old Testament, and more gracious in the New Testament. In the Old Testament God seems harsh and judgmental - even capricious. But in the New Testament we find Jesus apparently abrogating the death penalty for adultery, forgiving theft, etc, and being a friend to sinners. From Old Testament to New, it looks like God radically changed and decided to "lighten up." Or that He decided that His old plan wasn't working and decided to come up with an entirely new plan. This new plan appears to be far less burdensome than the old one, allowing for far more leniency and liberty.

How then can we explain the apparently huge differences between God's seeming Old Testament harshness and His New Testament mercy? As a "New Testament Christian," I was often quite frankly offended by some of the stories I found in the Old Testament, where it seemed to me that God was being unduly harsh and judgmental. I thought, "He wouldn't have done that in the New Testament!"

On the advice of a mentor of mine, as I read through the whole Bible, I was to put a red "X" in the margin of the page next to any text which offended my sensibilities. I found quite a few in the Old Testament, where it seemed to me that God was "too quick to judge" and acted with "undue" harshness. There were passages where it also seemed, to be brutally honest, that God was being completely arbitrary and unfair! Three in particular bothered me:



The story of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-3),

The killing of Uzzah (1 Chronicles 13:1-11), and

The extermination of the people of Canaan
Each of those red "X"s in the margins represented a place where I disagreed with God. These were points at which God and I had very different ideas of what is right and what is fair. If I could not resolve these differences, I knew that I would simply have to accept God's definition of what is good and bad, fair and unfair. When I disagree with God, He is right and I'm wrong! But I put the "X"s in the margins anyway, if only to discover where God and I differed and also to see if those differences are truly negated in the New Testament.


Nadab and Abihu were "innocently" playing games with the firepans and holy objects in the tabernacle (they were probably teenagers, according to some Bible scholars) when God suddenly burned them alive with fire from the altar. Their father Aaron (and Moses' brother) was offended by the deaths of his sons and appealed to Moses. But God said, "I will be treated as holy by those who come near Me (Lev 10:3)." Was God really being unfair? Were Nadab and Abihu just innocently fooling around and then suddenly killed in an arbitrary act of a harsh God acting impulsively? Actually no. They knew what they were doing, and they knew that they were in the very presence of God. The text suggests that they were drunk as they goofed off in the presence of the LORD. They had been trained in minute detail how to properly minister in the tabernacle, yet they behaved as if God didn't even really exist. They showed no fear of Him even as they stood before His altar. No, God was not unfair after all.

But what about Uzzah? Uzzah only tried to save the Ark of the LORD from falling into the mud from the ox-drawn cart. And what did Uzzah get for his trouble? ZAP! God kills Uzzah right on the spot. Uzzah was only trying to help, and there wasn't exactly time to think before acting - the Ark was toppling! Surely God was unfair in this instance, right? I just had to look a little deeper to find the answer to that question. Uzzah was a Kohathite. The sole responsibility of the Kohathites was to cover and transport the holy objects and utensils of the tabernacle (see Numbers 4:15 and 19-20). No one but the priests were allowed to even look upon the holy objects, let alone actually touch and handle them. The Kohathites were trained to approach two at a time walking backward and carrying a cover between them so that the cloth would cover the Ark. It was to be carried by men using staves inserted through rings (so placing the Ark on an oxcart was definitely a violation). The Kohathites were trained from childhood to no other vocation but the moving of the tabernacle. Every Kohathite knew better than to use an oxcart to carry the Ark - and they certainly knew better than to reach out and actually touch the Ark of God. In fact, mud would not have desecrated the Ark had it fallen - mud is not guilty of sin as men are. Uzzah treated the Ark like museum piece instead of the altar of the living God, arrogantly daring to touch it. Was God unfair and arbitrary in His response to Uzzah's betrayal of his lifetime of training? Not at all. Uzzah actually deserved what he got.

Surely the genocide of the Canaanites by the Hebrews was unfair though. God ordered the Hebrews to conquer the land and kill everything that breathed Canaanite air - men, women, children, livestock, pets! That definitely seems absolutely cruel and arbitrary. Why would God order the complete destruction of an entire race of people He created, and why put women and children to death?

"Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God had driven them out before you, 'Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,' but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you. It is not for your righteousness nor for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Know then, it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people (Deuteronomy 9:6, NASB)."

So, were the Hebrews unfairly favored over the Canaanites? They weren't given the land because they deserved it. They were given the land because God was driving out a hideously wicked people. The Canaanites received justice for their wickedness. The Hebrews, no doubt better in our estimation than the Canaanites were, nevertheless were not blessed because of their own righteousness "for you are a stubborn people," the LORD had said. The Hebrews received MERCY. The Canaanites received JUSTICE.

When we are offended by stories in the Bible, it is often because we presume upon God's mercy. We think that God is somehow obligated to show mercy to everyone, just because He has shown mercy to some. But if God is obligated to forgo justice and show mercy, then how can we still call it mercy? Mercy means we DON'T get what we deserve. Justice means we GET what we deserve. If mercy is mandatory, it can no longer be called mercy at all!

Jesus Christ was asked this same kind of question about the seeming unfairness of providence (see Luke 13:1-5). Where was God when the tower of Siloam fell on innocent passers-by? What about the innocent Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices? Christ's answer was a terse as the Deuteronomy passage above:

"Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse debtors than the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (Luke 13:2-5, NASB)."

The Galileans and victims of the Siloam tower collapse were NOT INNOCENT victims who deserved better than they got, according to Jesus. We ALL deserve what they received. NO ONE IS INNOCENT, and God is under no obligation to show mercy to anyone. The wonder is not that God shows mercy to some and justice to the rest. The wonder is that God shows mercy to anyone at all!

Only once in history has an innocent suffered.

If any act of God should truly offend us; if there is any Bible story where God can truly be said to have been unduly harsh and unfair, you won't find it in the Old Testament. It's in the New. A completely innocent, totally pure, sinless and perfect Man suffered and died for the wrongdoing of others - you and me.

Was that unfair? Absolutely yes. Yet was God unjust? Absolutely not.

Posted with ForumPilot Freeware v1.1
 
Tomlane said:
What seems like like God not being fair with everyone is simple. God's programs on how he deals with people changes as well.

Isn't that fair ?
God sets the boundaries, and the results for stepping outside the lines.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top