Will not the judge of all the earth do right?

The second way to answer the question of God’s fairness is to look at our sense of justice. Unless we had a sense of justice, of right and wrong we would never question the fairness of God. Our questions come from our sense of what ought to be done. But where does our sense of justice come from? The Christian answer is that it comes from God. If this is true then we can be sure that our sense of justice is not higher than His. Water does not rise higher than its source. God cannot give us a sense of fairness that is superior to His; therefore we can always trust God to do the right thing. In the end there will be no one in heaven or hell who will be able to say, ‘God wasn’t fair’. There is a great illustration of this in Genesis 18. God is letting Abraham know about His plans to judge Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham questions God’s fairness by asking God if He would kill the righteous with the wicked. Abraham barters God down to find out if He is fair. At one point Abraham asks, “Will not the judge of all the earth do right?” This is a profound question. Abraham becomes satisfied that God will not judge the righteous with the wicked, in fact he will spare the wicked for the sake of the righteous. Until we become convinced like Abraham that the judge of all the earth will do right we cannot trust, worship and love Him. But if we know that God is not less fair then me, He is more fair. And God is not less merciful then me, He is more merciful. Then we can freely worship Him and know in the end He will be fair and more then fair, He will be merciful. The judge of all the earth will do right.

Is God fair?

The issue of hell raises questions of God’s justice. Is God fair? The question arises how eternal punishment is fair for someone who stole a nickel from their mom’s purse. This question is answered in two ways: First, it is not the nickel that is the problem it is the bent in a person to steal, to take something for themselves that belongs to another. Stealing is selfish as are all sins. It is the bent in us all that tries to make the self the center of the universe that is damnable. Unless this bent is repented of it will keep us away from God simply because He is the center of the universe. We need to deal not so much with sinning as with sin. If sin is at the center of our lives we will not want to go to heaven, we can’t be in control there, we cannot be the center, God is the center. The only way to enjoy heaven and to enjoy God is to let Him kill that bent in us so that we can be at peace with the truth, He is the Creator we are the creature. He is the center, it is all about Him, and we orbit around Him and find ourselves in Him. Heaven is the place for people who accept the truth, want the truth and willingly submit to the truth. Hell is the place for everyone who still wants to be the center. That is why stealing the nickel and mass murder can both send a person to hell, they are both imposing the self over others and God and are both a symptom of self-centeredness instead of God centeredness. The way to kill that self-centeredness is to repent, surrender our wills to His, invite His Lordship over our lives and receive His gifts of forgiveness of sin and new life in the Spirit that come by faith. The next ramble will deal with the second way to approach the question of God’s fairness.

Love Drives Out Fear

So if fear is such a negative thing and so detrimental to our faithfulness and fruitfulness in Christ how do we get past it? Faith is the antithesis to fear but love is the antidote. The Bible teaches that “perfect love drives out fear”. This makes perfect sense. Faith requires living by taking risks based upon God’s voice and God’s promises. Fear is simply the state we live in when we really don’t believe the voice or the promises. Love is the answer. If we know that we know that we know God loves us, then we know He won’t let us down when we step out in faith. If we know He loves us we’ll pursue and have a level of intimacy with Him to know His voice so we won’t doubt when we hear Him or even be afraid of hearing wrongly. After all if we make a mistake trying to listen to Him and do His will, if He loves us He’ll put us back on the right track. We will believe His promises, act upon them, see His faithfulness and rejoice in His goodness. The answer for the overwhelming and paralyzing fear that grips a control bound Western Christianity is nothing other than the love of God. We are like little children on the edge of the pool wanting to jump in for the first time. Daddy is in the water with His arms extended and promising to catch us. How do we know He’ll catch us? He has a track record of love and faithfulness, but the only way to be sure is to jump. How do we get past the fear into the arms of a good and loving God, trust His love and take the plunge. Give the money you are prompted to give, start the class you have been nudged to start, reach out to the neighbor or co-worker God has placed on your heart. Base your next decision not upon the fear based prognosis of the current economy but on the voice of God revealed in your heart and in the scriptures. We can live lives of adventure and freedom outside of fear and in the arms of love. Jump.