Question #4 Isn't it Unfair for Some to be Saved, and Others are Not? By: Dr. Danny Purvis
QUESTIONS EVERY BELIEVER SHOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER
Question #4: Isn’t it unfair that some are saved, and others are not?
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
The moment we try to use a word like “fair” to explain God’s actions or lack or actions is the minute we absolutely demonstrate that we do not know God. I have always found this idea very interesting in light of God’s nature. Oh, we use the word all the time. From our youth we have uttered the phrase, “that’s not fair”, to express our displeasure that things did not go as we wished them to go. And no quicker have we uttered that phrase that we would also hear someone chime in just as quickly with, “well, life’s not fair”. It is amazing though that we will continue to glom onto this idea without really having any idea as to the exact meaning of the word.
Really…think about it. If you were to have to concretely define the word fair, it would be a bit hard to nail down. It is even more nebulous when it comes to getting consensus. What is not fair to one person is seen as completely fair by another. What is considered fair by one person is often seen as injustice by another. In other words, fair is mostly in the eye of the beholder. A person’s definition is mostly devised from a person’s perspective.
So, how is it then that we can toss around a word that is difficult to define; defined differently by people; applied differently to different situations and apply that construct to God? What does it mean for God to be fair. What does it mean for God to be unfair? To be honest, that entire construct has no real meaning in understanding God. That is our attempt to create God in our image. To understand Him by imposing our perceptions on Him. In other words, if I think something to be unfair and I see God do it…then he is unfair. If I think something is fair and I see God do it…then it is fair. We then become the arbiters of fairness and we foist that notion onto God.
But the reality is…that word cannot be used in conjunction with God. Not in the way we use it…in an egocentric way. We can’t lob a word like fair at God and think it explains Who He is and what He does. God does not work in the realm of the human understanding of what is fair and what is unfair. He does, however, work in the realm of what is just and what is unjust. This includes salvation. Romans chapter 9 is one of the most important, powerful, and (somewhat) controversial chapters in all of Scripture. And it is one where even Believers have fallen into the trap of wondering if God is fair in His dispensation of salvation.
In explaining His decision to save some and not all, God inspires Paul to remind us of Jacob and Esau. In Romans 9:11-13 God says something very fascinating. Paul quotes Malachi where God declares, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”. He also preemptively quashed any notion of His love or hatred being related to the character or works of either person by saying, “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad”. This is a profound statement that attests to God’s mercy and judgement in the same sentence. God is acknowledging that His mercy…His salvation…is not due to any “good” thing we have done. He is also acknowledging that His justice is not predicated on any “bad” things we may do. And that’s the point.
His salvation is dispensed out of pure, unadulterated mercy. His withholding salvation is due to His pure, unadulterated sense of justice. This is exactly why we should never, ever want God to be “fair” as we define it. Because if God were to be “fair” (as we understand it), the “fair’ thing would be for His judgement to be exercised on every single human being who has lived or who has ever lived. When you look at the indictment issued to every single person on the planet (Romans 3:9-20) any reasonable person will conclude that all human beings should be judged and left unforgiven. That’s what “fair” really is. Therefore, we should thank Him every single day that He is not “fair”. If He was…then none of us could be saved.
R.C. Sproul once wrote: “The saved get mercy and the unsaved get justice. Nobody gets injustice”. I will be eternally grateful that God was not “fair” to me. If He was…I would be forever lost. And so would you.
-Dr. Danny Purvis
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Question #4: Isn’t it unfair that some are saved, and others are not?
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
The moment we try to use a word like “fair” to explain God’s actions or lack or actions is the minute we absolutely demonstrate that we do not know God. I have always found this idea very interesting in light of God’s nature. Oh, we use the word all the time. From our youth we have uttered the phrase, “that’s not fair”, to express our displeasure that things did not go as we wished them to go. And no quicker have we uttered that phrase that we would also hear someone chime in just as quickly with, “well, life’s not fair”. It is amazing though that we will continue to glom onto this idea without really having any idea as to the exact meaning of the word.
Really…think about it. If you were to have to concretely define the word fair, it would be a bit hard to nail down. It is even more nebulous when it comes to getting consensus. What is not fair to one person is seen as completely fair by another. What is considered fair by one person is often seen as injustice by another. In other words, fair is mostly in the eye of the beholder. A person’s definition is mostly devised from a person’s perspective.
So, how is it then that we can toss around a word that is difficult to define; defined differently by people; applied differently to different situations and apply that construct to God? What does it mean for God to be fair. What does it mean for God to be unfair? To be honest, that entire construct has no real meaning in understanding God. That is our attempt to create God in our image. To understand Him by imposing our perceptions on Him. In other words, if I think something to be unfair and I see God do it…then he is unfair. If I think something is fair and I see God do it…then it is fair. We then become the arbiters of fairness and we foist that notion onto God.
But the reality is…that word cannot be used in conjunction with God. Not in the way we use it…in an egocentric way. We can’t lob a word like fair at God and think it explains Who He is and what He does. God does not work in the realm of the human understanding of what is fair and what is unfair. He does, however, work in the realm of what is just and what is unjust. This includes salvation. Romans chapter 9 is one of the most important, powerful, and (somewhat) controversial chapters in all of Scripture. And it is one where even Believers have fallen into the trap of wondering if God is fair in His dispensation of salvation.
In explaining His decision to save some and not all, God inspires Paul to remind us of Jacob and Esau. In Romans 9:11-13 God says something very fascinating. Paul quotes Malachi where God declares, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”. He also preemptively quashed any notion of His love or hatred being related to the character or works of either person by saying, “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad”. This is a profound statement that attests to God’s mercy and judgement in the same sentence. God is acknowledging that His mercy…His salvation…is not due to any “good” thing we have done. He is also acknowledging that His justice is not predicated on any “bad” things we may do. And that’s the point.
His salvation is dispensed out of pure, unadulterated mercy. His withholding salvation is due to His pure, unadulterated sense of justice. This is exactly why we should never, ever want God to be “fair” as we define it. Because if God were to be “fair” (as we understand it), the “fair’ thing would be for His judgement to be exercised on every single human being who has lived or who has ever lived. When you look at the indictment issued to every single person on the planet (Romans 3:9-20) any reasonable person will conclude that all human beings should be judged and left unforgiven. That’s what “fair” really is. Therefore, we should thank Him every single day that He is not “fair”. If He was…then none of us could be saved.
R.C. Sproul once wrote: “The saved get mercy and the unsaved get justice. Nobody gets injustice”. I will be eternally grateful that God was not “fair” to me. If He was…I would be forever lost. And so would you.
-Dr. Danny Purvis
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1 Comment
Great blog Danny; thanks.