What’s really fair?

As I was corresponding with a brother in Christ via email, this brother mentioned that he struggled with the Calvinistic idea that God does not give everyone the chance to be saved.

I must say I can completely understand this struggle. Before I had ever heard of Calvinism or knew anything about it whatsoever I was reading through Romans 9 when I came across verses 10-23 which read as follows:

“And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory…”

My first thought was “That’s not fair! How could a loving God do such a thing?” My second thought was “Who would want to worship a God like that anyhow?”

But after some further study I found my objection to be completely faulty because I hadn’t taken into consideration the guilt of the human race.

When God chose to save some of mankind from their sins He was not dealing with a neutral group of people. He was not dealing with a group of people whop knew nothing about Him and just might believe the gospel if only they had the chance to hear it. The truth of the matter was that God was dealing with willful rebels who were sinners both by nature and by choice. He didn’t have to save any of them! And if we’re gonna go around demanding He be fair then all of us, everyone of us without exception, aught to go straight to hell; that would be fair. That is what we all deserve.

When our first parents sinned they could no longer produce “clean” children. Their sin was passed on to us and now we are all born with a sinful nature. As psalm 51:5 puts it “in sin did my mother conceive me.” All of us are “…estranged from the womb: (we) go astray as soon as (we) are born, speaking lies…” (Psalm 58:3)

And as we grow up we express this sinful nature by sinning. “There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10-12) None of us are neutral towards God, we are all at enmity with Him (Romans 8:7) and are “by nature the children of wrath.” (Ephesians 2:3)

We know God exists through what He has made (Romans 1:19, 20) and as part of His creation ourselves we are a testimony to ourselves of His wisdom, power and Godhead. We don’t even have to open our eyes to see it.

Not only do we know God through what He has made but we have the remnants of His law written in our very being. (Romans 2:14, 15) We know much of what He requires of us and that we are guilty of breaking His law. We are willfully rebellious, we don’t want anything to do with Him (Romans 3:11) and we suppress this truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18).

God does not need to “give us a chance”, we have refused Him already. The fact that He saves any of us is a testimony to His great love, mercy and kindness. The fact that He lets others go on in their willful rebellion and then condemns them for it is a testimony to His justice, righteousness and hatred of sin.

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33