Verse by Verse

Hi, I'm David Johnson, and this is verse by verse, a short podcast all about exploring the insights and lessons of the inspired word of God. It's not fair. It seems like one of the first things a child learns to say is, that's not fair. They may be talking about a game or an opportunity given to an older sibling or some parental discipline they didn't like. Of course, a child's concept of fairness is usually tilted in favor of the child.

Unfortunately, while many adults may express it differently, their concepts of fairness are often a bit hypocritical too. We say we want everything to be fair. But if we can gain an unfair advantage over someone else, few people will turn it down. One of the more obvious ways this reveals itself today is in sports. It seems there's always some kind of scandal, as teams and players try to gain any kind of advantage over an opponent.

One person said, participating in sports doesn't necessarily build character, but it does reveal character. Whether it's cheating at sports, in school, in business, or on your taxes, we all know that the choices a person makes determine what kind of person he or she will be. Choices we make when no one's looking say more about our values than the words we speak. What about God? Is God fair?

Does he treat all people by the same standard of fairness? There are many people who believe that God changes the rules or that he has different rules for different people. Many seem to believe that God is satisfied as long as you're not as bad as some people are, that it's only a little sin. Well, then God will overlook it. When the apostle Paul wrote to the people in Rome in the 1st century, it appears that some of them felt God was being unfair.

They said God was not fair, not righteous in his treatment of Jews and Gentiles because he had given his written instructions, the scriptures, to the Jews, but not to the Gentiles. In our scripture for this episode, Paul summarized his confidence in God's fairness in 2 ways. Romans chapter 3, verses 21 and 22. But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference.

In the first verse, Paul explains that the entire history recorded in the Old Testament shows that God is faithful and punishes the disobedient, whoever they are. If the Israelites disobeyed God's commands, they were punished just like the Gentiles were. For God to be righteous, he must judge all by the same standard, and that's exactly what he does. But Paul also emphasizes the other side of God's righteousness. God is equally merciful to those who trust and obey him, regardless of whether they're Israelites or Gentiles.

He uses the example of Abraham to show that all people who live as Abraham lived, putting their faith in God and therefore doing what God says, will be given the gift of salvation. Three times in his epistles, Paul powerfully states that God does not show favoritism to any. Just one chapter earlier in Romans 2 verse 11, Paul wrote, for there is no partiality with God. Not only is God righteous in his dealings with mankind, God holds himself to the same standard. In the ancient world, many nations made written codes of law to govern what was legal and what was not.

But the rulers often ignored their own laws and did whatever they wanted. Unfortunately, that wasn't limited to the ancient world. God's laws are an expression of his perfect, righteous character, and he never violates those laws. Just as God is always righteous, he wants his people to always be righteous too. God's way of thinking, his character, must become our character.

The only way to learn to think like God thinks is to live as God lives, by the same standards he uses in dealing with all people. As the apostle John wrote in 1st John 3, verse 7, little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he, God, is righteous. God deals with all people by the same standard, and He doesn't grade on a curve. In the end, no man will ever be able to say that God treated him unfairly.

And if we're supposed to walk as Jesus walked, we need to live in such a way that no one can accuse us of violating that standard either. Verse by Verse is a companion podcast to the daily bible verse blog, which you can find on the Life, Hope and Truth Learning Center. Check out the show notes for more.