One In Jesus

Many are instantly outraged at the notion that God is unfair, and many believe that saying such a terrible thing will raise doubts in those who believe in God. And yet it’s true, and I think it best that we worship the God who is, not a romanticized version of God.

The fact is that God repeatedly declares that he elects some and not others —

(Rom 9:6-16 ESV)  6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,  7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”  8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.  9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”

10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,  11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad–in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls–  12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”  13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!  15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. Continue reading →

Price wrote in a comment yesterday,

I don’t see what is so unfair about both parties entering into a contractual agreement… It seems that when the first guys went to work that they thought that the wage was a fair wage…The owner, perhaps realizing that he had insufficient labor to get the job done by the end of the day felt compelled to go and try to get somebody else to finish up the work and needed to “encourage” them with additional pay…Those people also felt that it was fair when they agreed to do the work.. Likewise the next group… As far as Grace goes….it was the Owner’s decision to bring ANYBODY into the field…Whatever they did, little or much, the chance to receive anything wasn’t theirs to decide, but the Owner and I for one am eternally grateful that He allowed some of us to come in before it was too late.

Continue reading →

In a comment, Laymond asked,

I have never understood what the point of this parable was.
It is clear that each was given a chore according to their ability, and were rewarded for the work they did. Is your point that we should only be justified by grace, and work should not enter into it? I believe this is one of the many places that says you are wrong.

Laymond,

The worker who arrived first received fair wages for his labors, and he had to work to earn his pay. The worker who arrived late was paid far more than the prevailing hourly rate — the same total as the man who worked the entire day — and the worker who was paid a just amount complained because the Master was more than just to some and merely just to him. Continue reading →

In Romans 5, Paul explains how Jesus has initiated the reversal of the damage done by Adam. Sin entered the world through Adam, taking eternal life away from mankind. Jesus brought forgiveness and the return of eternal life.

Every verse has a deep thought or two or three. It’s rich material. And yet it’s easy to miss the obvious. You see, one of the obvious points of the chapter is that God is not fair. Continue reading →