Good Questions: Do We Have a Choice?Sýnishorn

Is God Truly Just?

Have you ever questioned the justice of God? Maybe you’ve asked why some people seem to be blessed while others seem to suffer, or why some have an easier time coming to faith while others resist it at every turn. These are questions that have puzzled humanity for centuries, and they are questions that we see addressed in Romans 9.

In this passage, Paul is responding to an objector who questions the justice of God. But Paul makes clear that God is always just in what He does. Paul tells us that God shows mercy on whom He chooses to show mercy, and He hardens whom He chooses to harden. This may trouble us, but we need to remember that God is perfect in all His ways. We need to depend upon His mercy for our salvation and trust that He knows what He’s doing.

Now this passage can be difficult to understand, but we can find some clarity by recognizing that there is a tension in the Bible that we need to accept. We want either/or answers, but the Bible often gives us both/and answers. We need to accept that God’s sovereignty and human responsibility both play a role in our lives. We must be careful not to embrace extreme, unbalanced positions. We need to be open to different interpretations of the Bible but also embrace and affirm the clear teachings of Scripture.

If you’ve ever questioned the justice of God, take heart. God is always just, even if we don’t always understand what He’s doing. We can trust in His perfect ways. And as we seek to understand the tensions in the Bible, we can grow in our faith and become more like Jesus.

So, if we agree that God is just in all He does, what does that mean for us as believers? How should we live our lives? As God is just, shouldn’t we also strive to live justly and seek justice for the oppressed and marginalized? As we grapple with the tension between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, let us also remember that we are called to be agents of justice and mercy in the world. May we seek to reflect God’s justice and righteousness in all that we do, and be advocates for all who have been treated unjustly.