How fair is God?

Words like 'judgement' and 'death' as well as phrases like 'accept Christ or else' can be very scary for people who aren't sure if they believe in God. Ignore the fire & brimstone preaching and religious leaders who try to 'scare you straight'and see what the Bible really says about God's judgement, you'll be surprised just how fair and just it really is. It's good to know what the book people base claims upon actually says whether you choose to believe or not:

From the ebook 'WE ARE ALL SLAVES TO SOMETHING' A Millenials Guide to Morality in Today's World. Part 4

Often when those who don't believe in a higher power attempt to perceive God, they can't help but view a being that is totalitarian in his actions. How can something/someone who is all powerful and omnipotent also be fair. Below is a referenced listing of texts that relate not only to how God passes judgement (which shares familiarity with our court system), but the role that we have to play which further adds meaning and purpose to our lives.

GOD WILL NOT MAKE DECISIONS WITHOUT WITNESSES, WE ARE THE JURY IN GOD’S CASE AGAINST SATAN

There is no fear in love, God will not simply destroy anyone who sins without due process, not even Satan. Although we are called to ‘fear’ God, this statement refers to respecting him as the creator of the universe. It is a healthy fear the way a child would fear crossing loving parents. God does not want us to have an unhealthy fear of him, which is why through the example of Jesus he chose to spread the Gospel through love.

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. -1 John 4:18

So with this in mind, you can understand why God won’t simply destroy all those who oppose (Satan) him without having his created beings in good standing acknowledging the wrong doing of those who can no longer exist according to the laws of the universe (Ex- before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Angels were sent to witness their acts first hand. Before the world was washed away by the flood Noah and his family were witnesses to how corrupt the world had become). The ‘law of the universe’ that I’m referring to is that God is the source of all life and is without sin. If you sin, you turn away from God and the source of life and then all you have left is death (absence of life). In the case of Satan, we are the jury witnessing first hand Satan’s wrong doing and the evils of sin. To be in good standing we must choose to accept and follow God and he will forgive us of all our sins. For those who are used to churches or people on street corners delivering fearful fire and brimstone preaching, this level of fairness to Satan may seem surprising. That’s why it is so important for us to open up our Bibles and find out for ourselves. The most important text are marked with an ‘*’.

*Deuteronomy 19:16-18, according to God’s will, there must be a 3rd party to oversee any trial.

1 Corinthians 6:1-3, the saints will judge the world (those who choose to follow God are the saints).

Revelation 20:5-6, (King James version), Ephesians 1:1 and Colossians 1:2, those who choose to follow God are the saints or the ‘priests’ of God.

Daniel 7:10 and Jude 1:14-16, the angels act as our jury in the end (Ex-Sodom and Gomorrah).

Romans 2:5, When God’s judgement is revealed we will know that it was righteous.

*Romans 2:14-16, There are people who will never learn about God who will listen to their conscious and do good. These people will be saved.

1 Corinthians 10:13, so that we can continue to remain in good standing despite a world full of sin, God offers a way out of every temptation.

*Revelation 20:11-13, those who aren’t saved will be presented the book of life and will find out why.

Revelation 14:11, in the end, everyone will declare God to be just.

1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6 and Titus 2:14, we are not just rats in a maze or slaves. We are special to God, a royal priesthood. We should willingly declare praises to God for bringing us out of darkness and to the truth. Jesus gave himself to redeem us so that he could have a people of his own.

*Romans 16:20, A reference to Genesis 3:15 which implies that Satan will be able to injure us but we will ultimately be the means by which he is put to an end. This implies that while Satan will be defeated by God, we will have some participation in this. Ezekiel 28:17 says God will make a spectacle of Satan.

**Genesis 1:26-28 and Psalm 8:4-9, this is given 2 stars because it is often misunderstood, traditionally when we think of being made in ‘God’s image’ we think this means that God has 2 eyes, 10 fingers and 10 toes. This is not correct; many Bible scholars agree that being made in God’s image means that we have dominion over the earth (and its creatures) the way God has dominion (over the universe). Being created in God’s image allows us to: have dominion over the earth, have the ability to create life, know what it’s like to have your children rebel against you and know the pain of death and sin. These experiences on earth allow us to sympathize with God’s judgement to rid the earth of sin, Satan and those who through their actions and beliefs choose not to accept God’s gift of eternal life.

*John 5:22, Isiah 53:3-12, 2 Corinthians 5:18 and Matt 4:1-11, the judge will ultimately be Jesus. This is the fairest choice since he has 1st hand experience with the human condition but has never sinned. God’s connection with us is through Jesus. He was tempted just like Adam was.

John 5:31-33, Jesus never testified on behalf of himself, otherwise his testimony would not be valid.

Genesis 3:2-5, the problem with Eve’s decision to eat the apple is that she wanted to be independent of her creator and have knowledge of good and evil. God is the source of life, so apart from him you cannot have life; this is why we need to accept him to gain eternal life. Rejecting him will lead to your destruction. God allows you to make this decision for yourself. The knowledge of good and evil lead to our separation from God. Satan’s pitch to humanity is that we don’t need God to be righteous. Satan’s original sin was his need to be like God and the belief that he didn’t need God to be righteous.