Over and Above This World

Is God Unjust?  Not at all!  For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

(Romans 9:14-15)

Standing over and above this world is the Great Judge of all.  Though men may mistreat me, God never does.  That God allows a human being to mistreat me unjustly is just of God.  While I may complain to God about the human justice I have suffered, I cannot rise up and accuse God of committing an injustice by allowing the human injustice to befall me.  God would be perfectly just to allow me to be thrown in prison for life for a crime I didn't commit.  I may be innocent before men, but I am guilty before God.

We often blame God for injustices done to us and harbor in our souls the bitter feeling that God has not been fair toward us.  Even if we recognize that He is gracious, we think that He has not been gracious enough.  We deserve more grace.

Please read that last sentence again:  We deserve more grace.  What is wrong with that sentence?  Grammatically it is fine.  It has a subject, a verb, and a direct object.  There is no need for the editor's red pencil in that regard.  But there is something seriously wrong with the content, with the meaning of the sentence.

It is impossible for anyone, anywhere, anytime to deserve grace.  Grace by definition is undeserved.  As soon as we talk about deserving something, we are no longer talking about grace;  we are talking about justice.  Only justice can be deserved.  God is never obligated to be merciful.  Mercy and grace must be voluntary or they are no longer mercy and grace.  God never "owes" grace.  He reminds us more than once, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy."  This is the divine prerogative.  God reserves for Himself the supreme right of executive clemency.

--R.C. Sproul