{"id":7816,"date":"2006-11-16T11:45:31","date_gmt":"2006-11-16T17:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=7816"},"modified":"2019-08-20T11:50:32","modified_gmt":"2019-08-20T16:50:32","slug":"can-god-be-fair-if-he-doesnt-give-a-sinner-another-chance-to-repent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-god-be-fair-if-he-doesnt-give-a-sinner-another-chance-to-repent\/","title":{"rendered":"Can God be fair if He doesn’t give a sinner another chance to repent?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

You said, “People, and sometimes nations, guilty of extreme or extended sin were killed, but this was not murder but avenging the wickedness caused by these people or nations.”<\/a> I agree with this statement, but it is hard to understand because, in the New Testament, we get this picture of God that is very, very gracious and understanding, but still to be revered. But it seems in the Old Testament, those who were wicked were condemned to death seemingly taking away their chance at repentance. For example, Sodom was destroyed for their perversion and corruption. Did God know that none of them would repent? Even the man on the cross who was being punished for his wickedness was able to repent. Obviously, as he is told, “today you will be with me in Paradise.” Today, no matter what degree of wickedness a man has, he is given a chance to repent. Was it Dromer, the mass murderer, who was converted in prison before his execution? How do we reason with this, because we know that God wouldn’t change?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Let’s start with a fundamental concept and build up from there. The Bible is clear that the nature and character of God do not change. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?<\/em>” (Numbers 23:19). It does not mean God doesn’t change His mind concerning man, such as in Genesis 6:5-6), but that is not because God changes but because man changes. Therefore, when we talk about the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament, we are not talking about two different beings. He is one and the same; just as it is said about the Son of God, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever<\/em>” (Hebrews 13:8). God doesn’t change. “Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail<\/em>” (Hebrews 1:12).<\/p>\n

It is in the New Testament that we are warned, “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off<\/em>” (Romans 11:22). What is happening is that you are oversimplifying your view of God. You are focusing on His love while ignoring His justice, but God is both.<\/p>\n

How long were the people of Sodom involved in sin before God finally decided to destroy them? “And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know<\/em>” (Genesis 18:20-21). God wanted Abraham, and us as well, to know that the destruction of Sodom was not arbitrary or spur of the moment. He\u00a0personally<\/em>\u00a0checked out the situation! He even agreed to not destroy the cities (there were five involved, though one was spared for Lot’s sake) if He could find just ten righteous people in the area (Genesis 18:32). So why were the cities destroyed? Because of their grave sins and the fact that only four righteous people were found. There was an opportunity for more to leave than just four, but none would listen. So where was the lack of a chance to repent?<\/p>\n

How many “one more chance” does a person need? I can’t answer that question. No man could because we can’t read the mind of a man. But God can. God allows this world to continue so people can have a chance to repent (II Peter 3:9), but it won’t last forever. An end is planned (II Peter 3:10-12).<\/p>\n

Ultimately, every man has a choice whether to choose sin or righteousness. This is the guaranteed choice that we all have (I Corinthians 10:13). No one\u00a0has<\/em> to sin. Everyone chooses to sin and the consequence of that sin is death (Romans 6:23). God is gracious and merciful toward us in that he doesn’t give us what we have justly earned immediately. He has demonstrated great love toward us in that we don’t have to earn our salvation back because none of us would be able to earn it. But what you are doing is turning it all around and saying, “Yeah, I know I earned death, but I want another chance … maybe.” If that endless one more chance isn’t given you want to cry “UNFAIR!” “Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?<\/em>” (Ezekiel 18:29).<\/p>\n

I wrote a study not too long ago about the nature of God. It will take a bit of time, but please go through\u00a0The Lord Your God is an Awesome God!<\/a><\/em>\u00a0It will take you through the Scriptures and give you a better appreciation for the nature of the God you and I serve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: You said, “People, and sometimes nations, guilty of extreme or extended sin were killed, but this was not murder but avenging the wickedness caused by these people or nations.” I agree with this statement, but it is hard to understand because, in the New Testament, we get this picture of God that is very,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[90,523,406,50],"class_list":["post-7816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-god","tag-justice","tag-murder","tag-repentance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":70789,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-men-act-when-they-repent\/","url_meta":{"origin":7816,"position":0},"title":"How Men Act When They Repent","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steve Klein via Seeking the Things Above In Matthew 12:41, Jesus said, \"The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.\" According to Jesus, the men\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35980,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/death-bed-repentance\/","url_meta":{"origin":7816,"position":1},"title":"Death Bed Repentance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by David J. Riggs A neighbor lady who had become a rather close friend to my wife, came into our home and said, \"Do you believe in death-bed repentance?\" This was not the first time I had been required to give an answer on this topic. My answer is, \"I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Death-Bed-300x239.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":66252,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/repent-of-your-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":7816,"position":2},"title":"Repent of Your Sins","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Nana Yaw Aidoo via The Gospel Preceptor, Vol. 7, No. 2, February 2024 Over and over again, the New Testament emphasizes the necessity of repentance in the salvation of humans. The first preacher in the New Testament is John the Baptizer. We are told that he was sent to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7809,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-god-command-us-not-to-murder-when-god-murdered-people-in-the-old-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":7816,"position":3},"title":"How can God command us not to murder when God murdered people in the Old Testament?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 14, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a Christian and I was wondering how we deal with the question: \"How can God command us not to murder when God murdered sometimes mass amounts of people in the Old Testament?\" Thanks. Answer: You're having difficulty understanding this because of your imprecise usage of words. God,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52348,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-god-deal-with-nations-who-did-not-know-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":7816,"position":4},"title":"Why did God deal with nations who did not know Him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Jonah, Nahum, and Obadiah prophesied against other nations. Why? Those people didn't know God. This would be the same as if some Hindu would tell me that Shiva is angry with me. This would only make me laugh. And similarly, and maybe I understand it wrong but God uses\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52523,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/planned-repentance\/","url_meta":{"origin":7816,"position":5},"title":"Planned Repentance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Cloyce Sutton Several years ago I met a man who was planning to repent. He had been a Christian for some time but worked a job that prevented him from attending services virtually all of the time. Eventually, he quit trying at all and fell away altogether. At the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7816\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}