It's Not Fair

Grace: It’s Not Fair

Bible Passage: Ro 5:12–21

Intro

Growing up we’ve all probably had an experience when we would work really hard for something and then find out later that our parents ended up getting the same thing we got and give it to one of our siblings. This of course would induce the response. “That’s not fair!” You parents in the room who are trying really hard to NOT play favourites (although you totally have favourites), say you’re celebrating a your birthday and you cut the cake… How careful are you to make sure that each kid gets the SAME amount of cake? Because you know what will happen if one kid as one gram extra… “It’s Not Fair!” We tend to use that phrase a bit. Cop pulls you over for going 60 in a 50 zone, even though people around you are going 110. “It’s not fair!” You get the question on the math test wrong even though the number was correct, your work was wrong. “It’s not fair!” Your co-worker gets a raise that you’ve been working way harder for. “It’s not fair!” The person in your group project who contributed nothing to your team except post a selfie with the caption #teamwork on their instagram story. “It’s not fair!” You’re sitting in the ER with a legit medical emergency for hours and they take someone with a light cough before even looking at you. “It’s not fair!” Someone cuts you off in traffic and the light turns yellow and they’re the last car who made it through and now because of that you’re stuck at a red light for 2-3 minutes. “It’s not fair!” That one unemployed person on social media who gets to travel the world while you’re working 60+ hours a week just to make ends meet. “It’s not fair!”

Doesn’t it bug you when life isn’t fair? Doesn’t it make your blood boil? Do you ever wish that life would be fair once and for all? I mean that sounds pretty good right? People who commit crimes wouldn’t evade the justice system, you would get to have a healthy work/life balance, your crush would finally notice you (maybe… Kinda hard to defend that one), you’d get that raise you’ve been working years for.

1. I need to Recognize my Sinful Nature

Romans 5:12–14 (NIV)

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

Now I know what you might be thinking if you’re a bit of a skeptic, “How can I be guilty of something Adam did thousands of years ago?” I want to take a brief moment to challenge your thinking and understanding of the Fall of humanity in Genesis 3. Sin isn’t some voodoo curse from some ancient temple in a forest because some dude opened a tomb he shouldn’t have. Sin is a choice to either do the opposite of God’s will, or do nothing at all. The word for sin in Greek is “hamaritia” which means to ‘miss the mark.’ This little phrase was attached to a people who used slingshots and could hit the freckles off a fly. They were precise. So we know that ‘missing the mark’ is sin… But what is that ‘Mark’ and how can we hit it?

The ‘mark’ is perfection. God’s standard for all creation is perfection. The moment you aren’t perfect, you’ve ‘missed the mark’ and are no longer qualified to dwell within God’s presence. That sucks. I know, you were planning on coming into church feeling a happy-go-lucky sermon only to be reminded that you’re not perfect. I get it. It was depressing writing this out since I’m a perfectionist. We can all agree here that at least once in our lives, we’ve messed up… If you still think you’re perfect after that… Have you ever said something… less than encouraging to someone after they cut you off in traffic? Have you ever said something mean about someone in your school, at your work, or in your own friend circles? Have you ever told a lie? If you said yes to any of those common examples, you’re not perfect.

Imagine you have a glass of water. It’s totally clear, nice and cool, like taking a sip at midnight. Now I put one small drop of cyanide in it. Can you drink it? No! It’s polluted, it’s contaminated, it’s poisonous and drinking it will kill you. Sin is the same way. Once you’ve added that one drop of cyanide/sin in your life, you’re polluted, contaminated, poisonous.

Okay… I’m not perfect. I get that. By definition of missing the mark, I can no longer be with God. I will spend eternity away from Him… Guess what. That’s life being fair. That was the agreement. But don’t tune me out just yet. There’s more to this passage.

2. I need to Remember my Unfair Saviour

Romans 5:15–17 (NIV)

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

Romans 5:18–21 (ESV)

18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I get that this passage might have been a little confusing with all of the fancy words. Basically, here Adam is the counterpart to Jesus. Adam is representative of all of humanity’s sin, Christ is the representative of salvation, righteous, and restored humanity. Christ has overcome all of Adam’s Sin. God gave a very serious warning. The payment for sin is death, the spilling of the blood of the culprit. In the Old Testament, they would try and pay each sin off by putting their sin onto an animal to take their place in death. The problem is that no one had the authority to ultimately pay for the sins of humanity since only a human could pay it. But no human was perfect. So no human was qualified to pay it. In comes Jesus. Perfect, unblemished from sin, incarnated as a human being, which not only made him able to pay for the sins of humanity, but was also qualified to do it. Paul writes that the cost of sin is large. But the perfection of Jesus covers it. The scale is tipped. Christ’s sacrifice weighs more than the sins you and I have committed and continue to commit.

Imagine a courtroom where a guilty criminal stands before the judge, weighed down with evidence of wrongdoing. Just as the gavel is about to fall, a figure emerges, voluntarily taking the criminal's place and paying the full penalty. This is what Jesus did for us—His gift of righteousness not only covers our sins but also grants us a new identity. In this hypothetical scenario, we see how Jesus' sacrifice far outweighs the consequences of Adam’s sin.

Bringing it back to our cyanide in water analogy, the forgiveness of Christ isn’t some remedy that treats the water. This gift is a never ending stream of water pouring into the glass, causing it to overflow and push the cyanide out. The evil in our hearts is forced out. We couldn’t do that with our own power. We needed someone from the outside to help us in a way where we can’t help each other. How is that fair? Jesus has given us a gift that we didn’t earn. He paid for something which we have no right towards. It isn’t fair. Not in the slightest!

Bringing It All Together

To better illustrate this concept, I want to go into the gospel of John for a moment. In chapter 8, a woman gets brought out and was caught in the act of adultery. The penalty at the time written by the Law of Moses for adultery was death by stoning. So the religious leaders all gather around and prepared to stone her. Jesus comes in and asks what’s going on. The leaders tell Him that this woman was caught in adultey. Side note… If she was caught in adultery… Where’s the guy? Why isn’t he there as well? Anyways, aside from the clear mysogny of the leaders, Jesus does something that many of us overlook. Jesus says the famous line “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus actually looked at them and went along with their plan to stone her. He didn’t break the law of Moses. He actually fulfilled it. However, the only ones qualified to stone her were those who were without sin. The passage reads that the older ones left first. They knew they had sin and weren’t qualified to dish out the payment. Everybody leaves… Except for the woman and Jesus, that’s where in verse 10,

John 8:10–11 (ESV)

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Jesus was the only one there who was qualified to deal the payment for that sin. But much like what He shows later, He doesn’t just forget the sin and walk away, He took the sin of this woman on the cross with Him. Suffered for her, had chunks missing out of His back for her. He was mocked for her. In what way is this idea of Justice fair?

There’s actually a question that’s commonly asked around those who struggle with the idea of sin and suffering in the world. They ask, “Why doesn’t God just end all sin? Why doesn’t God just end all suffering?” I struggled with that question throughout Bible School until my 4th year. The answer I came to was simple. If God decided tomorrow to get rid of all sin just like that, He would start with me. If God wanted to rid the world of evil, He would start with us who cause it.

So I actually have a new response for whenever I look at something and say that “Life isn’t fair.” Because let me tell you, I’m so grateful that life isn’t fair. I’m so glad that God isn’t fair. I’m so glad that grace isn’t fair. Because if life was fair, if God was fair, if grace was fair, I wouldn’t have it. I wouldn’t be standing here preaching the Good News to you.

BIG IDEA

This year 2025, there’s a lot of excitement for what God’s going to do. However, there’s also a lot of fear of the unknown in a world that is seemingly losing its mind. But I want us to go into this year with the mindset of the extraordinary nature of God’s mercy, which goes beyond our human understanding of fairness. As we reflect on God’s grace, especially during moments of struggle and inadequacy, we are reminded of our complete dependence on His boundless love. This divine mercy, freely given and undeserved, invites us into a transformative relationship with God. It challenges our understanding of justice and compels us to reevaluate how we view ourselves and others. Through Christ’s sacrifice, we are not just forgiven but are also empowered to live a life marked by grace, compassion, and purpose. This mercy infuses every aspect of our existence, from our personal struggles to our interactions with others, urging us to extend the same love and grace we have received. As we embrace this gift, our lives become a testament to the boundless and radical nature of God's mercy this year. Let’s use this gift of grace and mercy to inspire us to take action. To give of our time, to give of our talents, to give of our treasures. Because we were given a gift we could never repay. I think the least we could do is try our best to pay it forward, as inadequate as it may be or as limited as our time/resources/talents are. Let’s try to give a little bit of ourselves as thanks for the gift we’ve received. Let this year be marked by our actions because of this gift.

Divine favor, not fairness, defines true mercy. Let this profound truth transform our hearts and relationships, allowing us to become conduits of God’s incredible compassion in the world.

I want to leave you with a big idea, it’s a way to sum up all we learned here in one phrase.

We were Condemned by one, and Redeemed by The One.

Questions:

In what ways can acknowledging our sinful nature lead to a deeper appreciation of grace?

In what specific areas of your life can you extend compassion and grace to others as a reflection of God’s mercy?