“That’s not fair.”
How many times have we heard or said this in our lifetime? Especially from children, who instinctively know when someone’s gotten a little more than them and thus freely question the fairness of the situation. We all do it all the time, whether we express it in words or not.
There is a biblical doctrine that really elicits this “not fair” response and it is the doctrine of “original sin”. The clearest NT statements of this are in Romans 5 and I’m going to quote the relevant part of verses from vs. 12 all the way to vs. 19.
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men
Romans 5:12-19 (partial) LSB
15 For if by the transgression of the one the many died
16 for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation
17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one
18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men
19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were appointed sinners
As you read these, the “that’s not fair” SHOULD arise within you for the Bible is clearly teaching that we are judged, condemned, and we die through one man’s disobedience – Adam. We are held responsible and suffer the consequences for what the original human man did. That is simply not fair.
The apostle Paul in Romans 5 is not the only place this is upheld. King David in Psalm 51 says the following:
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
Psalms 51:5 LSB
And in sin my mother conceived me.
David is not saying his mother was unmarried and had him out of wedlock. He is simply acknowledging the fact that at conception, when we are formed as a unique individual, we are at that time sinners, born to parents who are sinners. We are sinners before we emerge from the womb, grow up, and do “bad” things that harm other people or rebel against God’s revealed will.
So as you read this section of Romans 5 and see what David said in Psalm 51, the “that’s not fair” SHOULD arise within you because you are being held responsible for something you yourself did not do. I don’t argue that point. I also won’t argue the point that every day I prove that I’m just like Adam in my own right, but that’s not the point of this post. The point is it is true that it is not fair that I’m held responsible and suffer the consequences for what Adam did thousands and thousands of years before I was born.
But I learned a while back that when it comes to God, I DO NOT WANT FAIR. The LAST thing I want is for him to be fair to me. I want GRACE, not fairness and when we put it like that, I think you’ll agree. But let’s talk about this fairness thing.
What I came to see is the only way I can be declared perfectly righteous in God’s sight is the same exact way I’m guilty through Adam’s original sin. There is a glory here to see and behold. You see, when I quoted those Romans 5 verses above, I only quoted half. The other half is showing this vital, crucial, incredible truth:
In the same way I am guilty in Adam – in that SAME way I can be righteous in Jesus Christ.
I pray that lands on you like a ton of bricks if you’ve not gloried in that truth before. I am fully guilty for what Adam did and am due his penalty, and I can be equally declared utterly righteous for what Christ did in living a perfect life before His Father and am due his reward. I can’t get over that. Go read the full verses in Romans 5:12-19 as I’ve only quoted half. They are comparing and contrasting what we are “in Adam” with what believers now are “in Christ”.
“Fair” goes out the window and I’m glad as I do not want fair. I want to be treated as though I lived Christ’s perfect life, which I did not. But that is the offer of the gospel and it’s incredible.
The title of this post is “Federal not fair” so I need to talk about what that means. Federal is meant in terms of “federal headship” – a head, a representative that represents others that are “in him” – in his camp. We are conceived and born under the federal headship of Adam, guilty and condemned in him as our head. We prove we are worthy of it every day with our own personal sin, but our original guilt is because we are “in Adam”.
But the glory of the gospel is you can switch headship. You can switch to being “in Christ” through repentance and faith in Him. Then he becomes your federal head, your representative, and you are now treated with what he deserves instead of what Adam deserved.
Do you see the glory in this? Will you drop all pretense of “that’s not fair”? Do you now see the last thing you want from God is fairness? You want the mercy and grace available to you that will switch you from Adam as your federal representative to Christ as your federal representative.
God, I do not want fair from you, I want to be “in Christ” and treated as if I lived his perfectly obedient life and not my life where I’ve proven I was born “in Adam” every day. Thank you that his federal headship is available to me through simple repentance and faith. Amen.