We hear it all the time, shoot, we say it all the time. "That's not fair!" or some variation thereof is our go to cry when we perceive an inequity or an injustice in our lives. We actually tend to treat justice and fairness as if they are the same thing, And conflating these two has on occasion been used as a basis for the idea that "If there is a god, he isn't a just god, and so the Christian God is declared illegitimate. There's a lot of angles that people will take to advance either that argument or others, and so this is by no means an all inclusive discussion, we're focusing on just the topic of fairness and justice. Let's look at the actual definitions of the words, per Merriam Webster:
Justice: : the process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals
Fairness: agreeing with what is thought to be right or acceptable, treating people in a way that does not favor some over others
So, we see that while these are somewhat similar concepts, they don't mean quite the same thing. Justice is concerned with a legal code. Fairness is concerned with equitable treatment between persons. Let's look at a really simple example. 2 persons are speeding down the highway. A police officer pulls one over but not the other. This isn't fair, both parties were speeding, but only one was caught and punished. They aren't being treated equitably. However, it is just that the person get the speeding ticket, because they broke the law. So, a just action is not always a fair action.
There is a side discussion here worth at least acknowledging. How is an action determined to be just or fair? The only way this works is if there is a universal, absolute standard unto itself. This is not something that can be determined by a simple majority opinion. Just because something is determined legal in a given time and place, in no way means that it is just, righteous, or holy. And the determination of whether or not something is just is not a matter that can rightly be determined by finite individuals working with limited knowledge and experience whose minds are readily changed.
This connects us to the doctrine of Gods Immutability. God does not change. The very nature of the idea of justice demands that there must be a standard that is self-sufficient, and that is immutable. While there are more hoops that could be jumped through, the punchline is that there exists a logical mandate for there to be a divine law. These are also two of the qualities of God. Anyone wanting to investigate the idea that God is self sufficient I would encourage to consult Summa Contra Gentiles by Thomas Aquinas. And should anyone be interested in examining the idea that God does not change, I would encourage them to start with Erickson's God the Father Almighty.
Before I end, there is one last thing I wish to address. God is declared just in the Bible in 2 Thessalonians 1:6 and 1 John 1:9. One of the more common ideas put forward is that no god of love could possibly condemn people to an eternity in hell for a few years on this planet. Were God not just, then perhaps this could work as an argument, but the love of God is compatible with His justice. God is not simply a being who loves or is just, God IS love and IS just. We didn't ascribe these ideas to God because they seemed to fit who we thought God should be, rather, we understand these ideas because we were created in the image of God.
The nature of the Gospel message is that all have sinned against God. We broke the law, we're criminals, or perhaps more accurately, we're traitors. A just God cannot help but punish this infraction. He must punish it, and the wages of sin is death. But a God of love offers us redemption in spite of our failing. "For God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for our sins." He offers us salvation from the damnation we justly have earned by our own actions. Is God fair? Yes, salvation is offered to all. It is not justice to ignore unrepentant treason. It is only the love of God that would permit any of us to be redeemed. So yes, a God of love will allow persons to reap the reward of their actions, even if it would grieve him; for a God of justice must punish the violations of his law, and a God of love must allow free-will.
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