But some people might be thinking about this in a human way and ask, “Doesn’t the fact that we’re wrong prove more clearly that God is right? So how is it fair for God to punish us?”
I’m using an example from everyday human life to help you understand. You used to offer yourselves as slaves to dirty habits, and you did more and more things that were wrong. Now offer yourselves as slaves to the right way of living. Then you will become holy.
What should we say then? That the law is sinful? Not at all! But I wouldn’t have known what sin was unless the law had told me. The law says, “Do not covet.” If the law hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have known that wanting what belongs to other people was “coveting,” and that it was wrong.
Because you’re being so stubborn, and you’re not sorry in your heart for your sins, you’re making God more and more angry with you. The day of God’s anger is coming. Then he will pass judgment openly and fairly.
“Celebrate this, you heavens! Celebrate, people of God! Celebrate, apostles and prophets! God has judged her with the same judgment she passed against you.”
and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb. They sang, “Lord God Almighty, everything you do is great and amazing. King of the nations, your ways are true and fair.
If I fought wild animals in Ephesus with nothing more than human hopes, then what did I gain by that? If the dead aren’t raised, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we’ll die.”
My dear friends, don’t try to get even with other people. Leave it up to God to punish them. After all, it’s written that the Lord says, “I’m the one who punishes people who do wrong, and I will pay them back.”
We know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are governed by the law. Its purpose is to silence every excuse and hold the whole world accountable to God.
Someone else might argue, “My dishonesty makes it clearer that God is truthful. It makes his glory shine more brightly. So why does he want to punish me for doing wrong?”
Look at what that godly sadness has produced in you. You’re working hard to clear yourselves. You’re upset and alarmed. You’re longing to see me. You’re concerned about what has happened. You want to make sure that the right thing is done. In every way, you’ve shown that you’re not at fault.