"For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard...
...and about the eleventh hour he went out and found other standing. And he said to them 'why do you stand here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.'
And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it, they grumbled at the master of the house, saying 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'" --- Matthew 20:1, 6-16

I have heard before the objection made to Christianity that it isn't fair. That vicious murderers and killers and international terrorists could be allowed into God's eternal rest, if only they truly repent and follow Christ, honoring Him as their Savior.

Surely, the objection goes, a God who is fair to his lifelong followers who in many cases suffer for His sake shouldn't regard these latecomers as equal to the long-faithful.

Friend, I am doing you no wrong...do you begrudge my generosity?

It is not out of unfairness that God offers such sweeping salvation. After all, though we may not kill, we have all certainly at one point become angry; God regards the two as equal offenses.

And though we may not embezzle on a grand scale, certainly there is no one who is entirely innocent of greed.

And so it goes down the list of any charge that may be levied: though our offense may not be vast, it is still an offense.

Though the tablets of God's law are not cast off a cliff, they are nonetheless shattered. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous; no, not one.

So why should a vile sinner who seeks forgiveness sooner be treated more favorably than a vile sinner who seeks forgiveness later? Is it truly just to execute the one imprisoned serial killer and release the other who confesses some remorse?

And so the true nature of the picture comes into focus; the forgiven are no less guilty. We are by our nature no less deserving of eternal wrath and torment. We hold only the distinction that we have already sought and been granted grace. If another of our equal corruption seeks the same grace, should he really be denied?

The Christian is a man who, once placed on death row, has acknowledged guilt and been pardoned. Why should the next man to repent not be granted the same?