Message for THE LORD'S DAY EVENING, September 25, 2016 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister TOPIC: Suffering, Questions and Answers from The Bible Why Is There So Much Evil and Suffering? ROMANS 5:12 (NKJV) Please open your Bibles to ROMANS chapter five. And let's read verse 12. ROMANS 5:12 (NKJV) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. P R A Y E R ***************************************************** I N T R O D U C T I O N ILLUSTRATION Several years ago, George Barna head of the Barna Research Group did a survey on this topic: If you could ask God one question, what would it be? The number one response was: Why is there pain and suffering in the world?
This is the question that is always asked after a natural disaster or catastrophe...or after a mass shooting where dozens of innocent victims lost their lives...or after a horrific terrorist attack. Why would a good and loving God ever allow such things to happen? Sometimes the question becomes more personal. In fact, sometimes even we who are Christians have a hard time resolving this issue in our own minds when evil or suffering strikes close to home. * Why didn't God heal my mate of cancer? * Why did God allow my son or daughter to die? * Why did God allow my loved one to die in that car wreck? * Why didn't God keep my marriage from falling apart? * Why did God allow such a good Christian man or woman to be murdered? C.S. Lewis once called the problem of evil and suffering The atheist's greatest weapon against Christianity. Atheists believe the presence of so much evil and suffering in the world proves there is no God. Atheists believe if God truly exists, and if He truly is the good and loving God that we Christians profess Him to be, He would never allow all this evil and suffering to go on in the world. Their argument is, If God really does exist He would rid the world of all evil and suffering.
Well, let's think about that for a minute. If God were to rid the world of all evil and suffering, wouldn't He start by getting rid of all the atheists? (pause) And doesn't that mean God would have to rid the world of everyone who has evil thoughts...and everyone who has evil intentions...and everyone who says evil things? And doesn't that mean God would have to rid the world of you and me, because Romans 3:10 says, There is none righteous, no, not one. And Romans 3:23 says, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You see, the basic premise of the question, Why is there so much evil and suffering in the world is that the world is full of innocent people, when in fact, none of us are innocent in the sense we have never sinned, right? ************************** As we think about this question of Why Is There So Much Evil and Suffering there are three issues I would like for us to consider in tonight's message. First of all, let's consider... I. What Is The ORIGIN of EVIL and SUFFERING? 1. To answer this question we have to go all the way back to to the very first book in the Bible, the Book of Genesis. 2. You remember when God created man from the dust of the earth he placed him in the Garden of Eden. And before God ever created Eve, He gave Adam very specific instructions on what he could and could not eat in the Garden.
In Genesis 2:16-17 (NKJV) we read, And the LORD God commanded the man saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. 3. Did you ever wonder why God didn't just put a tall wall or fence around the tree of knowledge of good and evil or why He didn't place angelic guards all around the tree to keep Adam from ever getting near it? The reason God didn't do that is because He created man with a free will to choose between right and wrong, between obedience and disobedience. 4. After God gave this commandment to Adam, God saw how lonely Adam was. And God said, It is not good for man to be alone, I will make him a helper comparable to him. (Genesis 2:18) So God created woman from the rib of man, and the two became one flesh as husband and wife. 5. Well we know what happened after that don't we? The serpent sees Eve walking through the garden one day and he begins to tempt her to eat of the forbidden fruit. He tempts her to defy the authority of God and to disobey His command.
Eve gives into the temptation and eats the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and then she gives some to Adam, and he too ate the forbidden fruit, knowing good and well they were rebelling against God. 6. Now follow along with me as I read from Genesis chapter three, beginning with VERSE 13... GENESIS 3:13-19 (NKJV) 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. 16 To the woman He said: I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. 17 Then to Adam He said, Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it : Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.
7. Now listen to that verse I read at the very outset of the message and the picture will become crystal clear. ROMANS 5:12 (NKJV) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. 8. Before man sinned in the garden this world was an absolute paradise! Before man sinned in the Garden there was NO EVIL and NO SUFFERING in the world. Before man sinned there were no hurricanes or tornadoes or earthquakes. Before man sinned there was no sickness...no disease...or death. Before man sinned there were no mass killings...no war...and no acts of terrorism. 9. The reason why there is SO MUCH EVIL AND SUFFERING IN THE WORLD IS BECAUSE OF MAN, NOT GOD! Evil and suffering are the product of man's sin...man's rebellion against God's authority...man's disobedience to God's commands. MAN DID THIS, NOT GOD! But if there is one truth the Bible teaches us it is this: GOD CAN ALWAYS BRING GOOD OUT OF EVIL AND SUFFERING. And that brings us to the second thing we want to consider and that is...
II. What Is The PURPOSE of EVIL and SUFFERING 1. Believe it or not, GOD can use the presence of evil and suffering in this world to accomplish good in the lives of those who will trust in Him. Let's consider a few of those good purpose... (A) The presence of evil and suffering TESTS and STRENGTHENS our faith. I Peter 1:6-8 (NKJV) In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, There is nothing pleasant or enjoyable about living in a world where there is so much evil and suffering is there? But it is in the presence of evil and suffering and death and loss and tragedy that our faith in God is tested and strengthened.
(B) The presence of evil and suffering teaches us we truly are our BROTHER'S KEEPER. In Luke 10 Jesus tells us The Parable of The Good Samaritan. You remember in that parable there was a man who was beaten and robbed and left for dead on the Jericho road. He was a victim of terrible evil and suffering. The two religious men who came upon the victim passed by him on the other side and went on their merry way. He wasn't their problem, they thought! But then the Samaritan came along and was moved with compassion, and he cleaned the man's wounds and bandaged him, and sat him on his own donkey, and took him to an inn, and paid for his care out of his own pocket until the man was well. Have you noticed how tragedy and disasters always seems to bring the best out in a lot of people? When a family loses everything in a house fire, or a tornado, or a flood, or hurricane, people who are total strangers will come to help the victims in their time of need. You see, there is something about the presence of evil and suffering in the world that reminds us we truly are our brother's keeper!
(C) The presence of evil and suffering turns the THOUGHTS of man HEAVENWARD. Psalm 121:1,2 (NKJV) I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD ORD,, Who made heaven and earth. We saw this after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. People who never thought about God, people who hadn't darkened the doors of a Church building in years were in Church the Sunday after the attacks. The sad thing is, it was short-lived in the lives of the vast majority of those people. But at least for a brief period of time, the presence of that terrible evil and suffering caused man's thoughts to turn heavenward. (D) The presence of evil and suffering reminds every man of his own MORTALITY. I Samuel 20:3b (NKJV) But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. In his pride, man seldom thinks about his mortality. Sinful man lives life as though it will never end, giving no thought whatsoever to eternity.
But when we see people taken out of this world in an instant by the devastating winds of a tornado, or an encounter with a drunk driver on the highway, or by the bullet of of a crazed mad man, it is a sobering reminder that it could happen to any one of us. And when these things happen it causes us to hug our kids a little closer and to love our loved ones a little stronger knowing but for the grace of God, we or our loves ones could leave this world in the blink of an eye! (E) The presence of evil and suffering causes us to LONG for HEAVEN. II Corinthians 4:16-18 (NKJV) Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. When you hear on the news about the horrible evils and terrible suffering that goes on in this world, doesn't it make you long for the place where there will be no more evil or suffering?
Remember that wonderful promise of the LORD in Revelation 21:4 (NKJV) And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. 2. Who else but Almighty GOD could bring good out of all the evil and suffering in this world? Who else but Almighty God could accomplish His divine purpose in the midst of all this evil and suffering? Finally and briefly, let's consider... III. What Should Our RESPONSE Be To EVIL and SUFFERING 1. The answer to that is very simple and that is we should respond with FAITH and TRUST in God. Proverbs 3:5,6 (NKJV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. 2. There will always be horrible evil and terrible suffering in this fallen and cursed world. There will always be tragedies, and catastrophes, and disasters, and despicable atrocities committed by man against his fellow man.
3. And these things will leave us shaking our heads and wondering why doesn't God do something! 4. The answer is: God did do something! He joined us! He became one of us! He came to live in this world full of evil and suffering. He came here to experience our suffering. He came here to endure our pain. He came here to become the object of the most evil, most heinous act ever committed against a human being. He suffered and died on the cross of Calvary so He could rescue us from this fallen and cursed world and give us eternal life in heaven. 5. God doesn't ask us to UNDERSTAND all the evil and suffering, He simply asks that we put all our FAITH and TRUST in Him. ********************************************************************* C O N C L U S I O N Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission to reach multitudes of Chinese people who had never heard the gospel. During the terrible days of The Boxer Rebellion in 1900 and 1901, when missionaries were being captured and killed, Hudson Taylor went through such agony in his soul that he couldn't even pray. Taylor wrote these words in his diary: I can't read. I can't think. I can't pray. But I can trust. There will be times when we can't read our Bibles, times when we can't focus our thoughts on spiritual things, times when we can't even say the simplest of prayers. But in those moments when we can't do anything else, WE CAN TRUST that God is in control and working all things together for GOOD!