Life's Toughest Question

What would you ask God if you could ask him one thing, one thing you're concerned about, you wonder about, you have problems with?

Well, the Barna Research Group did a survey several years ago, and they asked people that question.

If you could ask God one question, what would it be?

The number one response, why is there pain and suffering in the world?

That is the most commonly raised question or objection by unbelievers who explain why they don't believe.

I put it on your outline, something that John Stott, one of the most influential Christian writers over the past 50 years or more,

he agreed this is a very challenging question.

He stated it this way.

The fact of suffering undoubtedly constitutes the single greatest challenge to the Christian faith and has been in every generation.

So, thinking people, and I'm going to assume all of us are thinking people, thinking people have always wondered,

if God is good, why is there so much evil and suffering in this world?

If God is sovereign, why doesn't he prevent all these tragedies from happening?

And if God loves his children, us Christians, why does he allow us to experience pain and suffering?

Those are not just questions that unbelievers ask.

We as Christians, if you've never asked out loud, talked about it out loud, you've at least thought about it at times.

And these kind of questions naturally arise from the study we did last week on the providence of God.

How God is sovereign, how God is sovereign, totally in control.

Well, tonight we're going to look at how the Bible answers some of these questions.

Some of them will not be answered until we get to heaven.

But look on your outline, number one.

Suffering was not part of God's original creation, nor will it be a part of God's final new creation.

The Bible begins, Genesis 1, God created the heavens and the earth.

And it goes on to describe the days of creation after each day.

It says it was good and it comes to the end in verse 31.

And God saw everything that he had made and behold, it was very good.

Well, the Bible ends with God creating a new heaven and a new earth.

Revelation chapter 21, verse 1.

Revelation 21:1

And the promise that in this new heaven and new earth, everything will be good.

Look at two examples.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, now the dwelling of God is with men and he will live with them.

They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away.

And then verse 27.

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

We can conclude two things from the way God created everything in the beginning and the way he's going to recreate everything in the new heaven and a new earth.

Number one, God is not the source of sin, evil, and suffering.

It is absent from his original creation.

Everything was very good.

And it will be absent from the new creation, the new heaven and the earth, as he said.

Number two, sin, evil, and suffering are present only in this fallen sinful world.

Not a part of God's original creation.

It will not be a part of the way he recreates the new heaven and new earth where we'll spend eternity with him.

It's the only present.

Sin, evil, and suffering is the only present in this present fallen sinful world.

Let's look at what little bit we know about how it happened.

Number two, sin, evil, and suffering entered the world when Adam and Eve sinned.

In Genesis 3.

When it comes to the actual origin of evil, of sin, the Bible is silent.

But sometime between the end of creation, when he created everything and it was very good,

and the appearance of the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve that you read about in Genesis 3,

something happened.

Something happened that led to the existence of an evil being that the Bible refers to as Satan and sometimes the devil.

A few passages of Scripture indicate that rebellion against God took place in the, what we would call, angelic world.

Look at 2 Peter 2, 4, one verse.

And if God did not spare angels when they sinned.

Something that took place outside of what God reveals in his word.

And then Jude 6 is very similar to 2 Peter 2.

The book of Jude is very similar to the second chapter of 2 Peter.

And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling.

He is kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.

Now that's about all I know about that.

And anyone else.

Many people think that this rebellion against God in heaven resulted in the fall of a very powerful angel who became Satan or the devil.

And the less powerful angels who followed him in rebellion became his demons.

Now the Bible does not really spell this out.

The Bible does not explicitly tell us anything about that.

But there's a few passages that imply it.

Two are found in Revelation.

Note that they describe Satan as that ancient serpent.

In Revelation 12, 9.

And the great dragon was thrown down that that ancient serpent,

who was called the devil and Satan and the deceiver of the world.

He was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him.

And then 22.

And he sees the dragon, that ancient serpent,

who is the devil and Satan.

I want to emphasize in that he's called the serpent.

Because that's how he makes his first appearance in the Bible.

In Genesis 3, he's the serpent who tempted Eve and Adam to sin against God.

But there's no explanation as to where he came from.

God created everything and it was very good at the end of Genesis 1.

Genesis 2 describes God's special creation.

How he created Adam and then Eve.

Brought them together.

And then chapter 3.

There's the devil.

The ancient serpent.

There's no nothing

about why God allowed him

to come into existence

and then come into his garden,

his paradise.

The fact is that God has chosen

not to explain the original source of sin,

evil, and suffering.

There is no explanation.

There is no explanation of

why he allowed it.

How it came about

or anything like that.

But he does tell us

when and how sin, evil, and suffering

entered into this world

and the lives of human beings.

It's there in Genesis 3.

In the paradise of the Garden of Eden.

Perfection.

Perfect environment.

Adam and Eve created in the image of God

without sin.

They enjoyed perfect fellowship with God

and perfect fellowship with each other.

And it was in that environment

that Satan entered.

Came to them and tempted them.

He tempted them first to doubt God's word

and then to disobey God's word.

Doubt what God said.

And then disobey what God had clearly said.

Both Adam and Eve chose to listen to Satan

and to disobey God.

Read that in Genesis 1,

beginning in Genesis 3,

beginning in verse 1.

On your handout there,

verses 13, 7 through 13 are listed.

We're going to look at some of those

in particular now.

We can describe the immediate result

of their sin

was broken relationships.

The immediate result

of their sin

was number one,

their relationship with God

was broken.

They both became afraid of God

and tried to hide from Him.

Look at verse 8.

And they heard the sound of the Lord

walking in the garden

in the cool of the day.

And the man and his wife

hid themselves

from the presence of the Lord

among the trees of the garden.

They sinned.

Their eyes were opened.

Not in a good way.

And the first thing that they did,

they hid from God.

Then Adam implied

that it was God's fault

that they'd sinned.

Look at verse 12.

The man said,

The woman whom you gave

to be with me,

she gave me the fruit

of the tree

and I ate.

The blame game

is one of the oldest,

is probably the oldest game

in existence, isn't it?

He's blaming God.

Number two,

it's not just their relationship

with God,

their close,

intimate relationship

with God

we're talking about.

Walked with God,

talked with God.

But their close,

intimate relationship

with each other

was broken.

After the fall,

they were no longer

comfortable being naked

before each other.

So they covered up

with fig leaves.

It says in verse 7,

Then the eyes of both

were opened

and they knew

that they were naked.

And naked's not good.

It's not bad.

It's good.

That's why

Genesis 2 ends.

They were both naked

and they felt no shame.

It was just

the way it's supposed to be.

They sewed fig leaves together

and made themselves

loincloths.

They covered up.

They also turned

against each other.

Adam,

specifically,

blamed Eve.

Look again at verse 12

with a different emphasis

this time.

The man said,

The woman

whom you gave

to be with me.

She gave me

the fruit

of the tree

and I ate.

You see,

Adam,

he's the real culprit

in it all.

He let

his wife

be deceived.

Why didn't he

not speak up

when the devil

tempted them

because they were together?

But he

was not

being

the leader,

the man

that he should have been,

the protector

that God made him to be.

And then

when he failed

and he

sinned as well

through the eating,

he turns around

and blames God

and then

blames his wife.

That's been

an eternal

temptation

for us as men

to not be

who God's

called us to be

and when we fail,

we look around

and we'll find

somebody else

to blame.

We can get

a good idea

of the nature

of sin

by looking

at the immediate

effects of Adam

and Eve

and their sin.

Number one,

sin is rebellion

against God.

That's what they did.

Sin is rebellion

against God.

It is the failure

to do

what God commands.

Or

it is the doing

of what God

forbids.

It can be active

or passive.

Omission

or commission.

Sin is number two,

is the source

of evil

and suffering

in this world

as seen

in what the

entrance of sin

introduced

into God's

good creation.

I want you to look

at this list here.

After they sinned,

there was death.

There was separation

from God.

There was fear

and hiding

from God.

There was shame,

a lack of transparency

and intimacy

between husband

and wife.

There was a refusal

to accept

personal responsibility,

accusation,

and blame.

It's all there

in Scripture.

They're listed there

for you.

Pain and suffering

and the normal

experiences of life

like childbirth,

marriage,

the breakdown

of unity

and oneness.

Work.

There was a curse

upon the earth.

Then the next chapter,

chapter four,

there was jealousy,

there was anger,

there was jealousy,

there was pride,

and the first murder.

Brother kills brother.

Now,

that's sort of

a little introduction

on how sin

and evil

and suffering

entered into this world.

But I want us

to look now

at how God

is still in control

and He can be trusted

to take care of us

in the midst

of a life

surrounded by sin,

evil,

and suffering.

Now,

I want everybody,

if you would,

to turn to

2 Corinthians 7,

2 Corinthians 12,

and we're going

to look at

verses 7 through 10

in particular.

And they're on

the back

of your outline.

2 Corinthians chapter 12.

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

You don't have

to turn there.

I forgot that

I put it on here.

I thought I wasn't

going to have room.

It's on that sheet.

Paul gives us

in 2 Corinthians 12

one of the best examples

of how God

works through

the evil actions

of Satan

and the suffering

of His people

to accomplish

His good purpose

in us

and through us.

Paul begins

2 Corinthians 12

describing a vision

of heaven

that he experienced

in the past.

But what he says

next

is surprising.

Let's just look at it.

Verse 7.

So to keep me

from becoming conceited

because of the surpassing

greatness of the revelations,

a thorn was given me

in the flesh,

a messenger of Satan

to harass me,

to keep me

from becoming conceited.

Three times

I pleaded with the Lord

about this,

that it should leave me.

But he said to me,

my grace is sufficient

for you

for my power

is made perfect

in weakness.

Therefore I will boast

all the more gladly

about of my weaknesses

so that the power

of Christ

may rest upon me.

For the sake of Christ

then I am content

with weaknesses,

insults,

hardships,

persecutions,

and calamities.

For when I am weak,

then I am strong.

After Paul

had his vision of heaven,

he was given

a thorn in the flesh

for the purpose

that says there

in verse 7

of keeping him

from becoming conceited.

That phrase is repeated

a little bit later on.

The thorn in flesh,

we don't know what it was.

I think most

commentators,

scholars who try to

figure this thing out

would think

is something physical.

Maybe a problem

with his eyes.

He says something

in Galatians

about see what big,

at the end of Galatians,

he writes himself,

see what big letters

I'm writing with

as if he can't really,

he's having trouble

with his own vision.

Some people think

he suffered

the effects of malaria.

some think,

you know,

just a lot of different things.

Some people think,

though,

that it could be

something psychological,

emotional,

spiritual,

something he struggled with.

No one knows.

But it was some kind

of issue

that hurt him,

that caused personal

pain and suffering,

and he pleaded

with God

to take it away.

But God didn't.

God did not answer

Paul's prayer,

pleading three times,

remove this thorn

in the flesh,

but look on at verse 7.

A messenger of Satan.

God sometimes allows Satan

to inflict us

with pain and suffering,

but Satan is always

limited by God,

and can only do

what God allows.

What book of the Bible

drives that point home?

Job.

The devil

can inflict much harm

on people,

but only if God allows it,

and only according

to the level

that God allows.

Job helps us

to understand that.

And at the end of Job,

here's just sort of,

if you ever want

to read this,

Job's a hard book,

especially trying

to figure out

what his friends

were saying

and all that kind

of stuff,

but at the end,

Job, you know,

he asks him questions.

How does God

answer the questions

of Job

at the end of Job?

Basically,

God turns the tables

on him and says,

where were you

when I did

all these kind

of things?

And it's sort of like,

Job,

if you can answer

these questions

that I have for you,

I'll answer

your questions

from me,

you have for me.

God does not tell us

these kind of things

for whatever reason.

But look at what,

I sort of jumped

to go in,

look at what happened

in verses 8 through 9,

look at the back and forth.

Paul prayed

and asked God

to remove the thorn.

God answered

by saying no

and explained

why he said no.

Verse 9,

but he said to me,

my grace is sufficient

for you

for my power

is made perfect

in weakness.

Paul responded

by accepting

God's answer

and trusting

that God

would work

through his strength,

God's strength

through Paul's weaknesses.

Look at it,

verse 10 again,

the end of 9 and 10.

Therefore,

I will boast

all the more

about my weaknesses

so that the power

of Christ

may rest upon me.

For the sake of Christ,

then I am content

with weaknesses,

insults,

hardships,

persecutions,

and calamities.

For when I am weak,

then I am strong.

Now,

I want us to understand

when Paul responds

this way,

it's not as if,

okay,

and he went on

and life was good.

He didn't have any issues.

He didn't have any struggles.

Paul had a horrible life.

Paul experienced

more physical,

emotional,

pain,

pain,

and we can imagine.

Just read some of the things

it says in 2 Corinthians

about what he went through

in chapter 10,

for an example.

Paul's sufferings

as an apostle,

beginning in verse 16.

It was hard for him to accept

what God said

and carry it out.

But he had to write

just a great attitude.

Paul's attitude was,

if God said,

if God said,

my grace is sufficient

for you,

for my power

is made perfect

in weakness,

he so loved God

and trusted God

and wanted to be used

by God,

he was willing

to live most of his life

in pain

and suffering

and discomfort

in order to

do God's will,

which resulted in

preaching the gospel

and many people saved,

churches being planted,

gospel spreading

throughout the Mediterranean world

and in all of that,

God was glorified

and that was good enough

for him.

In all of that,

many people were saved,

churches started

that would impact

future generations

and that was good enough

for him.

He wasn't concerned

about himself.

He just wanted

to be used by God

but at the same time,

he knew that a better day

was coming.

He knew that his suffering

and pain

and disappointments,

heartaches,

it would all end one day

and he'd live in perfect

goodness,

comfort,

joy

in the new heavens

and new earth.

Think about this.

Suffering usually

makes people

better or bitter.

Paul's a great example

of someone

who became better.

Most of you

are familiar

with the story

of Johnny Erickson Tida.

She's been a faithful

servant of the Lord

in a wheelchair

for what,

50 years maybe now

and she truly

made the best

of her suffering.

Been an inspiration

to many people

who have gone

through heartaches.

Do you know someone

who has responded

like that

to suffering?

Somebody that

inspires you,

somebody who's just

a trophy of grace

in the way that they

have responded

like Paul

or like Johnny.

Maybe not their whole life

but in certain ways.

Anybody come to mind

in your life?

We won't call

anyone's name

who's become bitter

from life's suffering

but some of us

know people

who have.

Life's hardships

made them bitter.

Let's close this,

wind this up.

What are some

of the keys

to allowing

the sufferings

of life

to make us better

instead of bitter?

What can help us

be more like Paul,

more like Johnny

and be better

rather than bitter?

Well, number one,

look on the paper there

to believe

what God says,

what the Bible says

about God

using them

for good purposes

in our lives.

There's just a list.

You can read it.

We're going to run

out of time

so I'm not going

to read all of those

but one,

two,

three,

four,

five,

six.

Six different passages

just as an example

of things the Bible says

how God uses

sufferings,

difficulties,

trials

for our good

to develop

our character

to teach us

compassion

and empathy

for others

to prove

the genuineness

of our faith

to make us

more like Jesus

to bring glory

and honor to God.

Number two,

another key

to allow these

sufferings

to make us better

to trust

that God

is both great

and good

as Jerry Bridges

says in this quote,

look at it,

God in His love

always wills

what's best for us.

In His wisdom

He always knows

what is best

and in His sovereignty

He has the power

to bring it about.

But in order

sometimes,

we've got to accept this,

in order at times

for God

to be glorified

and His

big plan

accomplished,

we suffer.

He uses our suffering

for that ultimate good

and it's hard

and we shouldn't say

it's not hard.

Paul would never

just laugh

and carry on

about how his life

was wonderful,

his life was hard.

But he looked at it

as this is not the end.

He looked at it

from an eternal perspective.

Better days

were coming

for Him

and they'd be forever.

But in the meantime,

he was willing

to have less,

to suffer more

so that others

could have more

at least spiritually speaking.

Not suffer eternally.

That kind of thing.

Paul says all this better.

One of my favorite verses.

Romans 8, 28.

And we know that in all things,

God works for the good

of those who love Him,

who have been called

according to His purpose.

Any thoughts on this tonight?

You cannot answer

everybody's concerns

about why

there's sin, suffering,

and evil in this world.

I can't answer

all the questions I have.

about why these things are.

I don't know.

And there may be times

in your life

where a friend

or family member

have gone through

some kind of devastating loss

and they're Christians.

They look at you and say,

why would God

allow this to happen?

Why would God

cause this to happen?

And sometimes

the best answer

you can give them is,

I don't know.

And I don't think

anybody knows.

God knows.

And we may find out

when we get to heaven.

But we have to trust

that God does know

what He's doing.

You know,

in a much, much, much

smaller way,

our children,

when they're little,

they don't really understand

why we do things

that hurt them,

disappoint them,

tell them no.

But we know,

but maybe they're just,

they're just not at the age,

the ability

that they can understand it.

And we're just not,

our thoughts are not

like God's thoughts.

We just can't understand

everything.

And we have to accept that

because God's God

and we're not.

But He is good.

He created this world good.

He's going to recreate

everything good.

And He is working

in the midst of the mess now.

Still in control.

Working for ultimate good.

His purpose.

Other people's good.

And we just have to trust Him.