The Problem of Pain and Suffering

[00:00:05] Well, titles of this morning's message is the problem of pain and suffering. [00:00:09] Last week we completed a seven week series in the Book of Romans, where we each week were answering an important life question. And there's one question that we didn't answer that I wanted to tackle this morning, which, if God is good, why so much suffering? As I studied, I was reminded of a story I told once, years ago that was kind of moving and touching. So I thought I'd go ahead and do it again. There's a man who was seriously ill, actually on his deathbed. He had been slipping in and out of a coma for weeks, yet his wife stayed faithfully at his bedside every single day. One day, the pastor shares, when the dying man knew he didn't have much longer to live, he motioned for his wife to come closer. He was going to whisper something to her. His eyes were filled with tears. [00:00:49] Honey, you have stuck by me through all the bad times. [00:00:52] When I got fired from my job, you were there to encourage me. When my business failed, you supported me. When we lost the house, you stayed at my side. When I got shot, you were there. When my health started to fail, you stood by me, and here you are. And honey, you know what? His wife leaned closer and she said, what, dear? What do you want to tell me? [00:01:15] Honey, I think you're bad luck. [00:01:23] When it comes to suffering, we all tend to want to blame someone for our pain. [00:01:27] And there are certainly times when other people do things to hurt us, no doubt. [00:01:31] And then there are those times when those of us looking from the outside in at a sufferer's life, we want to blame them. There must be something that they did to cause their suffering. [00:01:42] That's really the story of job. [00:01:45] In job verse one one three, it says there was a man in the country of us named Job. He was a man of complete integrity who feared God and turned away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. His estate, including 7000 sheep and goats, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east. And comparatively speaking, he was probably the Elon musk of his day, whose net worth is probably $221 billion. [00:02:16] Job's family was really tight as well. Job one four says his sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. Sounds like an awesome family. They love to be together, celebrate together. What joy and fun and laughter they must have had lots of fond memories to cherish. [00:02:36] And then in verse five, it says, whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them. For Job thought, perhaps my children have sinned, sinning against God in their hearts. This was Job's regular practice. [00:02:48] So Job wasn't only a rich and successful businessman, but also served as a family priest. He was a family man, a man of great faith who wanted to pass that faith on to his children and see them walk in the ways of the Lord. This was a man who really looks like he had it all. [00:03:04] The very next passage in this book reveals that around our suffering exists a cosmic battle that involves a malevolent spirit named Satan who stands against God and those who have faith in him. [00:03:14] He is the author of evil, the first who had fallen, who exists as a tempter, the accuser, the deceiver and liar. He is wicked and evil. [00:03:24] In this scene, Satan is before the throne of God. Basically, he's telling God that the only reason anyone like job worships and obeys you is because you've blessed them and you placed a hedge of protection around them. And Satan challenged God and said, take the blessings away. Take the heads of protection away, and he will curse you. [00:03:42] Satan sets the challenge before God, and God accepts it. [00:03:46] In this cosmic battle, this cosmic test, job loses everything. [00:03:53] His children are killed, his servants are killed, all of his livestock are stolen. And one day he loses his possessions, his business, ability to earn a living, and his family. [00:04:03] And in all the tragedy, what he doesn't lose is his faith. [00:04:08] Verse 21 says Job's response, naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave, and the Lord is taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised. [00:04:19] In his suffering, Job recognizes a few things. And first of all, he recognizes that everything he has is a gift from God, and it's God to do with as he pleases. [00:04:28] The second thing is, he recognizes that God is sovereign over all things. And while he did not cause this evil upon himself and his family, he allowed it. [00:04:37] And third, he realized that regardless of what is happening in his life, God remains the same and is always worthy to be praised, both in the good times and in the bad. [00:04:47] What an incredible faith this man had. [00:04:51] Well, if he hasn't already lost enough. Soon after this, Satan afflicts Job's body with sores from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, painful, festering sores, scabs that peeled and became black, that led to disfigurement and a revolting appearance by those who saw him. He was in such agony that the story says that he had nightmares. [00:05:12] Along comes three friends of job. They heard about his extreme suffering and decided they must put everything in their lives aside to go be with him. [00:05:20] When they saw him, they began to weep. They felt empathy and compassion for what he must be going through. [00:05:27] They tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads as a sign of mourning. And they sat at his side for seven days and seven nights, and they didn't say a word. [00:05:36] What awesome friends. [00:05:39] These guys look like they're going to be some of the heroes of the story. [00:05:44] But then, after the seven days, their attitude begins to change. [00:05:47] And this is where we get into another way to explain suffering, by blaming the sufferer. [00:05:53] Much of the rest of job involves these three friends kicking him when he's down. They hold him in judgment. They blame him for his pain and suffering. They tell him, a man reaps what he sows. They say, job, you were blessed when you were righteous, but now you're cursed because of your sin. [00:06:07] Job, if you would only repent of your sin, God would heal you and restore your fortunes. [00:06:13] Imagine that. [00:06:15] How cold, how callous, how cruel, and how truly unbiblical. [00:06:22] Remember, job is considered the oldest book in the Bible, possibly written over a thousand years before Jesus came on the scene. [00:06:27] And what his friends believed continued to be a common jewish belief in Jesus. Day one that Jesus debunked in John nine one two. It says, as Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth. [00:06:41] His disciples asked him, rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents? That he was born blind? You see, the disciples are actually espousing this belief. [00:06:50] If the guy was born blind, someone's sin is responsible. Jesus, tell us who it is. Was it him or his parents? [00:06:57] Verse three. Jesus answered them. [00:07:00] Neither this man nor his parents sinned. He says, neither of their sin is to blame. But this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. [00:07:10] Jesus proclaimed that he came to destroy the work of the devil. [00:07:13] And while there are natural consequences that can befall us because of the simple choices of our life, the majority of the suffering that occurs in our lives. This man's blindness is a result of living in a fallen, broken world that is cursed and full of disease, decay, and death, and we all are subjected to it, believers and unbelievers alike. [00:07:33] The beauty in Jesus words, this happened. This man's healing occurred, that the work of God might be displayed in his life speaks to us all at how God interjects himself in our pain and suffering with love and mercy and grace and care to bring good to us and glory to God. [00:07:50] And we all know that this doesn't always end up in healing, but in the myriad of other ways. It strengthens and comforts and gives meaning and purpose and hope while the suffering lingers on. [00:08:02] Before we leave the book of Job, there is one other person who often receives the blame for our pain and suffering, and that person is God. [00:08:11] I believe there's only one time that the words of Job's wife are recorded in this story. [00:08:16] But before we look at her words, I want to preface them by saying she's lost it all, too. [00:08:21] She lost her children, her possessions, their livelihood. [00:08:27] She lost her servants, many of them, which may have been her friends. [00:08:31] And upon her husband's pitiful appearance, she has had more than she can bear. [00:08:36] And in job one nine, his wife said to him, are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die. [00:08:44] And he leans towards her and whispers, honey, I think you're bad luck. [00:08:51] Just kidding. [00:08:55] She's so hurt in so much pain, so disillusioned and utterly confused that she blames God for their suffering. And I get it. [00:09:05] I can't be too hard on her, because I think that's often a natural human response. [00:09:13] I don't think we see evidence in the story on whether she held onto her faith or deconstructed it. In chapter 42, it speaks of Job's fortunes being restored and him having more children, but it doesn't mention if they are from the same wife, and her words may reveal that she actually walked away from Job in her faith. [00:09:32] Job responds to his wife, and once again his response is incredible. In verse ten, you speak as a foolish woman speaks. He told her, should we accept only good from God and not adversity? Throughout all this, Job did not sin in what he said. [00:09:46] We're not going to look any more at the story of job. But before you see him as a stoic, mechanical, unfeeling superhuman, I want you to know that throughout the remainder of the story, he faced times of doubt, times as if he was accusing God for his wrong. And his friends continue to pile on the guilt and shame, and his suffering lingers, and he feels that this is unjust, and he tells God all about it. [00:10:11] Let me just say it's okay to wrestle with doubt. [00:10:15] I want to share with you insights from Paul David Tripp's book titled suffering. [00:10:19] He writes, doubt is not a bad thing in and of itself. [00:10:23] Doubt can cause you to ask profoundly important questions. Doubt will make you think deeply about very important things. Doubt will allow you to expose and reject false. Doubt can ignite a life that is reasoned, wise, and protective. Doubt can keep you from being too naive or an easy target for deception. Doubt drives us to know and understand because it has the power to lead you to the one who knows and understands everything. [00:10:46] Your capacity to doubt can drive you to God, but not always. [00:10:52] And then he talks about there's two different kinds of doubt, and the first one he mentions is the doubt of wonderment. [00:10:58] Times when you wonder what the heck is going on. [00:11:02] Those times when God's ways are confusing you. [00:11:06] Isaiah 55 89 says, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways. My ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. [00:11:19] God's ways are not like the ways of human beings. [00:11:23] His plans often don't mesh with the plans we have for ourselves. [00:11:27] What God knows is good for us doesn't always look good to us. [00:11:32] He takes us places we would never choose to go. And there are times when the way he chooses deliver what he promises looks like he's actually breaking his promise. [00:11:42] I'd have to say that job and his wife would say, yes, and amen to that. [00:11:48] God doesn't invite us into the counsel of his secret will. [00:11:52] Neither job nor his wife knew that there was some kind of cosmic battle of good versus evil going on around them. And even though we are enlightened by God's word to the spiritual warfare surrounding our lives, we often forget about it as we suffer. [00:12:08] God will not submit his sovereignty to our sense of what is best. [00:12:12] If the doubt of wonderment causes you to come to God with sincere questions, asking is an act of faith. [00:12:19] You're not rebelling against him. You're not running from him. You're not demanding answers, but crying out to him in your confusion for the help that only he can give. [00:12:28] The doubt of wonderment is part of the healthy life of a Christian. [00:12:36] There are at least 22 psalms where we can see the writer is struggling with doubt. And I picked out psalm ten one where he says, why, o Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourselves in times of trouble? [00:12:48] And I love the psalms. [00:12:50] The beauty of the psalms for me are that the authors are so raw and real with their emotional struggles and confusion and pain. And yet in each psalm, there's an eventual remembering of the greatness and the goodness and faithfulness of God, even when their suffering doesn't let up. [00:13:06] But there's another kind of doubt. [00:13:10] This doubt is not the result of wondering what God is doing. [00:13:14] This form of doubt is a result of concluding that because of our circumstances, God is not good and therefore not worthy to be trusted. [00:13:23] It's to bring God into the court of our judgment and determine that he is unfaithful, unloving, or uncaring in some way. [00:13:30] It kind of speaks to the deconstructionist movement of our day. [00:13:35] The minute your functional theology tells you that God is not good, it's very hard to hold on to your confessional theology that declares that he's good. [00:13:44] Once this happens, you no longer actually believe what you once believed about God, and you'll no longer run to him for help. [00:13:52] The remainder of the message this morning we're going to camp on this idea of blaming God and declaring he's not good, as we do, we're going to try to answer that question, God, if you are good, why so much suffering? [00:14:06] The dilemma most often unfolds like this. If God is unable to prevent evil, then he's not all powerful. [00:14:12] If God's not willing to prevent evil, then he's not all good. [00:14:16] If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist? [00:14:23] And because evil and suffering appear to be unrestrained in this world, the conclusion is by many, is that God doesn't exist. [00:14:33] So before we actually answer the question of why suffering, it seems important to me to see if there's any credible evidence that God actually exists. [00:14:43] So I'm going to take a look at two worldviews, and they're opposing worldviews. And one is naturalism, which involves atheism, and the other is Christianity. [00:14:54] John Lennox, a mathematician and biblical scholar, says, what divides us is not science. We are both committed to science. What divides us is our worldviews. No one wants to base their life on a delusion. But which is a delusion? Christianity or atheism? [00:15:12] Atheism, that word that a is the greek prefix that means absence. So the word itself means the absence of God. And so I want to share with you just a few tenets of naturalism, which is the belief that God does not exist. [00:15:26] It's a philosophical belief that everything arises from natural properties and causes, and supernatural spiritual explanations are excluded, are discounted. Matter is all there is. There's no such thing as God, angels, the devil, demons or miracles. There's no heaven or hell. And this life is all there is. When you're dead. You're dead. [00:15:48] Scientific naturalism is the belief that nothing exists beyond the natural world. Instead of using supernatural or spiritual explanations, naturalism focuses on explanations that come from the laws of nature. [00:16:00] The physical universe is all there is, was, and ever will be. Only material stuff exists, and science is the only source of reliable knowledge concerning the world. Everything else, including Christianity, is mere conjecture. [00:16:15] Naturalistic evolution purports that nothing made everything. [00:16:19] Sometimes this claim goes by the term spontaneous generation. [00:16:23] Essentially, no thing causes everything to spring into existence. [00:16:30] Naturalistic evolution purports that chaos was made, that chaos made order. [00:16:37] The basic telling of the history of the universe, according to the atheistic naturalism, is that the orderliness of our universe is a result of cataclysmic disorder, chaos, and chance that together resulted in great orderliness. [00:16:51] Naturalism associated with atheism. Jews. Creation is merely the product of time, energy, and chance. And I'm sure you heard the famous quote from astronomer Carl Sagan where he says, the cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be. [00:17:08] Likely the most famous proponent of naturalism is Charles Darwin, who was an english naturalist who founded the modern theory of evolution. And he published his proposal in 1859 with the book called on the origin of Species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life. I don't think I've ever heard a title for a book that was that long. [00:17:33] Rice Brooks, author, God is not dead says darwinian evolution claims that all species that exist today have come through the process of natural selection, or as Herbert Spencer called it, survival of the fittest. Weaker organisms are eliminated as natural selection picks the stronger genes to pass to the next generation. [00:17:51] Elements of the theory are unquestioned and verified from a scientific standpoint. Yet the real question remains, is this the whole truth? Is there no other law or influence at work in our midst? [00:18:04] How could a blind process such as natural selection, which came into existence by chance, produce a universal sense of right and wrong? [00:18:12] If life arose spontaneously from random chemical processes, we would have no more moral obligation than a bowl of soup. [00:18:21] How might a philosophy such as the survival of the fittest affect ethics and morality? [00:18:26] Well, actually, the latter part of Darwin's book was actually taken off of it, the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life. Because later it was believed to have racist overtones that might actually lead to the thoughts of exterminating inferior minorities, the weak, the infirmed, and the disabled. And actually, Adolf Hitler was a proponent of this, and that's why he tried to create the master race. [00:18:51] How about naturalism and humanity? [00:18:54] Well, human beings have no inherent worth or value, none greater than any other animal or any other part of the universe. [00:19:01] Human beings have no absolute truth to guide them, for there is no absolute moral lawgiver. Thus, morality is subjective. [00:19:07] Human beings have no significant meaning or purpose other than what each individual chooses to live for. And in the end, there's no, there's. In the end, there is nothingness. [00:19:19] The only thing an atheist has to look forward to in their philosophical beliefs after this life is annihilation. [00:19:29] Let me just say that an atheist person can be a very moral, caring, and loving person, just as a christian can. [00:19:38] And I'm sure that there are atheists that could morally put some christians to shame. [00:19:43] Some of you here probably have atheist family members or friends that you love to death, and they're good and kind people, and you enjoy their company. [00:19:51] And then there's also the other side of the coin, where there's misguided so called christians who misinterpreted the teachings of scripture, and they've done horrendous things. And these are the things that skeptics love to point out. You know, things like the crusades or the Salem witch trials, or those who use the Bible to support slavery and continue to violate the civil rights of minority people. [00:20:12] Racist organizations like the KKK claiming to be following Jesus. [00:20:17] People like this were following a false Christ and a false gospel and lived out their beliefs in bigotry and hatred and fear. And it grieves me that Christianity is even associated with them. [00:20:32] That being said, a naturalistic worldview stemming from darwinian evolution has had disastrous repercussions when applied philosophically and ethically. Over 100 million people have died at the hands of godless atheistic leaders of communist Russia, China, and the Nazis in the 20th century. [00:20:50] When man has no inherent worth, when there are no moral absolutes, when people are used by the powerful for their wicked ends, are seen as disposable commodities, when life is to be solely about the survival of the fittest, the strong do eat the weak. [00:21:07] History is littered with the consequences of a fully lived out naturalistic worldview, a worldview that excludes God scientifically. The reasons for the lack of confidence in naturalistic evolution are many, but the following are some of the most implausible leaps of faith the naturalists make. [00:21:25] Richard Dawkins, who is perhaps the world's most famous atheist, in his book the God Delusion, makes the claim that though the universe appears to be designed, it couldn't have been because we are still left with the question, who designed the designer? [00:21:40] Now, I'm a simpleton, but that sounds pretty illogical and absurd to me. [00:21:47] Dawkins is willing to easily dismiss the possibility of an eternal creator, even though he says the evidence points that way. While accepting the belief in eternal matter, he does not ask the question, what matter made the matter? [00:22:00] It just was. [00:22:04] Bryce Brooks, in his book God's not dead, says, if you were walking through the woods and found a turtle on top of a six foot high fence post, you could rationally conclude that it didn't get there by itself. [00:22:17] Someone put it there. [00:22:18] Even if you didn't have an explanation for who did it, you would be reasonable in your assumption that time and chance would not eventually place a turtle on a fence post. [00:22:28] I want you to listen to the words of these respected scientists. Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome project, says, I can't imagine how nature, in this case the universe, could have created itself. And the very fact that the universe had a beginning implies that someone was able to begin it. And it seems to me that it had to be outside of nature. [00:22:48] Astronomer Fred Hoyle says the probability of life arising on earth by purely natural means without special divine aid is less than the probability that a flight worthy Boeing 747 should be assembled by a hurricane roaring through a junkyard. [00:23:04] StephEN Hawking, world renowned physics professor and this may surprise you, but he was quoting as saying this, the odds against a universe like ours emerging out of something like the big Bang are enormous. I think there are clearly religious implications. [00:23:19] He also says it would be very difficult to explain why the universe would have begun in just this way, except as the act of God, who intended to create beings like us? [00:23:30] Michael Bay, professor of biochemistry, made similar points in his argument for irreducible complexity. He said, certain biological systems, like an eye, are too complex to have evolved from simple predecessors. They had to come into existence as complete systems. Therefore, we are logically compelled to believe that these things were intelligently designed by Goddesse. Even our human bodies support this argument. [00:23:57] Further findings in science continually increase our understanding of the wondrous complexity of the human body, including the fact that just one human DNA molecule holds roughly the same amount of information as one volume of an encyclopedia. [00:24:12] Psalm 130 914 says, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made of. [00:24:21] Then Francis Collins, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2008, who espoused the fine tuning argument, says basic physical constants must fall within very narrow limits if intelligent life is developed. [00:24:35] For example, our world's constant gravitational force, the rate of universe expansion, the average distance between stars, the nature of gravity, Earth's distance from the sun, Earth's rotation period, and even our carbon dioxide levels are so finely tuned for life on our planet that no logical explanation other than God is tenable. All of those have to be in play for life to exist. And if you pull one of them out, life can exist. [00:25:03] And that was all supposed to happen by chance. [00:25:09] When you look from the perspective of a scientist at the universe, it looks as if it knew we were coming. [00:25:14] There are 15 constants, the gravitational constant, various constants about the strong and weak nuclear forces and others that have precise if any one of those constants was off by even one part in a million, or in some cases by one part in a million million, the universe could not have actually come to the point where we see it. Matter would not have been able to coalesce. There would have been no galaxy, stars, planets, or people. [00:25:42] Psalm 19 one, two says, the heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech. Night after night they display knowledge. [00:25:55] We've just heard quotes from respective scientists who point to a creator because they each had a willingness to follow where the evidence leads. [00:26:05] Romans 119 20 says, what may be known about God is plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. [00:26:22] But Paul also explains why some are unwilling to follow the evidence. In verse 18, right before those two verses, he says, because men who are godless intentionally suppress the truth. [00:26:33] They see it, they know it, they observe it, and they suppress it, because to them, there can't be a God and their paradigm and their worldview. [00:26:48] I believe a person chooses atheism for one of three reasons. [00:26:53] And the first is intellectual arrogance. [00:26:58] And it's a basic that science is real and God is a fairy tale. [00:27:03] And you've even heard some atheists say that this God stuff is for weak, mindless simpletons who are in need of a crutch. [00:27:11] A second reason could be freedom from moral constraints. [00:27:14] Don't want to be accountable to anyone for whom I might be judged for my life choices. [00:27:19] An Aldous Huxley says, we objected to the idea of God's morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom. [00:27:27] And then third, the third reason could be trauma of suffering and loss. [00:27:32] And this may be the biggest reason of all. [00:27:34] I just can't reconcile that there's a God who has allowed this suffering or loss to happen in my life, our God, who allows unchecked evil and suffering in the world. [00:27:45] And by all accounts, pain and suffering appears to be the most significant obstacle to belief that God exists, and especially belief in the God of the Bible. [00:27:55] I share with you evidence on why I believe God exists, why he's the creator. But that doesn't tell us what his response to evil and suffering is, does it? [00:28:05] It doesn't tell us. Does he care? Why does he allow it? Has he done anything about it? [00:28:12] And that brings us to the christian worldview. [00:28:18] And I like to call the christian worldview God's story of reality. [00:28:23] And it starts in the beginning. God. [00:28:26] The christian worldview begins with God not matter. [00:28:30] In the beginning, there was God who is eternal, who has no beginning and no end, who is self existing and self sustaining, who exists as father, son, and spirit. Three persons and yet one God, who is complete and who is whole, in need of nothing or no one. [00:28:45] But then it says, he created the heavens and the earth, all that is seen and unseen. He spoke everything to existence from nothing. He said, let it be, and it came to be. He created everything out of nothing. [00:28:58] And then he said, it's good. [00:29:01] And after the completion of each creative act, God declared that it's good, meaning that it was perfect. It was a world without sin or evil or death. His creation was a reflection of his nature. For he is holy. He is without sin. There is no darkness in him. He cannot be tempted, nor can he tempt others. [00:29:18] And upon the completion of planet earth, God says, let us make them in our image. [00:29:27] God chooses to make man and woman in his image and likeness, creatures who can be in relationship with him, to know and be known, to love and be loved. He created a planet that was perfectly suitable for them, where he provided everything they would need. He gave them purpose to know him and love him, to oversee the creation with him, to find fulfillment in their relationship with each other and to fill and subdue the earth. [00:29:49] He gave them access to the tree of life that would sustain them forever. It's a beautiful paradise in which God would be present and they would experience life with him in intimate fellowship. [00:30:00] What a beautiful, glorious start. [00:30:04] It reveals to us what the original intentions of God were, thus revealing to us the kind of heart that he has, a heart that is loving and kind, that he is both all powerful and all good. [00:30:19] But we also look at this and say to ourselves, this isn't how things are today. [00:30:25] What happened? What went wrong? [00:30:29] Well, that leads us to the fall. [00:30:31] The first human beings were given free will. They had the freedom to make choices. Choices on whether to trust or doubt God, to believe or reject him, to obey or disobey his commands. And one prohibition was given by God. Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you do, you shall surely die. [00:30:49] Why free will? [00:30:52] Why the prohibition? [00:30:55] Well, I believe the answer is love. [00:30:58] God made human beings to be in a love relationship with him. [00:31:01] Love must be chosen. It cannot be forced or coerced or dictated to. He loved them and wanted them to choose to love him in return. [00:31:10] And the other thing is worship. [00:31:14] He wanted them to believe that he was worthy of praise. [00:31:20] In the story, there's a creature known as the angel Lucifer renamed Satan, who fell first through a rebellion against God, who now stands opposed to God and everyone who is made in his image. [00:31:31] Satan is known as a liar, a deceiver, a tempter. He deceives the first humans to believe that God can't be trusted, that he's holding back something from them that would lead to their happiness, and that the prohibition is actually preventing them from being as God, in control of their own happiness and destiny. So they disobey, they reject God, and the results are catastrophic, just as God lovingly warned them they would be. [00:31:55] Sin, evil, wickedness enters the world. Disease, decay and death are now part of the human experience. [00:32:01] This death is both physical and spiritual. They're now separated from God because of their sin and rejection of him. The world is under a curse of sin and death, and the entire creation is frustrated. And now stress and pressure and toil surround everything. And suffering and pain is the result. That explains the reality of the world we live in, doesn't it? [00:32:24] God is a righteous and just God. [00:32:27] And he would have been both just to walk away and not intervene and allow humanity to live under these consequences of their sinful choice forever. [00:32:37] But he's also merciful, and he immediately gives them a promise. The seed of the woman will crush Satan's head. This is the first indication that God would not turn his back or a blind eye to humanity's suffering and pain. [00:32:51] God is promising a savior, someone who he would send on a rescue mission to save humanity from the consequences of their sin. And that leads us to the cross. [00:33:03] As the story goes, God fulfills his promise by sending his son Jesus. [00:33:08] As for evidence, let me just say that christian and non christian historians alike declare that Jesus is a historical figure. And they also proclaim that his crucifixion is a historical event. It's really those two things are not in dispute anymore by many christian and non christian historians. [00:33:28] Whats gods purpose? [00:33:31] Well, the cross is gods story of redemption through the cross. Hes purchasing us back to himself, reconciling us, returning us to the love relationship with whom we were made for. [00:33:42] For it says in John 316, God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. That, however, believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life. [00:33:53] At the heart of Christianity is the cross. Jesus, the son of God, the one in whom the scriptures declare is the eternal God and the perfect sinless man. Fully God, fully man, entered our world to take on sin and suffering for us all. [00:34:08] Jesus died on a cross. Jesus who claimed to be God. And the question has to be asked, what is God doing on a cross? [00:34:19] God willingly chose to enter our pain and suffering. [00:34:24] What this shows me is that God didn't remain distant from human suffering. He became part of it. [00:34:30] Isaiah 53 three says he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with grief. The cross tells me that God actually understands our suffering. [00:34:43] In Hebrews 415 16, it says, we do not have a high priest in Jesus who is able to. We have a high priest in Jesus who is able to sympathize with our suffering. For he was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach his throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. [00:35:04] If the cross was the end of it, it really wouldnt matter much, would it? [00:35:10] But you see, this God who took on your suffering, this God who paid the punishment for your sin, this God who carried your guilt and shame, this God who was crucified, who died and was buried, rose again. [00:35:25] What's the proof? [00:35:27] Well, the greatest proof for that is eyewitness testimony for the scriptures declare that not only the twelve and Paul the apostle, who was once a persecutor of the church, but over 500 people witnessed Jesus alive after he was declared dead. [00:35:44] Many who went to a martyr's death rather than recant that they were with Jesus after he rose from the dead. And really, people do not willingly die for a known lie. [00:35:56] This opens a whole host of other opportunities as it relates to suffering. And first is God's justice. There will be a final judgment for Hitler's and 911 bombers and for rapists and murderers who will receive from God recompense for their evil. You know, we sit there and we think these people get away with things. But we know from the scriptures and the final judgment that they will not get away with any of it. [00:36:19] But it also reveals God's mercy, that there is forgiveness extended to every person who places their faith in Jesus Christ. [00:36:27] Someone in space, time and history rose from the dead, proving he was God, who holds the ultimate and final victory over sin and evil and sickness and suffering and death for all who believe in him. And to me, that is real hope for the sufferer. [00:36:44] An atheist doesn't have that. [00:36:48] All they have is nothingness. [00:36:51] Hinduism, they have the uncertainty of karma, where each person is perpetually reincarnated according to how they live their lives, and it's connected to their failures in life, and they get an endless shot at making things right. But you just have no clue on when that's going to be. [00:37:06] Buddhism, that suffering is inherent in life and that one can be liberated from it by cultivating wisdom and virtue and concentration. It appears to be more of a self help approach to read the life of suffering and to reach nirvana, the state of endless bliss. But real life experience tells us that that's a pipe dream. [00:37:25] Islam and Judaism both have an insecure hope in the future afterlife based on the quality of their religious observance and the good deeds that are done, never knowing with any certainty whether they have made the passing grade from goddess. [00:37:39] Christianity, belief in Christ as savior, following Christ as Lord. It's not an abstract philosophy. It's not even a religion. It's a relationship with God for all eternity. Salvation and relationship, not based on works or religious expression or self help techniques, but a gift offered to us by grace, through faith, through God who loves us. [00:38:01] Christianity is the only religion that has a future hope based insecurity. [00:38:09] I believe the Bible, the God of the Bible, wants us to be certain, wants us to be secure as we live within our suffering and broken world. [00:38:18] From one John 511 13, it says, God has given us a testimony, and the testimony is he who has the son has life. He who does not have the son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the son of God so that you may know with certainty as you walk through a painful world, as you suffer, that you have eternal life. [00:38:46] Your security is in the promise of spending eternity with God in a future paradise that has no suffering. [00:38:55] But what about now? [00:38:57] What do we make of suffering right now? [00:39:01] Well, we live in the now and the not yet, don't we? [00:39:05] Romans 828 says, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. And if it's all things, then it must include suffering. [00:39:17] I'm not saying that suffering should be looked at as a good thing, but what this tells me is that through God and his promise, suffering in this life is not meaningless. Suffering in this life does not have to be wasted. Suffering can lead to meaning and purpose. [00:39:33] I think of all the various ministries that have come forth out of people's pain and suffering and turned their experience of suffering and loss into wonderful help for other people who suffer. And it's truly amazing when you think about it. [00:39:45] I thought of mothers against drug driving, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, crisis response teams, when the saints broken and beautiful prison ministry, alcoholic anonymous, narcotics anonymous, celebrate recovery, first light orphanages, schools, hospitals, work, feeding programs, senior care ministries. The list is probably endless. And all of these were developed in Jesus name and all of them to help the sufferer. [00:40:17] I think of what Paul writes in Romans five two five. He says, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces. And he first says perseverance, which is the ability and strength to endure our sufferings by faith. And then he says that perseverance, perseverance as we stand through suffering leads to character, that we become more like Christ in how we live and love as we allow him to do his sanctifying work through our suffering. [00:40:43] I think most of us can look back at our lives and admit that it wasn't the times of bliss and blessing and comfort and ease that developed the greatest character and faith in us. But it was those difficult times, those times of suffering and loss, where God accomplished those things in our life. [00:41:00] And then finally he says that that leads to hope as we realize God's work in and through us as we suffer. We have hope because we understand that suffering is not meaningless. [00:41:14] And this leads to hope, as does the promise that we will one day be forever free of suffering in the life to come. [00:41:24] This leads to the culmination of God's story of redemption and restoration, his promised return. Jesus promises to come again. The first coming was for our redemption and reconciliation to God. The second coming is for the restoration of all creation to his original sinless perfection. [00:41:41] The christian story tells us that this life is not all there is. It's not the final chapter to our story. Something and someone wonderful awaits for us. [00:41:52] John 14 two Jesus says, in my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so I would have told you. I'm going to prayer, a place for you. I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. [00:42:05] Romans 818 says, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. [00:42:15] Something just happened here. [00:42:25] Okay, where are we at here. [00:42:31] Okay. And one corinthians two nine says, no eye has seen, no ear is heard, no mind is conceived, but God is prepared for those who love him. [00:42:40] God never intended to leave his world in the throes of frustration, pain, suffering and loss. [00:42:45] His plan, his story of redemption and restoration always included bringing everything full circle to sinless perfection. A world without suffering, a world without disease, decay and death. And we know that passage in revelation 21 which says, he will wipe every tear from her eyes. There'll be no more death, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain. For the old order of things has passed away. [00:43:09] This is the God of the Bible. [00:43:12] This is who he is. [00:43:15] This is his heart, revealed in his plan from the beginning to redeem people from sin, to defeat sin, suffering and death, and to restore the world to his original design. Not a God who is ambivalent or indifferent suffering. Not a God who is impotent to do anything about suffering, but a God who embraced suffering through the cross. A God who understands and sympathizes and cares about our suffering. A God who works on our behalf to bring good out of our suffering, to ensure it's not meaningless, that it is not a waste, but can be used by him to make us into people who love and care and who can turn our greatest misery into effective ministry to others who suffer. [00:43:51] A God who will one day make all things right by forever defeating and eradicating sin and suffering for all who believe in him. [00:44:03] Those are the worldviews that are basically, we have a choice, you know, what is reality and what's a myth. [00:44:14] And I think we have confidence and evidence to prove that it's the God of the Bible who has the real story and answer for a world of suffering and pain. Let's pray.