Evil, Pain and Suffering
Lesson #1 - Introduction and General Considerations
-Introduction
-Epicurus, a Greek philosopher who lived from 342 B.C - 270 B.C., argued that the
presence of evil, pain and suffering in this world proves that the God of heaven is not
simultaneously loving and all-powerful.
-He said that if God was a loving God then He would not want people to suffer.
However, since people do suffer, then God must not be powerful enough to
prevent it. On the other hand, he said, if God is all-powerful and able to prevent
suffering, the fact that people suffer proves that He is not a supremely, loving God.
-On the surface, this seems to be a powerful argument. Yet, with some careful
considerations, we can see that these conclusions are flawed.
-So, how does one harmonize the presence of evil, pain and suffering with the existence
of an all-powerful, supremely loving God?
-Freedom of Choice
-God has created us with the ability to choose. He has also provided us with the ample
information necessary to make wise, proper choices.
-With the freedom of choice comes options. Our God instructs us to choose good. Yet,
with that comes the option of choosing evil.
-Ps 34:14 (1 Pet 3:11) - Yet, that choice is ours. God will not prevent us from
choosing evil. He allows us the freedom to violate His will.
-This does not detract from the love of God.
-Would we expect God to take away our freedom of choice? Would we prefer to
be “robots” without choice with only once course of action to follow? Take
some time and seriously try to imagine how such a life would be.
-I want good things to happen to/for Delevan and Kayla. Yet, I cannot make every
decision for them for the rest of their lives. If I was to try to control every aspect of
their lives at all times within every single day, I certainly would not be viewed as a
good, loving parent. Yet, I can try to help along the way, teach them to be responsible
and give them good information so they can make reasonable decisions on their own.
-Isn’t that what God does through the avenue of His word?
-Adam and Eve
-When God put Adam and Eve in the garden, He gave them specific instructions.
However, Satan deceived Eve and lied to her regarding God’s instructions.
-Due to his evil influence, Eve made a very poor choice. Adam then followed.
-So, sin did not enter into this world because of any shortcoming on God’s part. Sin did
not come about because of the will of God. Instead, sin entered this world due to
man’s violation of the will of God. Ever since the Garden of Eden, man has had to
contend with evil.
-Therefore, we should not blame God nor criticize God for that which man committed.
-Consequences to Choices
-The freedom of choice brings about consequences - good and bad.
-Unwise or Careless Choices
-So often, the pain and suffering that are endured can ultimately be traced back to sin.
-However, we need to realize that such isn’t always the case. Sometimes, pain and
suffering result from unwise choices and/or carelessness which isn’t necessarily sinful.
Yet, this is part of life in a physical world. (example of my broken tailbone from sledding)
-laws within creation - When you go off a jump on an innertube, gravity is going to
bring you back down. And, it might not do so in a soft fashion.
-Mistakes
-Many times, pain and suffering can result from mistakes.
-We must remember that we are fallible - fully capable of making unintentional mistakes.
Those mistakes can have dire consequences.
-example of Grandpa’s nurse making a deadly mistake
-plan crashes - engineering mistakes, mistakes regarding maintenance, pilot error?
-Personal Sin
-It is true that some of the pain and suffering faced by mankind has come from personal
sin.
-1 Pet 4:15
-example of a convicted murderer spending life in prison
-the book of Judges - Divine retribution brought about because of the sins of the people
-sexually transmitted diseases
-The Sins of Others
-We must realize that we can endure pain and suffering brought about by the decisions of
others. We can face the consequences of another person’s decision.
-example of Uriah - 2 Sam 11 - He suffered due to David’s decisions.
-Those victimized by criminals suffer due to the decisions made by those criminals.
-murder, rape, assault, theft, etc.
-Think of how much suffering has been brought about due to the decisions of the
terrorists involved with the Sept 11, 2001 attacks!
-Ancient Sins
-Adam and Eve - Rom 5 - consequence of death brought upon mankind as a result of sin -
-Environmental and Climatic consequences resulting from the flood of Noah’s day
-It seems that there were drastic changes brought about due to the flood.
-“Natural disasters” that occur yet today result from those changes.
-We will not explore this as a part of this lesson, but perhaps in a future lesson
or bulletin article.
-Why did the flood take place? Gen 6:5 - the sinfulness of mankind
-Summary and Invitation
-But, why doesn’t God intervene? Please, give that some thought. Follow that logic and
see where it eventually leads. Lord willing, I’ll address that thought in an upcoming
bulletin article.
-There are times when we face/experience/endure, pain and suffering. We we do, let’s not blame
God. Instead, let’s draw closer to Him (Jas 4:8).
-Think about Job - In the early stages of his intense suffering, he remained very strong
(Job 1:21, 2:10). Yet, as his calamities continued, he became more discouraged and
struggled. He questioned God and even made accusations against God. Yet, when God
helped him to see His power and wisdom, “I know that thou canst do anything...” That
statement was not the result of God removing Job’s calamities. Job was able to realize this in
spite of his tragedies and struggles.
-Job realized that the evil, pain and suffering within this world do not detract from God’s
goodness, love or power. We need to strive for that same approach.
-not that Job understood the intricacies of his situation - Yet, He trusted in God.
-We don’t always understand what we face. Yet, we must face them with trust in God and
strength in faith. More important than “understanding” why something happened; we must strive
to what has happened and how to best react to it and cope with it.
-Please, don’t allow worldly suffering to cause you to turn your back on God and to contribute to a
weakening faith. The evil, pain and suffering of this world should remind us of our need for God
rather than lead us to neglect God.
-1 Cor 10:13 - Remember to look for the way of escape. Depend upon God and His word.
Look to Him for strength and guidance.
-When we think about pain and suffering, let’s remember that Jesus was not exempt. In
fact, He faced a level of pain and suffering that we cannot comprehend.
-Yet, He did so in full obedience to the Father for you and me.
-When it comes to your life, don’t let His suffering be in vain. Instead, respond to the
Gospel: believe (John 3:16, 8:24), confess (Matt 10:32, Rom 10:9-10), repent (Luke
13:3,5; Acts 17:30), be baptized (Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16)
-If you’ve obeyed the Gospel, have you allowed pain and suffering to weaken your faith?
Have you neglected your duty to God as a result? If so, confess your shortcomings,
repent of them and pray for God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24).
-Or, perhaps you are currently struggling with something and want the prayers of your
brothers and sisters in Christ. If so, please make that known.