Why does God allow so much suffering and evil?

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“Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?” – Amos 3:6

In light of the events of the last few days, I re-watched a message from the West Coast Ligonier Conference (2008) by Dr. John MacArthur on the question of evil and suffering in this world. It was a very good use of an hour as it fixed my heart and mind on the truth claims of the Bible regarding God’s Sovereignty over evil in this world. I very much recommend this teaching found here:

Here are some notes I made as I watched:

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SO MUCH EVIL AND SUFFERING?

FOUR FORMS OF EVIL:

NATURAL EVIL

MORAL EVIL – Personal sin (transgression)

SUPERNATURAL EVIL – Sophisticated corrupt spiritual identities that seek to torment, entice, deceive and seduce (heresy and false religions have their source in the demonic – the doctrine of demons – 1 Tim 4)

THE EVIL OF HELL (eternal punishment)

Three statements:
1) Evil exists.
2) God exists.
3) God wills evil to exist (He takes full responsibility for all that occurs). If He did not permit its existence, it would not be here.

Evil occurs because God, who could have prevented it, permits it. The permission of evil is under the control of God. To say that it is permitted is to underline the point because God is not Himself evil and could not be the author of evil (James 1:13). It is vital to stress this. But it is not as if, when evil occurs, God temporarily loses control of the universe that He has created and sustains and governs.

“…though Christians face the difficulty of explaining the presence of evil in the universe, the pagan has a problem that is twice as difficult. Before one can even have a problem of evil, one must first have an antecedent existence of the good. Those who complain about the problem of evil now also have the problem of defining the existence of the good. Without God there is no ultimate standard for the good.” – R. C. Sproul

In order to try to get around what some people think to be a poor reflection on God regarding point number 3, two main theological errors have been put forward.

1. Process Theology – in simple terms, the idea that God is learning and growing and developing as He reacts to the events of time.
2. Openness Theology – the idea that the future does not yet exist and so not even God knows it. However this goes against clear statements of Scripture. God knows the end from the beginning, is omniscient, and this is why such much of the Bible is prophetic in nature.

Westminster Confession of Faith: God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.
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The Heart of the Problem

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TODAY’S NEWS: While the U.S. mourns the tragic and senseless loss of life in Newtown, Conn, CHINA seeks to recover from a stabbing spree that hurt 22 schoolchildren and one adult outside a primary school in central China as students were arriving for classes Friday, police said, the latest in a series of periodic rampage attacks at Chinese schools and kindergartens. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/12/14/china-knife-attack-school.html

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person.

The problem in America, China or anywhere else is not access to guns or knives; according to Jesus, the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. It is not some “sickness”; call it what it is – it is EVIL in the heart of man – – my heart, your heart… our neighbor’s heart.

There is only one solution: THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.

Lets be praying for the families and friends of the victims, as well as for the children traumatised by the events of the day. May God have mercy and bring His comfort.

And may God bless America with repentance.

Friday Round Up

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(1) Please pray for a young lady named Alisa in a Denver hospital (daughter of a very good friend of mine, Jim). She is only 17 and is under going radiation treatment for a brain tumor. Thanks so much. Jim writes:

The latest up-date on my lovely daughter Alisa. 3 weeks ago they did a new MRI. That showed the original tumor had not grown any with the chemo and radiation treatments. But it also showed that a new cyst had developed. She was scheduled to go back to Childrens Hospital on Monday the 17 to possibly have more surgery.

They thought they might need to put in another drain… Alisa had been having severe headaches for the past couple days. They did a new MRI and decided that at 7:30 am Friday they are going back in to put the shunt, back in her head. It seems the liquid has built up and is pushing on the nerves. The MRI did also show that the new cyst has gotten smaller too. So please keep praying for her, GOD BLESS. The picture is Alisa in the center and her 2 awesome sisters. 🙂

(2) There’s a variety of resources in this week’s Friday Ligonier $5 sale worth considering.

(3) Some quotes:

“No therapist, no psychiatrist can relieve you of guilt. He or she may help you to resolve feelings of false guilt that can arise for a variety of reasons. Prescription drugs may provide certain kinds of ease. But no therapy, no course of drugs, can deliver you from real guilt. Why? Because being guilty is not a medical condition or a chemical disorder. It is a spiritual reality. It concerns your standing before God. The psychiatrist cannot forgive you; the therapist cannot absolve you; the counselor cannot pardon you. But the message of the Gospel is this: God can forgive you, and He is willing to do so.” – Dr. Sinclair Ferguson

“Faith is the fruit of regeneration, not the cause of it.” – R.C. Sproul

“Unity without the gospel is a worthless unity; it is the very unity of hell.” J.C. Ryle

“If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean you have no ideas about God, rather it will mean you have a lot of wrong ones.” – C.S. Lewis

“It is true that the Lord’s Supper is only for sinners. But within that group, it is only for repentant sinners.” – Mark Dever

“The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” – William James

“The bare knowledge of God’s will is inefficacious, it doth not better the heart. Knowledge alone is like a winter sun, which hath no heat or influence; it doth not warm the affections, or purify the conscience. Judas was a great luminary, he knew God’s will, but he was a traitor.” – Thomas Watson

“A supporter of “easy-believism” argued, “The opposite of “easy believism” is “difficult believism.” So how good exactly does one have to be before he is *really* a Christian in your estimation?”

Answer: The Bible declares that Belief (or faith) is not merely difficult, but rather IMPOSSIBLE for the natural man. So the opposite of “easy believism” is not “difficult believism”. Those who think faith is either “easy” or “difficult” are both wrong, according to the Bible. If someone thinks faith is “easy” or even possible, apart from grace, then they do not understand our condition as human beings or our real need of grace. Those who think faith is something easy are making the same mistake as those who think good works save. Both are trusting in some self-generated meritorious act, rather than Christ alone who provides everything we need for salvation, including a new heart to believe and obey.” – John Hendryx