Based on Barton’s latest sermon on God’s Hand in our Suffering, here is a great song that emphasizes the same truth, namely that God sovereignly and wisely uses even our suffering and pain as a means to grow us into Christ-like maturity. This song “I Asked the Lord” is based off a hymn by John Newton by the same name “I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow” (aka. “Prayer Answered by Crosses”).
Archive for the ‘Problem of Evil’ Category
I Asked The Lord
Monday, July 26th, 2010Has God predetermined every detail in the universe, including sin?
Sunday, April 25th, 2010If God is so powerful and so good, why do bad things happen?
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010Video clip of Voddie Baucham on “If God is so powerful and so good, why do bad things happen?”
Why is There So Much Suffering in the World?
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010First, I would answer: because of sin. God created the world and humans in a sinless state. There was perfect harmony between God and humans, between male and female, and between humans and creation. But in Genesis 3, the first humans rebelled against God and sin and evil entered the world. So all the suffering and injustice in this world is a result of human sin.
But the deeper question is this: How can there be a loving, good God out there if there is so much suffering and injustice in the world?
Well the fact that we even consider the suffering and injustice in this world a “problem” is actually evidence that God exists. Because if there is no God, then by what standard can I call something “unjust” or “unfair”? Tim Keller makes this argument in his book The Reason for God. He writes, “If you are sure that this natural world is unjust and filled with evil, you are assuming the reality of some extra-natural (or supernatural) standard by which to make your judgment. . . . In short, the problem of tragedy, suffering, and injustice is a problem for everyone. It is at least as big a problem for nonbelief in God as for belief. It is therefore a mistake, though an understandable one, to think that if you abandon belief in God it somehow makes the problem of evil easier to handle.”
So if the problem of suffering and injustice bothers you, that just demonstrates that there is an innate sense of morality (good/bad, just/unjust) that God has placed inside you (Romans 2:15). This same point was made in a previous post: Suffering as Evidence for God.
Keller makes another good point. He writes, ”Just because you can’t see or imagine a good reason why God might allow something to happen doesnt mean there can’t be one.” That was written in response to those who dismiss God because they just can’t see any point or reason to their suffering and thus conclude that a loving, good God must not exist. But in the Bible we have countless stories of evil acts and tragedies that looked pointless in the moment, but in hindsight we are able to see God’s good purposes behind it all. For example, read the story of Joseph in Genesis or look to the cross of Jesus. If you were standing at the foot of the cross on the day he died, his death looked pointless, but after the resurrection then you would begin to see God’s good purposes behind the horrific evil of killing the Son of God.
Keller writes, ”With time and perspective most of us can see good reasons for at least some of the tragedy and pain that occurs in life. Why couldn’t it be possible that, from God’s vantage point, there are good reasons for all of them?”
But even if we concede that God exists, we are still left with the question: Why does God allow suffering and injustice to continue? Well, though God may not always reveal to us the good reason why he allows all the suffering this world to continue, at least we know the answer is not “because he doesn’t love us”. Keller writes, ”It can’t be that he doesnt love us. It can’t be that he is indifferent or detached from our condition. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself.”
He means that God loves us so much that he was willing to enter this world and suffer with us. And not only with us, but for us on the cross, so that whosoever believes in him will be forgiven of their sin – the sin that causes all the suffering and injustice in the first place. And lastly, as Christians we still have hope, even in the face of suffering and injustice in this world, because we believe Jesus will one day return to “make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
Why Satan Still Roams the Earth
Friday, December 4th, 2009Last Sunday Barton began our Advent series with a message from Genesis 3:15 called “Christmas: Cosmic Battle or Cozy Bedtime Story?“. The premise was that the events of Christmas were the beginnings of the fulfillment of an ancient promise given to our first parents, namely that an offspring of the Woman would crush the head of that ancient serpent, the devil.
But this raises a big question: Why did God wait so long? Why did he give the devil thousands of years to terrorize his people before sending Jesus to crush his head? And since the devil was crushed at the cross, why is he allowed to still roam the earth?
In Piper’s Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, he devotes a chapter to this question. Why didn’t God eliminate the devil for good in Genesis 3? According to Piper, a victory on Calvary is far more glorious than a victory in Eden. Defeating the devil on the cross is far more excellent than defeating him in the garden. He writes, “If God has simply terminated Satan, then it would not have been so clear that God is both stronger and infinitely more to be desired than Satan.”
So it was totally within God’s power and right to extinguish the devil in Genesis 3, but he allowed the devil to live in order to magnify the worth of his Son through a victory on the cross. Piper writes,
“The glory of Christ is seen in his absolute right and power to annihilate or incapacitate Satan and all demons. But the reason he refrains from destroying and disabling them altogether is to manifest more clearly his superior beauty and worth. If Christ obliterated all devils and demons now (which he could do), his sheer power would be seen as glorious, but his superior beauty and worth would not shine as brightly as when humans renounce the promises of Satan and take pleasure in the greater glory of Christ.”
And even after his decisive defeat at the cross, Satan is permitted to roam the earth…but only as a defeated, bitter loser.
“Christ has triumphed over [Satan], not by putting him out of existence, but by letting him live and watch while millions of saints find forgiveness for their sins and turn their backs on Satan because of the greater glory of the grace of Christ.”
History’s Most Spectacular Sin
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009Last Sunday Barton tackled the problem of evil in his sermon on the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. In his first point (God and Evil exist) he acknowledged the tension between the existence of a good, omnipotent God AND real evil in this world. But instead of explaining away one (ie. by denying the full goodness or omnipotence of God) or the other (ie. by denying the reality of evil), Christians are called to hold both revealed truths in tension, acknowledging the finiteness of our wisdom.
But God does not leave us in the dark without a tangible example of this biblical tension in action. Here is where John Piper’s small booklet “History’s Most Spectacular Sin” is so helpful. In 10-short pages, he demonstrates how the murder of the Son of God was the most spectacular, heinous evil in history perpetrated by evil men (Judas, the chief priests, Pilate, the angry mob, the Roman soldiers, etc) YET was completely within the good will and pleasure of the Father (cf. Isa 53:10; Acts 4:27-28). The tension is real and mysterious YET the purpose is crystal clear: God’s sovereignty over evil ultimately works to accomplish His greatest glory and our greatest good.
Did I just write this…freely?
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009Here is a stumper I was recently asked: “If God knows the future, then the future is predetermined. If the future is predetermined, then do we have free will?”
Christians over the centuries have answered this question in a number of ways. Here’s my attempt in 500 words or less:
It depends on your definition of free will. If you define free will as the ability to make choices apart from the influence of any external constraining force, then the answer is “no”. God’s foreknowledge would be a force that constrains your decision, thereby negating your free will (as so defined).
But (to be brutally honest) you wont find such a definition of free will in the Bible. In the biblical worldview, everybody is influenced in their choices by some constraining force, like God and his foreknowledge. He knows the choices we will make in the future, so when the time comes, we will make that particular choice and none other. But we are still free in our choices because freedom is defined, according to the Bible, in terms of willingness. A choice is free so long as it is made willingly, even if there are external constraining forces involved (like God’s foreknowledge and predetermined plan).
Here is a biblical example: Judas betrayed Jesus his master. He wanted to do it (see Lk 22:1-6). No one (including God) forced his hand, in the sense that he was forced to act against his will. So the Bible makes it clear that Judas freely chose to betray his master because he did it with a willing (sinful) heart.
But the Bible also makes it clear that God foreknew Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and even predetermined it. So we read texts like:
Luke 22:22 “For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!“(cf. Matt 26:24) Jesus will be betrayed by a certain man as it has been determined.
Acts 2:23 “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” Jesus was delivered up according to God’s definite plan and foreknowledge, which included Judas’ betrayal.
Luke 22:3 “Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot” The Bible also says Satan acted as an external constraining force in Judas’ decision, but in the end it was still his decision.
So why did Judas betray Jesus? According to the Bible, all three of these answers are true:
1) God foreknew and planned for Judas to do it.
2) Satan influenced Judas to do it.
3) Judas, out of a sinful heart, wanted to do it.
To sum it up: According to the scriptures, God’s foreknowledge and predetermined plan constrained Judas to act accordingly, but not in a way as to negate his willingness to betray Jesus (or his culpability for doing so). Again, the main point is that Judas wanted to do it! Our willingness to sin (a result of our fallen nature) is the key that brings together these seemingly contradictory beliefs: a) the belief in human freedom and responsibility for the choices we make, and b) the belief in God’s foreknowledge and predetermined plan for our lives.
The Story of Job Illustrated
Friday, December 12th, 2008Watch this powerful trailer for Piper’s new fully-illustrated book on the story of Job. The illustrations are vivid and the poetry is evocative. Find more resources on their site: www.jobthebook.com
The Predestined Murder of the Son of God
Friday, November 14th, 2008In his latest sermon Barton covered one of the clearest sections in the Bible where God’s absolute sovereignty over all things (including sin and evil) is affirmed. In Acts 4:27-28 we are reminded of the most heinous, the most evil, the most spectacular sin of all, namely the murder of the Son of God.
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
In v27 the human agents responsible for Jesus’ murder are named. In 4:10 Peter calls out these same people and accuses them personally of crucifying Jesus (“whom you crucified”). So we can correctly say that they gathered themselves together against Jesus for his murder, which they intended for evil.
But in v27 notice the verb “gathered” is passive. These human agents were gathered against Jesus. Who did the gathering? God did. He not only gathered them, he anointed them to do whatever he had predestined to take place by his sovereignly powerful hand, according to his sovereignly wise plan. And the apex of that wise plan was the murder of Jesus, which God intended for good.
What does this say to believers in times of suffering or opposition? Consider this: if the most evil, most sinful event the world has ever witnessed did not occur apart from God’s sovereign wisdom and good plan, then believers can be confident that God is sovereignly orchestrating the events in their lives for their good, including the evil, sinful, painful ones.
Piper has written a new book on this topic called Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ.
Chastisements for Sin
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008In our latest Puritan book The True Bounds of Christian Freedom by Samuel Bolton, one chapter addresses the question, “Are Christians freed from all punishments and chastisements for sin?”
He clarifies between three kinds of punishments – temporal, spiritual, and eternal. In regards to eternal punishment, the Bible is clear that those in Christ have been pardoned and set free from such punishment. In regards to spiritual and temporal punishments, Christians are free from these “as they have relation to, or are subordinate to, eternal punishment.” That means these types of punishments are sometimes the direct fruits of sin’s curse, but Christ bore sin’s curse for his own, and thereby freed Christians from the spiritual and temporal consequences of the curse.
“Believers are freed from temporal punishments as they are the fruits of sin, or as merely penal, for to this extent are they parts of the curse, and so are inflicted on wicked men, but not upon the godly, all of whose troubles are fruitful, not penal, troubles.”
But note that for the Christian, he still might experience troubles as a result of his sin. However, his troubles should be seen as “fruitful troubles” not “penal (punitive) troubles”. That means these “troubles” are a means of correcting us for our good.
“It must always be remembered that, although Christ has borne the punishment of sin, and although God has forgiven the saints of their sins, yet God may God-fatherly correct His people for sin. Christ endured the great shower of wrath, the black and dismal hours of displeasure for sin. That which falls upon us is a sunshine shower, warmth with wet, wet with the warmth of His love to make us fruitful and humble. . . . That which the believer suffers for sin is not penal, arising from vindictive justice, but medicinal, arising from a fatherly love.”
And then Bolton offers five reasons why God chastens his people:
1) God may do it for the terror of wicked men: “If God deals thus with His friends what shall become of His enemies?”
2) God may do it for the manifestation of His justice, that He may show to the world that He is just: “If He should punish others for sin, but spare His own, wicked men would say that He was partial.”
3) God may do it to remove scandal: “The sins of the saints bring scandal upon religion . . . God was more dishonoured by David’s uncleanness than by all the filth of Sodom.”
4) God may do it for caution to others: “God chastises lest sin should spread to others.”
5) God may do it for his people’s own good here, and for the furtherance of their salvation hereafter: “The chief [reason] is that God chastises them to make them partakers of His holiness here and of His glory hereafter; and indeed, to sweeten heaven and glory to them.”