The Problem of Evil – Part 3: Reasons for Suffering

• Issues addressed in this session:
  • How does God use pain and suffering for His purpose?
  • Is there always a purpose in suffering?
• A Few Things we say:
  • Matter of Perspective (evils of this world are nothing compared to the joy that awaits us in heaven)
  • Evil Defines Good (without evil we wouldn’t truly understand good)
    • Reminds us how bad sin really is
    • Reminds us how merciful God really is
  • God is more than just “good” and “powerful”
  • God’s ways are greater than ours and we cannot always understand His purpose

Answer the question in smaller groups:

• What answers have you or others given as to why suffering is happening?
• A Few Responses:
  • Greater Good Defense
    • “God will always bring about a greater good from suffering”
    • This view is hard to defend because there are times when the suffering seems to far outweigh the good that comes from it
      • Maybe we don’t see all the good
      • Maybe some good comes ‘in spite of suffering’ but not necessary always more good.
    • This view has some merit but is inadequate. There is more….
  • Free Will Defense
    • Because God has given man free will there are consequences that come from sin
    • There are times God wishes to bless us but our choices prevented Him from choosing to do so (Matthew 23:37)
    • This view has merit but is still inadequate to answer the question. There is more…
  • Judgment/Discipline (Suffering because of sin)
    • God uses suffering to discipline us (Psalm 32; Hebrews 12:3-11; Deuteronomy 20:16-17)
    • God used the Assyrians and Babylonians to discipline/punish Israel for disobedience
    • This view has merit, but does not answer every circumstance of suffering. There is more…
  • Creation-Order Theodicy
    • God is morally justified in allowing gratuitous evil in this world.
    • He honors His Word and all He promised was that death would come if man disobeyed (Genesis 2:17) The curse is real!
    • Because man was lord over creation, when man fell, it affected all of creation and this explains natural evil (Romans 8:22)
    • God is the faithful Creator—He is faithful to the order He has established (1 Peter 4:19)
    • God has not obligated Himself either by promise or covenantal word to bring “good” out of evil—He has only promised to redeem men from evil (Genesis 3:15)
    • However, at certain points and under certain circumstances God can (and has), when it is consistent with His character and purpose intervened in the affairs of men because of His goodness, in answer to the prayer of His people, or because of His grace.
    • Some evil in this world is without purpose and God is under no obligation to do anything with it except condemn it.
    • God’s commandments are designed to diminish the amount of evil in this world, so it is not so much that man should expect God to bring “good” from evil, but that man should refrain from doing evil.
    • God may, for His own good reasons, bring some good from some evil, but it is not as an explanation for why the evil occurred—the “good” most often is in spite of the evil.
    • When the Christian suffers for righteousness sake, she can be assured that she will not be separated from God and that God is in some way working good in her life (Romans 8:28-39).
    • The Christian, when suffering for any reason, must always look to the Father of mercies the God of all comfort– and not look for the “Good” (2 Corinthians 1: 1-6).
    • It is possible in all situations of suffering, that the Christian can be a testimony of God’s grace at work in her life (2 Corinthians 12:9).
    • The Christian Hope is the coming Kingdom (Romans 8:18)
    • Therefore, if the Christian does not claim the greater good, the atheist’s argument against God is greatly weakened as there is no obligation on the Christian to demonstrate that the Good has obtained. Furthermore, the Christian’s focus in suffering is re-directed from looking for the “good” to looking to the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort.