Transcript Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

Why Bad Things Happen to
Good People
Psalm 73:1-17
Psalm 73:1-8
“Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in
heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the
boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For
there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is
firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are
they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves
as their necklace; violence covers them like a
garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have
more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak
wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily.”
Psalm 73:9-14
“They set their mouth against the heavens, and
their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore
his people return here, and waters of a full cup
are drained by them. And they say, ‘How does
God know? And is there knowledge in the Most
High?’ Behold, these are the ungodly, who are
always at ease; they increase in riches. Surely I
have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed
my hands in innocence. For all day long I have
been plagued, and chastened every morning.”
Introduction
• The Psalmist ponders these age-old
questions.
– Why do the wicked prosper?
– Why do good things happen to bad
people?
– Envious of the wicked for a time.
• The hardest questions of life.
• A reality and a difficult part of life.
Introduction
• My child is dying.
• I am very sick.
• I have heartache and
suffering.
• Must there be disease
and death?
• People are being
mistreated.
• Some lose their jobs.
• Happening to me…
WHY
?
The Answer of Some Is…
• God is to blame!
– “took my child!”
– “took my loved one!”
– “caused a bad thing to happen!”
– Natural disasters are acts of God.
• Job’s wife charged God.
– “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still
hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and
die!’” {Job 2:9}
God Is Not to Be Blamed!
• The Scriptures declare God’s goodness.
– “Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in
heart.” {Psalm 73:1}
– “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of
God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you,
goodness, if you continue in His goodness.
Otherwise you also will be cut off.” {Romans 11:22}
– “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from
above, and comes down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow of
turning.” {James 1:17}
Blaming God Is Foolish
and Sinful
• Job understood this truth.
– “But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the
foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed
accept good from God, and shall we not
accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin
with his lips.” {Job 2:10}
– “…Naked I came from my mother's womb, and
naked shall I return there. The LORD gave,
and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the
name of the LORD. In all this Job did not sin
nor charge God with wrong.” {Job 1:21,22}
Bad Things Do Happen
• Joseph
– Genesis 39:17-20
• Elijah
– 1 Kings 19:1-7
• Apostle Paul
– 2 Corinthians 11:23-30
• Early Christians
– Revelation 2:8-11
Why Bad Things Happen to Good People
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Because We Live in a Sinful World
• We sometimes suffer because of our own past sins.
– Some bad things are self-imposed. - Galatians 6:7-9
“…and be sure
• Sexual immorality your sin will find
– Broken homes, divorce
you out.”
– Unwanted pregnancy, shame
(Numbers 32:23)
– STDs – AIDS
• Drug and alcohol consumption – Health and financial problems
– Addiction, crime, and impaired judgment with lasting consequences.
• We suffer as the consequences of other people’s sins.
– Gossip, murmuring, and lies – destroy good names and reputations; cause division
and contention among brethren and families.
• Proverbs 6:16-19
• Philippians 2:14-15
– Drunk drivers – kill and maim good innocent people.
– Murderers, robbers, scam artists, law breakers, etc.
Because of Evil People
• The faithful of old suffered extreme
persecution.
– Hebrews 11:36-40
• God’s people always have, and always will
suffer.
– 1 Peter 4:12-16; 2 Timothy 3:12
• People suffer at the hands of the rich.
– James 5:1-7
Why Bad Things Happen to Good People
Because of Evil People
• Although innocent, Christ suffered and died.
– Acts 2:23; John 1:11; 1 Peter 2:21-23
• First-century Christians underwent severe suffering.
– Revelation 2:13 (Antipas)
• Faithful preachers suffered for preaching the truth.
– Paul—2 Timothy 4:6-8
– John the Baptizer—Mark 6:17-29
– Stephen—Acts 7:51-59
– Would not compromise the truth—2 Timothy 4:1-5
Because Satan’s Force Is
Active
• God of this world
– 2 Corinthians 4:4
• Satan is our adversary; he seeks for opportunities
to destroy us.
– 1 Peter 5:8
• Always looking…
– Job 1:6,7
• By discouraging, disheartening, using deceptive
methods. Trials and human suffering.
– Matthew 24:7-13
Because Life Is Unfair
• Not promised a fair and fanciful life--1 Timothy
6:6-8.
– Perfect fellowship was lost in the Garden.
– Consequences—Genesis 3:9-23
• That lost in the Garden was regained in Christ.
– Made perfect in Christ, if we suffer with Him—Romans
8:17-23
– Christian’s life is not a walk in a rose garden
– A life of service, humility, toils, and hard choices—
Matthew 10:34-36; Psalm 116:15
We Are Warned That Trials Will
Come
•
•
•
•
•
1 Corinthians 10:13
Christ (Matthew 4:1-12)
Eternal Blessings
2 Timothy 3:11-12
Romans 5:1-3
are promised ONLY
1 Peter 1:6-9
to those who
ENDURE the trials!
Why Bad Things Happen to Good People
Trials Strengthen and Perfect
• Trials make us inwardly stronger:
– James 1:2-4
– 1 Peter 5:10
– 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
• Trials test our love and fear of God - John 14:15.
– “God tested Abraham” – Genesis 22:1
– Abraham obeyed God.
• Offered his beloved son Isaac - Genesis 22:11-18
“…for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy
son, thine only son from me.” (vs. 12; Cf. Hebrews 11:17)
• Trials of old age and failing health will come.
– Aging is inevitable; there’s no stopping it.
– Godly, active, moderate living is necessary-2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Because of the Trials of Aging
Ecclesiastes 12:3-7
• Verse 3
–
–
–
–
Keepers of house tremble – arms weak
Strong men bow - weak legs and frame
Grinders cease – teeth fall out
Windows grow dim – eyesight fails
• Verse 4:
–
–
–
–
Doors are shut – mouth is shut; no longer takes in food
Grinding is low – slow chewing
Rise at sound of birds – easily awakened
Daughters of music brought low - voice becomes feeble
• Verse 5:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Afraid of that which is high – fear of falling
Fears in the way – difficulty doing simple things we once did
Almond tree blossoms – hair turns gray/white, falls out
Grasshopper a burden – small things are burdensome
Desires fail – fleshly desires wane
Go to the long (eternal) home – obvious reference to death
• Verse 6:
–
–
–
–
Silver cord is loosed – spinal cord and central nervous system
Golden bowl broken – skull that houses the brain
Pitcher shattered at the fountain – heart and circulatory system
Wheel broken at the well – breathing becomes difficult and weaker
• Verse 7:
–
Body returns to dust; spirit returns to God who gave it! – DEATH.
Man does
not waste
time…time
wastes man!
Because of Time and Chance
• Wrong place at the wrong time.
– Ecclesiastes 9:1-3, 11-12
• Tower of Siloam fell – Luke 13:4
• 9-11 terrorist attacks
• Accidents, injuries, death
• Calamities and blessings happen.
– To all men - “Evil and the good…the just and…the
unjust”
• Matthew 5:45
• Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Because That’s Life
• Life is fleeting and troublesome.
– “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and
full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and
fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not
continue.” {Job 14:1,2}
• Life is a vapor, with a sure and swift end and
no guarantee of tomorrow.
– “Whereas you do not know what will happen
tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor
that appears for a little time and then vanishes
away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills,
we shall live and do this or that.’ {James 4:14,15}
Because I Don’t Know
• There’s no logical explanation for some things that
happen.
– Only God knows.
– We must leave it in His hands.
• We must learn and accept the truth--we do not
have answers for everything that happens in this
life.
– “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear
God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.
For God will bring every work into judgment, Including
every secret thing, Whether good or evil.”
{Ecclesiastes 12:13,14}
The most important question is not,
“Why do bad things happen?” It is:
How Will We
Respond When
They Do Happen
What We Must NOT Do
• We must not ENVY the wicked.
– Their destiny is everlasting destruction
{Psalm 73:15-20}.
• We must not BLAME God.
– Remember Job {Job 1:22}.
• We must not DEPART from God.
– “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the
living God; but exhort one another daily, while
it is called "Today," lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
{Hebrews 3:12,13}
Quote From a Gospel Preacher
“We cannot afford the luxury of forgetting or ignoring what God has promised
us. Certainly, no one is justified in blaming God for his troubles, when he has
failed to apply this truth in his life. God is not the author of bad things, but of
good. James said, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning" (Jas. 1:17). It is the Devil who is
the source of our problems, not God. Peter said, "Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). We must be careful that we not
falsely charge God with our troubles. He is not the cause of the troubles — he
is the help and deliverance from them.
I was just thinking, if all of these things are true, and they are, why do many
Christians, in time of trouble, drift away from God instead of toward him? It is
one of the sad facts of our time that we frequently will not turn for help to the
only true and reliable source of help — the Lord God.”
Quote by Lewis Willis - Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 11, p. 3-4, June 2, 1994
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What We Must Do
• Count your blessings.
– Take an inventory of spiritual and physical blessings.
• Remember others who are suffering.
– “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the
same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in
the world.” {1 Peter 5:9}
• Make the most of each day.
– “So I commended enjoyment, because a man has
nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be
merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the
days of his life which God gives him under the sun.”
{Ecclesiastes 8:15}
What We Must Do
• Seek God when trials come.
– Hebrews 4:14-16
• Remember, God blesses the righteous.
– “Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his
beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand
camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female
donkeys.” {Job 42:12}
• Draw near to God.
– “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your
hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to
mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of
the Lord, and He will lift you up.” {James 4:8-10}
Heaven—Unique Rest
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the
first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the
holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. And I heard a loud voice from
heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and He will dwell with them, and they
shall be His people. God Himself will be with them
and be their God.’” {Revelation 21:1-3}
Heaven—Unique Rest
“And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow,
nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away. Then He who sat
on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’
And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true
and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am
the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life
freely to him who thirsts.’” {Revelation 21:4-6}
Love God As Paul Did
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we
are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am
persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities
nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor
depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
{Romans 8:35-39}
A Unique Reward
“And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any
more pain: for the former things
are passed away” (Rev. 21:4)
Bad Things Happen to Good People
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A Unique Reward
“And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and
there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any
more pain: for the former
things are passed away”
{Revelation 21:4}
Why Bad Things Happen to Good People
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