FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
| Question #1 > If God loves us, why is there suffering in the world? or, If God exists, why does He allow sin? or, If God is good, can He allow sin? |
| Question #2 > 1 Corinthians 10:13 ... Does God only give men what they can handle? |
A list of five causes of suffering:
1. Some are a result of our own bad choices.
2. Some are a result of choices made by past generations
3. Some suffering comes because of natural laws that have been around since the Creation.
4. Some are beneficial and are for our good.
5. Some are beyond explanation because we are limited in comprehension.
According to the Bible, man and woman were created with free choice. Man is not a automaton that must be controlled from without; he was told that he could eat of every tree but one. He chose to eat of the one that His creator told him not to eat of.
Psalms 32: 9
"Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you." God doesn't even harness us like we do the beasts of the field. Man has freedom to make choices within his opportunities.
1. Suffering is sometimes caused by our own bad choices.
We can choose to drink alcohol and get drunk. We can choose not to give up the key. The resulting wreck is a result of our bad choices.
2. Suffering is sometimes caused by choices made by past generations.
Past generations have used asbestos (as a great insulator), lead in paint, faulty construction, contaminated water supplies, Agent Orange, etc., to later generations' sorrow.
3. Some suffering is caused by natural laws that have been around since the Creation.
Some obvious laws are gravity and momentum. If one chooses to (or accidentally) falls off a tower, gravity will pull him to injury or death. If a child runs out in front of a bus in motion, momentum will cause injury.
Why doesn't God protect the child and falling person and prevent injury? God perceivably could, but since He loves all and is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10), He would have to suspend the laws of nature for every incident throughout the whole world. "For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). Those laws exist for a reason and for order in the universe ("God is not a god of confusion" -1 Corinthians 14).
4. Some suffering is beneficial and is for our good.
Some pains alert us that we should get to the hospital; we may be having a heart attack. Or if something hurts, a determination can be made for dispensing medication.
5. Some are beyond our explanation because we are limited in our scope of knowledge.
John 9:3 'Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. (NKJV)'
Job was suffering. He did not know why. After it was all over, he was rewarded. But at the time of pain, Job could not see that coming. However, he was faithful even though he could not see the full picture.
God suffers.
The origin of suffering can be traced back to sin in the Garden of Eden. God warned that if man sinned that "dying, he would die." The wages of sin is death and death's sting is sin. "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:55). God in His love for man has felt suffering through Jesus, His Son (John 3:16) and thereby has offered us the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23).
Consider that Jesus anticipated His torture (John 14-16). Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer"(Luke 22:15)
And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples (John 18:2). In the Garden that night of betrayal, Jesus sweated drops of blood (hematidrosis) while in agony in His anticipation in suffering. His said, "Not my will, but thine be done."
Jesus was spit upon. He was rejected by the crowd. He was taken to the Romans who beat Him mercilessly in His scourgings. A crown of thorns were placed upon his head. He was forced to drag his own cross. He was nailed in His hands and in his feet. He rejected a mild sedative so that He could concentrate on His sacrifice for us. "Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men" (Isaiah 52:14).
But Jesus suffered because of our sins so that if we would, we could be saved eternally from all sufferings and unpleasantness. That's in the "new heavens and the new earth" (2 Peter 3:13f).
"Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation-"
To The Top
