Why Do You Let Innocent People Suffer?
Introduction:
All of us probably have questions of a spiritual nature that we would like to ask God. We'll be discussing some of those questions during this series of lessons. But, first, we should remember three important things: 1) We can't answer every conceivable question because God has not revealed some things (Deut. 29:29), 2) However, we can have comfort in the knowledge that He has given us all the essential information that we need (2 Pet. 1:3), and 3) The only source for this information is in the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16,17).
The question for this study is: God, why do You let innocent people suffer?
I) The problem of human suffering poses a great philosophical dilemma for many people:
| A) Christians claim that God is: 1) All-knowing 2) All-powerful 3) All-loving B) The atheist argues: 1) If God does not know about pain and suffering, He is not all-knowing 2) If He knows but is unable to stop the suffering, He is not all-powerful 3) If He knows and can stop it, but won't, He is not all-loving 4) If He is not all-knowing, all-powerful and all-loving, He is not God C) What can we say in answer to this challenge? |
| A) Some suffer for doing evil, that is, they
bring it upon themselves (1 Pet. 4:15) B) Some suffer for doing good (1 Pet. 4:16, 2 Tim. 3:12, John 15:18,19) C) Some suffer in a "no fault" manner (John 9:1-3) |
| A) Luke 13:11ff B) 2 Cor. 12:7 C) Observe: 1) When God finished His creation, everything was "very good" (Gen 1:31) 2) But in Gen. 3:16,17 there is the first mention of suffering 3) What happened between these two references? Satan and sin |
| A) It discourages evil and punishes evildoers
(Prov. 13:15) B) It reminds us of the vanity and brevity of life (Eccl. 7:2) C) It strengthens the faith of Christians (1 Pet. 1:6-9) D) It can even provide opportunities for evangelism (Phil. 1:12-14) |
