God ain’t Fair
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Intro
Intro
Article about the raping of babies from
Armed men are raping and sexually assaulting children as young as one during Sudan's civil war, says the UN children's agency, Unicef.
So traumatized are the survivors that some say they have attempted to end their lives.
Mass sexual violence has been widely documented as a weapon of war in the country's nearly two-year conflict.
But Unicef's report is the first detailed account about the impact of rape on young children in Sudan.
A third of the victims were boys, who typically face "unique challenges" in reporting such crimes and seeking the help they need.
Unicef says that, although 221 rape cases against children have been officially reported since the start of 2024, the true number is likely to be much higher.
Sudan is a socially conservative country where huge societal stigma stops survivors and their families from speaking out about rape, as does the fear of retribution from armed groups.
The Unicef report provides an appalling window into the abuse of children in the country's civil war.
Perhaps its most shocking revelation is that 16 of the victims were under the age of five years, including four infants.
40 Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.”
42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.
34 “Where have you put him?” he asked. “Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
-Compassion-sympathetic pity or concerns for the sufferings of others(Dictionary)
-Compassion-Biblical Understanding-Bowels or Inward parts. Used to describe a sense of pain whereby you feel so strongly about someone that when they hurt or are in pain you feel it in the depth of your bowels. Nowadays we might say “Their pain hurt me to the core”
-This is when you are so connected to people sufferings that when they hurt; you hurt. This is description of our Lord’s feelings related to our pain and sufferings.
-That leads me to this Million Dollar Question:
Lord if you are so compassionate about the pain of mankind then why would you allow babies and toddlers to be raped and ravaged when it is in your power to stop it?
Since you don’t stop these things you must not exist or at the bare minimum you exist but are unconcerned about human affairs.
Or as the great Philosopher ICE CUBE said in Boys in the Hood “If there is a God why does he allow little kids to get smoked in the streets?”
-This question has perplexed Philosophers and Scholars for Centuries. If there is a ALL powerful, Benevolent(Kind) God why is there Evil? If he is kind then he must not be All Powerful—because he is unable to stop the evil; If he is All Powerful and Evil Exist then he must not be Kind(because he does not care), therefore he must not exist.
-Theodicy-Theodicy is a philosophical argument that attempts to explain why God allows evil in the world, while remaining just, good, and all-powerful.
-This perplexity has caused people to embrace Atheism, Agnosticism or where most people rest is deism.
-Can I offer a Solution to this problem; this will requires us to look through different lenses when bad things happen.
Let me start by giving you the bad news first
I. Bad News
I. Bad News
-Genesis 1 “Elohim creates the Cosmos and Man”
a. Genesis 1:26 “Let Us make man in our image” Truine God introduced to mankind. God in three person: Father, Son and HS.
-Genesis 2 “Elohim blows into Adam’s nostrils the breathe of life” He took dust and made the man and breathe life into the man. A living being with a Spirit. “Elohim says its not good for man to be alone, so he put him to sleep and from his rib he took and created the woman” Then you have the first wedding performed by Elohim. His command to them was Go have babies and be fruitful(productive), and take dominion over creation.
-Genesis 3- “Elohim puts them in a garden with two trees” Also in the garden is a Satan who has taken over the body of Snake. Explain the temptation & the failure:
-God told them in the day the eat from the tree they would surely die. In that moment they died
-Death in the Bible does not mean End it means Separation.
a. Spiritual Death-Unable to discern or understand spiritual matters, which is the realm that God exist in. They went from running to God everyday to running from God. Instead of running to God to spend time with him they sowed fig leaves(cover themselves) and the hid from him.
b. Physical Death—as a part of the punishment their physical body is now cursed. Like a piece of fish that is sitting on the countertop your physical body is under a death sentence. From the dust you came and to the Dust your shall return.
c. Emotional Death---Adam and Eve now know guilt, shame, and fear
d. Relational Death---Adam and Eve now have tension between their relationship which causes seperation.
e. Eternal Death---Total Separation from the goodness and blessing of God. Hell is not primarily of place but a state of being. Outside of the goodness and grace of God.
-Based on what our first parents did which passed on to all of us. Physical Death is a part of our just punishment for sinning against a Holy God. This exonerates God from ever being guilty of being unjust or unkind related to our physical death.
-Not only did God curse the physical body he also curse the whole creation
-All of the Evil you see now is related to our First Parents sin in the Garden of Eden. So let’s look a little deeper:
Currently: But how many people in the same period the spirit leaves? Global statistics show that 1.78 people die every second, which is 107 deaths per minute, 6390 per hour, 153 per day, 56 million per year and 3.9 billion deaths during an average lifetime, i.e. within 70 years. Unfortunately, death is all around us. I have lived 1,639,872,000 seconds and counting. That is a testament to grace of God especially since my sins required death.
-So my question has changed based on that data: Instead of Why did you allow bad things to happen to innocent people? my question is now “Why did you allow any of us life based on imputed sin & actual sin? When you resign yourself to the fact all of us are deserving of Death and God does not owe us anything. Your bitterness/pain moves real quick to Thank you Lord!!! Every time you exhale & Inhale you are getting some blessed compassion from God.
-Problem of Evil is solved: God was not the one who brought evil into the world we were.
Augustine's free will theodicy is a Christian theological explanation of evil and suffering that holds that humans have free will and are responsible for their sins.
Key points
Free will: God created humans with free will, which is a power that allows humans to choose between good and evil.
Original sin: Humans sinned when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were exiled from the Garden of Eden.
Punishment: Evil is a just punishment for the fall of man.
Moral evil: Humans commit immoral acts when their will is evil.
God's omnibenevolence: God is not unwilling to restrict the actions of evil because doing so would have been against human best interest.
Augustine believed that humans were created perfect, but they fell and continued to choose badly of their own free will. He also believed that God offers to assist everyone by arranging external circumstances so that people are enticed to choose the good.
-Evil is only understood against the backdrop of God’s goodness. Evil does not prove God does not exist. It actually proves the opposite. They only reason that we believe war is bad is because they create chaos. The only reason we believe chaos is bad because he have experienced peace. The only reason we have experienced peace is because “The Prince of Peace Jesus was allowed us to experience it”
-We still have a problem
-Both our Spirits and Body are Dead, and we unable by ourselves to rescue ourselves “we are dead in our trespasses and sins”
Transition Statement: I have given you the bad news; now lets look at the good news
II. Good News
II. Good News
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die.
8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(v.6) “For while we were still helpless” The word “helpless” in this text means: Weak/Sick Feeble. This carries that idea of being so sick or weak that you are unable to help yourself. You have gone pass the point of self-help. Eating right, exercise, and good sleep is not going to do you any good at this point. This is full kidney failure, This is stage 4 pancreatic cancer, This absolute and total blindness.
-Paul says Spiritually speaking all of us prior to coming to Christ were in a state of helplessness. We were in darkness could not see without help. This is piggybacking what I mentioned during the bad news. So Paul sets the table by letting us know our Spiritual Conditions when we were in the state of Spiritual Darkness.
-COURT ANALOGY---Trying to payback a Holy God with Community Service for a Murder Case.
(v.6) “For the while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” at the right “TIME”
a. Time -Chronos -Chronological Time
b. Time -Kairos-Ages or Season
What made factors contributed to this being the perfect historical time?
a. Peace:Pax Romona- Peace of Rome-From 27bc(Caesar Augustus) until 160-181ad (Marcus Aurelius) The Roman Kingdom had stretched it’s influence throughout the known world with the intent to keep conquered nations calm. This created a relatively safe and peaceful environment throughout the kingdom.
b. Language-Alexander the Great spread greek culture and its language throughout the world. So all the nations he conquered basically became bilingual knowing their native language and “Greek” they spoke “Koine Greek” which means common greek. We might say it was ebonic Greek. It was the language of the common man. The NT was written in this language “Common Greek” this should tell you the intent of the Bible. It was meant for the educated and the uneducated.
c. Commerce-The Romans during this time built an intricate system of highways and roads so that information and items could be delivered across the kingdom very quickly and safely. Yes, the Roman Empire established the first well-documented, state-organized postal service, called the "Cursus Publicus," which was established by Emperor Augustus around 20 BCE to facilitate rapid communication across the vast empire.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
Cursus Publicus:This system was designed for government and military use, allowing for the efficient transport of official messages, orders, and news across the empire.
Relay Stations:The Cursus Publicus used a network of relay stations (mansiones) along major roads, where fresh horses and rest facilities were available for couriers.
Couriers and Messengers:Skilled messengers and couriers traveled on horseback or in chariots, relaying messages from station to station
-Jesus came and died during a time which after his death the message of the gospel could spread very quickly & safely throughout the known word without any language barriers. This allowed the church after his death to explode in growth.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
(v.6) “6For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” in this phrase there is a conjunction “for” but the better translation is “instead of” this tells us the Christ crucifixion was not for his own Sins, but for the sins of the ungodly. His death was substitutionary Meaning he bore the debt of the ungodly through his own execution.
Pastor I hear you, but how do we know that Jesus really existed or that he died on the cross that is a myth?
There are at least 5 ancient History that speak of Jesus in very specific ways: Josephus, Tacitus, Lucian, Pliny, Babylonian Talmud:
First, both Josephus and Lucian indicate that Jesus was regarded as wise.
Second, Pliny, the Talmud, and Lucian imply He was a powerful and revered teacher.
Third, both Josephus and the Talmud indicate He performed miraculous feats.
Fourth, Tacitus, Josephus, the Talmud, and Lucian all mention that He was crucified. Tacitus and Josephus say this occurred under Pontius Pilate. And the Talmud declares it happened on the eve of Passover.
Fifth, there are possible references to the Christian belief in Jesus' resurrection in both Tacitus and Josephus.
Sixth, Josephus records that Jesus' followers believed He was the Christ, or Messiah. And finally, both Pliny and Lucian indicate that Christians worshipped Jesus as God!
-Here is what is interesting. None of these historian were believers in Christ. Some were indifferent and some hated the Christian.
Bart Erham NT Scholar and Ancient History Prof from NC Chapel Hill says this collection of snippets from non-Christian sources may not impart much information about the life of Jesus, “but it is useful for realizing that Jesus was known by historians who had reason to look into the matter. No one thought he was made up.”
-Paul helps us in 1 Corinthians 15:3-9
3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
8 Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
-Paul says Jesus appeared in his post resurrection body to 500+ people. Large Groups at a time. He left no doubt about his resurrection from the dead.
-Folks we cannot continue to walk over this historical event as if it does not have any personal impact on our lives. This is the one Historical Event that you cannot ignore. The Christian Faith is not rooted blind faith, but Historically verified truths that must be dealt with. Our hope does not rest on myth, conjecture or speculation.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die.
8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(v.7-8) In these next two verses Paul is comparing human love to the Love of God. Notice in (v.7)
(v.7) “7For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.” Paul in this text is basically saying that in only rare cases someone might actually die for someone else. And normally that would happen if the person is close enough to them to notice that they are a very good person. But even under these circumstances death for a friend is rare. Or even a loved one is rare. Outside of our immediate families: Grandparents, Father, Mother, Spouse, Child or Sister or Brother is about it for most us. Outside of that you would be hard pressed to find someone to lay their life down for you or taking a punishment that you deserved.
8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(v.8) “But God demonstrates” God put his love on display in comparison to the love that human being share with one another. In (v.7) Paul says you won’t find too many who would die for another person, but God put his love on display by dying for a Helpless, Ungodly, Sinful, Enemy.......ANALOGY OF PEOPLE BEATING UP YOUR MOMMA!
(v.8) “But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” God showed us specifically in our own lives who much he loves us by dying for us knowing full well all of the sins we would commit. PARABLE of Elderly Mother being beat up two men!
-When Jesus was on the cross he knew all of the sins that each individual person would ever commit and he died anyone. All of us would have gotten off, we would not die for such ungrateful people. But God stayed on the cross and finished his assignment. Until he yelled with a loud voice “IT IS FINISHED” The debt has been Paid!!!
18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone.
19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
-Imputed Sin reversed by Imputed Righteousness
Adam’s sin is imputed to us in exactly the same way that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. We inherit, of course, a sinful nature from Adam; there is no dispute about that. But that is not what condemns us. What condemns us, and makes us subject to death, is the fact that we have all sinned in Adam, and that we are all held guilty of sin.
Assurance, 210
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)
But when a person believes in Christ and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, the argument of Protestantism is that the transfer of the merit of Jesus Christ to the account of the believer is a real transfer.
R. C. Sproul
Conclusion: WARNING
36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
Open the doors of the church
