Checkmate: Suffering

Brad strelau

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How Can a Good God allow Suffering?

We are in the middle of a series called “Checkmate”, looking at the strongest arguments against Christianity.

The arguments where one looking at the claims of Christianity would say....this question is to big for Christianity to answer, or because of this, I cannot believe.

He is powerful and not good

And if we are honest, these are not questions for atheists and critics. They are ones that any sane person struggles with and wants to understand better.

268,000 people are killed in a Tsunami, ISIS beheadings, the Taliban is killing of 141 school children, child abuse, war crimes, etc.)

And for most of us, that is just the stuff “out there”, but there is our own stuff that we struggle with in our own lives; personal pains and struggles. Where is God in this?

Listen with all this going on, there cannot be a God, or at least not the kind you Christians think there is.

J.L. Mackie says, “If a good and powerful God exists, he would not allow pointless evil, but because there is much unjustifiable, pointless evil in the world, the traditional good and powerful God could not exist. Some other god or no god may exist, but not the traditional God.”

And this is not just a a philosophical question, it is theological, and it is personal.

It has been the struggle of every generation of Christian who has taken their faith in a loving God seriously;

and we are going to solve it today!!

Grab your bibles.

1 Peter 1:3–12 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

PRAYER

”3-12

One of the most powerful arguments against Christianity or more accurately the God of Christianity is summed up in this statement...

Either God is Good and not powerful

Just because we cannot see a reason for suffering is not the same as saint there is not reason.

Either God is good but not powerful or he is powerful but not good Either he hates the suffering and wants to do something about it and can't, or he can he has the power and he doesn't. Either way and you have a guy who is deficient.

He is powerful and not good

Either God is good but not powerful enough to stop evil, or else He’s powerful but He won’t stop evil, so He can’t be all good. so, He is either not good or he is not powerful; either way he is not the God Christians believe him to be.

Peter’s words to the church, which has suffered and will suffer more, gives us some tools to hold to when we talk about and walk through suffering and evil.

And what he gives us and I want you to see is ....

Peter’s words to this church, which has suffered and will suffer gives us some

One way not to face suffering and three ways to face suffering (repeat)

There is a tendency for us to place more faith in our understanding and judgement than there is to place it biblical revelation.

When asking the question of suffering

And Peter is going after this question…why are we walking through suffering.

We believe that we have a right to know. And that if someone doesn’t tell us what is going on and why, something mischievous is going on.

The people that Peter is writing to in his letter have suffered a lot. And they're going to suffer more. And they're looking to Peter and they're looking to Christ and they're hanging on every word.

We must NOT abandon hope in God

And Peter is going after this question…why are we walking through suffering.

Clogging up the internet right now are posts made by many who fancy themselves those who will uncover the truth for you. Questioning United Airlines, or the man who refused to move. What was really going on?; you deserve to know! What is going on in this business, who sent what email to who and what did it say; you deserve to know.

1 Peter 1:6–7 ESV

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

he says, rejoice, this is going to result in praise and glory and honour!!

Vv6-7

If someone is questioned o the media, and they take more than a day to respond, it is assumed that they are guilty.

Peter saying that suffering, trial, doesn't have to weaken your faith, in fact it can and is meant to strengthen your faith. Do not abandon hope!

We apply that to God and wonder why when we suffer and pray we do not get an immediate response from God, he is hiding something, and he has no right.

In fact, abandoning your hope in God doesn't accomplish what you might think.

It gives you no framework, it gives you no tools, or strength to walk through suffering

We conclude that if we cannot see any reason for suffering, there must not be any.

Pushing God out of the picture gives us less of an argument about suffering. If there is no God, if things are just nature and material, we lose our ability to say whether something is evil or good.

We conclude that if we cannot see any reason for suffering, there must not be any.

Even to say that the suffering is negative is to point to some sort of law about good and evil that becomes very arbitrary if there is not God.

Some say Good is what is good for the most people.But we run into a problem, because if we are simply physical beings and our existence is only physical not spiritual, we happened by chance, why is our existence a good? Why is it good that we live and not die. Why is it good to help others and not hurt them?

Without God, without pointing to a measure of good and evil we have no way of labelling something good or bad.

Russian writer, Fyodor Dostoevsky

2. Though suffering is a problem for the believer, it is also very definitely one for the unbeliever!

“If God did not exist then everything is permitted”.

though suffering is a problem for the believer, it is also very definitely one for the unbeliever!

There is no realm of values, just preference. Just arbitrary beliefs about what ought to be considered right and wrong.

I was recently reading of an interview with Richard Dawkins in which the interviewer was challenging him about the implications of his naturalistic god-less worldview. The interviewer said,

“Ultimately, your belief that rape is wrong is as arbitrary as the fact that we’ve evolved five fingers rather than six.” Dawkins responded, “You could say that, yeah.

And without God that is a possible and acceptable way to look at morality; it just happened by fluke.

Without God that is a possible and acceptable way to look at morality; it just happened by fluke.

Not the best option. Not the best way to solve the problem of suffering.

So to dismiss God because of suffering we end up with a bigger problem.

Abandoning God does not help answer the problem of pain it makes it a larger problem.

It doesn't help philosophically and it doesn't help personally

When we read the many lamenting psalms of King David we find that although he may lash out at God, he never denies that he is.

He never denies his existence he just calls into question his character!!

So our tendency (and it is a fair and understandable one) to abandon belief in God does not move us closer to solving the problem of pain.

So what does.

Peter gives us this framework and we will unpack it

We MUST look back at something, we must look forward to something, and we must look into something

I. Look Back

Peter uses a powerful metaphor here, he talks about our suffering like a refining fire.

Not the most comfortable image but helpful I think.

Now when we look at the OT we see the image return over and over.

Daniel

In the book of Daniel we see Shadrach Michack and Abednigo who were thrown into a fiery furnace because they refused to worship a false god, and after they are thrown into the furnace, that i so hot that the guards that threw them in were burned up, the king looks in and sees not 3 young men, but four people and the 4th looked like a son of God.

When it was all said and done, the 3 men came out unharmed and the fourth man disappeared.

Who was that?

Isaiah 43:2 ESV

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

says

encouraging?

Wouldn’t it be more encouraging if it said, if you believe to me, you won’t go through waters, floods ,fires”?

“IF you walk through the fire”?

The promise WHEN you go through, plunged in

I will so love you in the midst, I will not just be near you, I will be with you, and as a result Peter says, it will strengthen you.

That is great!! But how do I know it’s true?

This is only inspiring if it is true!

How do I know ay of these promised are true?

And it is not until we get to the cross of Jesus Christ that we see how far God will go to show he will keep his promise.

Not until we look at the cross do we begin to comprehend how far he would go to be with us in our affliction!

In vv10-11

1 Peter 1:10–11 ESV

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

The prophets are talking about grace that comes only through the suffering of Christ.

Only Christianity answers the heart of God when it comes to suffering.

No other faith, places at its centre the suffering of its God.

On the cross we see God suffering an unjust death

On the cross we see the father losing His only Son

On the cross Jesus cries out why God....

When we look at the suffering of Jesus we know that he suffered horribly. disgraced

See some preachers, theologians might want to sweep the Garden of Gethsemane under the rug.

We feel uncomfortable when we see our saviour trying to get out of the cross; instead we should find great comfort in it. He is not ignorant of our suffering our questions. He is not unsympathetic to us.

Why does he speak to God this way, is it just death?

Scripture would say no, because the death of Jesus was more than a physical taking of life.

He new that his strongest love, his strongest relationship, because of the sins of the world that were on his shoulders, would be severed. Even for a short time, because God cannot look upon sin.

And so in the act of the crucifixion:

He took on shame and torment willingly, to ultimately take torment and shame away for good.

So let us take this question of suffering to the cross:

Look at the cross and ask God, God why do you allow this suffering and evil to continue?

And even though the cross cannot tell you the answer to that question, it can tell you what it is not.

The answer cannot be because he doesn’t love us.

It cannot be a lack of concern.

It cannot be because he does not see, or he is indifferent.

Because he did not simply walk through the fire of death, but of a suffering at a level we cannot comprehend; carrying our guilt our shame.

Because he loved us so much and detested suffering so much that he was willing to take on suffering so that we do not have to.

And our assurance that God is true to his promise in to walk with us through the fires and trials of life, is that he went to the ultimate furnace for you.

He is walking with you whether you sense it or not.

So in order to deal with suffering we must look back to something. His promises and the cross

But we must also look forward to something.

I Peter 1:

look at the top of the text.

II. Look Forward

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV

notice living hope- it is an inheritance, it is coming. You’ve tasted it in the resurrection of Jesus, but there is more coming; our resurrection and a new heaven and a new earth. Something better is coming.

Endurance come from looking ahead. to the goal. Looking beyond the immediate to the eternal.

Now, I have been in a hospital room twice during child birth.

But there is a surreal chaos that seems to take place in a hospital room when a child is being born—there is pain, and groaning, there are tears (AND THAT WAS JUST ME)- Jon get ready!

and hands being squeezed,

And sometimes, on occasion there is frustration, harsh language and things might be thrown.

But-There are also encouraging words are being whispered.

there is a sense of anticipation. There is an understanding that after all this you will experience new life. You will hold onto something you have only hoped for, only imagined, only prayed for./ And it is here at last.

The anticipation makes the birth even better

ESVFor I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

1 Corinthians 15:52–57 ESV

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I Cor. 15

See what he did there?

1 Corinthians 15:52–54 ESV

Notice the language.

Paul is not saying that in the end we will trade things in.

We will not exchange our suffering for joy.

We will “put on”

death will be “swallowed”

The victory we will experience is not compensation for what we lost, it is an increase.

It is swallowing.

I don’t know about you, but when I swallow things, I get bigger!!

what we have already experienced will increase our future joy.

Romans 8:18 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Our promised future brings meaning to our present. Like the child at the end of labour.

Like waking up from a dream.

I was away at a retreat this week. And in the middle of the night, I don't know why, because I haven't had one for years, I had a horrible nightmare. A nightmare that ended with me yelling to communicate with Lalainia, and not being able to be with her ever again. In my dream I was crying, as I woke up I was shaking. What would've made things great when I woke up is if I turned over to see Lalainia laying next to me. But what I found, was an empty room full of darkness and loneliness, highlighted by the dream I just had.

In fact having that dream increased my desire and my joy when I DID see her the following day.

What Paul is arguing in I Corinthians is that at the fruition of time, When become a reality and heaven swallows up earth, we will not simply be happy because we are no longer suffering but our past suffering will actually add to our joy.

All our experiences good and bad, all my pain and suffering will be swallowed up and made a part of our future hope. Making it more glorious.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky says it this way,

“I believe ... that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, …., that in the world's finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, for all the blood that they've shed; that it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify all that has happened.”

Amazing!

PAUSEThis takes cultivating. This takes it takes prayer and devotion to a story greater than your own that you are not writing.

If the resurrection is true, than this is true.

So Peter says that if we want to walk through suffering we need to look back, we need to look ahead to, but we also need to look into something.

III. Look Into

We don’t just look back to promises and a presentation of a God who suffers, we don’t only look ahead to future glory, future victory swallowing up our present, we also must look into something

1 Peter 1:12 ESV

It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

That would long at the end of the text literally means lust after!!

obsess over

The angel obsess over the gospel Paul says.

That seems strange to us because we think the gospel is something we graduate from. We need to to get it, but then we can move on to more important things. I’m not sure where we got that idea.

The angels do not tire of looking into the gospel. They see something so beautiful in it.

follow me here:

Hebrews 12

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus walked through his furnace, the cross, the separation from the Father for a time, for the joy set before him.

Now what was the joy set before him?

huh?

It cannot be the to sit at the right hand of the Father. he already had that!! Didn’t he?

This joy before him, moved him to leave his throne and take on human flesh, to experience suffering.

So what did that. What was his hope?

What was he after that he did not already posses in heaven?

That would cause him to take on all the punishment described by the prophet Isaiah in . Why would he allow himself to broken and bruised, punished, taking on the sins of the world?

Isaiah 53:11 NIV

After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53

Do you understand what that means?

It means you and I were his desire.

That the joy set before Jesus was not a throne on high, it wasn’t communion with the Father, a place of honour, he already had that...

The joy set before him, was you and me.

What he didn’t have was you and me.

righteous, justified, purified, glorified, you and I

You and I were his hope and joy and knowing that makes him our hope and joy!

And when we know that he walked through the fire not only with us but for us, it makes it worth walking through.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

And we know that one day our griefs will be taken up into his story and our joy will be increased because of it.

Tim Keller pulls this thought together in his book Walking with God Though Pain and Suffering

Isn't it possible that the eventual glory and joy we will know will be infinitely greater than it would have been had there've been no evil? What if that future world will somehow be greater for having once been broken and lost? If such is the case, that would truly mean the utter defeat of evil. Evil would not just be an obstacle to our beauty and bliss, but it will have only made it better. Evil would have accomplished the very opposite of what it intended.

Let’s Pray

If the resurrection happened, and I believe that it did, there are resurrection will happen. And at that moment…

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