Pain, Freewill, and Love
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 29:05
0 ratings
· 105 viewsWhat is the connection between pain, freewill, and love? Did God promise us happiness or joy? Did God achieve salvation for man despite the pain or through the pain?
Files
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Freewill and Love
Freewill and Love
Keep in mind that man is not God. He was created by God, but is not all-knowing and all-powerful.
In the creation of man, God gave man freewill.
Genesis 2:15-17
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Why?
I think it’s because that’s where love comes from and God wanted to love His creation and wanted His creation to love Him.
Love is not love without freewill.
God is love.
1 John 4:8
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Man needs freewill in order to love God.
Pain
Pain
Pain comes with freewill.
Since man is not all-knowing, not all-powerful, and has the freewill to choose, he sometimes chooses poorly.
God gives man instructions to help him make the right choice, but, along with Satan’s lies to deceive man, man sometimes thinks that the ways that are in opposition to God are the best way.
Genesis 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
God knew this before He created man.
So God knew that He was creating something that was going to experience loss and pain, but He did it anyway.
God knew that He was going to have to deal with man’s sin, man’s pain, and man’s lost condition.
That’s where Jesus comes in.
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Ephesians 3:10-11
To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
What is Pain?
What is Pain?
Pain is defined or viewed in different ways.
Evil
Proof that God does not exist.
Pain or adversity actually can be helpful if viewed right.
Reasons why we have adversity:
Adversity is for our knowledge
Adversity is for our growth
John 15:1-2
2 Peter 1:5-8
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Adversity and affliction helps us to keep our eternal perspective
Adversity is our stepping stones to new heights
The sacrifice of Jesus was one of immense pain:
Was it good, or was it evil?
Did God achieve salvation despite the pain, or did He do it through the pain?
Isaiah 53:5
But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.
2 Corinthians 8:9
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
Happiness or Joy
Happiness or Joy
We look at pain and wonder why God allows us to have it? But where would we be if we did not have it?
Would we have freewill?
Would we have the sacrifice and salvation of Jesus Christ?
What does God promise us?
First, we need to look at some definitions.
Definitions of happiness versus joy:
Happiness is the pleasure obtained through the circumstances of the time
“Hap” is the idea of luck or fortune, coming about by chance. We might say “I happened upon a coin,” or “It was a fortunate happenstance.”
Joy may be defined similarly to happiness, but it can be defined as a “source” of happiness.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary says, “Closely related to gladness and happiness, although joy is more a state of being than an emotion; a result of choice.”
Brenda Heyink, “Joy,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Do Christians automatically have joy or is it something they must develop, along with peace, love, longsuffering, etc.?
Are Christians automatically happy all-day, every day? No, because the circumstances cause it to be otherwise. Can the Christians have joy every day by drawing upon the facts of Christ’s sacrificial death, the salvation obtained, and a promise of a home in Heaven? Yes, that is the source of happiness that cannot be taken away, no matter the circumstances.
My definition is that happiness is a drink of water, and joy is the well from which you can continually draw and obtain happiness, no matter the circumstances.
So, why does God allow unhappiness and pain?
God knew before He created man that man would experience pain. God knew that the circumstances of man would cause Him pain. So, why did He do it?
Why did God give man freewill, if He knew that man would just abuse it and cause himself pain?
We know that without freewill, we would not have true love for God.
God never promised us total happiness.
God does promise joy.
Happiness is pleasure due to the circumstances, joy is overcoming the circumstances, and obtaining pleasure.
God promises joy in Heaven for those who are saved.
Revelation 21:3-4
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
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.
But how did God obtain that salvation for man? Through pain. Through unhappiness.
Can God use something bad to make something good?
Genesis 50:20
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
I don’t mean to take a passage out of context, but let’s re-read this verse and imagine Jesus saying it to those who had crucified Him.
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Responsibility
Responsibility
The answers to questions like, “What is pain?” and “Why do we have pain?” may vary.
Pain is evil
Pain is proof that God does not exist.
Of course, we understand that concluding that pain is proof that God does not exist is ignoring the true responsibility for living in a sin-cursed world.
God created the world perfect.
Genesis 1:31
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Mankind was given freewill and instructions on how to maintain the peaceful, non-painful relationship with God.
Genesis 2:16-17
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Man chose to listen to the lies of Satan and chose their own path that ignored the commandments of God.
Genesis 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Pain and suffering entered the world.
Genesis 3:16-19
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The reason we have pain and suffering in this world is because man disobeyed God’s commandments. The responsibility falls upon the shoulders of man, not God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
God knew we would have pain and suffering before He created us.
If God is holy, He is perfect and always does what is right. If God is all-knowing, then He knows everything.
If we put these two attributes of God together in relation to the creation of man, we see that God knew that man would suffer and have pain, and He chose to go forward with creation, which must have been the right choice, because He is holy.
Therefore, concluding that all pain is evil must be assuming too much.
Pain may be sometimes caused by evil, but pain actually can be used for good things.
God used pain to achieve our salvation.
When we look at the adversity and pain we experience in this world due to the circumstances we face, instead of worrying about the “pursuit of happiness,” we should be worrying about the “pursuit of joy.”
John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Did Jesus overcome the world despite the pain, or did He overcome the world through the pain?
Being a Christian means you should expect pain and moments where you are not happy.
John 15:20
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
Walking with God is not always the most pleasant, but it's always the right path.
Will you worry about constantly being happy, or will you concern yourself with the joy that is salvation and the eternal life to come?
Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Paul experienced various states or circumstances, but he learned that he could be content in any of them. How? Through Christ.
Christ is the joy, the well, the source of strength, the promise, from which we may continually draw, to whom we may continually look, and from whom we may continually draw strength to overcome the circumstances of life and find the joy that is promised.
There is a connection between pain, freewill, and love. The pain we experience was brought into the world with the freewill that God gave to us which was required for us to truly love Him. And while the freewill and pain causes us temporary unhappiness, through that same freewill and pain, we have obtained eternal love and joy.