Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. The point is that God not only sees your pain and your hurt and your confusion. He cares. He loves you. And he suffers with us.
Oh, we'd expect a great God to reveal himself in power and glory. But isn't it surprising when we read our Bible that God is? is also revealed in suffering. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Last time, we asked the troubling question of why a good God allows evil to exist.
Disease, famine, and natural disasters are all a part of life. and it's only natural to wonder, why is there any suffering at all? That's our focus in today's lesson as Pastor Monroe discusses the question: if there is a God, why suffering? If there is a God Why suffering? In this series on What Would You Ask God, we're learning about our all-powerful Creator God and dealing with some very difficult questions.
Not everyone is going to agree with my perspective, but As a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe the Bible is the Word of God. I base my beliefs then not on my own ideas or feelings or what is culturally acceptable, but what God has said in His living word. This question on God and suffering is often a perplexing one. Today we begin with looking at some approaches to suffering, which I feel are very unsatisfactory. Then we'll begin to think of the experience of a man who experienced extraordinary suffering in his life.
Job. but he still reaffirmed his trust in God. Edward Tabusch, although having Jewish forefathers, is a passionate atheist. Two members of his family were killed in the Holocaust. He said, if the God of the Bible actually exists, I want to sue him for negligence.
For being asleep at the wheel of the universe when my grandfather and uncle were gassed in Auschwitz. In other words, if there is a God, he doesn't seem to care about suffering, he's asleep. One of the most common objections to the existence of God and to the character of God is the presence of suffering. How can there be a God when thousands of innocent children die every day from disease and famine. How can I trust and love a God who allows my Child, my sister, my spouse, my parent, my best friend to suffer.
with this illness. What kind of God would allow such random sufferings? The kind of God who allows such suffering is not the kind of God I want anything to do with. Suffering bears many masks. Betrayal.
disappointment, war, divorce, famine. Abuse, bereavement, violence, injustice, rejection, conflict, loneliness, unemployment, worry. illness and death. We live in a world of suffering. Today our subject is If there is a God, why suffering?
That's her question. and a very difficult question, but a question all of us struggle with. Whether or not you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you've been brought face to face, I'm sure, with suffering. And different philosophies and religions have tried to get different Answers to this question which haunts all of us, this question of suffering. Let me deal with some unsatisfactory approaches to suffering at least.
unsatisfactory to my way of thinking and possibly yours. First of all, the increasingly popular approach of Buddhism Buddhism no longer is just in the East that's impacting us in the West. And Buddhism centers round This problem of suffering. And it says that there are these four noble truths, four noble truths of Buddhism. which will help us to deal with the subject of suffering.
First of all, Life is suffering. Suffering, according to Buddhism, is what you have. When you wish you had something else. You suffer when you don't have What you wish you Would have. Secondly, the cause of suffering is selfish desire.
The gap between desire and satisfaction, the difference between what we would like and what we actually get in life. is suffering. Third, The way to end suffering is to end the selfish desire. Remove the cause and you obviously remove the effect. Most people try to bridge the gap between desire and satisfaction by increasing satisfaction, but they never succeed.
So Buddha Buddhism says, eliminate your desires and you end the frustration in not satisfying your desire. Fourth. The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to end selfish desires. The goal in life then is to end selfish desire. If I end my selfish desires, I end suffering.
This is the lifelong task of Buddhism. The goal is nirvana. where our desire is decreased to zero. Then pain and suffering and frustration is eliminated. That's the approach of Buddhism, I would suggest, a rather naive approach.
approach with all due respect. and secondly, a denial of suffering. There are those as they look at A suffering and evil, just deny its reality and say there is no such thing as evil, there is no such thing as suffering, Christian science. For example. teaches that evil that sickness and suffering are illusions.
You only believe in them because of your own lack of faith or lack of insight. Peter Creeff tells the story of the little boy going to his Christian Science preacher and asking him to please pray for his father. His father was very sick. The preacher says, Boy, you don't understand. Your father only thinks he's sick.
He's not really th sick. Go home and tell him to have more faith.
So the little boy obeyed.
Next month, next week rather, he met the preacher and the preacher says to him, Boy, How's your father? little boy says, Oh, my father, he thinks he's dead. Christian signs, of course. Doesn't come to grips that evil and suffering and pain and disease are in fact realities. Then there is the denial of the existence of God, thirdly, or an attack, a serious attack on the character of God, and probably this is the most common in our society.
People argue like this. They say, Well, there are these four truths that you believe as Christians, and one of them must be denied. You say that God exists. Secondly, you say that God is all-powerful. Thirdly, you say that God is all-loving.
And fourth, as we look out in our world, we see that evil and suffering actually exist.
So some people, when faced, Where's the existence of evil of suffering Like the quote I began the message with. whose uncle had died in the Holocaust. people become atheists. They deny the existence of God. I think Ted Turner is in that category.
He had the sister who died from an illness, and he says he no longer believes in God. They look at suffering and say suffering exists. and therefore there can be no God. There are those who deny the omnipotence of God. That is, they say there may be a God, but if there is a God, we're not sure if there is or not.
But if He is, He's certainly not all-powerful. He must be too weak to be able to do anything about suffering in the world. Because if there was a God who was all-powerful, He would deal with suffering. And then there are those who deny the goodness of God and the love of God. They do not believe that God is all-loving.
Bad things certainly exist in the world. Therefore, God must be a bad God. He's not a good God at all. If He were a good God, He surely would end and do something about all of the suffering. I'm sure you've heard these kinds of arguments and sometimes they're rather difficult to handle, aren't they?
As Christians, we affirm that there is a God who is the Creator. That He is a personal God, that He is an all-powerful God, that He is an all-loving God. And we also say that in this world, this fallen world, which we saw last week, was created good by God, but then evil has come into it. Evil and suffering do exist. I want you to open your Bibles to the book of Job.
So, the book of Job is just before Psalms, and we're going to look at chapter one. In the seventeenth century, there was an English preacher called Joseph Carlyle who spent fifty years in the book of Job. When he began his series, which was going to last fifty years, he had several thousand in the congregation. When he finished the series, there were only fifty in The congregation, so I'm not going to take 50 years through Job. You'll be relieved to hear we're going to do it in one short message.
You say, I don't believe it.
Well, stay with me. First of all, job suffers. There was a man, chapter one, verse one, in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. That man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. We're introduced to this man of outstanding godliness, integrity.
He was an authentic believer in the Lord. Nothing deceitful about him. He fears the Lord and he turns away from evil. What a man. Verse two.
Mm-hmm. He has seven sons and three daughters that were born to him. His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and very many servants. And the man was the greatest in all of the men of the East. Not only is he a godly man, he's a very, very wealthy man, the greatest man in the East, and he's a very committed family man.
Job seems to be the man who's got everything in life in order. He's got it all together. But unknown to him, Satan. Is about to attack. Verse 6.
Now there was a day when When the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, From where do you come? Satan answered the Lord and said, From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it. The Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? For there's no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.
Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge about him, and his house, and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to your face. Then the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has in your power, Only do not Put forth your hand on him.
So Satan departed from the presence. of the Lord. Satan is about to attack. Satan says to God, Oh, wait, we I understand my job. Is such a godly man, why he's turning from evil.
I mean, he's rich, he's got a wonderful family. Anyone like that would say they love you and serve you. But if you took away all of his possessions, We'll see really what he is. Like. Devastation hits Job verse 13.
Now it happened on the day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house. That a messenger came to Job and said the oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabaeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, The Chaldeans Formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.
While he was still speaking, another also came and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house. And behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house. And it fell down on the young people, and they died, and I alone have escaped. to tell you. Notice.
The job Doesn't know. why all of this happened. to him. Job Lewis loses not only all of his wealth, His family is taken from him. In a hurricane.
I think you'd agree that it's one thing to lose all of your possessions. It's another thing to lose. All of your family. Verse twenty, notice his response of worship and submission. Job rose, tore his robe, shaved his head.
Fell to the ground and worshiped, and he said, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave. And the Lord is taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Through all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame. God.
Pleasing. But Satan hasn't finished. Again, he attacks chapter 2, verse 7. And Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a potsar to scrape himself.
While he was still sitting among the ashes, then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die? He said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not adversity? And all this Job did not sin.
With has loops. The response of jobs Wife is a common one. God is unfair, He's capricious, He's unreasonable, He's very unfair. Why not your curse em job? But job refuses to curse.
Mm-hmm. Now, the major section of the book of Job comprises what we call Job's counselors. They're often criticised, and rightly so. But they do demonstrate their care for Job by identifying with his suffering and grief, sitting with him for seven days and seven nights. And not speaking as we see in chapter two, verses eleven through thirteen.
Incidentally, when you don't know what to say, it's good not to say anything, isn't it? There are some situations which are so devastating, so hard. Your very presence. That's what matters. rather than trying to mouth some pious platitude.
But then the counsellors do speak. Look at chapter four. Verse 7. The first is this man called Eliphas. He says this, Job 4:7.
Remember now. Whoever perished being innocent. Yeah, that job is perishing. Therefore, he can't be innocent. is the implication.
And where were the upright destroyed? According to what I've seen, those who plow with iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it. You're just getting what you deserve, Job. You have been sowing. And now you are.
Repaying. The harvest By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast they of the anger there come to end. Eliphas' position is a very simple one, is one that we hear a lot today. If you are suffering, it's because there is sin in your life. You're a wicked person.
We don't know what the sin is, Job, but you need. To confess it. He's suffering because he must have sinned in some way. This is the theology of the mister Prosperity T V preacher that we hear on our screens and see on our screens. Their theology is very simple, very erroneous, very unbiblical.
If you are prospering, If you drove to church in a large car, if you go home to a large home, if you've got good investments, you've got a good job, and you're healthy, that means that God is blessing you. On the other hand, if you didn't have a car and had to get a ride from someone, you've got poor health, you're out of work, and you're poor, it means That God is not blessing you. God is angry with you. He is displeased with you. And Job, obviously, God is angry with you.
He's taken away all of your wealth, your family. You've got ill health. Everything is wrong with you. And the sooner you admit your sin, the better. That is Eliphas' position.
A wrong. position. Over to chapter eight. Here is the second Councillor, his name is Bildad. Chapter 8, verse 1: Bildad the Shuhite answered.
He is the smallest man in the Bible, being the height of a shoe. Small man, but like some small man, he's got a lot to say for himself. and he speaks and he says a lot. He gives the impression that he's got all of the answers. He's very judgmental kind of character, is Bildad.
Notice what he says in verse three of chapter eight. Does God pervert justice or does the Almighty pervert what is right? If your sons sinned against him, then he delivered them into the power of their transgression. But if you would seek God and implore the compassion of the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, surely now he would rouse himself for you and restore your righteousness. East states the view Uh Bildad.
Verse seven, though your beginning was insignificant, yet your end will increase greatly. Please inquire of past generations and consider the things searched out by their fathers. Again, obviously, Job is suffering Because of his sin. That has been taught in past generations. That's the accepted wisdom.
If you suffer in life, it means there is sin in your life, that God is not happy with you.
So you need to confess your sin and get right with God. Then God will once again bless you. This is the view of Bildad. But We know the scripture told us. In chapters 1 and 2, that Job had not sinned.
And the fact is that in life sometimes the wicked prosper more than the righteous. Isn't that true? Then there is Zophar, chapter twenty.
So far, the third Councillor? Chapter 20, verse 4. Did you not know this from of old? from the establishment of man on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless momentary. Though his loftiness reaches the heavens and his head reaches the clouds, he perishes forever like his refuse.
Those who have seen him will say, Where Is he? He maintains that the wicked always suffer in the life. In life, their prosperity and their happiness are brief and elusive.
Well, that's true. But he believes, again, that the only thing that makes sense. is the job. has sinned. is suffering as a result.
I've said.
Now there is a lie here. Chapter thirty three He's a younger man, a rather angry young man, doesn't think much of the council of Eliphas and Bildad and Zophar. And now he is going to speak, chapter 33. Verse thirteen. Why do you complain against him?
That's against God. That he does not give an account of all his doings. Indeed, God speaks once or twice, yet no one notices it. In a dream, a vision of the night when sound sleep falls on men while they slumber in their beds. Then he opens the eyes of men and seals There Instruction.
that he may turn man aside from his conduct and keep man from pride. He considers that the other three counselors have not sufficiently defended God's character and God's justice. He rightly believes that God must be allowed to be God. But he believes. It's clear that God wants to teach job something.
Haven't you experienced that? You've gone through some suffering, and some well-meaning Christian comes by to you in the middle of your suffering and says, Well, God is obviously teaching you something.
Well, God is always teaching us something that's true. But just because we suffer doesn't mean particularly that God has some particular lesson that He wants to teach us. Why is it that people can suffer with a disease for years or a heartache And we think, well, are they slower learners than the rest of us? It's not that simple, is it? But Job's comforters want to take the mysterious subject of suffering.
and give these rather glib answers. They speak Chapter 38, if you turn over there, chapter 38 to the end of the book. Verse 42: God speaks. After Job and his counsellors have asked their questions and given their explanations, God speaks.
now speaks. He said, well, God is going to answer all the questions. The question of why do the righteous suffer? The basic question, isn't it? Why do bad things happen to good people?
Why do women get cancer? Why does a godly young woman have a husband who's cheating on her and who moves out and wants a divorce? Why does a godly woman have a husband that dies suddenly? Why do bad things happen to good people? Surely now God will answer.
Well, in answer, God asks Job seventy unanswerable questions. Chapter thirty eight, verse one, the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Who is this that darkens council? By words without knowledge.
Now gird up your loins like a man. And I will ask you, and you instruct me. Job, it's time for me to ask you a few questions. Number one. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me if you have understanding. Who said it's measurements since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? Or what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone?
In effect, God is saying to Job, Who are you, and what right do you have to question me? Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? If you're so wise, answer this question, tell me about how I created the world. This is the verdict featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? I'm sure you have experienced suffering. and have seen other people suffering. Suffering is one of the very difficult realities of life. How have you responded?
Does it impact your view of God? What do you say to people who are suffering? Do you agree that God not only is a great almighty God, but is a loving God, and through Jesus Christ has provided the answer to suffering? Don't forget to join me next time as we continue this important question. If there is a God, why suffering?
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
