A Two-Minute Video on the Problem of Suffering (from my new book “Bless-ed!”)

 

My New Book “Bless-ed” Is Now Out! Almost. Blessing #4!

Friends:

My new book, Bless-ed! Fifty-Two Weekly Blessings You Have as a Believer and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs will soon be available on Amazon here. I have advanced copies if you are interested. I will send you a copy for $10 (which includes shipping). Here’s Blessing #4 in Bless-ed:

Bless-ed! 52 Weekly Blessings You Have As A Believer — and How to Help Your Lost Friends Find Theirs

Blessing #4: The Blessing of a Proper View of Suffering

“The believer in God must explain one thing, the existence of suffering; the nonbeliever, however, must explain the existence of everything else.” (Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin, The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism)

I thank the Lord for my friend Mike. He does not know the Lord – yet – as his Savior, but God is using him to remind me of the many blessings which I have “in Christ.” This study is multi-faceted and is helping me enormously in taking stock of what I have as a follower of Jesus. And I purpose to not simply coast through my Christian life, oblivious to the many gifts which being in God’s family has given me.

The next “blessing” we want to consider might seem odd, but it is a really critical one. This is a broken world; we are broken as people; terrible tragedies and catastrophes happen on this planet (and to us) under the watchful eye of a sovereign God. How are we to understand pain and tragedy? Thankfully, as believers in Christ –

4. WE POSSESS A PROPER VIEW OF SUFFERING!

THE BLESSING The Bible does not sugar-coat this world’s fallenness with all its effects of “natural disasters” (earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc.) and man-made evil (crime, betrayal, anger, revenge, injustice, prejudice, greed, etc.). But how are we to understand this world’s suffering in light of the Bible’s picture of a God of love?

Scholars refer to this effort at understanding evil as a theodicy (a defense of God’s justice in the face of evil’s reality). Some religious systems deny the reality of evil (the cult Christian Science is an example), compromise God’s omnipotence or omniscience (Rabbi Harold Kushner’s When Bad Things Happen to Good People is an example of the former; Greg Boyd’s open theism an example of the latter), or resign themselves to a kind of deterministic fatalism about evil (Islam is an example of this approach).

THE BIBLE The Bible provides the very best theodicy, for it affirms the real existence of evil and suffering while setting forth the goodness and justice of the biblical God. And God’s Word does not hesitate to show us godly people who had wrong views about suffering. One thinks of Job and his friends who were sure either Job had sinned greatly (and deserved what he was getting) or God was unfairly making Job His target (and needed to be sued in court for His [God’s] mistake). Even Jesus’ disciples cut to the chase theologically and thought the man-born-blind’s condition was because of sin (either his or his parents). Jesus corrects them by saying that “this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in his life” (John 9:3).

As God-manifest-in-the-flesh, Jesus allows death to take his friend Lazarus even though He had the power to keep him from dying (John 11). I’ve worked on this passage and entitled it “Friends Don’t Let Friends . . . Die!” But Jesus did.

One classic text on the issue of evil and suffering is Luke 13:1-5 where we read:

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

This brief theodicy by the Lord Jesus covers two areas of suffering and evil in our world. Notice the victims of a vicious crime in verses 1-3. Notice also the victims of a violent accident in verses 4-5. Neither the sin of the Galileans nor the guilt of those killed by the falling tower was the cause of their catastrophe. One man’s depravity (Pilate’s) and one tower’s gravity illustrate a basic fact: life is dangerous! Make sure you are right with God!

ACTION STEPS

1. A bit of homework: There is much more in God’s Word that prepares us for suffering. See such texts as: 2 Corinthians 1:5-7; Philippians 1:29; 3:10; Colossians 1:24; I Thessalonians 1:6; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:8; 2:3; Hebrews 2:18; 10:34; James 5:10; all of 1 Peter; Revelation 1:9; 2:10. Take some notes on these passages this week.

2. Interview a believing friend this week who is going through severe suffering (cancer, the loss of a loved one, marital unfaithfulness). Ask them carefully what God is teaching them in their trial. Then offer to pray with them.

3. Read the excellent book by Chris Tiegreen entitled Why a Suffering World Makes Sense. Perhaps offer a small group study of the book in your church.

4. PRAYER: Pray for yourself to live a life of faith even in the midst of trials and pain. And ask the Holy Spirit to use whatever challenge comes in your friend’s life that he might see his need of getting right with the Lord.

 

The Theology of Lauren Daigle! “Look Up, Child!”

I think I’m in love. No, not with Lauren Daigle, but with her music! I’m deeply moved by her songs and think anyone who has ears and a brain and a heart ought to be as well. What I want to do in this series of posts is listen to and think about the theology her songs present. Comments welcome!

My comments:

Okay. Okay. These lyrics are a bit repetitive. But, sometimes that’s exactly what I need! When “darkness seems to win,” “when the world is crumbling,” “when all I feel is doubt” — that’s when I need to be reminded to look past myself, past the circumstances surrounding me!

He’s not threatened by war or the storm or our suffering. And the great thing about being a Christian is that He calls our name and He bids us to do one thing: to LOOK UP, CHILD!

Any comments?

 

With Friends Like These . . . Job’s Friends and Religious Foolishness (√XVII. Job’s Response to Bildad – Chs. 26-27)

Bildad’s third round asked the question, “Can a mortal be righteous before God?” (25:4). He not only extols the greatness of God, but he then demeans the human person as a maggot, a worm (25:6).

XVII. Job’s Response to Bildad – Ch. 26)
Job’s sarcastic response mocks the three friends’ unhelpfulness. Their advice has been void of wisdom. It has been so poor, in Job’s estimation, that they must have had some kind of spirit assist them in their counsel! (vv. 1-4).

Job then refers to the dead being “in deep anguish” (v. 5). What does he mean by his statement that “the realm of the dead is naked before God” (v. 6)? Perhaps Job’s point is that his friends have referred quite a bit to the death of the wicked, and Job knows that he does not deserve their fate.

He then speaks about “the outer fringe of [God’s] works” in which he mentions God’s power over the realm of the dead (v. 6), over the northern skies and the very suspension of the earth (v. 7), and over the clouds and the horizon (vv. 8-10). He speaks of God’s  power over the sea (v. 12) and His judgment on Rahab (!) (v. 12). Then Job says, “And these are but the outer fringe of his works” (v. 14).

But, in light of God’s magnificent works in His world, Job laments, “how faint the whisper we hear of him!” (v. 14). In contrast to such acts of God’s power, Job is grieved at His silence. And he certainly isn’t buying the premise that God is speaking to him through his “friends”!

XVII. Job’s Response to Bildad – Ch. 27)

In his second chapter of responding to Bildad’s round three, we notice that the NIV translation has the inscription “Job’s Final Word to His Friends.” Whether this chapter is a specific response to Bildad or a general address to the three friends, we don’t know. Here’s what we do know:

We know of Job’s conviction that God has denied him justice and has made his life bitter (v. 2). We know that Job is determined to say nothing wicked as long as the breath of God is in his nostrils (v. 4). And we know that he is resolute in maintaining his innocence and will never admit that his friends are right (vv. 5-6). His conscience simply won’t allow it (v. 6).

 

With Friends Like These . . . Job’s Friends and Religious Foolishness (√XVI. The Badgering of Bildad Round Three – Ch. 25)

What has Bildad said to Job in his first two rounds? He claimed to know why Job’s children were crushed to death (they had sinned). He challenges Job to seek God and repent and promises that restoration will then come to Job. Arguing from the aged, Bildad says that former generations would agree with him that Job might well perish with the godless. God, of course, does not reject the blameless.

In his second round, Bildad goes to great length to describe the fate of the wicked man. He concludes by saying, “Surely such is the dwelling of the one who does not know God.” In effect, he is challenging Job’s relationship with God.

 XVI. The Badgering of Bildad Round Three – (Ch. 25)

Bildad jumps in with his third round of rebuking Job. He begins with his doctrine of God (that dominion and awe belong to God and that His forces cannot be numbered) (vv. 2-3). This brings Bildad to the point which is obvious to him: “How then can a mortal be righteous before God?” (v. 4). This is almost exactly the same message that Eliphaz says he got from a vision in the night (“Can a mortal be more righteous than God?”, 4:17).

In a unique application of the greater to the lesser argument, Bildad says that only God is pure. Man is but a maggot! This “worm theology,” which was popular during the Reformation among some of its leaders, especially Luther, argues for the greatness of God and the puniness of man.

One contemporary writer says, “Many people have suffered spiritual abuse at the hands of what is sometimes called ‘worm theology.’ In this theology, God’s holiness is set against our sinfulness to such a degree that the only appropriate response seems to be self-loathing. The name may come from a line in the Issac Watts hymn ‘Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed,’ which says ‘Would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?’ The idea seems to be that only by abasing ourselves are we able to grasp and receive God’s mercy. Churches taken with this view think it their job to induce guilt and shame, working people up into a state of such remorse and self-revulsion that they are compelled to repent and seek God’s mercy.” https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/aprilweb-only/23-51.0.html

How will Job respond to Bildad’s worm theology?

 

 

With Friends Like These . . . Job’s Friends and Religious Foolishness (√XV. Job’s Response to Eliphaz Round Three – Chs. 23-24)

Job has endured two rounds of lectures from Eliphaz. He now responds to the final third round in chapters 23-24. Eliphaz has become quite specific in detailing Job’s social sins (sending widows away empty-handed, stripping people of their clothing, etc.). There is no evidence whatsoever in the book of Job’s committing such egregious acts!

Eliphaz challenged Job to no longer tread the old path of the wicked, but to submit to the Lord and prosperity will be restored to him. Job needs to make the Lord his choicest gold and silver!

XV. Job’s Response to Eliphaz Round Three – (Ch. 23)

Job’s response to Eliphaz’s round three is to reiterate his plea to appear before the Lord. He wants to “state his case” before the Lord, confident that the Lord “would not press charges against me” (vv. 4-6).

Job’s complaint, however, is that He can’t find the Lord, whether he looks north, south, east, or west (vv. 8-9).

In light of all his pain Job could declare, “when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (v. 10). He declares that he has kept God’s way without turning aside, that he has not departed from the commands of his lips, and that he “treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread” (vv. 11-12).

However, God does what He pleases and this terrifies Job (vv. 13-15). But such fear does not silence Job in his protest (v. 17).

XII. Job’s Response to Eliphaz Round Three – (Ch. 24)

Job then launches into a diatribe against the unfairness of life. The offenses range from moving boundary stones, to pasturing stolen fields, to pushing the needy off the path, to forcing the poor into hiding (vv. 2-4). These are the evil acts of wicked men who are not judged by God in this life.

Then there are the cruelties of God’s creation: the wasteland failing to provide food for the poor (v. 5), the poor lacking clothes and having to spend the night naked (v. 7), the fatherless child is snatched from the breast (v. 9), the groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help (v. 12). And Job’s conclusion? “But God charges no one with wrongdoing.” (v. 12).

Specific criminals are singled out by Job: the murderer who kills the poor and needy, (v. 14), the adulterer who thinks no one sees his sin (v. 15), thieves who break into houses (v. 16). All of these rebel against the light and “make friends with the terrors of darkness” (v. 17).

But there will be judgment for the wicked. “The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them” (v. 20). God will drag away the mighty by His power; “his eyes are on their ways” (v. 23). And who, Job asks, can prove me wrong?

 

With Friends Like These . . . Job’s Friends and Religious Foolishness (√XIII. Job Responds to Zophar Round Two – Ch. 21)

The friends have spoken in detail of the judgment of the wicked. They imply that the wicked will suffer judgment in this life! Zophar specifically has declared that the mirth of the wicked is brief and they will perish like their own excrement. His social sins against the poor will have to be remedied by his children. The wicked man awaits the day of God’s wrath.

Why have they spent so many words describing in detail the judgment of the wicked? Because Job’s life looks exactly like the judgment of God! However, their equation doesn’t fit the facts. Wicked people live prosperously and godly people suffer terribly! There is no quid pro quo in this life! Their math simply does not add up. EVIL PERSON + GOD’S JUDGMENT = TERRIBLE SUFFERING IN THIS LIFE! Their theological formula cannot be proven.

XIII. Job’s Response to Zophar Round Two – (Ch. 21)

Job asks Zophar to listen carefully to Job’s words — and then he can “mock on” (v. 3).  He asks a simple question, “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?” (v. 7) Their prosperity is evident. “They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace” (v. 13). Job asks, “How often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?” (v. 17).

And they also mock God by saying to Him, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?” (vv. 14-15).

The truth is, Job says, that both the wicked and the godly often die the same.

^“One person dies in full vigor,
    completely secure and at ease,
²⁴ well nourished in body,
    bones rich with marrow.
²⁵ Another dies in bitterness of soul,
    never having enjoyed anything good.
²⁶ Side by side they lie in the dust,
    and worms cover them both.” (vv. 23-26).

The problem you friends have, Job says, is that you need to get out more! If you did, you would see that “the wicked are spared from the day of calamity . . .. they are delivered from the day of wrath” (v. 30). So, Job says, your nonsense doesn’t console me. “Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!” (v. 34).

 

The Wisdom of C.S. Lewis (Quotes from Brian Sibley’s Book): God’s Megaphone

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” (The Problem of Pain)

 

Bless-ed! 52 Blessings You Have As a Believer! (Blessing #4)

Blessing #4: The Blessing of a Proper View of Suffering

“The believer in God must explain one thing, the existence of suffering; the nonbeliever, however, must explain the existence of everything else.” (Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin, The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism)

I thank the Lord for my friend Mike. He does not know the Lord — yet — as his Savior, but God is using him to remind me of the many blessings which I have “in Christ.” This study is multi-faceted and is helping me enormously in taking stock of what I have as a follower of Jesus. And I purpose to not simply coast through my Christian life, oblivious to the many gifts which being in God’s family has given me.

The next “blessing” we want to consider might seem odd, but it is a really critical one. This is a broken world; we are broken as people; terrible tragedies and catastrophes happen on this planet (and to us) under the watchful eye of a sovereign God. How are we to understand pain and tragedy? Thankfully, as believers in Christ —

4. WE POSSESS A PROPER VIEW OF SUFFERING!

THE BLESSING The Bible does not sugar-coat this world’s fallenness with all its effects of “natural disasters” (earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc.) and man-made evil (crime, betrayal, anger, revenge, injustice, prejudice, greed, etc.). But how are we to understand this world’s suffering in light of the Bible’s picture of a God of love?

Scholars refer to this effort at understanding evil as a theodicy (a defense of God’s justice in the face of evil’s reality). Some religious systems deny the reality of evil (the cult Christian Science is an example), compromise God’s omnipotence or omniscience (Rabbi Harold Kushner’s When Bad Things Happen to Good People is an example of the former; Greg Boyd’s open theism an example of the latter), or resign themselves to a kind of deterministic fatalism about evil (Islam is an example of this approach).

THE BIBLE The Bible provides the very best theodicy, for it affirms the real existence of evil and suffering while setting forth the goodness and justice of the biblical God. And God’s Word does not hesitate to show us godly people who had wrong views about suffering. One thinks of Job and his friends who were sure either Job had sinned greatly (and deserved what he was getting) or God was unfairly making Job His target (and needed to be sued in court for His [God’s] mistake). Even Jesus’ disciples cut to the chase theologically and thought the man-born-blind’s condition was because of sin (either his or his parents). Jesus corrects them by saying that “this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in his life” (John 9:3).

As God-manifest-in-the-flesh, Jesus allows death to take his friend Lazarus even though He had the power to keep him from dying (John 11). I’ve worked on this passage and entitled it “Friends Don’t Let Friends . . . Die!” But Jesus did.

One classic passage on the issue of evil and suffering is Luke 13 where we read —
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

This brief theodicy by the Lord Jesus covers two areas of suffering and evil in our world. Notice the victims of a vicious crime in verses 1-3. Notice also the victims of a violent accident in verses 4-5.  Neither the sin of the Galileans nor the guilt of those killed by the falling tower were the cause of their catastrophe. One man’s depravity (Pilate’s) and one tower’s gravity illustrate a basic fact: life is dangerous! Make sure you are right with God!

ACTION STEPS 1. A bit of homework: There is much more in God’s Word that prepares us for suffering. See such texts as: 2 Corinthians 1:5-7; Phil. 1:29; 3:10; Col. 1:24; I Thes. 1:6; 2 Thes. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:8; 2:3; Heb. 2:18; 10:34; James 5:10; all of I Peter; Rev. 1:9; 2:10. Take some notes on these passages this week.
2. Interview a believing friend this week who is going through severe suffering (cancer, loss of a loved one, marital unfaithfulness). Ask them carefully what God is teaching them in their trial. Then offer to pray with them.
3. Read the excellent book by Chris Tiegreen entitled Why a Suffering World Makes Sense. Perhaps offer a small group study of the book in your church.
PRAYER 4. Pray for yourself to live a life of faith even in the midst of trials and pain. And ask the Holy Spirit to use whatever challenge comes in your friend’s life that he might see his need of getting right with the Lord.

 

Bless-ed! 52 Blessings Your Lost Friend Doesn’t Have . . . And What You Can Do About It! (Part 23)

I thank the Lord for my friend Mike. He does not know the Lord — yet — as his Savior, but God is using him to remind me of the many blessings which I have “in Christ.” This study is multi-faceted and is helping me enormously in taking stock of what I have as a follower of Jesus. And I purpose to not simply coast through my Christian life, oblivious to the many gifts which being in God’s family has given me.

Our next “blessing” might seem odd, but it is a really critical one. This is a broken world; we are broken as people; terrible tragedies and catastrophes happen on this planet (and to us) under the watchful eye of a sovereign God. How are we to understand pain and tragedy? Sadly, my unsaved friends —

23. THEY DON’T POSSESS A PROPER VIEW OF SUFFERING!

The Bible does not sugar-coat this world’s fallenness with all its effects of “natural disasters” (earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc.) and man-made evil (crime, betrayal, anger, revenge, injustice, prejudice, greed, etc.). But how are we to understand this world’s suffering in light of the Bible’s picture of a God of love?

Scholars refer to this effort at understanding evil as a theodicy (a defense of God’s justice in the face of evil’s reality). Some religious systems deny the reality of evil (the cult Christian Science is an example), compromise God’s omnipotence or omniscience (Rabbi Harold Kushner’s When Bad Things Happen to Good People is an example of the former; Greg Boyd’s open theism an example of the latter), or resign themselves to a kind of deterministic fatalism about evil (Islam is an example of this approach).

The Bible provides the very best theodicy, for it affirms the real existence of evil and suffering while setting forth the goodness and justice of the biblical God. And God’s Word does not hesitate to show us godly people who had wrong views about suffering. One thinks of Job and his friends who were sure either Job had sinned greatly (and deserved what he was getting) or God was unfairly making Job His target (and needed to be sued in court for His [God’s] mistake). Even Jesus’ disciples cut to the chase theologically and thought the man-born-blind’s condition was because of sin (either his or his parents). Jesus corrects them by saying that “this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in his life” (John 9:3).

As God-manifest-in-the-flesh, Jesus allows death to take his friend Lazarus even though He had the power to keep him from dying (John 11). I’ve worked on this passage and entitled it “Friends Don’t Let Friends . . . Die!” But Jesus did.

One classic passage on the issue of suffering is Luke 13 where we read —

This brief theodicy by the Lord Jesus covers two areas of suffering and evil in our world. Notice the victims of a vicious crime in verses 1-3. Notice also the victims of a violent accident in verses 4-5.  Neither the sin of the Galileans nor the guilt of those killed by the falling tower were the cause of their catastrophe. An evil man (Pilate) and the effects of gravity (the tower) illustrate one basic fact: life is dangerous! Make sure you are right with God!

There is much more in God’s Word that prepares us for suffering. See such texts as: 2 Corinthians 1:5-7; Phil. 1:29; 3:10; Col. 1:24; I Thes. 1:6; 2 Thes. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:8; 2:3; Heb. 2:18; 10:34; James 5:10; all of I Peter; Rev. 1:9; 2:10; etc. We can fight suffering and evil without fighting God. As salt and light in our culture we stand up for what is right and oppose what is wrong. But, contrary to the devilish perspective of prosperity theology, we are not guaranteed a life with no suffering or deprivation.

So, how do I pray for my unsaved friend? I model for him a life of faith even in the midst of trials and pain. And I ask the Holy Spirit to use whatever challenge comes in his life that he might see his need of getting right with the Lord. (to be continued)