Q.
What is another important attribute of God?
Psalm 145:9. The LORD is good to all: and his tender
mercies are over all his works.
A. Another
important attribute of God is that He is good, and good to all.
***
Q. Is God
only good to those who follow Him?
Matthew 5:45. That ye may be the children of your Father
which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Lamentations 3:22. It
is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his
compassions fail not.
A. God is
good to even those who reject Him. If it was not for His mercy the wicked would
be destroyed – we would all be destroyed without God’s mercy.
***
Q. But if
God is so good why is there so much pain and suffering in this world?
John 12:31. Now is the
judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Revelation 12:9. And the
great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were
cast out with him.
2 Corinthians 4:3,4. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them
that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them.
A. Firstly, we need to remember that when we sinned we gave Satan the
position of prince in this world and that when Christ died Satan was restricted
to work and deceive in this world, as all other beings had seen the true character of both him and God. Satan, referred to as the god of this world,
is blinding the eyes of those who will not open their hearts to Christ. Satan
causes us to blame God for all the evil we see in this world when we should
actually be thanking God for holding back the amount of evil we could see.
***
Q. But why doesn’t God protect His people and innocent children?
Job 1:6-12. Now there
was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and
Satan came also among them. And the LORD
said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said,
From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the
LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth,
a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then
Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou
made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on
every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is
increased in the land. But put forth
thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So
Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
A. God CAN protect His people from all harm BUT then Satan will say we
are only faithful to God because He protects us. God, by not hedging us in,
gives us the opportunity to prove to Him, Satan and all other beings that we
trust Him and His love for us completely and will be His people come what may. We
need to show that we believe that it is Satan who inflicts us with evil and God
who blesses us with good. God has the power to keep us from all harm, but then
how can we show our faithfulness to Him? But, most importantly, we must
remember that because we chose Satan as our prince, God has no right to hedge
us in completely. As said before, we tend to blame God for the evil, when if it
wasn’t for God’s mercy Satan would destroy us.
***
Q. Are there other reasons why God allows suffering?
Leviticus 26:14-18. But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will
not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your
soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also
will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and
the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and
ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set
my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate
you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye
will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times
more for your sins.
Proverbs 3:11,12. My son, despise not the chastening of the
LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he
correcteth; even as a father the son in
whom he delighteth.
Deuteronomy 8:5. Thou shalt also consider in thine heart,
that, as a man chasteneth his son, so
the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.
Psalm 103:13. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
Psalm 103:11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them
that fear him.
A. If we could
create God it seems we would make Him all peace and love – anything less than
that and we want to label Him as harsh and evil. Today, I believe more than
ever before, we realise the value of discipline. Children need a reasonable
amount of discipline in order to develop as successful members in society;
criminals need discipline in an attempt to make them law-abiding citizens – but
we seem to think we need no discipline from God when we do what is wrong. Not
all suffering is a form of discipline, but sometimes God does allow suffering
in order to draw us back to Him and His right paths. Also bear in mind that
some of the bad choices we make have inevitable consequences – unhealthy living
produces illness and disease; risk taking often leads to shortened life-expectancy
or death. God allows discipline and consequences, but He pities us and shows
mercy in all we reap.
***
Q. But what about natural disasters? They affect the wicked, innocent
and righteous. Can Satan cause them or is God causing them?
Revelation 11:18. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is
come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou
shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and
them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which
destroy the earth.
A. Humans come along and use chemicals that destroy the ozone layer
causing sunburn and skin cancer; we introduce plant and animal life into
foreign territory and they take over; we kill plant and animal life and see
those who consumed them suffer and those they consumed thrive and take over; we
use trees for resources and destroy them when we crave their land and then have
to deal with polluted air; we dig into the earth and steal its natural
resources causing earthquakes; and then we blame God for all these “natural”
disasters. God’s Word tells us that humans are destroying the earth. I wouldn’t
be surprised if one day God shows us how we caused things we were sure were
totally natural. This time, even Satan might get off the hook – other than the
fact that he encourages these people to be greedy and destroy. And us?
Sometimes we take advantage of these exploits of nature too. Let’s try and be
more mindful of preserving our environment.
***
Q. To what degree will God allow Satan to attack His people?
1 Corinthians 10:13 There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a
way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
A. God will not allow Satan to attack us with more than we can bear,
He will help us to get through every trial. Sometimes the word “temptation” is
used interchangeably with “trial” in the Bible. Think of it this way – any
trial is a temptation to blame and forsake God. God offers us the strength to
endure any trial so we can remain faithful to Him – but it is up to us to
accept His strength.
***
Q. But how can God allow Satan to take lives? Surely that would be
classified as above what we can bear.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,2. To every thing there is a season, and a time
to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die....
Matthew 10:28 And
fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Habbakuk 3:17,18. Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the
olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut
off from the fold, and there shall be
no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of
my salvation.
Job 13:15.
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways
before him.
Daniel 3:17,18. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace, and he will deliver us
out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we
will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
A. What is more important
realistically -
life here on this earth or eternal life? Death is the result of sin, we cannot
avoid it. The only thing that can change is when and how we die. How much do we
trust God? Do when only trust Him when everything is going the way we want it
to go? Do we reject Him when things don’t go according to how we believe they
should go? When and how we die has no influence over whether or not we have
eternal life. The only way eternal life can be impacted by that is if we choose
to forsake God when we face death because we feel He is being unfair. Life is a
blessing that we don’t deserve, but when that blessing fades we wish to blame
the one who graciously gave it in the first place. The real question is not
whether we are ready to die, but whether we are willing to trust God as good
and faithful even if He allows us to die. Will we blame God for allowing us to
perish from this earthly life at the cost of losing eternal life? Do we think
He is happy when people die? Do we think He doesn’t care? Satan is overjoyed
when we see heartache and death, but even more so when we reject God because of
it. Will we choose to trust the One who loves us come what may? God loves us -
come what may.
***
Q. But do all these trials
do us any good? Surely we would be better off without them. Are we to just patiently bear them with no reward other than eternal life if we’re faithful?
Romans 5:3-5 ...we glory in tribulations also: knowing
that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience,
hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Job 23:10 But
he knoweth the way that I take: when
he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
James 1:2-4. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall
into divers temptations; Knowing this,
that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be
perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
2 Corinthians 12:9,10. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient
for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore
will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon
me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I
strong.
2 Corinthians 4:17. For our light affliction, which is but for a
moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
A. Trials do benefit us
now. They help to purify our characters and strengthen our faith and trust in
God. It is during the hard times that we lean more fully on God and establish a
stronger connection with Him. If we had no trials we wouldn’t sense our need for
God and a connection with Him as much. Yes, trials are hard to bear, but when
they are over we will know we have come out stronger if we’d trusted in God and
clung to Him.
***
Q. Where can we get hope
from knowing that we will face trials and hardships?
2 Corinthians 4:8-11. We are troubled on every side, yet
not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not
destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that
the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live
are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus
might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
Psalm 37:23,24. The steps
of a good man are ordered by
the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly
cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him
with his hand.
A. In any and every trial God is with us. Our trials will be hard to
bear, but they could always be worse, especially without the Lord. Whenever we
face trials, we should remember what Jesus went through for each one of us –
rejection, betrayal, denial, abandonment, scorn, ridicule, torture, separation
from His Father, physical and emotional trauma and a cruel and heartless death
by those He loved and came to save. Surely we can persevere through the trials
we face so that we can spend eternity with the God who did all He could to save
us – why break His heart and add to His suffering?! And ultimately, if during
trials we blame and reject God, the trials won’t disappear, but we will lose
the One who can give us peace and strength to endure them – what a foolish
trade.
***
Q. But if God is so good why did he command his people to destroy so
many nations? It seems out of character for Him.
Ezekiel
33:11. Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his
way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O
house of Israel?
A(a).
Firstly, let us bear in mind that God takes no pleasure in the death of the
wicked. He does not rejoice to see the wicked destroyed, no matter how evil
they are. He loves them and would rather have them turn to Him and be saved.
Genesis 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come
hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
A(b).
When God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham He said that his descendants
could only have it in the fourth generation because the iniquity of those
dwelling there was not yet full. God always showed mercy on the wicked, but
when they spurned Him and His mercy and did their full of wickedness, then and
only then, was it time for their destruction.
Let
us look at a few examples of God’s mercy:
Genesis 18:23-32. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou
also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty
righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for
the fifty righteous that are
therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous
with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far
from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the LORD said, If
I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the
place for their sakes. And Abraham
answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord,
which am but dust and ashes:
Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy
all the city for lack of five?
And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be
forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak:
Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he
said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure
there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, Oh
let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten
shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
First, we have
Abraham pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah. He first acknowledged that it was not
like God to destroy the righteous with the wicked. God finally agreed to spare
the whole of those wicked cities if only ten righteous people were found there.
Unfortunately, there were not even five righteous and God destroyed the cities.
But, true to His character, He brought righteous Lot and those of His family
who would come with Him out before He destroyed them.
Joshua 2:1-13 And
Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go
view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house,
named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying,
Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search
out the country. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth
the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be
come to search out all the country. And the woman took the two men, and hid
them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the
gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not:
pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them
up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she
had laid in order upon the roof. And the men pursued after them the way to
Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out,
they shut the gate. And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon
the roof; And she said unto the men, I
know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon
us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For
we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye
came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon
and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt,
neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the
LORD your God, he is God in
heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by
the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness
unto my father's house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my
brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from
death.
Secondly, we have
the destruction of Jericho. From Rahab’s words we find that the people of the
land knew about God, but instead of turning to Him and repenting, they chose to
reject Him and remain in their terrified state. Rahab believed and God spared
her and all those who would come into her house by faith. Once again, in mercy
God spared the righteous.
Jonah 1:1-2,4-5,9-10. Now
the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to
Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up
before me....
And Jonah began to enter
into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and
Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and
proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the
least of them....
Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn
away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that
they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said
that he would do unto them; and he did it
not.
Finally, we have the judgement on Nineveh.
They were going to be destroyed because of their wickedness, but they repented
and God spared them. God is merciful. He gave them a chance. Had they refused
to repent and turn from their wickedness, they would have been destroyed. God
could have ignored their repentance and destroyed them for all their previous
wickedness, but He didn’t. He was glad that they repented and eagerly withheld
their destruction.
A(c). Imagine how wicked this world would be
if all those wicked nations were left to thrive and continue. We could look at
God as cruel for destroying them just to keep a check on evil, but we could
also have looked on God as even more cruel for leaving them to multiply in
number and worsen in evil and cause harm to the righteous and innocent. Leaving
these wicked nations would have also been a stumbling block to God’s people as
they would have slowly followed after their evil ways – we already read so much
of this happening in Bible History. In all cases where God appears cruel and
evil we need to think about the alternatives – could they be worse. Those who
wish to label God as cruel will find reasons to do so, but in the same way,
those who wish to see God’s mercy, justice, love and goodness all working
together perfectly can surely find that too. Also, remember we mentioned before
that what really matters is not this life, but eternal life – God knows all
things; He knew those wicked people would not accept Him (those who did were
spared), ultimately, when and how they died would make no difference of any
value. For God to destroy people who hadn’t been given an opportunity to repent
would be cruel, but we find they all had a chance. They all knew of God and
knew their destruction was coming, but many still chose death rather than life.
They perished by their own choice.
***
Q. How could God
destroy people from among His own chosen nation just because they disobeyed
Him?
Isaiah 65:2,3,11,12. I have spread out my hands all the day unto
a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own
thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face....
But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that
forget my holy mountain....
Therefore will I number you
to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I
called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before
mine eyes, and did choose that
wherein I delighted not.
Matthew 23:37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and
stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
A. God always
treated His people better than they deserved to be treated. He was always
merciful when they disobeyed Him. He longed to have them trust Him as their God
and King. He longed to spare them from evil, but they chose to forsake Him and
His ways. When they rejected God and the protection He offered, they were left
to reap the results of their rebellion.
***
Q.
So what’s going on in the mind of God that He can do and allow what seems evil
to us?
Isaiah 55:8-11. For my
thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
saith the LORD. For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from
heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring
forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So
shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
A(a).
God’s thoughts are very different to our thoughts. What we think is the answer
is not necessarily what God knows is the best answer. What God does will
prosper, we just need to trust His judgement.
Jeremiah 29:11. For I know
the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and
not of evil, to give you an expected end.
A(b).
God desires our good and never our harm. His desire is for us to live with Him
eternally – this is what He is working toward, even when we can’t understand
what He is doing.
Deuteronomy 29:29. The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children
for ever, that we may do all
the words of this law.
A(c).
The Bible tells us that there are secrets that God has. He hasn’t given us the
ability to understand everything He does. We can strive to understand as much
as is available to us, but for the rest, we just need to trust God’s unrevealed
reasons.
Romans 8:28. And we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are
the called according to his
purpose.
A(d).
Everything that happens to us will not be good – we will see pain, suffering
and heartache, but God has a plan to bring something good out of even our
darkest times. Some things God will allow for He knows they are good for us,
but even when they are not good for us in themselves, God will use them to be a
blessing to us, as impossible as it might seem. If we cannot see the good now,
we will be able to see a clearer picture one day in Heaven.
Psalm 34:8. O taste and
see that the LORD is good:
blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
A(e). We can’t always understand why God allows certain things but
once we’ve tasted who He is, we know He is good and can be trusted. Those who
have never tasted God have no right to say He is evil – you can only say if
something tastes good or bad if you have tasted it for yourself.
***
Q. If God is so
good, why did He create the Devil?
Ezekiel 28:13-17. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;
every precious stone was thy
covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the
jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship
of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast
created. Thou art the anointed
cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up
and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created,
till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have
filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will
cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O
covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted
up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy
brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that
they may behold thee.
Isaiah 14:12-16. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,
son of the morning! how art
thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said
in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the
stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides
of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the
most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying,
Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms.
Revelation 12:9. And
the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him.
A. God did not
create the Devil, He created Lucifer, the anointed, covering Cherub. God
created Him perfect and sinless, but Lucifer allowed pride and jealousy to
arise in his heart, causing him to rebel against God. Due to His rebellion, he
was cast out of Heaven and was no longer called Lucifer, but Satan and the
Devil, and also the Dragon and the Serpent in Biblical history and prophecy. God gives all His created beings the power of choice. Satan chose to rebel against God's government and sadly, that is where sin and evil had its origin.
***
Q. How could God
have cast Satan down to Earth to deceive us? Surely He could have restricted
him from access to us.
John 12:31. Now is the
judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Revelation 12:9,10. And the
great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were
cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come
salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his
Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before
our God day and night.
A. It might
appear that God cast Satan down to this earth, but He did not. When Satan
rebelled against God he was cast out of Heaven. He could no longer live in the
presence of God. Satan did have access to this earth, as we know from when he
deceived Eve, but he was not cast down to Earth at that stage. Bear with me, it
is important that we understand this, as insignificant as it might seem to
some. Only an evil God would banish a wicked devil to the place He would create
His sinless beings. Unfortunately, being a loving and fair God, He also could
not restrict Satan from access to us. Sin had had its beginning and we had to
endure the test of allegiance. As we saw with Job, hedging us in from Satan was
not an option. And now, speaking of Job, notice that Satan went before God to
accuse Him. At that stage Satan still had access to heavenly beings as an
accuser. But notice that our first text is taken from John a short while before
Christ was crucified. Jesus spoke of His death. It was at the death of Christ
that all Heaven and all the other worlds saw God for who He really was – a
loving God who would die to save His creation, as well as Satan for who he
really was – a wicked devil who would even kill the Sinless One who loved him.
It was at this point that Satan was cast down to this earth – not literally,
but figuratively. Satan could no longer accuse God before the inhabitants of
Heaven and other worlds, he no longer had a leg to stand on. He was then
restricted to tempt and deceive in this world – we are the only ones who might
fall for his lies. Both these texts are referring to Satan being cast down to
this earth at the cross, although the text in Revelation might be referring to the original casting out of Heaven as well. God did not banish Satan to the place He would create
us, Satan trapped himself here later. But God will help us to endure Satan’s
attacks if we will accept His help.
***
Q. But why did
God allow sin to enter in the first place? Surely things would have been better
if He made us unable to sin.
Deuteronomy 30:19,20. I call heaven and earth to record this day
against you, that I have set
before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that
both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice,
and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell
in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob, to give them.
Joshua 24:15. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the
LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your
fathers served that were on the
other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell:
but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Proverbs 1:29-31. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
A. God never
intended that we should sin, but He made allowances for it by giving us the
power of choice. The ability to make our own decisions, even though we often
make foolish ones, is a blessing, and no one will deny that fact. God created
all intelligent life with a free will. We can choose evil or good. Were we
given no choice we would have labelled God as unfair; but because He gave us
the ability to make our own decisions and we chose to sin we wish to blame Him
for allowing us that privilege. Yes, God allowed sin to enter, but He has
offered an eternal life free from sin to all those who will accept and trust
Him. As redeemed sinners we have had the opportunity to experience God’s love
in a way no other created beings have - what a blessing!
***
Q. How could God have put the tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden? Surely placing the temptation
and possibility to sin in the garden was evil.
Genesis 2:9,16,17. And out of the ground made the LORD God to
grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of
life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and
evil....
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.
A. God gave Adam
and Eve SO many trees they could eat from. Think of the variety of food
available from trees today. God placed just one tree in the garden as a test of
man’s allegiance to Him and trust in Him. To man who did not have a sinful
nature yet and the tendency to do evil, this was not a hard thing to ask. God
had every right to put a test in the garden and if He hadn’t Satan would have
accused Him of not allowing us the choice whether we wanted to obey Him or not.
Instead of blaming God for placing the tree in the garden, we need to thank Him
that He made a way out of the mess we got ourselves in.
***
Q. What is a
unique aspect of God that sets Him apart from all the other gods?
Leviticus 18:21. And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass
through the fire to Molech,
neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
Deuteronomy 18:10. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire, or
that useth divination, or an
observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Isaiah 43:2. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the
rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou
shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
A. Other gods,
those created in the minds of man, needed to be appeased of their wrath; they
required human torture and sacrifice. Our God, on the other hand, never asked
for human sacrifice to keep Him happy. On the contrary, He said that if we are
made to walk through fire by our enemies He will be with us and will keep us safe.
Instead of God requiring us to sacrifice ourselves, He gave Himself as a sacrifice
in our place. The other man-made gods are all hard task masters, but our God,
the only true God, is good – always good and only good!
***
Q. How could God
kill His own Son who He claimed to love?
John 10:17,18. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I
lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I
lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it
again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
A. Yes, if God had
forced Jesus to die to save His created beings, He would be a cruel God, but
Jesus chose to give His life Himself. After we sinned we were destined to die,
there was no other option. The wages of sin is death. Both God and Christ
desired to save the fallen human race and realized that there was no way they
could remove our penalty without the death penalty being paid. Jesus offered to
die in our place. That act was the hardest thing God and Jesus have ever done –
together they endured the rejection, suffering and separation, but they were
willing to endure it because of their great love for us.
***
Q. But if God is so
good and loves us so much and already paid our penalty, won’t everyone be
saved? Would a good God really deny people access to Heaven and destroy them
forever?
Psalm 5:4. For
thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell
with thee.
Matthew 7:17-19. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good
fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree
that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Micah 3:1,2. And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of
Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know
judgment? Who hate the good, and love the evil....
Romans 1:18-22. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in
unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them;
for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were
thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was
darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
A. We’ve already
covered that God does not want anyone to perish, however, a holy God cannot
dwell in the presence of evil. The wicked cannot do good and they hate good.
They have had the opportunity to accept God and do what is right, but they have
rejected Him. Sinners will not be happy living sinless lives for all eternity in the presence of a holy God. We have been given the choice: good and life or evil and death. In god's mercy He will not force the wicked to live in a world of love and peace with a God of love and peace
– it would be torture to them.
***
Q. Will God really
burn sinners in Hell forever? How can He be a good God if He will allow such
horrific, eternal suffering? ...We will take a deeper look into Hell in a later
post, but for now, let us discover how God can still be good in regards to
hell.
Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
A(a). In these two
passages God tells us of the two outcomes for His fallen beings. Those who
choose Him will live forever and those who reject Him will die or perish. What
is your understanding of the words “die” and “perish”? These terms refer to ceasing
to exist, permanent destruction, the end of life etc. If our reward will either be
death or life, according to these texts, how can someone live forever in
everlasting torment in hell fire? Could it be that we’ve misunderstood what
hell is?
Revelation 21:8. But the fearful, and unbelieving,
and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and
idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
A(b). We see hell
to be a lake of fire, and here it tells us that that lake will be the second
death. Could it be that Hell destroys the wicked in much the same way as a fire
would here on earth now?
Revelation 20:14. And death and hell were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
1Corinthians 15:26. The last enemy that shall
be destroyed is death.
A(c). Here we see
that death and hell will both come to an end. The last enemy to be destroyed
will be death. Satan, his demons and the wicked, who chose death instead of
life will, in God’s mercy, be put out of their misery and die. Finally, there
will be no more death. Those who chose death would have died and those who
chose life will live forever.
Matthew 25:41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
A(d). We also need to note that the Bible does refer to the wicked being cast into everlasting fire. We will look into this more in a later post on Hell, but for now, note that, as we have already seen, the wicked cannot live for ever as their penalty is death. However, the results of this fire will be eternal. Could it be that everlasting fire is simply the term to distinguish this fire from any other destroying fire today? This will be the last fire and the fire whose results are forever. The wicked will be consumed by the fire and be gone for all eternity. This will bring indescribable sorrow to God's heart, but we chose our own fate – life or death.
Isaiah 28:21,22. For the LORD shall rise up
as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may
do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now
therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard
from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
A(e). The final
destruction of the wicked is referred to as God’s strange act. As mentioned
before He does not want anyone to die and will take no pleasure in the death of
the wicked. However, evil, sin and wickedness must be removed for ever and
those who choose to live in it rather than choose God will have to perish. But
God will not punish sinners forever in a burning lake of fire, no, a God of
love could never do that. The wicked will burn and be consumed by the fire and
live no more.
You have to decide whether you will choose
God and everlasting life, or reject Him and be removed from existence for ever.
God and many others will deeply miss those who choose death. Please give God a
chance to prove His great love and goodness to you.
