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Dear Priyanka,
Thank you for your observations. I appreciate that you are going through the mails carefully. I have used the terms 'good' and 'bad' the way common people usually understand them to be. Therefore they are not to be interpreted scripturally or theologically. 'Good people' are those who are normally speaking God fearing and are regular church goers, and they may not be guilty of serious sins. This understanding of 'good' is presented from man's point of view and not from God's point of view. It is from this angle Job and the psalmist complain to God.When faced with terrible difficulties this is how we also tend to complain to God. God's thoughts are not our thoughts, but God has revealed his mind in the Holy Scriptures. Troubles come mainly because of our sins and negligence and other times God permits them for the sake of testing our faithfulness. Good things happen to all. But God is just, he will punish the wicked in his time. God blesses abundantly those who entirely depend on him and those who remain faithful till the end are rewarded with eternal life. This is what we understand from God's revelations in the whole of scripture. Why also do the saints and the righteous suffer ? Because, they are sharing the redemptive suffering of Christ.I think the Bible and the church teach us all these things. Please correct me if I am wrong. This ministry by the grace of God, should increase the thirst to know God and His Word more deeply and hence be able to experience God more intimately. So I request all of you to kindly pray for this ministry. God Bless You, Joseph Bakianathan Question: "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?"
Answer: This is one of the most difficult questions in all of theology. God is eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Why should human beings (not eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent) expect to be able to fully understand God's ways? The book of Job deals with this issue. God had allowed Satan to do everything he wanted to Job except kill him. What was Job's reaction? "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15). "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised" (Job 1:21). Job did not understand why God had allowed the things He did, but he knew God was good and therefore continued to trust in Him. Ultimately, that should be our reaction as well. Question: Why do bad things happen to good people? Answer:The biblical answer is there are no "good" people. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that all of us are tainted by and infected with sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20;Romans 6:23; 1 John 1:8). Romans 3:10-18 could not be clearer about the non-existence of "good" people: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes." Every human being on this planet deserves to be thrown into hell at this very moment. Every second we spend alive is only by the grace and mercy of God. Even the most terrible misery we could experience on this planet is merciful compared to what we deserve, eternal hell in the lake of fire.
A better question would be "Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?" Romans 5:8 declares, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Despite the evil, wicked, sinful nature of the people of this world, God still loves us. He loved us enough to die to take the penalty for our sins (Romans 6:23). If we receive Jesus Christ as Savior (John 3:16; Romans 10:9), we will be forgiven and promised an eternal home in heaven (Romans 8:1). What we deserve is hell. What we are given is eternal life in heaven if we come to Christ in faith.
Yes, sometimes bad things happen to people who seem undeserving of them. But God allows things to happen for His reasons, whether or not we understand them. Above all, however, we must remember that God is good, just, loving, and merciful. Often things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. However, instead of doubting God's goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6). Regards Priyanka Christina |
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