If God is so good and loving, why does He allow evil?
This is a flawed premise since it implies
that we are in a position to say what is good and what is
not good about God. We ourselves do not know what good is
naturally, for we are not basically good. How then can we
judge God?
Still, the question of
evil persists, and we often hear the question "why?" in the
aftermath of some tragedy. Remember, when God created the
world, He created it perfectly. That includes His creation
of man. Yet, this "perfect" man was also given the freedom
of choice, or an ability to choose. When Adam chose to
disobey God, sin, death and suffering became an inevitable
part of life. Romans 5:12 states, "When Adam sinned, sin
entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so
death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned" (NLB). The
evil in this world is a result of that original sin.
You may say, "Wait a
minute, I didn't choose to sin. Adam did." Yet, the Bible
teaches that we all have sinned (Romans 3:23). We are not
sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. We
have a natural bent in us to do what is wrong. James 4:1
says that there is a "whole army of evil desires at war
within you." At the same time, God gave us absolutes to live
our lives by--standards that are found in the Bible. When we
make choices that are contrary to those absolutes and
standards, evil is the result.
C. S. Lewis put this
question in proper perspective. He observed that it is idle
for us to speculate about the origin of evil. The problem we
all face is the fact of evil. The only solution to the fact
of evil is God's solution, Jesus Christ. Once you surrender your life to Jesus Christ,
you enter into the master plan that God has for you. For
that reason, you can be assured of the promise in His Word,
that "everything works together for the good of those who
love God and are called according to His purpose for them"
(Romans 8:28 NLB). Sometimes what appears horribly evil and
tragic can result in something good. Consider Joseph's
assessment of his brother's wicked act of selling him into
slavery. Understanding that God had allowed this to happen
so that he could be a man of power in Egypt, Joseph said,
"God turned to good what you [my brothers] meant for evil.
He brought me to the high position I have today so I could
save the lives of many people" (Genesis 50:20 NLB).
We may not always
understand the "why's" of a certain tragedy, but we know the
"Who" that will carry us through it. He promises, "When you
pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you
pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When
you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the
flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God .
. ." (Isaiah 43:2-3a NIV).
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How can
you Christians say that Jesus is the only way to heaven?
Are you saying that if a
person does not believe in Jesus Christ, they are going to
hell? Jesus Christ Himself said, "I am the way, the truth
and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through
me" (John 14:6 NKJV). If humankind could have reached God
any other way, Jesus would not have had to die. His
voluntary death on the cross makes this fact even more
compelling.
Christians are not
superior to any other person. A person who believes Jesus
Christ is the only Son of God and proclaims that truth is
just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.
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Don't all
religions teach the same thing?
"Don't all roads lead to God?" people often
ask. "If a person is sincere in his or her beliefs, won't he
or she get to heaven?" If you allow that all beliefs are
true, then by what standards do you live? All belief systems
cannot be true, because they cancel each other out. If you
take time to look at what each religion teaches, you'll find
that only Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again. The
Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on a
cross for our sins, that He paid that debt in our place, and
that if we will turn from our sin and follow Him, we can be
forgiven and know that we will go to heaven.
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How can a God of love send someone to
hell?
God doesn't send anyone to hell. It was never
His design to send people to hell. It breaks the heart of
God to see people, made in His image, make the deliberate
choice to go to hell. Hell was not made for people; it was
made for the angelic being, Satan, who rebelled against God.
In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says the everlasting fire was
prepared for the devil and his angels. Scripture also
teaches, "[God] is not willing that any should perish but
that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). That is
why God sent Jesus to die on the cross in our place--to
bridge the gap between sinful people and a Holy God. The
gates of hell are locked from the inside. If you end up in
hell, you will practically have to climb over Jesus to get
there.
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The
reason I am not a Christian is because there are so many
hypocrites in the church.
This excuse is often
offered by those who want to continue to live in darkness.
They do not want to be brought into the light of Jesus
Christ. Jesus does not say, "Follow the church," or "Follow
the people." Jesus says, "Follow me" (Matthew 9:9; Mark
8:34; John 12:26).
We are given the freedom
to choose. We have the ability to sin--to make choices that
are against the teachings of God. Church is not a meeting
place for saints, but a hospital for sinners. The worst sin
you can commit is to say no to God. It is a "Son" issue, not
a "sin" issue. You will find hypocrites in the church
because we are all sinners. You will also find people who
are trying to live their life according to the teachings of
Jesus Christ.
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I tried church before, but it didn't
work for me.
What did you try?
Did you go to a church that believes that we are all called
to be disciple (followers) of Christ? Did you go to a church
that taught practical application of the bible? Did you read the Bible? Did you
learn what your sins were and repent of them? Did you trust in what Jesus claimed? Did you
examine the claims of Christ? Most people know the Ten
Commandments and the things that "thou shalt not" do. But
the Bible also commands us to "Love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind"
(Mark 12:30 NKJV). If you are not doing that, you are
falling short in God's eyes. Christ is real. Many facts
substantiate that truth (Even Satan professed Jesus' deity).
And we shall come face to face with Him on the Judgment Day
(Revelation 20:11-12).
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What is the difference between a Disciple and a Christian?
The
Requirements of Discipleship
While every disciple is a believer, every believer is not
necessarily a disciple.
Many may think that the term disciple
refers only to the early followers of Christ. From our
previous studies, we know that they were a praying,
worshipping, loving, giving, and evangelizing group of men
and women who refused to keep the truth of the gospel to
themselves. Yet, God still desires disciples today—ordinary
people like you and me who God can use to do extraordinary
things.
The Christian experience of the
believers in the first century church may seem radical to
many in the church today, but to those early believers, it
was nothing less than normal Christianity. And these men and
women—empowered and propelled by the Holy Spirit—turned
their world upside down for the sake of Christ. In short,
they were true disciples of Jesus Christ. Belief is not
enough (John 8:30-32)
Are We True Disciples?
If you are a true disciple, your
Christian walk will be challenging and exciting, and you
will have a sense of purpose and direction. But if your
Christian experience can be described as dull, unfulfilling,
and even boring at times, you need to seriously examine the
statements Jesus made concerning what it means to be a
disciple. After all, how can we expect to fulfill the Great
Commission to go into all the world and make disciples if we
don't even really know what one is? It literally takes one
to make one. (Matthew 28:18-20)
Disciple (Biblical definition):
A learner; a pupil; one who comes to be taught. The
relationship between the disciple and his teacher is not
merely that of a student listening to a lecturer, or simply
a passively interested listener. A disciple listens with
attention and intention. He drinks in every word of his
teacher, marking every inflection of voice with an intense
desire to apply what has
been learned.
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If you have more questions or If you would like to learn
more about the Bible with a personal bible study, you can email us at
guestions@narrowgateministries.org
or below are some materials you might want
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