Why Does A Loving God Allow Evil - Clover Sites



Why Does A Loving God Allow

Bad Things To Happen?

1 Peter 4:12-13 (NKJV)

12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;

13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. [pic]Introduction:

1. If God is a God of love, why is there so much evil in the earth?

2. Why are there, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes and the like?

3. Why are there terrorist, murder, stealing, rape of little children, killing of Christians?

4. Why are there diseases, famines, suffering, hunger, cancer, etc.

5. In recent years we have seen:

• Millions die by starvation.

• Multiplied thousands have been killed by earthquakes.

• Thousands more killed in war.

• Millions have died because of disease.

• Millions of unborn babies have been aborted.

• Millions of children have been abused by their parents

• Recently People have lost their homes due to flooding and tornadoes

• And the list goes on and on and on…..

6. WHY? Does God really love mankind? Does He really care?

7. When tragedy strikes many times God becomes the villain. Unexplained

catastrophes are labeled as an “ACT OF GOD.”

8. Most accept everything that happens as the “Will of God.” Are all these Bad

Things really God’s Will?

9. We’ve been told that to ask questions like: Why a child is born deformed,

Why someone died young, Why someone has cancer, Why a child was

abused, etc. is to be faithless and to question the supreme power of God…..

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Many Christians live a façade of faith – they have been taught to question catastrophes and evil is to question God so they secretly blame God for all the bad things in the world and in their lives!

However: We can’t stand against evil and pray for it to go away if we don’t understand it. If God causes evil things to happen then to pray for them to stop is praying against God’s will!

We cannot have absolute confidence in God to be all knowing, all powerful, and all loving until we understand His relationship to the Bad Things that happen in our world.

There are three reasons Bad Things are present in our world:

1. Because Of Man’s Choices

2. Because Free Will Is More Valuable Than The Absence Of Bad Things

3. Because Overcoming Is A Part Of Man’s Development.

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1. Because Of Man’s Choices

A. Evil is not God’s fault!

1) If so, repentance would be ridiculous

2) and, punishment for evil would be unjust!

B. Evil (sin) came as a result of the disobedience of Adam and Eve

Romans 5:12 “Though one man sin (evil) entered into the world.”

C. We have all done our part to add to the evil in the world

D. The Bible refers to this evil as “the curse”

E. As long as man remains in his present state here on earth there will be evil

F. Man has chosen to allow evil to exist – not God!

G. Billions of people over thousands of years have made choices to esculate

evil to where it is today.

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H. Children are born deformed and adults get cancer not because of any one

person’s individual sin BUT because of the corruption of the world in

which we live.

I. Sometimes tragedy is someone’s fault:

o The mechanic didn’t repair the airplane engine properly…

o Ranchers overgraze their fields and there is famine because of no food for the livestock…

o A man or woman spend their life smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol and develop cancer…

o People build homes or live in areas of climatic conditions for disaster – even floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. ….

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2. Because Free Will Is More Valuable Than The Absence Of Bad Things.

A. God created man for relationship.

B. Free will provides for the right relationship between man and God.

1) When man chooses to serve God in spite of evil and bad things,

it proves his love for God

2) God is not pleased by robots serving him. He tried it with the

angels, he has created the Zoa in Revelation…

3) God wants us to love Him and serve Him because we choose to.

4) True relationship with God or anyone else is a free will choice.

D. Removing Evil and Bad Things would remove “Free Will” which would

go against the plan of God and nature of man.

E. There would be no choice to make if we never had Bad Things or Evil to

contend with – we would live in a perfect world!

E. God tried once to remove “evil” through the flood in Genesis

➢ Evil remained because He left man with the ability to choose.

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F. Without the ability to choose there would be no need of Heaven or eternal

life!

G. Truth is: No one has to endure suffering, tragedy, or evil for long.

o Life is short in light of eternity

o Our sufferings here are not to be compared with the Glory we’ll receive

➢ Romans 8:18 (NKJV) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

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3. Because Overcoming Is Part Of Man’s Development.

A. Why are we here? Why has God placed us on earth with all this evil?

1) To get as much money as we can?

2) To get a big name for ourselves?

3) To do big and wonderful things? NO!

B. We are here for one purpose…….

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV) Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

C. We don’t always have victory from things, but we can always have

victory in and through things.

D. Because of evil we have tests, trials, and temptations

James 1:2-4 (NKJV) 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

E. Overcoming tests, trials, and temptations (EVIL) teaches us endurance

and makes us strong.

F. We know very little about endurance – we demand convenience and comfort!

G. Those who learn to endure are victorious!

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4. So Why Does A Loving God Allow Evil?

- Because He Does Love Us!

A. Does God know evil is coming?

1) Does God know the next evil that is coming your way?

2) Does God know the next evil to come to our area?

3) Does God know about the next evil to happen to America?

B. Could He tell us about it?

1) Certainly ……..

▪ EX = Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah

▪ EX = Wise Men and Herod in Matthew 1

C. God doesn’t cause evil but He does allow it!

D. He wants us to allow what is taking place here on earth to develop our lives,

without letting it overtake us.

D. What are you going to do the next time evil comes your way?

E. What are you doing about the evil in your life right now?

E. Are you going to blaming God or are you drawing nearer to Him through the

darkest issues of your life?

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Conclusion:

• God is not only loving, all-powerful, and just; He is also wise.

• God’s wisdom has made a way for man, by man’s own free will, to choose a way out of the bondage and suffering of the world and into a deep and lasting true relationship with Him.

• God’s powerful, loving, just, and wise solution was Jesus and the Cross:

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John 3:16 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

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1) Jesus did not die on the cross so that we might avoid life issues, but that we might be

overcomers!

• Jesus lived a sinless life;

• Went to the Cross; died a painful death;

• Went to hell and ripped authority and the power of sin, death, and Hades from Satan;

• Rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father;

• AND is there interceding for us every minute of every day.

2) If this is not enough proof of God’s love for us, if this can’t help us endure any

situation and become all that we need to be, we had better start looking for a new

god and a new religion!

3) Look at what Peter said:

1 Peter 4:12-13 (NKJV) Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;

13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

• Peter wrote his letters to Christians who were being daily delivered up for persecutions and death.

• They read his letters while waiting to be torn apart by lions in the Coliseum.

• Some read these words before being dipped in oil and set ablaze as torches for the emperor’s parties.

• Peter was telling them that nothing they were going through as Christians had anything to do with their relationship with God.

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