I was reading some Bible study notes today and thought I would share them here. My intention is to encourage people and not to debate the bible - hence I am posting it in misc.
The reality of suffering:
The book of Revelation speaks to suffering believers. John wrote the book amid his own suffering, banished to the small, barren island of Patmos for his faithful witness to Christ and the gospel. John's letters to the seven churches spoke comforting words to believers pressed by persecution and the reality of martyrdom. Revelation promises Christ's return to set up His kingdom and forever vanquish evil. This promise greatly encourages the suffering believers across time and culture. A biblical context for suffering frames proper understanding of Revelation and life in a fallen world. The turmoil of this world will not last forever.
Suffering, sin and this world:
God created His world in magnificent perfection. The entrance of sin and mankind's fall with Adam and Eve introduced suffering and death into God's perfect world.
So, the simple answer to the question "why do people suffer?" is"sin". Wars, natural disasters, family conflict and internal personal struggles are all rooted in mankind's sin. No one, despite healthy diet and regular exercise, can escape the certainty of death.
The suffering and anguish experienced in this world can all be traced to sin and its curse. When we realize much of the suffering we encounter naturally results from living in a fallen world, it makes no sense to blame God. We should not be surprised that this life involves suffering.
However, while the general cause of worldwide suffering remains clear, not all suffering directly results from specific sin. Wonderful Christian parents bear children with birth defects. Many face crippling illness with no direct link to personal sin. When Jesus healed a blind man from birth, he explained to His disciples that the man's blindness did not result from his or his parents sin, but God intended it to display His power through His healing. God has good purposes in all that he does and all that He allows. Be cautious of making wrong assumptions regarding the suffering of others.
Suffering and God's people:
God's people suffer, and that suffering hurts.
Believers should not be surprised when God allows harsh and troubling times into their lives. The suffering of Christians merely accompanies life on earth. Believers and unbelievers alike contract cancer, lose homes in floods and their parents to death. To expect that following Christ promises a comfortable and easy life does not align with the teaching of Scripture or the reality of personal experience. The abundant life Jesus promised is not free of trouble,but it is a life in which God is glorified as believers find His strength and even joy while in the midst of suffering. The Christian's spiritual life often flourishes through difficulty. The pain should not be wasted.
God's people suffer in particular ways. A Christian's constant battle against temptation, personal sin and self rule represents a struggle the world cannot understand. In addition,God lovingly disciplines believers, to develop within them a "harvest of righteousness and peace".
God loves His children too much to let their sin go unchecked.
He allows circumstances that strengthen faith and develop spiritual muscle. God's discipline upon believers reveals that they indeed belong to Him. Rather than squirm under God's loving hand, believers should recognize the opportunity to grown in faith and character.
Opposition and persecution also face those who identify with Christ. Those who walk with God are out of step with this world system. Throughout history, God's people have endured terrible suffering in His name. Scripture records the rejection of God's prophets and the murder of the righteous at the hands of evil men. Expecting rejection for the cause of Christ provides a proper framework when this kind of suffering becomes a reality.
God's children uniquely recognize the beauty of God in the midst of their suffering. We cannot accurately assess God's reasons for our pain, but we can always pray and learn and grow. How do you know if your current suffering is God's discipline or satans opposition?
How do you determine if your hardship is designed to reveal sin or just normal life? God uses every situation to draw His children near to Himself. It is always right to search our own hearts and to ask God what needs to change in us or what needs to be confessed. Being drawn to prayer is always spiritually profitable. In the end, growing through pain is more important than categorizing it. Can you trust God even if the "why" behind your suffering remains a mystery?
Suffering and God's Son:
God's response to human suffering is always tied to His Son. As God declared the devastating curse of sin, He also gave a prophecy. God told the Serpent, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;he will crush your head and you will strike his heel." God promised the Offspring of the woman would suffer and die, but He would crush satan through that death. God revealed His redemptive work through His Son, right alongside the fall of humanity. God's Son Jesus Christ came to earth to reveal the Father and, in loving obedience, to save His people. This would be accomplished through suffering. How can God's people strain against their suffering when they consider their suffering Savior? The Father caused His own Son to suffer, on behalf of sinners.
God did not spare His beloved Sin anything our salvation required. Jesus told His closest friends He would suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law.,and he must be st be killed and on the third day raised to life. "
The suffering and the triumph of the Savior crushed the devil and paid sins penalty. Those who have faith in Jesus Christ are justified - declared righteous before God, recipients of eternal life.
Faith in Christ connects God's people with Him in deep and eternal union that cannot be broken by anything on earth. No trial, tribulation, sin or enemy can separate a true believer from the Savior.
God used the suffering of Jesus to redeem His people gloriously. In the same way, our suffering has a redemptive purpose, beyond what we can imagine.
God's purpose in suffering:
Suffering accomplishes God's god purposes:
Christians desire a theological understanding of how to interpret suffering - theirs and that in the world. Sound biblical thinking helps but cannot fully satisfy every question. We prefer clear answers rather than mystery. But we cannot reduce God and His ways to our limited understanding. Life's hard circumstances certainly test our beliefs.
People have long questioned why evil exists and whether God is all powerful, absolutely sovereign and only good. Someone who has experienced a travesty against a loved one wonders why an omniscient, all powerful and all loving God did not prevent such pain. Many legitimate, honest questions cannot be fully answered by finite, fallen minds. The fact we cannot fully understand it all drives us to find comfort in what we know with certainty.
God not only extends compassion to His children in their trials, He also acts with determined purpose.
Suffering is painful,but it is also purposeful, by God's design. The reality is comforting. Glossing over the real pain we endure does not help. Believers grieve when we lose a loved one and struggle to stand for Christ in an environment of ridicule or persecution. The pain of this life is neither random nor without purpose;God strategically uses what is difficult for our good. When we struggle, we do so with real hope and comforting reality that Jesus experienced suffering too.
A focus on God's unchanging character is the place to start. God is completely sovereign, which means He is utterly in control of everything in all creation at all times. Even the evil of this world opera within the sovereign control of our righteousness God.
When Satan tested job, he did so only with God's permission. In fact, God pointed satans attention to righteous Job. God is also completely good. God does not cause evil, and therefore is not morally responsible for it. Human beings are entirely responsible for their own sin.
satans work abounds in this works for evil purposes. God is powerful enough to bring god results out of evil and suffering. In a Falken world, suffering molds and shapes our faith and character in ways that nothing g else will. God not only allows suffering, He uses suffering to do just that.
Believers can rest, knowing that even that bad things operate well within the scope of God's good and sovereign control.
Although this thought chalkenges us, it is far more troubling to think that evil abounds outside of God's firm hand. In your suffering, will you seek comfort by deliberately thinking more about God than your struggle? Will you pray, based on the certainties of His unchanging character?
God can and will put a stop to evil, in His perfect time.
Until then, God accomplishes His good purposes, despite and even through the evil in this world. Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. Although Joseph endured perhaps 20 years of disappointment and suffering, God eventually elevated him to second in command in Egypt.
God positioned Joseph to save Egypt and from famine and his family from extinction. Joseph held his brothers responsible for their evil actions, but he recognized God's overruling purposes: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives". The prophet Habakkuk questioned God's indifference to Judah sin and how God could use people far more evil to inflict judgment on his nation. God reminded Habakkuk that He always deals rightly with injustice in His own time. Our short sighted view often demands immediate answers, while God sees the bigger picture. God is always doing more than we think. God overcomes evil and sins consequences to accomplish His bigger purposes.
Conversely, everything good comes from God's hand. God does not allow His children to suffer needlessly. We cannot know God's specific purpose for each hurt we experience. But we do know God uses every trial, offense and pain to sanctify His children. Life tests our doctrine. Suffering allows us to apply our theology to the realities of daily struggles. Even if our theology feels unsettled, suffering shakes us deeply. God's sovereignty and purposeful Ness offer hope. Although Roman's 8:28 is often quoted glibly and with poor timing to people in crisis, this Scripture does provide needed perspective. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those whole love Him, and who have been called according to his purpose." The ultimate "good" God accomplishes "in all things" is found in verse 29:"For those God foreknowledge he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son."
God is able to use everything in life, good or bad,
to make His children more like Jesus. This truth gives comfort to believers in even the hardest situations in life.
(Exerpt from BSF notes, 2016)
The reality of suffering:
The book of Revelation speaks to suffering believers. John wrote the book amid his own suffering, banished to the small, barren island of Patmos for his faithful witness to Christ and the gospel. John's letters to the seven churches spoke comforting words to believers pressed by persecution and the reality of martyrdom. Revelation promises Christ's return to set up His kingdom and forever vanquish evil. This promise greatly encourages the suffering believers across time and culture. A biblical context for suffering frames proper understanding of Revelation and life in a fallen world. The turmoil of this world will not last forever.
Suffering, sin and this world:
God created His world in magnificent perfection. The entrance of sin and mankind's fall with Adam and Eve introduced suffering and death into God's perfect world.
So, the simple answer to the question "why do people suffer?" is"sin". Wars, natural disasters, family conflict and internal personal struggles are all rooted in mankind's sin. No one, despite healthy diet and regular exercise, can escape the certainty of death.
The suffering and anguish experienced in this world can all be traced to sin and its curse. When we realize much of the suffering we encounter naturally results from living in a fallen world, it makes no sense to blame God. We should not be surprised that this life involves suffering.
However, while the general cause of worldwide suffering remains clear, not all suffering directly results from specific sin. Wonderful Christian parents bear children with birth defects. Many face crippling illness with no direct link to personal sin. When Jesus healed a blind man from birth, he explained to His disciples that the man's blindness did not result from his or his parents sin, but God intended it to display His power through His healing. God has good purposes in all that he does and all that He allows. Be cautious of making wrong assumptions regarding the suffering of others.
Suffering and God's people:
God's people suffer, and that suffering hurts.
Believers should not be surprised when God allows harsh and troubling times into their lives. The suffering of Christians merely accompanies life on earth. Believers and unbelievers alike contract cancer, lose homes in floods and their parents to death. To expect that following Christ promises a comfortable and easy life does not align with the teaching of Scripture or the reality of personal experience. The abundant life Jesus promised is not free of trouble,but it is a life in which God is glorified as believers find His strength and even joy while in the midst of suffering. The Christian's spiritual life often flourishes through difficulty. The pain should not be wasted.
God's people suffer in particular ways. A Christian's constant battle against temptation, personal sin and self rule represents a struggle the world cannot understand. In addition,God lovingly disciplines believers, to develop within them a "harvest of righteousness and peace".
God loves His children too much to let their sin go unchecked.
He allows circumstances that strengthen faith and develop spiritual muscle. God's discipline upon believers reveals that they indeed belong to Him. Rather than squirm under God's loving hand, believers should recognize the opportunity to grown in faith and character.
Opposition and persecution also face those who identify with Christ. Those who walk with God are out of step with this world system. Throughout history, God's people have endured terrible suffering in His name. Scripture records the rejection of God's prophets and the murder of the righteous at the hands of evil men. Expecting rejection for the cause of Christ provides a proper framework when this kind of suffering becomes a reality.
God's children uniquely recognize the beauty of God in the midst of their suffering. We cannot accurately assess God's reasons for our pain, but we can always pray and learn and grow. How do you know if your current suffering is God's discipline or satans opposition?
How do you determine if your hardship is designed to reveal sin or just normal life? God uses every situation to draw His children near to Himself. It is always right to search our own hearts and to ask God what needs to change in us or what needs to be confessed. Being drawn to prayer is always spiritually profitable. In the end, growing through pain is more important than categorizing it. Can you trust God even if the "why" behind your suffering remains a mystery?
Suffering and God's Son:
God's response to human suffering is always tied to His Son. As God declared the devastating curse of sin, He also gave a prophecy. God told the Serpent, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;he will crush your head and you will strike his heel." God promised the Offspring of the woman would suffer and die, but He would crush satan through that death. God revealed His redemptive work through His Son, right alongside the fall of humanity. God's Son Jesus Christ came to earth to reveal the Father and, in loving obedience, to save His people. This would be accomplished through suffering. How can God's people strain against their suffering when they consider their suffering Savior? The Father caused His own Son to suffer, on behalf of sinners.
God did not spare His beloved Sin anything our salvation required. Jesus told His closest friends He would suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law.,and he must be st be killed and on the third day raised to life. "
The suffering and the triumph of the Savior crushed the devil and paid sins penalty. Those who have faith in Jesus Christ are justified - declared righteous before God, recipients of eternal life.
Faith in Christ connects God's people with Him in deep and eternal union that cannot be broken by anything on earth. No trial, tribulation, sin or enemy can separate a true believer from the Savior.
God used the suffering of Jesus to redeem His people gloriously. In the same way, our suffering has a redemptive purpose, beyond what we can imagine.
God's purpose in suffering:
Suffering accomplishes God's god purposes:
Christians desire a theological understanding of how to interpret suffering - theirs and that in the world. Sound biblical thinking helps but cannot fully satisfy every question. We prefer clear answers rather than mystery. But we cannot reduce God and His ways to our limited understanding. Life's hard circumstances certainly test our beliefs.
People have long questioned why evil exists and whether God is all powerful, absolutely sovereign and only good. Someone who has experienced a travesty against a loved one wonders why an omniscient, all powerful and all loving God did not prevent such pain. Many legitimate, honest questions cannot be fully answered by finite, fallen minds. The fact we cannot fully understand it all drives us to find comfort in what we know with certainty.
God not only extends compassion to His children in their trials, He also acts with determined purpose.
Suffering is painful,but it is also purposeful, by God's design. The reality is comforting. Glossing over the real pain we endure does not help. Believers grieve when we lose a loved one and struggle to stand for Christ in an environment of ridicule or persecution. The pain of this life is neither random nor without purpose;God strategically uses what is difficult for our good. When we struggle, we do so with real hope and comforting reality that Jesus experienced suffering too.
A focus on God's unchanging character is the place to start. God is completely sovereign, which means He is utterly in control of everything in all creation at all times. Even the evil of this world opera within the sovereign control of our righteousness God.
When Satan tested job, he did so only with God's permission. In fact, God pointed satans attention to righteous Job. God is also completely good. God does not cause evil, and therefore is not morally responsible for it. Human beings are entirely responsible for their own sin.
satans work abounds in this works for evil purposes. God is powerful enough to bring god results out of evil and suffering. In a Falken world, suffering molds and shapes our faith and character in ways that nothing g else will. God not only allows suffering, He uses suffering to do just that.
Believers can rest, knowing that even that bad things operate well within the scope of God's good and sovereign control.
Although this thought chalkenges us, it is far more troubling to think that evil abounds outside of God's firm hand. In your suffering, will you seek comfort by deliberately thinking more about God than your struggle? Will you pray, based on the certainties of His unchanging character?
God can and will put a stop to evil, in His perfect time.
Until then, God accomplishes His good purposes, despite and even through the evil in this world. Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. Although Joseph endured perhaps 20 years of disappointment and suffering, God eventually elevated him to second in command in Egypt.
God positioned Joseph to save Egypt and from famine and his family from extinction. Joseph held his brothers responsible for their evil actions, but he recognized God's overruling purposes: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives". The prophet Habakkuk questioned God's indifference to Judah sin and how God could use people far more evil to inflict judgment on his nation. God reminded Habakkuk that He always deals rightly with injustice in His own time. Our short sighted view often demands immediate answers, while God sees the bigger picture. God is always doing more than we think. God overcomes evil and sins consequences to accomplish His bigger purposes.
Conversely, everything good comes from God's hand. God does not allow His children to suffer needlessly. We cannot know God's specific purpose for each hurt we experience. But we do know God uses every trial, offense and pain to sanctify His children. Life tests our doctrine. Suffering allows us to apply our theology to the realities of daily struggles. Even if our theology feels unsettled, suffering shakes us deeply. God's sovereignty and purposeful Ness offer hope. Although Roman's 8:28 is often quoted glibly and with poor timing to people in crisis, this Scripture does provide needed perspective. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those whole love Him, and who have been called according to his purpose." The ultimate "good" God accomplishes "in all things" is found in verse 29:"For those God foreknowledge he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son."
God is able to use everything in life, good or bad,
to make His children more like Jesus. This truth gives comfort to believers in even the hardest situations in life.
(Exerpt from BSF notes, 2016)
