Thursday, October 12, 2017

Re-Issue of “The Question of God’s Justice in the Face of Growing Evil”-Oct. 12, 2017


Two years ago this month I wrote about the age-old struggle believers have to try and understand why God allows evil to seemingly prosper in this world.  Often God seems silent while people struggle, hurt, and search for answers.  This is certainly true when we consider the recent mass-shooting in Law Vegas.  But, even greater than that one single event is the struggle to understand why God allows day to day immorality to be the rule and traditional Christian morality to be increasingly the exception.  The Prophet Habakkuk wrestled with God on these questions as he tried to understand the justice of God.

 

Allen Raynor Weblog: The Question of God’s Justice

in the Face of Growing Evil

(Oct. 8, 2015)

 

          These are trying times for Christians.  If you are like me, you have probably seen more ungodly and sinful things happen in just the last 6 months than you perhaps believed you would ever see in your lifetime.  There is no need to rehash all those things here.  Believers know what the Bible teaches and what Christianity has stood for its entire 2000 year existence.  Further, we know what God has said from the very beginning going back to His creation of the world.  So, in light of those things, why do the wicked seem to be winning?  Why is sin celebrated and seemingly every evil cause championed from the President, to some candidates running for President, to many members of Congress, to judges, governors, mayors, the Hollywood community, and other influential leaders?  Is the situation really new or does it only seem new since it is beyond the scope of what we have personally known?  Will we experience any relief from all that is happening?  How best should we process these things?

          The Prophet Habakkuk struggled to understand seeming contradictions within the framework of God’s justice.  He grappled with how the God of love could allow perceived injustice and even go so far as to use unjust people for His purposes.  The theological question of “theodicy” is explored in the 3 short chapters of the Book of Habakkuk.  Theodicy seeks to answer the question “Is God just?”  When things happen that appear to contradict what we know about the justice of God; how then can we continue to believe He is just in all His ways?

          He asks God a first question and then a second.  He is reverential in the manner in which he asks, but still feels the compelling need to ask.  His questions and God’s responses leave us with some important implications about God and how He works.  First; personal faith can lead to powerful problems.  Having faith does not answer every question.  In fact, there are times where it creates even more questions.  Faith is trusting when we do not know everything.  Second; the response believers should have in the face of evil is trust.  Trust is not always easy and often seems to be against our natures.  Third; thinking rationally cannot penetrate all the mysteries of evil.  But it is faith that strengthens us in the face of great evil.

          One popular myth says that when you trust Christ as your Savior, all your problems will vanish.  The truth is, your biggest problem has gone away, but many of the smaller problems remain.  However, the way you view those problems and the perceived weight of those problems will, almost certainly, change.  Problems are a part of life.  Even evil itself is a nasty reality.  Sometimes we feel like echoing David’s words in Psalm 22:1 where he cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  Many apply this to America, believing God has somehow turned His back on us.  But, something we must always keep in mind is that nations, countries, and all geographical territories for that matter, are relatively inconsequential to God.  His eternal plans are about bringing a people unto Himself, saving them from the wrath that will befall this world.  The fate of every nation is exactly the same.  They all will cease to exist sooner or later.  There are no countries, as we understand them, within the Kingdom of God.  So often the big picture is lost because of the glaring light of the little picture.  Our view of the whole forest is obstructed by the thousands of trees all around us.

          Mankind has no shortage of advice as he grapples with the ability to understand the world in which he lives in rational terms.  The folly of man is seen in Job as one by one Job’s friends offer their insights, but in the end these are truths only known to God.  Mankind has always been afraid to utter the words “I don’t know.”  But we ought not be so frightened to defer to our God, Who is omniscient.

          From Habakkuk’s vantage point, God seemed indifferent.  How could God allow the wicked Babylonians to lay a hand on God’s chosen people?  It seemed exploitative and certainly unjust.  But God used the wicked all throughout the course of biblical history to accomplish His ultimate purposes.  This will be true right up until the end.  In the Book of Revelation, evil will do what evil does right up until the point God destroys it once and for all.  We naturally ask why God will allow the things described in Revelation to actually take place.  After all, He could prevent them and all could happen in a different way.  God has voluntarily bound Himself to His Word and He is glorified in the proclamation and execution of all He has declared to be true.  If he altered anything, the most fundamental truth of Christianity, the reliability of His Word, would be destroyed.  Therefore truth is held as a higher priority than satisfying the passing daily desires of mankind.  Besides all of that, mankind only has in view 1 piece of a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle by which to understand God’s ultimate plan.  But, he has described for us what the final picture, when assembled, will look like and he has promised that there will be a day when it will be fully assembled.  That picture is described in Revelation 21 and 22.

          In Hab. 2:4, God tells the prophet, “The just shall live by his faith.”  If we trust God, we must live by faith.  How do you trust anyone or anything?  It is a voluntary commitment, just like making a wedding vow.  It is saying I consciously commit myself to trusting/having faith in you.  It is no different when it comes to God.  We must determine that, even though evil is rampant and the foundations of this world are shaking and will soon crumble, our trust is in the Lord.

          In the end, Habakkuk makes one of the most pointed and beautiful confessions of faith in all the Bible (3:17-19) but it did not come apart from much mental anguish.  Commentator John Currid writes “At the close of the book we see no complaints by the prophet.  He now understands.  So what we see is Habakkuk’s pure, unadulterated joy and triumphal singing to the sovereign God of Israel.” (John Currid; The Expectant Prophet: Habakkuk Simply Explained; 136)  He finally came to understand that no matter what happens on this earth, God will deliver His people, not necessarily from the discomfort of today but for His glory for all eternity.

 

In Christ,

 

Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor

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