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Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. Psalm 73:1-17. Psalm 73:1-8.

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Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

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  1. Why Bad Things Happen to Good People Psalm 73:1-17

  2. Psalm 73:1-8 “Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily.”

  3. Psalm 73:9-14 “They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, ‘How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?’ Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning.”

  4. Introduction • The Psalmist ponders these age-old questions. • Why do the wicked prosper? • Why do good things happen to bad people? • Envious of the wicked for a time. • The hardest questions of life. • A reality and a difficult part of life.

  5. Introduction • My child is dying. • I am very sick. • I have heartache and suffering. • Must there be disease and death? • People are being mistreated. • Some lose their jobs. • Happening to me… WHY?

  6. The Answer of Some Is… • God is to blame! • “took my child!” • “took my loved one!” • “caused a bad thing to happen!” • Natural disasters are acts of God. • Job’s wife charged God. • “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!’” {Job 2:9}

  7. God Is Not to Be Blamed! • The Scriptures declare God’s goodness. • “Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart.” {Psalm 73:1} • “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.” {Romans 11:22} • “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” {James 1:17}

  8. Blaming God Is Foolish and Sinful • Job understood this truth. • “But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” {Job 2:10} • “…Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” {Job 1:21,22}

  9. Bad Things Do Happen • Joseph • Genesis 39:17-20 • Elijah • 1 Kings 19:1-7 • Apostle Paul • 2 Corinthians 11:23-30 • Early Christians • Revelation 2:8-11

  10. WHY? Why Bad Things Happen to Good People 9

  11. Because We Live in a Sinful World • We sometimes suffer because of our own past sins. • Some bad things are self-imposed.- Galatians 6:7-9 • Sexual immorality - • Broken homes, divorce • Unwanted pregnancy, shame • STDs – AIDS • Drug and alcohol consumption - • Health and financial problems • Addiction, crime, and impaired judgment with lasting consequences. • We suffer as the consequences of other people’s sins. • Gossip, murmuring, and lies– destroy good names and reputations; cause division and contention among brethren and families. • Proverbs 6:16-19 • Philippians 2:14-15 • Drunk drivers – kill and maim good innocent people. • Murderers, robbers, scam artists, law breakers, etc. “…and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23)

  12. Because of Evil People • The faithful of old suffered extreme persecution. • Hebrews 11:36-40 • God’s people always have, and always will suffer. • 1 Peter 4:12-16; 2 Timothy 3:12 • People suffer at the hands of the rich. • James 5:1-7 Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

  13. Because of Evil People • Although innocent, Christ suffered and died. • Acts 2:23; John 1:11; 1 Peter 2:21-23 • First-century Christians underwent severe suffering. • Revelation 2:13 (Antipas) • Faithful preachers suffered for preaching the truth. • Paul—2 Timothy 4:6-8 • John the Baptizer—Mark 6:17-29 • Stephen—Acts 7:51-59 • Would not compromise the truth—2 Timothy 4:1-5

  14. Because Satan’s Force Is Active • God of this world • 2 Corinthians 4:4 • Satan is our adversary; he seeks for opportunities to destroy us. • 1 Peter 5:8 • Always looking… • Job 1:6,7 • By discouraging, disheartening, using deceptive methods. Trials and human suffering. • Matthew 24:7-13

  15. Because Life Is Unfair • Not promised a fair and fanciful life--1 Timothy 6:6-8. • Perfect fellowship was lost in the Garden. • Consequences—Genesis 3:9-23 • That lost in the Garden was regained in Christ. • Made perfect in Christ, if we suffer with Him—Romans 8:17-23 • Christian’s life is not a walk in a rose garden • A life of service, humility, toils, and hard choices—Matthew10:34-36; Psalm 116:15

  16. We Are Warned That Trials Will Come • 1 Corinthians 10:13 • Christ (Matthew 4:1-12) • 2 Timothy 3:11-12 • Romans 5:1-3 • 1 Peter 1:6-9 Eternal Blessings are promised ONLY to those who ENDUREthe trials! Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

  17. Trials Strengthen and Perfect • Trials make us inwardly stronger: • James 1:2-4 • 1 Peter 5:10 • 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 • Trials test our love and fear of God - John 14:15. • “God tested Abraham” – Genesis 22:1 • Abraham obeyed God. • Offered his beloved son Isaac - Genesis 22:11-18 “…for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” (vs. 12; Cf. Hebrews 11:17) • Trials of old age and failing health will come. • Aging is inevitable; there’s no stopping it. • Godly, active, moderate living is necessary-2 Corinthians 4:16-18

  18. Because of the Trials of AgingEcclesiastes 12:3-7 • Verse 3 • Keepers of house tremble – arms weak • Strong men bow - weak legs and frame • Grinders cease – teeth fall out • Windows grow dim – eyesight fails • Verse 4: • Doors are shut – mouth is shut; no longer takes in food • Grinding is low – slow chewing • Rise at sound of birds – easily awakened • Daughters of music brought low - voice becomes feeble • Verse 5: • Afraid of that which is high – fear of falling • Fears in the way – difficulty doing simple things we once did • Almond tree blossoms – hair turns gray/white, falls out • Grasshopper a burden – small things are burdensome • Desires fail – fleshly desires wane • Go to the long (eternal) home – obvious reference to death • Verse 6: • Silver cord is loosed – spinal cord and central nervous system • Golden bowl broken – skull that houses the brain • Pitcher shattered at the fountain – heart and circulatory system • Wheel broken at the well – breathing becomes difficult and weaker • Verse 7: • Body returns to dust; spirit returns to God who gave it! – DEATH. Man does not waste time…time wastes man!

  19. Because of Time and Chance • Wrong place at the wrong time. • Ecclesiastes 9:1-3, 11-12 • Tower of Siloam fell – Luke 13:4 • 9-11 terrorist attacks • Accidents, injuries, death • Calamities and blessings happen. • To all men - “Evil and the good…the just and…the unjust” • Matthew 5:45 • Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

  20. Because That’s Life • Life is fleeting and troublesome. • “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.” {Job 14:1,2} • Life is a vapor, with a sure and swift end and no guarantee of tomorrow. • “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ {James 4:14,15}

  21. Because I Don’t Know • There’s no logical explanation for some things that happen. • Only God knows. • We must leave it in His hands. • We must learn and accept the truth--we do not have answers for everything that happens in this life. • “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.” {Ecclesiastes 12:13,14}

  22. The most important question is not, “Why do bad things happen?” It is: How Will We Respond When They Do Happen

  23. What We Must NOTDo • We must not ENVYthe wicked. • Their destiny is everlasting destruction {Psalm 73:15-20}. • We must not BLAMEGod. • Remember Job {Job 1:22}. • We must not DEPARTfrom God. • “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” {Hebrews 3:12,13}

  24. Quote From a Gospel Preacher “We cannot afford the luxury of forgetting or ignoring what God has promised us. Certainly, no one is justified in blaming God for his troubles, when he has failed to apply this truth in his life. God is not the author of bad things, but of good. James said, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning"(Jas. 1:17).It is the Devil who is the source of our problems, not God. Peter said, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour"(1 Pet. 5:8). We must be careful that we not falsely charge God with our troubles. He is not the cause of the troubles — he is the help and deliverance from them. I was just thinking, if all of these things are true, and they are, why do many Christians, in time of trouble, drift away from God instead of toward him? It is one of the sad facts of our time that we frequently will not turn for help to the only true and reliable source of help — the Lord God.” Quote by Lewis Willis - Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 11, p. 3-4, June 2, 1994

  25. What We Must Do • Count your blessings. • Take an inventory of spiritual and physical blessings. • Remember others who are suffering. • “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” {1 Peter 5:9} • Make the most of each day. • “So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.” {Ecclesiastes 8:15}

  26. What We Must Do • Seek God when trials come. • Hebrews 4:14-16 • Remember, God blesses the righteous. • “Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.” {Job 42:12} • Draw near to God. • “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” {James 4:8-10}

  27. Heaven—Unique Rest “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’” {Revelation 21:1-3}

  28. Heaven—Unique Rest “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.’” {Revelation 21:4-6}

  29. Love God As Paul Did “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” {Romans 8:35-39}

  30. A Unique Reward “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Rev. 21:4) Bad Things Happen to Good People

  31. A Unique Reward “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” {Revelation 21:4} Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

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