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July 11, 2023

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God, Life Questions

Why do the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer?

The world often seems unfair. Good people suffer while evil people often appear to have an easy life. Most people instinctively know that evil should be punished and good rewarded. If God is just why do the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper?

This question is one that has troubled God’s people for thousands of years. Psalm 73 describes the problem well, “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. Behold, these are the ungodly, Who are always at ease; They increase in riches.” (Psalm 73:3-8, 12)

The prophet Habakkuk saw unrestrained wickedness increasing and the ungodly threatening to overwhelm the righteous. He cried out to God, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?” (Habakkuk 1:13) The prophet’s words echo the cry of many hearts. However, Scripture does not just raise the question. God gives troubled men an answer to this perplexing problem.

The answer revealed in Psalm 73 and in the book of Habakkuk still applies today. The prosperity of the wicked is temporary while the blessing of the righteous will be eternal. God also assures all men that the wicked will not escape judgment. “Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.” (Psalm 73:18-19) Habakkuk 2 pronounces five woes on the ungodly and Habakkuk 3 promises that God will deliver the righteous. The do prosper for a little while, but their prosperity will expire. The wicked will be cut off. God will establish the righteous in joy that will never cease.

Judgment will certainly fall on the wicked. Reward will certainly be given to the righteous. However, judgment and reward are never fully doled out in this life. As a result, many people feel as if the wicked are never judged and the righteous are never rewarded. The problem is that most people do not think beyond this life. Most people act as if this life is everything. That perspective is wrong.

The Bible reveals this life is not all there is. Existence, suffering and joy do not end at death. Every person continues to exist in a conscious state and is able to experience sorrow and joy. What a person is given after this life they will never lose. All the good things gained in this life are kept for only a short time. All the good things received in Heaven are kept forever. All the horrors suffered in this life will be endured for only a short time. The judgment after death will have no end. The wicked may prosper right now, but the righteous will be comforted forever. (Luke 16:25) The righteous may suffer now, but the wicked will be punished forever.

When a person can learn to view life through the eyes of faith he will see that God may not be bring full judgment on to the wicked right now, but He will not fail to judge everyone in eternity. A life of ease and prosperity now is a poor substitute for an eternity of joy. “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

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June 21, 2023

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God, Prayer

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Why Doesn’t God Answer Prayer?

The problem of unanswered prayer is one that perplexes many religious people. If God promises to answer prayer, and He does, then why does it seem that God often refuses to answer the earnest prayer of sincere people? Why does God seem to be unwilling to intervene in the circumstances of this world?

Everyone who prays must remember God is not a genie who promises to grant every wish. God places restrictions on the kinds of prayers He will answer and on the kind of people whose prayers He will answer. God answers the prayers of His children. God never promises to answer the prayer of every person in the world. The Bible does not contain one single promise that God will answer the prayers of the unsaved. God promises to answer the prayers of only those who have by faith received Jesus as their Savior. Those who have not received Jesus cannot expect God to hear their prayers because they are not members of the family and kingdom of God. Americans have no right to expect the Chinese government to protect them or provide for the stability of the United States. Likewise, those who are not the children of God and citizens of the Kingdom of God have no right to expect Him to give them what He has promised to His people.

The Bible also warns that Christians living in sin will not have their prayers answered. (Psalm 66:18) Christians who are refusing to repent of known sin cannot claim God’s promise of answered prayer. Instead, the promise of answered prayer is dependent on the Christian being in a right relationship with God.

God promises to answer the prayers of His children if those prayers are not selfish and are seeking His will. God does not always answer in expected ways, but He does answer the proper prayers of His people. Consider the following Biblical accounts of answered prayer. When King Hezekiah prayed for protection from the armies of Assyria, God wiped out the Assyrian army in one night. (2 Kings 19:15-20, 35-37) When Solomon prayed for wisdom, God gave it to him in great abundance. (2 Chronicles 1:7-12; 1 Kings 3:16-28) When the Corinthian church prayed for Paul, God delivered him. (2 Corinthians 1:10-11) Other examples of answered prayer could be given from the lives of Abraham, Isaac, the Israelites, Moses, Job, David, Isaiah, Elisha, Elijah, Daniel, Nehemiah, Paul and Peter. The Bible shows that God hears and answers the prayer of His people. The personal testimony of thousands of Christians shows that God still answers prayer. Specific examples can be found in the life stories of George Mueller, Charles Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, William Carey and Elizabeth Elliott. Faithful Christians living today can give personal testimony of God answering their prayers.

The problem of unanswered prayer is not a problem with God or with His faithfulness. Unanswered prayer is the problem of sinful people. Prayer for wrong things, prayer from wrong motives and prayer from those who are not right with God will not be answered. The children of God who truly delight in the Lord will have the desires of their heart. (Psalm 37:4)

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June 13, 2023

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Salvation

What is Redemption?

Redemption is a concept addressed throughout the Bible. Redemption is not a completely unfamiliar idea outside the church, but it is one most likely to be found mentioned in Christian circles. Outside of the church redemption seems to be used most often in reference to claiming rewards that have been earned. If someone has earned cash back through a credit card or upgrades through frequent flyer miles, then those benefits are claimed by redeeming them. The Biblical use of redemption is much different.

Redemption is used in the Bible in several different ways, including the purchase of something from bondage and the atonement of someone from sin. The most common use of redemption among Christians is that of redemption from sin. Redemption from sin is a purchasing of someone out of bondage to sin by paying the penalty required by their sin. Biblical redemption is not a business transaction but a judicial one. Because redemption is a legal process, the price and process is set by the Judge of all the Earth. God has established what is required to redeem a person. The price of redemption is the wages of sin. The deliverance of redemption is release from sin’s slavery and sin’s curse.

Redemption from sin is never accomplished by the person. The sinner cannot redeem himself from his own sin. Psalm 49:6-8 says that no no one can redeem a person from sin because the cost to redeem the soul is more than any one can pay. Instead, God provided a substitute who would redeem men. The Old Testament is filled with temporary substitutes who redeemed sinners from death. Every sacrifice offered under the Old Testament law was a substitute for the sinner.

Ultimately, God Himself became the Redeemer for sinners who provided the full redemption sacrifices could not accomplish. This Divine redemption is pictured in the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. In Exodus 6 God said, “I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” In Isaiah 43 God said, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.” God promised to send a redeemer who would deliver them from sin. That redeemer is Jesus.

The New Testament declares that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send Israel a redeemer. Jesus is not only the redeemer of Israel, He is the redeemer of all who trust in Him. The New Testament repeatedly calls Jesus the redeemer of men. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.” (Galatians 3:13) “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:25) “Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every lawless deed.”( Titus 2:14) “You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood.” (Revelation 5:9) Jesus redeems sinners by being their substitute who pays the price of their sin through His death on the cross. Jesus paid the penalty of sin, thereby satisfying Gods’ justice and covering the guilt of those who trust Him. Those who receive Jesus as Savior are set free from the curse and enslavement of sin. As a result, the redeemed are forgiven of all sin and reconciled to God.