why does god allow bad things to happen to good people?

WHY DOES GOD LET BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

We can break this down further into two sub-questions: Why does God allow…

people to do bad things to other “good” people?

unfortunate events to happen to “good” people?

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Why does God allow people to do bad things to other “good” people?

Answer: ?

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Why does God allow people to do bad things to other “good” people?

Answer: Free-will

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

God allows people (who are natural sinners) to freely choose actions (Joshua 24:15, James 4:4)

God stopping us from sinning against others = God preventing us from executing our choices

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

God holds us accountable for the bad we do and judges us after death, not (*typically) the instant we decide to do a bad act. (Romans 14:12; Matthew 12:36; 1 Peter 4:5)

* Ananias & Sapphira (Acts 5) dying instantly after lying to Peter and the Holy Spirit is an untypical case… so it is possible

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Why does God allow unfortunate events (tragedy, sickness, job loss, etc.) to happen to “good” people? Answer: ?

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Why does God allow unfortunate events (tragedy, sickness, job loss, etc.) to happen to “good” people? Answer: We don’t always know

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Job was a righteous man and God allowed Satan to give him the *Lemony Snickets (Job 1, 2) Why?

* “Lemony Snickets” meaning “Series of Unfortunate Events” Read Job Ch. 1, 2, and 42 to get the gist of what happened. Job was righteous but God allowed him to instantly lose his wealth, health, and family. (God restored them twice as much in the end.)

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Job was a righteous man and God allowed Satan to give him the Lemony Snickets (Job 1) Why?

To show Job’s righteousness to Satan

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Bad things happened to *Jesus (threats, torture, death, etc.) Why?

* Jesus, being the sinless Son of God was the only “good” person ever

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Bad things happened to Jesus (threats, torture, death, etc.) Why?

To bring salvation to the world

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

God never told us that bad things won’t happen to His people

Jesus even tells us that those who serve Him will be persecuted (John 15:20)

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

God did tell us, however, that if we accept Christ we can look forward to Heaven, a place where there will be no more pain or suffering (Rev. 21:4)

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

But while we’re on Earth we should… Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever

you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. …

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:2-4, 12)

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Bad things will happen to you or your loved ones.

But know that if you’re a child of God, what the enemy means for evil God can turn for good (Gen. 50:20; Romans 8:28)

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

We don’t always know or like why God allows bad to happen to “good” people

But we can be assured that God has the best interest of his kids and Kingdom in mind

God will do what it takes to save His people and get His glory… including things we don’t understand

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33)

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