posted in → Articles, Featured

If God is in control, why is there so much suffering and injustice in the world?

Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.

He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.

He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.

He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.

He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.

He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.

Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.

Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.

The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
Ps 10:1-18

An anonymous responder to this question on an internet blog, said this:

“Ok people I just wonder if God is real, why he let us argue and fight over it? Couldn’t he just give some proof firsthand?

Don’t you say he is all loving and blah blah, why is he then selfish enough to let “his creations/children” fight over him?

Why let all those kids die? Why let all people starving all around the world? Isn’t he all mighty, should be piece of cake to save some kids and help starving people at least not to starve.”

Okay, “believers,” ((The designation, “believer” could mean a multitude of things. I will discuss this later in the article, but suffice it to say, in a general sense, I am talking about folks who claim Christ as their Savior)) what say you to this?

Most of you will respond with indignity and outrage at such a statement. You might say something like: “What does this unregenerate fool know about the God I worship?!”

But, really, other than becoming indignant, could you explain to this person why God obviously does not intervene in the world to right its injustices and relieve the suffering of those who are the victims of it? Indeed, if he is all powerful, all knowing and ever present, and as the Psalmist above says, the owner of heaven and earth, why is their so much evil abounding in the world? Why isn’t he ordering and establishing the never ending peace on earth the prophets promised he would establish under the New Covenant; ((Isa 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Isa 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Isa 11:1-9
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.)) Smiting the wicked and ruling the nations with “a rod of iron?” ((Rev 19:15
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.))

Most of Christian theology teaches that we are under/in the New Covenant, and those passages in the last three verses of the imprecatory Psalm above are descriptions of conditions in the New Covenant. If that is, in fact, the case, then shouldn’t these conditions have been in effect for the last 2000 years? In answer to this, here are a couple of explanations from two different New Covenant teachers:

“Peace is for a special people, not people in general. The world thinks that a person or nation is entitled to peace if they want peace. That’s the world’s only condition: if you want to live in peace, then you should be allowed to live in peace. That’s the world-view, but not God’s view.

God has a very different view, and, since God is the only real giver of peace, man will have to meet God’s conditions or do without. There’s no other source for peace. Man can’t buy it at any price. God has the product, and no one else does. If man wants peace, he’ll have to go to God and get it: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mat. 6:33) “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Rom. 14:17) When will man find peace? When he seeks the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Self righteousness is man’s problem! The first murder on this earth was committed for this very reason (Gen. 4), and billions have died and went to Hell because of it since then, yet every generation thinks they’ll produce the magic potion for a lasting peace. Men never learn, and peace never comes, because God’s peace treaty is continually refused. See Deuteronomy 23:6 and II Chronicles 15:1-5.” ((http://www.biblebelievers.com/jmelton/worldpeace.html))

And,

“The average believer in Jesus Christ never learns to pray beyond the circle of their own personal or family needs. If you suggest they pray for something such as a national or an international issue, they may say, “Well, that would be nice, but it’s like praying, ‘Peace on Earth, good will toward men.’ It’s kind of a cross-your-fingers-and-hope.” They don’t have any real conviction that what they are doing makes a difference.

Yet there were hosts of people who, for many years, prayed for the dissolving of the Iron Curtain, and today it has come down. The Bible says we are to pray for these issues. It takes a particular readiness of faith to address them. Then, when breakthrough comes, it takes people who will stand back, without superstition or self-congratulation, and praise God because He has moved according to what He said He would do when His people take their position in prayer with boldness and faith:

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14

The call, please notice, is not to the whole society; God says it’s to “My people”—to those of us who name the Savior. He is not saying that when the whole nation repents, He’ll show mercy; He speaking to you and me to repent of our own hearts or attitudes and pray. The promise stands good on Heaven’s side, awaiting our response. ((http://www.jackhayford.org/teaching/articles/believing-your-prayers-are-decisive/))

If you ferret out all the verbiage in these two statements, both are saying that it is man’s responsibility to bring peace to the world– specifically, Christian man. The latter statement quotes the oft quoted 2 Chronicles 7:14 (written, by the way, to Israel under the Old Covenant), and goes on to say that if all Christians would simply pray for world peace, God, like some sort of genie in a bottle, will intervene and make it good. ((This is the Christian version of the Humanist’s “visualize world peace” initiative in the latter half of the 20th century.))

In other words, God wants to establish peace on earth, but his disobedient, recalcitrant followers stand in the way of it.

Then there are the “Dominion Theologians,” who say the Christian church is, in fact, one and the same as Israel under the New Covenant ((ref. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:8-11)), or “spiritual Israel,” and since Israel rules the world in the NC (which, BTW, is a government–ref Is 9:6), the Christian church should be ruling all the political systems of the world. There is therefore this huge push to get Christians into political offices at every level of government by these folks.

What is the answer to these assertions? Let’s first address the idea of God not being able to establish his kingdom on earth, and with it the promised peace and justice, without the cooperation of Christians.

First, there is nothing whatsoever in Scripture that says God needs any help from men, Christian or otherwise, to institute the New Covenant. The idea that men think he needs their assistance to do it shows their incredible arrogance.

Second, equating the peace that comes to individual believers when they pray to God with the peace spoken of among the nations under the NC, is blatant spiritualization of Scripture ((Unwarranted use of Scripture out of context to prop up a position)). Peace under the NC is an international, worldwide phenomenon, imposed by God on the world, whether the world likes it or not.

The Dispensation of Grace.

The entire problem with these explanations, and others like them, is they have the world in the wrong dispensation ((Gr.: “oikonomia” ; Eng: ” economy”)) Neither the world nor the Christian church is under the New Covenant. Let me emphasize that: We are not presently under the New Covenant!

Huh? Then where are we? We’re in a parenthesis, sandwiched between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, referred to by the Apostle Paul as “the dispensation of the grace of God” ((Eph 3:1-2 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward))

In this present dispensation, the world is under God’s grace, not his judgment. God has suspended his judgment of the world ((2 Corinthians 5:19 says that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” This plainly states that everyone in the world, which includes psychopaths and evildoers, are not going to be punished god for their transgressions, no matter how horrible they are)) and is offering to it (or, rather, to all individuals in it) salvation by grace through faith. ((Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God)) It is also a period in which “the god of this world,” Satan, is set loose to spread havoc and sow deceit among the nations. ((2 Cor 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.))

First of all, the NC is made with Israel, not the Christian Church. ((Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah (also ref. Hebrews 8:8) )) Moreover, the New Covenant economy is a period of God’s judgment on earth, wherein God will pass judgment and meet out punishment for the evil that has transpired on earth under grace, ((Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Jer 33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.)) in which Satan will be bound and prevented from deceiving the nations. ((Rev 20:2-3 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.))

This doesn’t mean God condones the evil and wickedness that has abounded in the world for the last 2000 years. By no means. It simply means that he is presently not intervening in a supernatural way to stop it. Indeed, he condemns it, and so should we. ((Rom 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good; Mic 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?))

As one of the statements above says, we ought to pray that “we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty,” ((1 Tim 2:2)) and definitely seek through our actions to establish conditions in the culture we live in to promote this, and also for the gospel we preach to have “free course.” ((2 Thess 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you))

This brings us to the most important part of this essay: what is “the gospel” which we want to have free course? It is, simply, that Christ died for our sins…was buried….and rose again the third day…for our justification, ((1 Cor. 15:1-4; Romans 4:15)) and that anyone, under any circumstances, at any time in their life, can be saved eternally, and be bound for heaven by simply believing this; trusting that by this once and for all sacrifice, Jesus Christ paid the price for all your sins, past present and future. Have you ever done this? If not, why not now?

Mike Schroeder

All Scripture references are taken from the King James Bible.