Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People?
6/1/2022
Written By: Stephen Cox
One of life’s biggest questions is, “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” Has there ever been a question so theological, philosophical, emotional, and personal all at the same time?
I am certainly no expert on being God. Stop laughing.
But I want to share with you six reasons I find in Scripture and from personal experience why we can answer this question with confidence.
1. When God created the world, it was perfect.
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!
Genesis 1:31
2. God didn’t mess it up…humanity did.
"The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves."
3. That unleashed death, destruction and decay.
Romans 5:12 "When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned."
Romans 8:20-22 "20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."
Death entered the world through sin…as did decay and devastation in the earth.
4. We have been messing it up ever since.
Romans 3:23 "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard."
Even those of us who have accepted Christ continue to sin though we try not to at various degrees of effort. Humanity perpetuates the cycle of death, destruction, and decay that Adam and Eve set into motion in the Garden. And according to God’s Glorious Standard, there are no “good” people. We have ALL sinned. Not one of us could stand before a Holy God, blameless and pure.
5. Here’s the good news though. God loves us too much to allow us to continue to mess it up without providing an eternal solution. And because He loves us so much, He provides us with a way out from under the curse of sin but not from its effects (yet).
Romans 5:6,8 "6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners." "8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."
While God was not even on our radar, God sent Jesus to die for us.
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
Matthew 5:45 "In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike."
We are saved from the curse of sin but still suffer the effect of sin, both our own sin and the sin of others. We all suffer the effects of pain, suffering, even the effects of weather, disease and the like. We are not immune from these things because we still live in a fallen world.
6. God delays the return of Jesus because He loves us that much!
Matthew 24:14 "And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come."
If we have accepted Jesus Christ, we should have a sense of urgency for the lost.
So why? Why does God Allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People? One word: SIN. The next time you think about the evil and suffering you see in the world, please remember that God is not the cause. Get mad at sin. Sin is the whole reason there is evil, and suffering, and pain, and death, and disease, and decay, and destruction. And it should cause us to get angry with sin and desire to banish it from our lives and get as far away from it as we can!