It Is Not For Us To Understand
It Is Not For Us To Understand
(Or, "The Inscrutably Fearful One, True, and Only God")
When horrible and horrendous things happen in the world--especially to people who have the evidence of being God's true churched children, indwelt by the blessed Holy Spirit Himself--we almost (by default) ask, "Why?"
In this Treatise I would like to address this issue a little bit. . . . First of all, asking "Why?" is not a bad thing; and we know that the Psalmists (for example) were candid in their queries (as in Ps. 2:1: "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?" [ESV]).
The problem we Christian believers can run into, is not in asking, "Why?"; but in our proposed answers to the question. Therefore, I would like to explore some of the more common ones, critique them; and then offer some gracious Biblical, gospel-saturated alternatives, and perspectives by which we may live comfortably in Jesus, even in a dangerous fallen world. . . .
Sometimes God's people say (or think): "This evil event cannot be God's will." This is an understandable statement; and it is both true and false. It is true, in that all sin is counter to God's revealed (or prescriptive) will; but it is false, in that it may fail to recognize that everything that happens in the world is per God's decretive (or secret) will. (We need to be sensitive and pastoral when we teach people these things.)
Another response may be: "God had nothing to do with these evil events." And, of course, it is true that God has no hand in wickedness whatsoever--as it is literally impossible for God to sin (in any way). But, if we mean by this statement, "What happened was outside of God's control or sovereignty; and that the evil was propagated by a force that God could not (and did not) control"--then, we have fallen into a serious theological mistake, that goes by the name of Dualism: the idea that God and Satan have equal power; and they are fighting it out.
As an ancillary to this response (above), it is true that the devil, his demons, and wicked human agents are indeed responsible for the evil actions--but this fact does not negate the reality that God superintends everything that happens in the universe of His creation.
Yet another possible response would be, "God would have liked to prevent this evil action; but He was not strong enough to do so." This view, of course, is sub-Christian; and the name we give this heresy is "Finite godism." (The Rabbi Kushner proposed this rehashed error in his 1981 book, entitled, "When Bad Things Happen To Good People.")
Another response that sinners sometimes have regarding evil events, is the demand that God be held accountable; that He give a reason for what happened. This is where things typically start getting gnarly; and where sinful pride begins to show itself. The truth is, God is not beholden to any of us; and He is not required to give answers or reasons for what He Himself does (which is always good and right); or for what His fallen creatures do (which is always tainted with sin, and sometimes manifests itself in monstrous wickedness). The bottom line is, we are permitted to ask, "Why?"; but we are not allowed to call Almighty God to account (for anything).
Now, I would like to consider a danger that may befall God's people; and then give some helpful encouragement (to all souls who struggle with the existence of especially-palpable evil in the world). . . .
The danger, is to "double-down" on law or works or self or any kind of human religion (all of which is devoid of Christ and His gospel). Though this is a natural temptation, it only leads to more sin; and it encourages self-righteousness, (or, a "holier than thou" attitude).
The way we should view human evil is through the same lens by which we should look at anything and everything else in the universe: through the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. When we do this, we recognize that God the Father allowed His one and only beloved Son to suffer the worst evil the world could ever experience or imagine. Also, as we do this, we come to understand--if we are regenerate Christian churchmen--that we ourselves put the blessed Messiah on that cruel cross. (He died there for our sins and iniquities--not for those who would never avail themselves of His redemptive sacrifice.)
The truth is that we Spirit-indwelt Christians serve an inscrutably fearful God. (This is one of the reasons we properly are said to fear Him.) We simply have to accept the fact that we cannot understand or comprehend why some of His faithful children die (even violently) at a young age (for instance); and why some of His (God's) most notorious foes live to old age (for instance). This does not make our God completely unpredictable; but it does hold us in a humble and dependent frame--(which is good for us). Though His ways may well seem strange to us, we may be certain that they all serve His great twin goals: to glorify the Names of the Persons of the Holy Trinity; and to bless and build up the true body (church) of Christ.
Notorious acts of wickedness in the world do remind the church that Jesus and His Gospel of Grace is the world's one and only hope. We are called upon to put all our faith and trust in Christ; to spread His good news everywhere; and to patiently endure affliction and evil--even as we anticipate His return in glory.
We may also accept these following truths as Biblical (and self-evident): that the True (and Only) Triune God is good, holy, righteous, pure, powerful, loving, gracious, just, merciful, compassionate, tender, benevolent, eternal, infinite, and magnificent in every way. All of this is perfectly demonstrated for (and to) us in the Person of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, about Whom this is said, in Heb. 1:3a: "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." [ESV]
Rev. Mark J. Henninger
Treatise #24
15 September 2025
Comments
Post a Comment