Subject: Suffering and God's providence |
Bible Note: Hi Doc! Hope you had a good day off. It seems all the verses you cited, for the most part, involve God’s judgment against the ungodly, the sinner. None are suggesting that God is inflicting suffering upon believers, that is, the ones who are faithful to him, the godly. Is there any reference to God inflicting suffering on one who is godly? I did not say all suffering is caused by one’s personal acts of sin, although I will say, in general, that suffering is always associated with sin. If there were no sin, there would be no suffering. We are all victims as well as perpetrators of sin. In Luke, Jesus seems to affirm universal guilt: “unless you repent you will, in the same way, perish.” As such, Jesus was associating sin with suffering in general. As far as John 9, again, Jesus did not answer the question of guilt or innocence but ignored it altogether; nor is he saying that God caused the suffering. Jesus is preoccupied with what God will do in spite of it. Furthermore, God showed his glory, not by inflicting suffering, but by healing. The study of “God Himself” is what has led me to believe as I do. I disagree with the Baptist Confession. I also cannot agree with Edwards that the sovereignty of God, when properly understood, is a stumbling block. I am of the opinion that certain views, Biblically unwarranted, of divine sovereignty are a “stumbling block on which thousands fall and perish.” I can agree with Wright and Piper’s statement at face value; it all depends on what they mean by certain terms used, like “rule,” “govern,” and “sovereign.” As omnipotent as God is, someone wrote something to the effect that God cannot rightly do to men (whom he created) whatever it is in his power to do to them. Please allow me at this point ot make it clear that I am not attempting to influence anyone to my views. I am only sharing them. |