Discipleship Class 2007 -- Assignment#2
Dear Discipleship Class,
Here are this weeks questions for thoughtful response:
On Thursday we talked about the 2 underlying themes relating to the Kingdom of God, which are:
1)The Sovereignty of God
&
2) The Problem/Mystery of Evil
A. Explain what the two terms mean.
B. Talk about how you would answer this pre-Christians objection:
"How can you believe in a God who would allow so much evil happen in the world? You Christians talk about a God of love, where is this God of love in Africa, as thousands die of HIV/AIDS every day?"
Thanks for your thoughtful responses!!
posted by Rev. Steve @ 2:50 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
A)
The Sovereignty of God refers to God’s authority. Sovereign means king, and Christ is king over all things. Christ has all power because he is the creator. We dwell in the creation of our father, and as his creation we are under his authority.
The problem or the mystery of evil is that we know little about it. We do not know the origins of evil, but we know evil exists. There is an established kingdom of darkness and it is very active in the world today. There is a declaration of war; evil has a will and its purpose is to destroy. Evil is deceptive and is often disguised by light.
B)
It is often difficult to ask “God why are these things happening? Are you unjust?” We have to realize that evil in the world today is caused by the hand of man, not God. God does not sit in heaven and think about all the ways he can screw with his creation. Things happen in the world for a reason, to teach us something. We live in an imperfect world. God is love, and we see this love in the men and women he sends to places like Africa to help with the AIDS virus.
A.
Sovereignty of God I think that the sovereignty of God is refering to the ruling authority of God. Much like a citizen is under the authority of their president, king, dictator, emperor, etc, as the creation of the all powerful ruler, we are under God's authority.
Problem/Mystery of Evil I think that many will agree on the existence of evil but not necessarily its source or extent of impact. I think the mystery lies in where we need to acknowledge the work of evil without blaming everything we do on the devil. There are signs of evil to be seen. We have been told that the enemy comes with the purpose to steal, kill, and destroy.
B.
Knowing and believing in God also means knowing and believing that there is a purpose behind all things. While God does not intend for his people to suffer, we see over and over that God allows his people to suffer for a purpose/reason that could only be seen by him at that time. We often look at a situation and ask God "How could you be doing this?" rather than "How are you using this?" God is always with his people. He never leaves. I just think that what we find is what we seek. The world is not seeking the evidence of the hand of God, we are seeking the opposite, the absence of the hand of God. Therefore, the love of God is present in Africa with the people affected by HIV/AIDs with the placement of different peoples with different purposes: missionaries, healthcare, etc.
A.1)God is the highest King and He will always be that highest King. He has authority over all that He made, which is everything.
2)Evil is trying to take God's power and turn us away from Him. Evil is not stupid. It is not dressed in signature red clothes with pitchfork and horns. It is out to deceive every last one of us. It is stong and without God it will win us over.
B. God gave us free will. He wanted us to choose Him. That is why we are special and different from all the other creatures on this planet. The down side is that we are also free to disobey God and follow the path of evil, which in turn has a negative effect on this world and those in it.
A. The sovereignty of God; It is talking about how much power God has. That he has no boundaries and that he made everything and is the ruler of everything.
B. The problem and mystery of evil it that, even through it was defeated on the cross it still wants to destroy and contain the good news. The other thing that is not nice about evil, is that it usually comes in the form of an Angle of light: so it looks good for a time, but then sin gives birth and is fully grown it brings forth death.
C. Well the first part, is that evil will rein for a time, but then will be brought to justice for what it has done. I would say that God loves them and wants them to fallow him, but also this time that we are on earth is only for a short while. We are not of this world, and are home is with are King, which we will spend all of eternity.
A.)
1.) The Sovereignty of God refers to God’s reign over His kingdom. He has created everything, and thus, He is the rightful king of everything we see, including all of the people of the world. It is our calling, as His creation and part of His kingdom, to follow Him.
2.) The Problem/Mystery of Evil is that it is “disguised as an angel of light.” Satan is smarter than we are, so evil usually comes packaged with temptation. What we know is wrong may also seem exciting or fulfilling at first sight. Maybe we are so excited that we even overlook the wrong of the situation. In the end, we are easily lured into making poor choices that will allow evil to scar our hearts, minds, or bodies in the long term. Sometimes we try to hide our falls to evil, expecting that the consequences will pass or that the problem is not significant. This can only ensure that we will continue to feel the pain from our sins. In reality, all sins, no matter how small, are significant because they do not bring glory to God. In not bringing glory to God, we bring glory to Satan, so we must call out to God, asking for forgiveness and for strength against future temptations. Otherwise, we are living in a world surrounded by evil, glorifying the Devil, and succumbing ourselves to an unnecessary pain.
B.)
God does not allow evil. We allow evil into our lives and into the world because we are imperfect. Our imperfection is the hole through which Satan enters into our daily routines. Our God is a god of love, but it is difficult for Him to enter our hearts and fix the problems of the world if we do not give Him the keys. Even the “best” Christian has probably rejected God in some aspect of his or her life at some time, whether it was a conscious decision or not. When we do this, we expose ourselves to Satan and to evil. If the entire world consisted of perfect followers of Jesus Christ, then Satan and evil could not exist. However, that is not the case because we are imperfect beings, merely saved by the grace of God.
1. God is a sovereign God. He is the creator of the universe and therefoe is all powerful. This is what sovereign means, he has authority because this is his creation. To me, sovereignty also means that God is all powerful and wise, and because of that He is also merciful.
The mystery of the origin of evil is just that: a mystery. The Bible is not clear about where exactly evil comes from, but it does manifest itself first through the form of a serpent in the garden of Eden. Even though we do not know where evil came from it is obvious that it can quickly manifest itself in disguising forms...the desire to know all or take the easy road.
2. It is extremely difficult to understand why these things happen. I think it is also impossible to know the full purpose of God in these happenings. What we do know though, is that God is a loving God and he would never mean for this to happen specifically. In John 11:4 Jesus heals Lazarus of his sickness and states that the purpose of his sickness was not for death, it was so God would be glorified through it. I'm not saying that the AIDS epidemic is what God wants, but he is being glorified by people going to help and by people sent to share the Gospel with them. We can only pray that they will come to know God, and ask for his healing hand since all we need to do is ask and we will recieve.
A.
1)There was a idea that became popular in the seventeenth century that God was essentially a divine watchmaker-- He created a universe that was incredibly intricate and left it to run it's course. The Scriptures, though, don't seem to support this. God has and does take an active role in His Creation. Even the event of Christ in this world is evidence of His desire and ability to work within the lives that He crafted. He is sovereign, as is His right as Creator, but He is an active ruler that gives us both freedom (such as that to accept or reject Him) and guidance (drawing souls into His kingdom).
2. C.S. Lewis pointed out that if one man tries to trip you, and fails, and another accidently trips you, most likely your anger will be towards that man that failed, though he caused you no real harm. Evil seems to arise from separateness from God-- a person's deliberate choice to fall from the way that He wants us to live our lives. He gave us the spiritual and cognitive ability to respond to His message and shape our lives around it. Conversely, we can reject it and use corrupted human motives to design our actions. The result, a rebellion from God's will, is evil (no matter the short term consequences).
B. Evil, with God's will, can be turned around. The situation in Africa and other Third-world nations is tragic, and I do not mean to minimize it. Yet the knowledge that this is happening in our world has mobilized many people to give up their lives in an effort to alleviate it and bring the word of God to these people. God does not love these people any less than He does a healthy, wealthy person in the U.S. He has shaped their lives, differently from ours, but still in the purpose of bringing us to Him. I can't even pretend to understand what His plan is in these countries. I know, though, that He has one and that He has called His people to intervene in lives like these, taking care of both their physical and spiritual needs. If there were not such dire need, we would not be as motivated to attend to it. After all, the persecution of the early Church was vicious-- yet it caused to message of Christ to be spread through the known world.
Divine-ultimate-complete authority - the sovereignty of God is hard to grasp.I've struggled w/ this question all week b/c I couldnt answer it right away and I still can't. God is amazing and acknowledging His unmatchable power and then being reminded of His grace and love for His children is humbling, breathtaking, undescribable.
The problem w/ evil is that it often acts as a wall for God's children to come to Him, but yet again it is the devils foothold in this world. Spiritual warefare is very much alive. Prior to this year I really never understood the depth of the concept, but God opened my eyes in a very personal way. God's rescued me from Satans grasp on me physically, but why did it take a physcial attack for me to recognize the power of evil?For me the problem was not taking God's word seriously about evil and the very real power Satan holds. Satan disguises himself in many different forms with the one objective of destroying anything God has made good.
B)Romans 1:19-20 - Since what may be known about God is plain to them, b/c God has made it plain to them.For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that men are w/out excuse.
This verse is so true and although yes- it's hard to understand why God allows death and diseases such as HIV/AIDS to kill the masses - No one can deny God's beautiful creation and through His creation one has to recognize that we are created by a loving God. Sometimes God doesnt make sense, but I would press that you have to trust that God works for the good and He has a perfect purpose for everything.
Kevin's response:
A) The Sovereignty of God tells of his superiority over the primitive race referred to as humans. I like to liken God's sovereignty to that of a human king over his subjects. This imagery is something I can rap my mind around. However, God's sovereignty extends farther than power. His character, love, grace, justice, ect. is greater than I can even try to comprehend. An aspect of God's fathomless character is allowing us our free will and then dying for us so that all may have an opportunity to unite with God. It is better to serve such a Sovereign God who has my personal welfare in mind, than to live on our own, limiting our potential by fleeting desires.
The Problem or Mystery with Evil is that it is both an external battle and internal battle. An act of sin is an act against God, there is a part in every person to be their own masters. In addition there is a spiritual force that desires to prevent or hinder our relationship with God. It is subtle and focuses on our greatest struggles or weaknesses. Evil hides behind rationalization and tries to cover its destructive character by only revealing the immediate benefits.
B) Suffering is a product of the initial rebellion against God and my rebellion against God. He had no desire to infect the world with such things as AIDs, but since Adam and Eve and I chose to rebel against Him pain exists. It is a fallen world that needs God even though we do not deserve Him. His character isn’t revealed in the suffering around us, the suffering is because of me and everyone else. An act of God is in flowers that decorate the world, in someone who encourages you, in your parents who love you, and in organizations and people who work to show the kids and families in Africa love and hope.
A.) The soveriegnty of God is a term used to describe God's authority over all creation. Colossians 1:15 states: "15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."
The mystery of evil is a problem because since the fall of man in the garden of Eden, we cannot adequately discern good from evil. That is why we need the Spirit of God and His word to guide and direct us and teach us to discern good from evil. In Proverbs 14:12 Solomon says "There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death".
B.) This is a difficult question but can only be explained by the fact of the fall of man at the garden and that the result is the present state of our world is fallen. It is not operating the way it was created to operate and is full of evil. The Bible clearly states that evil entered the world at the fall and God has sent His Son to die and rise again so that those who believe would be rescued or saved from the evil state of the world. When our Spirit is saved through believing Jesus Christ, He gave us eternal life and nothing can overcome what He has given us, even if we lose our life in this world, He has given the way of escape to allow us to live forever by simply confessing His Name and believing in His salvation in our heart through faith. God is fully aware of evil and throughout the Bible tells of His plan to destroy it forever. The point is there isn't a way of escape from present evil in this world (Jesus said in this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world) because we will always have to live here, but there is a way of escape through living by His Spirit and escaping the evil desires of this world. He has given us the ability to live in fellowship and communicate with us on the deepest level of life - by His Spirit that we recieved when we confessed Christ.
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