NIV Quest Study Bible: Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen?

Bible Gateway Blog ^ | September 16, 2019 | Jonathan Petersen

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

No one knows the mind of God, except for God himself. He is infinite; we are finite. We are not entirely clueless about his character, however, because God speaks to us through his Word. According to the Bible, one reason bad things happen is because the whole world is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19). That’s why Jesus taught us to ask God to deliver us from the evil one when we pray (Matthew 6:13). Even in the Garden of Eden — in paradise, before Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit — Satan was already there, waiting to tempt them to disobey God (Genesis 3:1–6).

Another reason bad things happen is because people sin. The reason why God allows people to sin and be tempted to sin is not for us to know — at least for now (Deuteronomy 29:29). What we do know is that when bad things happen, we should not rage against God. To revolt against God is to fall prey to the devil. The devil is a liar (John 8:44) and wants us to believe that God is blameworthy. But the Bible says that God is light; in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). God is not the enemy; Satan is the enemy. Through his Spirit God empowers us to war against the enemy by following Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior — during good times and bad times.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

I use NLT, by the way, for those concerned about NIV.

[plain talk]

Thanks for posting. NIV is fine.

[javie]

Not
Inspired
Version

[Jemian]

I use the NASB.

Why do bad things happen to good people? This topic is as old as Job. God did not give Job a specific answer to this question and I have not seen where He has been more explanatory. Knowing the character of God, we can trust Him no matter what comes our way. I cling to the answer Job gave his wife in Job 2:10 "But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” IMO, anything more is speculation.

HTH

[Fido969]

Another reason bad things happen is because people sin.

Sin? Then why do little babies get cancer?

[tired&retired]

Sufferings are the guardrails on our road to finding God.

We get off the road and we suffer.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

If people thought becoming a Christian was just a “get out of jail free” card we would have young people saying to their friends..”Here! Hold my sody-pop and watch this!”
Then they would do something real stupid.

[yarddog]

I have asked the same question and still am not certain.

Jesus said that the people who were killed at the collapse of the tower of Siloam did not die because of sin. He said they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I also think it has to do with free will.

[AzNASCARfan]

I have actually been wondering and praying about that since I watched this video...
“NIV or King James version?” https://youtu.be/3tv8CTra5XY
and it talking about over 64,000 words having been removed from NIV as compared to King James.
That said, I have an Interlinear Greek/English with the NIV off to the side and had already noticed that there are parts of original text that were converted to English in my Interlinear portion and left out on the sidebar NIV version, I guess my question would be if I had the same Bible with King James off to the side would I find the same sort of stuff?
I really liked the plain English part of NIV... The other thing I find really interesting, is that I have done some bible studies with a couple different pastors, one using NASB and the other the Old King James version and both of them as they read a verse and then went to clarify or explain it, said exactly what my bible said in the first place.

[GSWarrior]

Because God is interested in how his children react when bad (and good) things happen. He has no control over natural disasters, etc.

IMHO

[nevadapatriot]

>I also think it has to do with free will.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Masthead right there

[terart]

I believe God gave us free will and so sometimes bad things are a result of choices we make and then there are bad things like the death of loved ones like your mom. Sometimes I wonder why it seems the wonderful ones die and the pieces of trash seem to live on forever or why don’t we see justice or why didn’t God step in when some thing horrible happens.

I have to sit back and rely on my belief that the Lord is the true avenger as He says in Hebrews, Proverbs and Romans and He will handle it all in this world or the next and that despite bad things that happen God said how much more does he love me if he cares for the smallest of sparrows....only thing that brings me comfort as I see this world slide downwards.

In the meantime, Satan’s horde roams this earth to cause destruction and influence people toward evil until his time is up. I think at this point they are working overtime to destroy as much as possible.

[Quality_Not_Quantity]

Sin? Then why do little babies get cancer?

Did you not read the word 'another' in TSR's response?

[ConservativeMind]

NASB is my “go to” version, too

[taterjay]

The question has become a huge stumbling block for some of the current worship leaders. So, much so they are giving up on Christianity.

Faith gives hope and urges us on. Where are the leaders that say ‘Bring it on’ or ‘Do your worst’? No, I can’t figure a hard question, so I quit.

It is a bummer this world isn’t perfect, but man messed that up to.

[TexasGator]

“Sin? Then why do little babies get cancer? “

How many died in the Great flood?

[OneVike]

I wrote this some 10 years ago and shared it on FR back on 11/8/09. Let me know if it helps. Ultimately we live in a fallen world due to sin, and while it rains on the just and the unjust, perfection for the just who believe in Christ will only take place in the after life with Christ in heaven. While here, we trust in God through Christ to give us the grace we need to face the evils that befall us all due to the introduction of sin.

Here is the FR link to the post and the 96 responses it received, Why Does God Allow Christians to Suffer? It pretty much covers why Christian has problems with suffering in this fallen world.

by One Vike

Why does God allow there to be evil in the world? After all, are we not all created in the image of god? Many ask, and few seem to have good answers, for why God didn’t just create us so that we would never have to experience pain, suffering, and sadness. He has the power to make the world free of evil, yet He chose instead make us creatures with free will. Thus, free will was the door left open for the possibility of evil to exist. If we have the right to chose between right and wrong, there is a 50% chance that we will chose to do the wrong thing and thus suffer the consequences of our sin. But why did He not just make us all good? Why must we live with the possibility that we, and others, may chose to do something that will harm us and the world we live in. After all, is he not a loving God? Either He’s not as powerful as we’re led to believe, not as perfect as we’re led to believe, or He’s just another abusive father who enjoys watching his children suffer. What’s the purpose? Why does God allow evil and suffering?

God could have made us perfect without the ability to sin, and we would have never known pain and suffering. To do so however, would have meant that we would not have free choice in whether or not we would love Him. We would be like Chatty Cathy dolls mimicking whatever it is He wanted to hear us say and forcing us to do exactly what he wanted us to do. Is that the kind of life you would wish to live? Well, obviously God did not think so; He made us creatures with a free will. That free will allowed Adam and Eve to disobey of their own volition and partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They exercised the right of choice that God had given them. They could have refused to disobey God’s command about the fruit, but they did not. Because they didn’t, we have the sin that has been passed down. All of us, believers and non-believers alike, wrestle with the daily struggles of the “Adam and Eve” within us. Only through the power of Jesus’ Holy Spirit in us can we truly have victory over the nature that was handed down to us.

As Christians, we should all know this already, but so many cannot complete the picture when they face sorrow and pain. This is why so many Christians inevitably ask the question, “Why am I suffering God? Why do my loved ones suffer?” But wait… there’s more. What if on the day we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were given God’s total and complete protection, so nothing bad ever happened to us again? Well, do you remember what Satan said to God about Lot?

“Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Job 1:9-11

Can you imagine what would happen if God did put a hedge about us on every side? Would not the people of the world who do not know Christ, say:

“So what, that you love God. Anybody would love God if He protected them the way He does you. I’m not impressed. Your God doesn’t offer me anything; I live in the real world.“

However, what if on the other hand, those people were watching us suffer? They saw the way we dealt with the same issues of pain, suffering and disappointment as they deal with. Yet we still looked to our Father in heaven with love and gratefulness for His loving mercy that allows us to be free enough to learn and grow through our trials and tribulations. Consider the following passages, the next time you ask, why does God allow pain and suffering in a Christian’s life?

There was the time when the apostles were flogged and ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus. When they were released they considered it worthy to be able to suffer for the name of Christ. Acts 5:40-42 We are told by Christ that when people persecute us and falsely say all kinds of evil against us because of Him, that we should “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven will be great.” Matthew 5:11-12 James tells us that we should consider it all joy when we encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance. James 1:2-4 These and other passages like them describe rejoicing, not in spite of the suffering, but because of it. Remember what Paul says about not losing heart over the fact that our flesh is decaying with age and infirmities,

“…because our trials will renew our spirit daily…………for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal,” 2 Cor 4:16-18

This is the same man who just a few short paragraphs later described the many trials and tribulations he went through. He endured imprisonments, beatings with whips and rods, he was stoned not once but three times and left for dead. Three times he was shipwrecked, threatened by robbers, Gentiles, Jews, attacked by wild animals, bitten by a poisonous snake, left cold, hungry, thirsty, and suffered many other hardships for the gospel of Christ. 2 Cor 11:23-27 Through it all Paul ran the race well. People saw that his faith in God was persistent, consistent, and profound. And they learned to trust Paul’s God, not in spite of his pain and misery, but Praise God, because of it. Paul was the greatest and most successful evangelical missionary preacher the world had ever seen. It was his suffering along with that of the other apostles that eventually changed an empire. Tertullian said that, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church“. It is through times of struggle and hardships that we as Christians can shine the brightest and reach more of the lost, that is, if we react to our pain and suffering in the way Christ did.

Use the comfort you get from God in your suffering as training so you might comfort others. Teach those who don’t know the Lord to lean on Him in their suffering by leaning on Him in yours. Show them that you love Him and trust Him and know that He’ll see you through even this. Bring them to Him as your faithful, loving father in your times of trouble. Show them who He is. Remember that we as Christians, must willingly approach our infirmities and hardships, knowing that we hold a greater prize before us after this life than this world can ever offer. That is what we have to teach the world. So ask not why you suffer, but praise God for the chance to shine and be an example as our Lord was for us.

But you may then reply that your suffering from a debilitating disease or terrible accident is not truly suffering for Christ sake. Oh, but your sufferings certainly are. Why? Because people are watching you and they are seeing how you as a Christian respond to the cruelty of this world. In your suffering, you need Him more than ever. Show them what a wonderful, comforting Lord you have. Give purpose and meaning to your suffering. Remember that the good times will never be as productive for Him as your bad times will be. Rejoice that Jesus has considered you worthy of suffering in His name. Carry your infirmity and shame with a sense of worthiness so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. For a day will come when you shall be given a crown of righteousness, and forever your pain and suffering shall be over and forgotten, as you spend eternity in the presence of the great, I Am.

[TexasGator]

“It is a bummer this world isn’t perfect, but man messed that up to.”

God created imperfection?

[Manly Warrior]

1) God Almighty gave man ownership of the world.
2) He gave man authority over the creation.
3) Adam, by intentionally disobeying Gods only command, abdicated that authority to Satan ( the former Worship leader of heaven, now cast to the earth along with his followers after rebellion and usurpation was found in him.
4) Mankind lives in a world where the Prince of this World ( Satan) like to and intends to destroy mankind because he (Satan) has no place in either Heaven or this world, and he knows it. So, he uses both sinful man and natural forces to wreck havoc on man, who unlike he, can indeed be redeemed.
5) Jesus has restored the authority of man on earth to himself at his crucifixion and marvelous subsequent resurrection, retaking it from Satan, and will restore the world at the second coming, and will remanufacture the world to its intended state at the end, and all mankind, living and dead will be judged based on deeds (bad prospects there) and cast into hell (none will pass that test, no not one!) unless found in the book of life. Finally, God Almighty will establish His dwelling with mankind on the new earth and eternity future ensues!

If you need references, open you Bible or PM me.

The whole of the account of God and man in a snapshot.

Until then, we live in a fallen world. Where will you spend eternity?

[TexasGator]

“God could have made us perfect without the ability to sin, and we would have never known pain and suffering. “

God wanted us to suffer?