Sunday Bible Class Notes - May 5, 2013 (Pain & Suffering)

How can a "good" God permit pain and suffering?

Implicit premises of that question...

• Pain and suffering are bad
• We are at liberty to question God
• A "good" God is incompatible with one who allows what we consider evil
• At least some people don't deserve pain and suffering
• God does not experience pain or suffering

Reasons for pain

1. Pain warns us
2. Pain lets doctors know how to heal us
3. Pain defines it's opposite - pleasure
4. Pain authenticates courage
5. Pain teaches us
6. Pain allows us to appreciate Christ's torturous death
7. We earned it

Reason for suffering - perseverance

• Suffering Perseverance demonstrate God's character through us
• Suffering Perseverance authenticates the source of our faith
• Suffering Perseverance allows us the opportunity to comfort those who suffer
• Suffering Perseverance allows us appreciate the depth and duration of Christ's torturous death
• Suffering Perseverance defines it's opposite - ease
• Perseverance in suffering for Christ identifies us with Him
• And, in the end, it really is what we deserve

Thoughts on Romans 8 (among others) - all humans deserve hell - ultimate pain, suffering and death. It is only by the infinite mercy and grace of our loving God that he spares even one of us the full force of what we have earned while we draw breath on this earth and confers the righteousness of Christ any of us. If all humans were to be cast into the lake of fire, God would still be perfectly just. If just one person were spared from punishment in hell, God would be infinitely merciful. As Christians, we suffer knowing that our pain is not wasted. Our pain and suffering will end. Our pain and suffering will not increase infinitely in eternity - in fact, just the opposite. Only by experiencing pain and suffering in this life are we able to understand just how incredible a gift we have been given in eternity through the sacrificial pain and suffering of Jesus on our behalf.

Discussion Questions

• Why did Jesus decline the anesthetic offered to him on the cross?
• Why did Jesus have to go through such pain and suffering? Wouldn't it have been good enough for him to just die?
• Do children born with birth defects deserve to experience such pain and suffering?
• How can a "good" god allow horrible things like schizophrenia?