Why do bad things happen to good people? And why do good things happen to bad people?
• When the twin towers of World Trade Centre collapsed and killed nearly 3000 people, where was God?
• When the tsunami hit Japan and destroyed thousands of homes, where was God?
• When my wife died of cancer at the age of 35, where was God?
We all struggle with such questions. Our only conclusion is: Life is not fair!
• Our gut feeling tells us life OUGHT to be fair. We are disappointed when it isn’t, especially when we are on the receiving end of the unfairness.
• Those who don’t believe in God are stuck with their feelings. They have no resolution.
• Those who believe in God often face this difficulty: How can you believe in God, especially a good and just God, when there is so much injustice around? How can God be wise when He allows bad things to happen to good people?
These questions resonate within us. Even when we have experienced years of God’s goodness and faithfulness, one raw deal can make us ask these questions again.
• We struggled because we have yet to fully understand God. We just do not know Him enough.
• Today, we want to learn the attribute of God’s justice. Read Gen 18:22-33.
God saw the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah and was prepared to judge them.
• Abraham pleaded with Him. Remember that this is centuries before the Ten Commandments.
• Abraham, the father of faith, living in a polytheistic world and having no written Scriptures, instinctively knows (by revelation) something about the character of God.
• “Will the Judge of all the earth not judge righteously?” he asked. By faith, Abraham knew God’s character enough to know that there was a STANDARD.
(1) HAVE FAITH IN A JUST GOD
See that with faith, not with the lens of experience or the changing circumstances.
• Don’t interpret God through the sights and sounds of a fallen world we live in today.
• God is just, not because He obeys a standard; He himself is the standard.
• When we say justice needs to be served, we are basing it upon the laws of our country. We are referring to the legal system which we live under and must abide by. We must follow the rules of law. And lawyers in courtrooms try to debate over technicalities and argue over the legal terms, trying to beat around them.
God is not accountable to any law – He is the law. Justice flows from Him. It is who He is.
• He is not trying to follow a standard; He is the standard! We have nothing to fear.
• By faith, Abraham believed God to be just. And on that basis, he pleaded with Him. That is the premise we start with.
• Abraham was interceding for Lot (his nephew) and his family; they were in the city.
• God acceded to his request. If 10 righteous men could still be found in the cities, they would be spared.
We believe in a just God in an unjust world. We believe in a good God in a sinful world.
• Ps 97:2 “Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.”
• The picture is like, without these, the throne collapses. God cannot be understood apart from His justice. There is no such thing as an unrighteous God or unjust God.
Life in this fallen world may not always seem fair. But it is only this short span of time in God’s perspective of eternity. Eventually, His justice will reign.
• Isa 30:18 “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”
• Isa 42:3-4 “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope."
(2) WAIT FOR THE LORD
Jesus shared an enlightening parable about prayer in Luke 18:1-8
18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, `Grant me justice against my adversary.'
4 "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, `Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'"
6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
• In order words, between the injustice now and the justice that God will bring forth then, there is this period that I must TRUST the Lord.
• When I execute my final judgement, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Or would we have lost faith in a just God?
Ps 27:11-14 “Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”
One of the reasons why God delays His judgement is to give men opportunities to repent and turn back to Him.
• 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
• Delayed judgement is not injustice; it is the mercy of God.
• In the big picture, God makes all things right. Whether it is an immediate or delayed judgement, we leave it to the wisdom of God.
(3) DON’T TAKE VENGEANCE
Rom 12:19 “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.”
• Don’t live with bitterness and unresolved anger towards people who have wronged you. You’re keeping yourself in bondage.
• God has promised to balance the scales. He will take care of everything in due time.
For most of us, we may not take vengeance, but we think vengeance.
• You wish that this person will trip and fall, drop into the drain, demoted, transferred out, or sacked from school, whatever.
• It is the same - you are hurting yourself (and not the other person) and wasting your time.
• Let it go. You want your heart to be filled with peace and joy, and not bitterness and anger.
• Let God settle the score. In His time, He will take care of the situation fairly and fully.
We cannot right every wrong.
• There will be times you are wrongly accused or mistreated. People gossip behind your back. You get ripped off financially. You get passed over for a promotion. You are blatantly cheated. A friend betrays your confidence.
• Tell it to Jesus. If there is one person on earth who really tasted injustice, it was Jesus. He understands, so talk to Him about it.
Always take comfort in God’s justice when facing an unfair hardship.
We have on many occasions, people walking into the church and telling you their sad stories, not to get your sympathy and prayer support but your money.
I remember one healthy young man, from a supposedly very poor and broken family, telling me his story through tears. He was really crying, with mucus running down his nose and all.
I was moved, I gave him not just money but my can of biscuits and a new towel.
About 2 weeks later I heard from a friend who works in another church that this man visited them too, behaving the same way and telling the same story. He said he came to know that this man is a regular at churches.
I was angry, and I felt cheated. But later on, I reminded myself - ultimately God knows and He judges. On my part, I did what I needed to do. I did what I know is right and good. I am accountable to God for my action. If his needs were genuine, then I must help.
He has to account for his action one day to a righteous Judge.
Let God be the Judge.
(1) Have faith in a just God,
(2) wait for the Lord, and
(3) don’t take vengeance. Let go and let God do His part.
Close with the reading of PSALM 73 (391 words).
Dear friends, pray and accept Jesus as your Saviour today.
Heb 9:27 “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…”
John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
Prayer
O Lord God, you are holy and just. We treasure the sacrifice and atonement of Jesus. We let go of our desire to be just or to take vengeance in our own terms. We know that one day all humanity will stand before Your judgement seat. You are the deserving Judge of all the earth, so we bow patiently before you and wait in faith. We honour You as God over all things.
Help us remember that we too need to stand before God and give an account of our lives. Let us serve You with all our hearts, diligently and with love. In Jesus’ Name we pray, AMEN.
