When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Isaiah 57:1-3
When I was young, I remember hearing a song by Billy Joel titled “Only the Good Die Young.” This song makes the statement that the Catholic girls “start much to late.” He is encouraging them to give up their virginity because “only the good die young.” Joel says for since this must happen sooner of later, that he “might as well be the one.” The funny thing is that the first time I heard the song was at a Knights of Columbus youth rally which my Catholic friend invited me to. This hypocrisy is not limited to the Roman Catholic Church as I have seen such short-sighted thinking at many other churches as well.
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Isaiah addresses a similar complaint in this morning’s passage in chapter 57. Isaiah had a very long ministry as well as being a prophet of future times. We do not know what particular incident triggered Isaiah to pen these words given to him by the Holy Spirit. It would be nice to know as it would serve as a gold illustration. But this is not necessary as the complaint is timeless. why are the good taken away from this life when they are young? In other words, from a human perspective: “Why do the good die young? The 50 cent theological term is “theodicy.” It seems that all too often that the good die young while the wicked live long lives. How does God answer this charge?
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God answers that people do not see things as He sees them. We remember that Scripture asserts: “Precious in His sight is the death of His saints (Ps 116:15). He could this be if He did not have a greater purpose for them? Such a text implies that there is a batter future prepared for us. So says Revelation 14:13 “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”” Here Isaiah says that by taking the good, He is preserving them from evil. Instead of having to face evil times, they shall rest on their beds in peace. They had shown mercy in this life and will obtain a greater mercy fro the LORD. (Matthew 5:7)
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One must also consider this verse in Matthew 19:17 “So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”” Paul adds in Romans 3:10-12
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Romans 3:10–12 NKJV
As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
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If there is none good, then it can not be truly said that “only the good die young” because there is no one who is good. The only truth is that all will die as the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) But even though no person is good in an absolute sense, there are those who reflect the image of God and His character more favorably than others. Even though we fall short, we must strive to live after the example of His Son. When we are merciful, we witness to the mercy of God. But we must also realize that when we attempt to live godly after the example of our Lord that we shall suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). This may even include the laying down of our lives for Jesus’ sake.
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Unfortunately, the ungodly misunderstand why the good die young. this is why they say: “only the good die young.” Therefore, they conclude that they should continue to enjoy sin because the corollary of the good dying young is that the wicked shall live to a ripe old age and prosper. But not only do they not consider why the good apparently die young, they equally do not consider why God who is the judge of all lets them live. They do not consider what is written in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” The Hebrew word “Chesed” can mean merciful. But is also can be translated “longsuffering.” The Hebrew word is used to describe the merciful and if often used to describe God’s longsuffering mercy to the undeserving. The rest of chapter 57 of Isaiah goes on to describe the true peril of the wicked and their idolatries. A terrible judgment from which the righteous are spared is coming to the wicked. The good news is that while it is still day and the wicked have breath, they still have time to reconsider where they stand with God. They can repent and find mercy.
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As only Jesus who died young as the righteous one in behalf of all of us sinners actually has the promise to be rescued from the evil times to come and enter into the promised rest, we can only share in His promise by believing on Him. Earlier in this message, we heard Jesus’ promise in the Sermon on the Mount that the merciful shall obtain mercy (from God). This is a promise given to all of Jesus’ disciples. In this we might think that our finding mercy is contingent upon our being merciful. But God’s mercy actually comes before our being merciful. If God were not merciful, we could never be saved. There is mercy that goes before. This is God’s mercy to us in Jesus Christ. Then when we are born again, we not bear the restored image of God and are able to show mercy to others who do not deserve it. We become the merciful by which we receive the ultimate mercy. It is God’s mercy through and through.
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The question then is how can we be merciful to the wicked ad the unbeliever? There are individual acts of mercy such “as we forgive those who trespass against us.” When someone fails to repay their debts against us, we can remember that we once had an unpayable debt to God. God showed us the greater mercy. So we should show the lesser mercy to those who trespassed less. This is certainly a good witness.
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But there is a greater act of mercy than this. Even as we have been made righteous and obtained the great mercy of God in Jesus Christ, we show great mercy to the sinner by proclaiming the gospel to them, even if they give it no consideration. But perhaps the will and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. There is no greater mercy than this. Some might react to this mercy violently, even to the point of including us among the good that die young, But the biggest problem with the world’s saying is that it is simply not true at all. Surely some good die young. But others live in this world to a ripe old age. Stephen died young, but John the Apostle lived at least into his 90’s. God fulfilled His purpose in them both, and both are entered into their eternal reward, It isn’t the length of life in this world that matters but eternal life in Christ.
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The same can be said of the unbeliever. We see some of them who are amongst the elite are veritable fossils, not every unbeliever dies old. In fact, many wicked live short miserable lives. Consider this! The wicked have no guarantee of seeing tomorrow. The Bible says that the wicked should repent while it is still called “today.” (Hebrews 3:13) Consider the admonition from Hebrews 9:27: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” We, to whom these words once pertained. must share this warning to the world. The end of the age is coming. Time is short. May God reveal his offer of mercy yo the unbeliever through you. Amen.
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