Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

INTRODUCTION

 Open with the “A Hero’s Faithful Final Hour.” (www.crosswalk.com)

 Why did this have to happen to all these good people?

 I could sit up here today and read you story after story about the good people who died in 911 2001.

 Many people are asking “why”? If the people who died were people that were murders or rapists, most people would not question why this happened, but it happened to people that we deem as “good” people.

 Why does a loving God allow bad things to happen to good people? This question is as old as the earth. When you look throughout man’s history, you see bad things happening to good people. Remember clear back to Adam and Eve when Cain killed his brother Able because of jealousy in Genesis 4? What did Able do to deserve something like that to happen to him?

 Sooner or later every Christian faces the question: Why do bad things happen to good people? Skeptics will say that if God is good, He must not be all-powerful, other wise He would not allow evil. If He is all-powerful, He must not be good.

 Today we are going to tackle this question as we look at the book of Job. The book of Job addresses the question at hand more than any other portion of Scripture.

 The story of Job tells us of a wealthy man who was a good man who was about to lose everything he had except his life. Let’s see what we can learn from the book of Job about why bad things happen to good people.

SERMON

I. JOB’S CHARACTER 1:1-5

READ JOB 1:1-5

The Bible gives us some insight into the character of Job in the first five verses of the chapter. Job was a man of great wealth and was a man who was highly respected by all people. About Jobs character.

A. Blameless

 This did not mean that Job was perfect because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but what it meant was that as Job lived under the watchful eyes of his peers, no one could justly charge Job with any moral failure. His reputation was impeccable. He was without moral blemish and everyone who knew him knew that.

B. Upright

 This means that Job walked the “straight path”. Job did not deviate from God’s standards. Job walked the straight and narrow path that leads to life.

C. Feared God

 Job was filled with respect for God. He was not scared of God, but he had a reverent, healthy respect for God. Job did not take God or His commands lightly. Job honored God for who He was and he obeyed God because of that.

 It is like a young person who obeys their parents. The only reason they obey is because they love and respect who their parents are. When you take out the “fear” or respect, the young person will quit being obedient.

D. Turned from evil

 Job rejected all that was contrary to God’s holy character. To put it in our language, Job knew how to “just say no” to sin. Job had the strength of conviction to resist and reject sin.

Job had health, wealth and a wonderful family. He was the greatest man of east according to verse 3.

Job was a wonderful father. Job so respected God and loved his children that in verse 5 he would make an extra sacrifice for his sons just incase they sinned against God in their hearts.

Job was not just an ordinary man. He was an extraordinary man. Job was a man who was wholly devoted to God. He is the last person one would expect bad things to happen to.

II. JOB’S CATASTROPHE 1:13-2:9

 Explain what is happening between God and Satan in verses 6-12.

READ VERSE 8-12

 We really do not know what prompted God to mention Job other than the fact that Job was such an upright man.

 Satan implied that if Job lost all his stuff, that Job would course God. God was going to allow Satan to test Job.

The Catastrophes READ VERSES 13-22

 Look at how Job responds to what happened to him in verses 20-22. Job was upset about what happened, that is why he tore his robe and shaved his head. Even though he lost all that he possessed, Job did not sin or blame God. Job’s grief did not mean that he lost faith in God, it showed that he was human and that he was hurting. There is nothing wrong with expressing grief and sorrow when things happen.

 When bad things happen, one of the first things that many people do is to blame God. Job would have no part of this at this time.