Why do bad things happen to good people?

I am not trying to claim that I know why all evil happens. As a human with a finite view of history and no foreknowledge, there are many "bad" and seemingly "evil" things that happen to me and people I know. Some is consequences because of our wrong choices, others just do not seem to make sense. What I do know is that God is infinite and can see the whole picture. He knows why everything happens to us and why it happens when it happens. As a follower of Christ, I am comforted to know that "All things work together for good. For them that love God and are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28. This means that no matter what happens to me, God will use it to glorify Himself. Even though I will not always benefit, it is about God, not me.

Let's talk about a really hard question that needs to be answered. Why do bad things happen to good people? This question has plagued myself and our world since the beginning of history. Why would a good and loving God, allow evil and bad things to happen to us? I thought He wants the best for us, but when I look out into the world, why do I see tsunamis, earthquakes, fires, people killing one another? How could a good and loving God exist amongst all this evil? So let us try to tackle this tough question.

First of all, what is evil? Evil simply put is "not the way things are supposed to be." When I go back to Genesis 1, I read that God created everything and called it "good." So how did things become so bad? Well when God created us and mankind, He gave us free will to choose what we would do. He told us not to eat of the tree of knowledge or good and evil. But we chose to rebel against Him and we disobeyed through Adam and Eve's sin. Therefore, sin, death, and evil entered into the world not because God created it, but because man chose to rebel against God. He chose the thing that was evil.

So what is the consequence for evil? Ultimately it is death. Romans 6:23 says "The wages of sin is death." These wages or payment is a separation from God forever in a place called hell. It is also called a lake of fire where people will burn but never burn up. It is eternal torture.

So is man trapped to this? Are there really any good people? If the definition of "good" is holy and righteous, there is only 1 good person. God Himself. Everyone else falls short of the glory of God as Romans 3:23 tells us. So it is actually silly to ask the question, Why do bad things happen to good people? The right question is why do bad things happen to bad people. But wait, I think I just answered my own question. Bad things happen to bad people and since we are all bad and sinful apart from salvation in Jesus Christ, we deserve the bad things.

But this is the Beauty of Christianity. God does not just let us let us wallow in our evil, but He sent His son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins and defeat evil. This is the hope we have as Christians, that Jesus's death on the cross broke the chains of sin and death and one day, evil will be destroyed. Revelation 21:3-5 tells us that Jesus, in the end of time will wipe away every tear and there will not be pain or sorrow for the former things have passed away. He is making everything new! I remember how I cried when I shared about my friend Ryan's death in a motorcycle accident. One day, I won't need to be sad because I will be with Jesus and Ryan and everything will be new!

So why would a good and loving God allow evil? Maybe, maybe because a redeemed world is better than a world that could not fall. Maybe because the end is better than the beginning. Think about it. The story of our world begins in a garden and ends in a city. (Heaven) It gets better!

So can we find any comfort while we experience trials and tough times on this earth? Yes! For the Christian, we know that we have a God that suffers with us. Not only did Jesus die for our sins and take the punishment that should have been ours, but He also suffers with us as we got through tough times. He mourns with those that mourn and He comforts the broken hearted. Rejoice that We are the only religion that can claim this. No other God helps His followers as they suffer. But this is how much God loves us! And because of His love, you and I can endure whatever evil happens to us on this earth because we know one day, we won't have too!

Can I be sure I'm saved?

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We want to talk about assurance of Salvation! How can one actually know that they are born again? It talks in the Bible that we can know we are saved. 

John 5:24 

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes on him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."

If you are a believer and have accepted Jesus as your Savior, the devil wants you to have doubts. It's not uncommon for us to have doubts as Christians but there should be no reason to have them if we read the Bible and see what God says about it. He said we can know...

1 John 5:13

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life."

So when you become a Christian and are born again, God gives us the Holy Spirit and that's how we can know we are born again.

Rom 8:1 

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

The Holy Spirit will help us and that is what we need - to rely on him to help us get through our Christian life.

John 10:28

"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."

Once we are saved, no one can snatch us out of Gods hand. We are sealed and secured in God! If you're having doubts or fears about your salvation, remember these verses. We can know because we have the Holy Spirit.

Rom 10:13

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Salvation is a gift from God. He will not take it away from us if it's genuinely in our heart.

If you have fears and doubts about whether you are a Christian, or that you don't feel good enough, maybe you don't think God can forgive a sin you have committed! Always remember God will forgive you, its not a good enough reason to go and sin just because God will forgive us though...

If you are having doubts or fears, talk to God about it. Read the Bible too and see that God has offered us everlasting life which is forever and it cannot be taken away.

I hope this is an encouragement to you, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to ask us. We will do our best to answer them from the Bible.

Thanks for tuning in once again  

God Bless  

I'm a Christian.. but now what? How does a Christian act?

I’m a Christian. Now what? What is a new creature? How does a Christian act?

I am so excited that you decided to accept Jesus’s gift and become His child! I am rejoicing with God that you are now a part of the family of Christ! Over these last two months or so, you might have wondered, “Now that I’m a child of God, how do I live? I’ve made the decision to acknowledge that Christ is Lord of my life, now how do I live as a Christian?”

Great question. And kids, this is honestly a question that I, someone who got saved a long time ago when I was closer to your age, still have to ask myself! So, lets learn together, OK?

God wants you to get to know Him better! He wants you to spend time talking with Him in prayer and learning how He wants you to act. In addition to being the story of Jesus, the Bible is also like our “instruction manual” for life!

The Bible has so many things to say about how to behave and how not to behave. We follow these commands because we love Jesus, not because He is like a stern school teacher!

How do I get to know Jesus better?
Read the Bible each day! The Bible is His story, and has all the information that you need to learn more about who He is and how to live a holy—pure and good—life!
Spend time praying and talking with Jesus. Ask Him questions! Ask Him to help you be strong and follow Him. He wants to hear from you! He wants to talk with you!
Psalms 145:18 says “The Lord is near to everyone who calls upon Him.” Jesus cares about you and your troubles!

2. How do I say no to sin (or, bad things)? I want to be holy and good for Jesus, but how do I say no to Satan and his temptation?

In Romans 8, the Bible says:
“And because you belong to him [JESUS], the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death … God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins … [we] no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
… So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. You are not controlled by your sinful nature … you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.
Because of that, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit …
Selections from Romans 8.

So, basically this means that when you weren’t a child of Jesus, you were a SLAVE to Satan (the devil) and sin (doing bad things)! You couldn’t be free from sin! But here’s the good news! Now that you are a child of Jesus, He has FREED you from the power of sin! You can say no to the evil temptations of Satan.

This doesn’t mean that it will be easy!

Matt. 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

This means that to be a follower of Christ, you have to sacrifice—it will be hard living for Jesus and as His child when your family doesn’t believe in Jesus—when your friends think you are weird because you don’t go out and do bad things with them.

In conclusion:
1. Spend time with Jesus—reading the Bible and praying and talking with Him!
2. Remember, you CAN say no to bad things because you are now a child of Jesus.  Christ has made you into a NEW person! Make the choice to follow and say “yes” to Him every day!