Session 12: Section 2

The problem of suffering

We are including this section for a very important reason. The problem of suffering is a difficulty for many people. We would like to lead you to some Bible principles and passages that can help.

If you are tempted to ask, "Why doesn’t God stop all this evil going on in the world?", remember that if He stopped other people doing what they want, He might also stop you doing what you want. God wants people to obey Him out of choice, not by compulsion. God could have created a race of robots if unthinking obedience was all that He wanted.

We see, right at the beginning of things, that God gave a command which He wanted to be obeyed.

Having been given total freedom of choice, Adam and Eve chose to challenge God’s authority and they disobeyed. God then had to do something in response.

Suffering and death are a result of rebellion against God.

We all follow Adam and Eve’s example in generally wanting our own way rather than God’s.

Suffering arises out of God’s response to sin. Some people find it difficult to accept that God causes evil things to happen. As we saw in Genesis 3 verses 17 and 18, the adverse conditions in agriculture were brought about by God.

God was instrumental in bringing disaster on Egypt in the time of Moses:

God brought problems to the prophet Jonah:

Job, an early Old Testament character, realised that God sometimes brought problems and suffering into people’s lives:

But there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that when suffering occurs it is always attributable to a particular act by the sufferer. On one occasion Jesus was asked whether a man was born blind as a result of sin.

There is a similar example recorded in Luke’s Gospel:

In this instance Jesus was saying that suffering was a reminder that everyone will eventually die. At that stage it will not matter whether we have lived to ninety-five in luxury, or died at fifteen in poverty. It will be our relationship to God that will then matter.

Suffering need not be regarded as all negative. God can use suffering as part of His remedy for the rebellion against His authority. Suffering can often "stop us in our tracks" in life and make us think, more than we normally do, what life is all about.

This verse also shows that suffering helps our characters to mature and become more like God’s. If we will allow it, it prepares us for the time when there will be no more suffering.

The apostle Paul reminds his readers that problems are to be expected if they try to live a Godly life:

Summary

• God asks us to choose to obey Him.
• Disobedience to God is the cause of suffering.
• God uses suffering to remind people of their rebellious nature.
• There is not necessarily a link between particular sins and particular sufferings.
• God uses suffering to help people develop God-like characters.

Reading the Bible effectively

As you have now reached the end of this course it may be helpful to remind you of what you have learned about effective Bible reading.

Basic Bible study skills

Preparation

• Allow time
• Be comfortable
• Select a good translation

How to read

• Aloud
• Listen for "echoes"
• Ask yourself questions

When you don’t understand

• Be patient
• Look at cross-references
• Use concordances and lexicons
• Use other translations
• LET THE BIBLE ANSWER ITS OWN QUESTIONS

Principles and helps for effective Bible reading

Session 1

• The Bible is God’s message for us, giving real hope for the future
• It gives direction for living, and ignoring its message can be fatal

Session 2

• Genesis is the foundation of the rest of the Bible
• We cannot hope to understand the New Testament without the Old Testament

Session 3

• God has made agreements which are the basis of His plan with mankind
• Prophecy is given to help us put our trust in God

Session 4

• When we read the Bible, we must let it teach us
• Genesis to Judges overview showed us the early development of the Jews

Session 5

• How concordances can help us understand words used in the Bible
• A look at some words that are sometimes misunderstood

Session 6

• Overview of the period when kings ruled over the Jewish nation
• A look at some more Bible words

Session 7

• How cross-references can help us find "echoes"
• Evidence which shows that the Bible cannot be of human origin

Session 8

• God’s real purpose in creating the earth
• Overview of the Jewish nation from the kings up to the time of Christ

Session 9

• The differences between the various Bible translations
• A look at some more Bible words

Session 10

• The place of the Jews in God’s plan
• The balance of God’s mercy and judgement

Session 11

• Motivation to read the Bible
• Overview of the New Testament period

Session 12

• A final look at some Bible words that can be misunderstood
• A few Bible passages that help when considering suffering

We hope that you are now better equipped to understand the Bible for yourself than you were when you started the course. All these topics are designed to let the Bible speak for itself and give you its message, which we believe is of vital importance to us all. As it talks of matters relating to our life and death it is crucial that we understand what it is telling us.

Conclusion

We hope that this course has helped you to read your Bible more effectively.

Please e-mail us if you wish to discuss anything relating to either this course or any Bible-related topic or if you have any specific topic you would like to study.

Other Distance Learning Courses have been produced, based on other seminars held in various centres around Britain. The aim of these courses will be to help you to understand various books of the Bible, building on the information from this course. Please e-mail us if you would like details of these Distance Learning Courses as they become available.

Two of these new courses are now ready:

• a course which studies the book of Genesis
• a course which studies the gospel of Luke

A further course, studying the book of The Acts, is also in preparation and should be available by the end of 2005, God willing. If you would like to continue your studies by taking one of these courses, please click on the appropriated link below which will take you there. These new courses are also free of charge.

Finally, remember that the Bible contains God’s plan for us. Life is to be found in the Bible, and we have attempted to put you on the path to obtaining it. As you move forward, you have a choice: endless life or endless death. We encourage you to choose life, for both you and your family.

THE CHRISTADELPHIANS