God's Goodness in This Present Darkness Part 2

In my last entry you may recall, I showed from Scripture that our question of whether or not God is good when bad things happen, I hope I revealed to you from Scripture that we have been asking the wrong initial question. Before we can believe that God is good, we must first believe that He is God...

But I won't revisit my entire last entry, you can read it for yourself if you so desire! For now, let us focus on the task at hand, that is, explaining the other half of our question. Now that we know God is God (read my last entry), we can move on to the question with which we began:

How can God be good when this world around us is full of bad things?

Well as is the way things must be done if we are to have any clarity through the fog of a sinful world, let us look at the Word of God. I know that the world around us is full of evil, terrible things that make me shudder to think of them, but has it always been this way?

The short answer is no, Genesis 1:31 “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

When God first created this world it was good, and He Himself declared it to be so, and as I explained in my last discourse (part one of this discussion) it is not up to us to say anything as good, or bad, but up to God, who created it all, including you and me.

So if God declared His creation good, what happened? Well I mention this quite a bit, and I assume that many of you know the story of the Fall of man in Genesis 3. Quick recap: God gives man every plant in the garden to eat of but forbids them to eat from one, Satan takes this opportunity and makes the Eve doubt God’s goodness in denying them that one tree (though they had more than enough already) Satan tempts Eve, who gives in to doubt and commits the first sin, rebelling against God’s just decree. Thus sin entered the world, and every evil we see in the world today came with sin, including Old Death.

So sin is now here, and it is the reason that we ask: “How can God be good when there is so much evil in the world?”

It is man and the devil that are to blame for our current plight, and God, through it all has been working to restore us to Himself, where we find true joy, satisfaction and peace, but more on that later.

So for now we have this fact: God created this world good, but sin entered the world because of man’s disobedience (Romans 5:12). But does this answer the question? Not yet, Scripture has more to say about our God and whether or not He is Good.

Psalm 107:1 says this: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,  for his steadfast love endures forever!”

No need for interpretations there, the text is very clear about whether or not God is a good God, and we would do well to be convinced by such a simple promise as this glorious one. However, the fog and shadow of sin and the devil’s work in hindering us from growing close to our God is powerful, and so much more truth will I bring to the table, to convince even the most skeptical of souls. I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak through me…

Psalm 145:9 takes it further, expanding God’s goodness from the individual, you, to all of His creation: “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”

It would seem to me that the Psalmists were well convinced of the goodness of God, even in the midst of horrible trials. And yet, there is a caveat that we must see, one that is very important.

Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

No good thing… From those who walk uprightly. God’s goodness is expansive, but His favor is for those who walk according to His Word, and again, we cannot rightly question this, for we know already that He is God, and no one can question Him or say to Him “what have you done?”.

Make no mistake, any goodness we receive from God is mercy, for we do not deserve it at all, recall that in our sin we are enemies of God, and only the blood of Christ can reconcile us.

And yet, for those who do love God and serve Him there is significant promise of His goodness: here in Psalm 31:19 “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!”

God stores up goodness to pour out again on all those who fear Him, and the Proverbs will tell us plainly that a huge part of fearing God is hating evil (Proverbs 8:13) So the evil man must not expect much more that God’s mercy that He has for the world He created. Matthew 5:45-48 “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

So God is merciful on those who are against Him (for the time being, there will be a Day of judgement: Isaiah 2:12) and He is abundantly good to those who fear Him.

James 1:16-18 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

James give this warning to assure us that nothing good can come to us apart from God, even things that at the time seem evil.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

God does not do evil, but He will work through it, and if you take issue with that statement or do not fully understand that, I implore you to find one who is wiser in the Word of God than me, and have it explained more fully.

So can God be good in a world so evil? Well, yes. Scripture is clear, God created good, it is He that defines it, indeed He IS it! The only reason there is still any good at all in this world so full of devils and sinfulness is because God remains in sovereign control over everything, even the horrible, terrible things that happen to make us question whether or not He is good.

Do not presume though, for Paul gives this warning in Romans 2:4 “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (the word ‘kindness’ in the ESV is translated ‘goodness’ in other versions)

God’s goodness is meant to lead people to repentance and faith through His Son Jesus Christ, it is not an excuse for us to go on our way, sinning as we please. God is good in this dark world, if we will only taste and see.

Psalm 34:4-10 “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” (Italics added)

Taste and see! Let there be no doubt! The Lord is Good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

 

In the words of Martin Luther in his hymn “A Mighty Fortress is our God” he writes this:

 “And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.”

Nothing can overcome His will to do good to those who love Him and follow His Word.

And if you are still not convinced, I have saved my best evidence for last.

How do we know God is good in a world that seems so bad?

Easy answer: He sent His Son, the Only One to be the propitiation (substitute sacrifice) for our sins, taking all of the blame for our sins upon Himself (speaking of Jesus Christ of course) and gave us His perfect righteousness in return. (John3:16, Romans 5:6-11; 17-19, Isaiah 53:1-12)

So is God good? Well He didn’t leave us to suffer this sinful world alone. He gave us Christ Jesus to restore us to a right relationship with Him, which we could by no means achieve ourselves as we were dead in our transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1-5) He made us alive with Christ.

There is no greater goodness that to save us from His wrath against our sins and adopt us as sons and daughters through the blood of Jesus Christ.

So is God good in a world gone bad? Well let’s ask first: “Is God God?” Yes, He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth and no one can stay His hand or say to Him “what have you done?” (Daniel 4:35)

And yes, in spite of everything, God is good, He is the only good, and apart from Him, we can have nothing that is good. (James 1:17)

So how should we respond to God’s goodness?

Well first with repentance from our sins. (Romans 2:4)

Second with humility (Psalm 119:68)

Third with faith and trust (Psalm 34)

And finally with worship (Psalm 107:1)

Psalm 107:1 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,  for his steadfast love endures forever!”