A Christian response to Trials, Troubles, Sickness and Sorrows in the World. Pt. 1
Good morning
This morning I would like to pause from our Bible Character Studies so that we can think a bit about the major troubles people are facing all around the world.
Consider some of the global health issues that are causing sickness, suffering and death. In the United States the flu has sickened more than 22 million people, resulting in 12,000 deaths.
Corona Virus has been in the news a lot over the last few months. The number of reported cases keeps rising as does the death toll. It is causing great concern especially to those who live in China.
My heart goes out to all those suffering from such widespread diseases and especially to those dear folks in China. Corona Virus is causing much distress, anxiety and disruption to millions of Chinese citizens.
{These statistics are from the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control.}
We live in a world groaning under the curse of sin.
We live in a world struggling under the curse of sin. As a result of this diseases, troubles and hard times are a part of our lives in varying degrees. The fact remains that many people are suffering right and we ultimately want to know how the Christian should respond to those around us who are suffering.
Romans 8:18-23 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Each Christian is to live a hope filled life because God has told us that all the sufferings and injustice in the world will not last forever. There is coming a day when God shall put a stop to all of it and the Son of God, Jesus Christ will rule all nations with a rod of iron. (Revelation 2:27).
Is there suffering in the world? Yes! Is there bondage to sin and degradation? Yes! Is the entire creation groaning as a consequence of sin in the world? Yes! Is there travailing and pain in the world? Yes!
The word translated "sufferings" refers to hardship and pain; calamity and evil misfortunes. The word "bondage" refers to being enslaved to sin. "Corruption" refers to the misery of hell and moral decay.
The words "groaneth and travaileth" refer to the intense labor pains of a mother giving birth to a child. There are increasing numbers of contractions and the level of pain increases with the increasing numbers.
Yet the same text above that contains words describing human suffering also contains soaring words of hope. Paul writes about future glory that will be revealed in us when God gives us a new, glorified body that will not be burdened by the "old man" of sin.
We have a sure or earnest expectation that God will keep His promises and that we will receive the full and final adoption into the family of God! Yes, we will experience the heartaches and sorrows of living in a sin cursed world but we are to do so with high hopes and great expectations as we wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come for us!
The text below reflects God's judgment for sin. Death became a part of the human experience.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Paul teaches us that the fall of man into sin is traced back to Adam's choice to sin. His sin allowed sin to enter the world and death is a consequence of sin. The diseases and pandemics that we see today are linked to sin in some way.
This will all change when Jesus Christ returns as King of kings and Lord of lords.
This pattern of affliction, troubles and heartache will not change until the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is established on the earth. Sin is going to run its course and only responding in repentant faith to the gospel of Jesus Christ can any man, woman or child living today have any hope of a better life.
We need to be reminded that being born again does not cure all things for us. Rather, it brings us into a right relationship with God through Christ. It also removes us from the kingdom of darkness and places the believer safely into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
But, as we previously studied, it also puts us right into center of spiritual warfare because our enemy, the Devil hates the Christian and wants to destroy our lives if he can.
In fact, it we were to study the book of Job, we would see that Satan had the ability to attack Job's family and possessions and ruin his health. God allowed that to happen because He was going to teach Job some powerful lessons and He was going to address the sins of Job's "friends."
Our hope is in the new heaven and new earth that God has promised.
Revelation 21:1-4 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
The old heaven and earth will pass away under the weight of Christ's overpowering and complete judgment upon sin and rebellion. When John saw the new heaven, the new earth and the new Jerusalem he also told us what it will be like for the born again to live there.
The dwelling place of God will permanently be with mankind. God will dwell with us. We will be His people and the sheep of His pasture. He will be our Great Shepherd who will lavish His care upon us!
There will be no more tears and our Great God will wipe any tears away from our eyes. This is a tender picture of our loving Father in Heaven ready to love and cherish His redeemed children.
No more tears, no more death, no more sorrow or pain. All those things are associated with sin and there will be no sin in His kingdom.
There will be no sickness in the kingdom of God.
Revelation 22:1-5 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
This text indicates the utter obliteration of all illness, sickness, disease and death in the glorious kingdom of God. How joyful it will be to live in a body that can worship God to the fullest and to love Him more and more as each day of eternity goes by.
Isaiah 11:6-8 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
There are many prophecies that tell us what the kingdom of God will be like and this one shows that all creation will be restored to the way that God originally intended it to be. Animals and humans will dwell together in peace and without fear. Lions will not eat a young calf nor will a wolf tear up a lamb.
Children shall lead these great animals without fear. Snakes and spiders will no longer bite anything. This text gives us a glimpse of what creation was like for Adam and Eve before sin entered the world.
Points to Ponder....
This morning I would like to pause from our Bible Character Studies so that we can think a bit about the major troubles people are facing all around the world.
Consider some of the global health issues that are causing sickness, suffering and death. In the United States the flu has sickened more than 22 million people, resulting in 12,000 deaths.
Corona Virus has been in the news a lot over the last few months. The number of reported cases keeps rising as does the death toll. It is causing great concern especially to those who live in China.
My heart goes out to all those suffering from such widespread diseases and especially to those dear folks in China. Corona Virus is causing much distress, anxiety and disruption to millions of Chinese citizens.
{These statistics are from the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control.}
We live in a world groaning under the curse of sin.
We live in a world struggling under the curse of sin. As a result of this diseases, troubles and hard times are a part of our lives in varying degrees. The fact remains that many people are suffering right and we ultimately want to know how the Christian should respond to those around us who are suffering.
Romans 8:18-23 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Each Christian is to live a hope filled life because God has told us that all the sufferings and injustice in the world will not last forever. There is coming a day when God shall put a stop to all of it and the Son of God, Jesus Christ will rule all nations with a rod of iron. (Revelation 2:27).
Is there suffering in the world? Yes! Is there bondage to sin and degradation? Yes! Is the entire creation groaning as a consequence of sin in the world? Yes! Is there travailing and pain in the world? Yes!
The word translated "sufferings" refers to hardship and pain; calamity and evil misfortunes. The word "bondage" refers to being enslaved to sin. "Corruption" refers to the misery of hell and moral decay.
The words "groaneth and travaileth" refer to the intense labor pains of a mother giving birth to a child. There are increasing numbers of contractions and the level of pain increases with the increasing numbers.
Yet the same text above that contains words describing human suffering also contains soaring words of hope. Paul writes about future glory that will be revealed in us when God gives us a new, glorified body that will not be burdened by the "old man" of sin.
We have a sure or earnest expectation that God will keep His promises and that we will receive the full and final adoption into the family of God! Yes, we will experience the heartaches and sorrows of living in a sin cursed world but we are to do so with high hopes and great expectations as we wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come for us!
The text below reflects God's judgment for sin. Death became a part of the human experience.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Paul teaches us that the fall of man into sin is traced back to Adam's choice to sin. His sin allowed sin to enter the world and death is a consequence of sin. The diseases and pandemics that we see today are linked to sin in some way.
This will all change when Jesus Christ returns as King of kings and Lord of lords.
This pattern of affliction, troubles and heartache will not change until the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is established on the earth. Sin is going to run its course and only responding in repentant faith to the gospel of Jesus Christ can any man, woman or child living today have any hope of a better life.
We need to be reminded that being born again does not cure all things for us. Rather, it brings us into a right relationship with God through Christ. It also removes us from the kingdom of darkness and places the believer safely into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
But, as we previously studied, it also puts us right into center of spiritual warfare because our enemy, the Devil hates the Christian and wants to destroy our lives if he can.
In fact, it we were to study the book of Job, we would see that Satan had the ability to attack Job's family and possessions and ruin his health. God allowed that to happen because He was going to teach Job some powerful lessons and He was going to address the sins of Job's "friends."
Our hope is in the new heaven and new earth that God has promised.
Revelation 21:1-4 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
The old heaven and earth will pass away under the weight of Christ's overpowering and complete judgment upon sin and rebellion. When John saw the new heaven, the new earth and the new Jerusalem he also told us what it will be like for the born again to live there.
The dwelling place of God will permanently be with mankind. God will dwell with us. We will be His people and the sheep of His pasture. He will be our Great Shepherd who will lavish His care upon us!
There will be no more tears and our Great God will wipe any tears away from our eyes. This is a tender picture of our loving Father in Heaven ready to love and cherish His redeemed children.
No more tears, no more death, no more sorrow or pain. All those things are associated with sin and there will be no sin in His kingdom.
There will be no sickness in the kingdom of God.
Revelation 22:1-5 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
This text indicates the utter obliteration of all illness, sickness, disease and death in the glorious kingdom of God. How joyful it will be to live in a body that can worship God to the fullest and to love Him more and more as each day of eternity goes by.
Isaiah 11:6-8 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
There are many prophecies that tell us what the kingdom of God will be like and this one shows that all creation will be restored to the way that God originally intended it to be. Animals and humans will dwell together in peace and without fear. Lions will not eat a young calf nor will a wolf tear up a lamb.
Children shall lead these great animals without fear. Snakes and spiders will no longer bite anything. This text gives us a glimpse of what creation was like for Adam and Eve before sin entered the world.
Points to Ponder....
- Remember we live in a world cursed by sin and terrible things will happen.
- Born again Christians must live in a sin cursed world with hope in the promises of God.
- Jesus Christ will set all things right when He returns to rule and reign in His kingdom.
- Jesus Christ will bring in the new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem and creation will return to the glory God intended.
In our next post we will look at the words of our Lord Jesus Christ to help us understand how He would have us respond to those who are suffering around us.
Many Christians have their heads hanging down because the world is in terrible condition. Many are seemingly buried under the circumstances. Our Lord said "Look up for your redemption draweth nigh!"
May our wonderful Father in heaven fill our hearts with renewed urgency to be His hand and His feet in ministering to the suffering around us. May He fill our hearts with the compassion of Christ. May He fill our minds with the light of His unchanging truth and may we choose to live a hope filled life and point others to Christ.
Bob
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