08/07/2025 – “Apologetics as Defense: The Problem of Evil, Part 2″/ Section: “The Future: Some Scripture Songs” – pages 186 – 188
“The third dimension of our new perspective on history has to do with the future. We are, after all, still waiting. We have not seen how all of God’s purposes result in good. Thus, the passage of time still tries our patience. And for those who are suffering, the sheer length of the trial can be an occasion for complaint against God. Still, in Scripture, God promises us that in the future he will be totally vindicated and we will be fully delivered from all evil. As we have indicated, the pattern is that suffering now and receiving glory later.
When glory comes, the wicked will no longer prosper the righteous will not longer suffer. From the sanctuary of God (Psalm 73) we see the certainty of God’s victory. The valleys shall be exalted, and the mountains brought low; the proud will be abased, and the humble raised to greatness (Isaiah 40:1ff.; Matthew 25; Luke 1:51).
God tells the prophet Habakkuk, who has complained about the apparent injustice of God’s ways, first to wait for God’s judgment (Habakkuk 2: 2-3) and second to remember God’s past deeds (3: 2-16). As we wait for the future, seeking to be patient, it is helpful to remember the ways in which God has vindicated his judgment in the past (see the preceding section).
When the future – the culmination of God’s plan – arrives, a great throng of angels and glorified saints will be singing to God of the righteousness of his deeds:
“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:3-4; cf. 16:5-7; 19: 1-2)
Notice that there is no more doubt among God’s servants as to the justice of his ways. The rhetorical question in this quotation has the answer ‘no one’ – no one will fail to fear and glorify God. Why? Because his righteous acts have been revealed. I take it that the consummation of history will somehow reveal enough that remaining doubts concerning God’s goodness will be entirely taken away from us. Does this mean that in that day we will finally receive a definitive, exhaustive, theoretical, and practical answer to the problem of evil? Not necessarily. God might simply shut our mouths, as he shut Job’s, and reopen them in praise. it could be that when we see God face-to-face, we will face of such supreme trustworthiness that all our complaints will simply disappear. Or it could be that as we see the One who is greater than Soloman, judging the whole earth in perfect righteousness, we will be far less inclined to bring up the perplexities of past history.
At any rate, we may be assured that in the last day there will be no problem of evil. There will be no more doubt, no more complaint. If there is a residual theoretical problem, it will be one that we will be completely happy to live with. And if we believe now that that day will certainly come, can we not be content in the present?
Again, we find in Scripture not a philosophical solution to the problem, but a great reassurance, a powerful motivation to keep trusting and obeying, despite all the wickedness in the world.
Scripture Gives Us New Hearts
Finally, Scripture gives us faithful hearts. As indicated earlier, the Word of God is powerful to save (Romans 1: 16-17). As the Holy Spirit speaks in the Scriptures, he turns our skepticism into faith. Our hearts are warmed as we hear the gospel (Luke 24:32). In such a mood, we cannot speak from he high horse of proud autonomy. We can only be full of thanks that God has been merciful to us, despite our sin. The marvelous thing, as John Gerstner and others have pointed out, is not that there is evil in the world, but that God has forgiven the evil in our own hearts for the sake of Christ.
Without that new heart of faith, we are blind (1 Corinthians 2:14: 2 Corinthians 4:4). But Christ opens eyes that were blinded by sin and opens lips to sing his praise (Psalms 51:15; 73: 16-17)
Believers, even with their new hearts, do continue to ask about the problem of evil. But there are so many reasons for giving thanks that we can never look at evil with the same passion as the unbeliever. The believer simply looks at the world with values different from those of the unbeliever. And the change in those values is perhaps the closest we can get, at this point in history, to a theodicy.”
Soli Deo Gloria!
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Thoughts? Reflections? Questions? Prayer.
Questions for fellowship generation, the lifelong sanctification process:
- What does the text reveal about God’s character?
- How has this reading generated prayer for you and/or us?
- What themes stand out to you in this bible study?
- How does our reading fit into the bigger picture (creation, the fall, restoration, etc.)?
- What verse(s) jumped out at you like never before? Is it explainable at this point?
- Do you have any questions you would like to put before the group as to how to interpret any particular verse(s) in our reading. Let scripture testify to scripture: Share with us where you sense contradiction between passages elsewhere.
- What did you find convicting and inspiring at the same time? Share with us how the Spirit of God is working within you as a messenger, both within and outside of our fellowship group.
- Share with the group how our study is calling or confirming to you a new mission to glorify God in our times.