Like it or not, everyone experiences pain. In the midst of suffering, people often want both sympathy and answers. What they often receive, however, is either a heartless intellectual explanation or a brainless yet sympathetic response to suffering.

All belief systems must address suffering because everyone experiences it. Ravi Zacharias asserts, “Every world-view—not just Christianity—must explain evil and suffering" (86). Most conclude that pain is either God’s fault or the fault of the individual. For example, Atheists believe that pain disproves the existence of God because if God is good and in control there would be no suffering. Many Eastern Religions conclude that pain is either an illusion or payback for bad deeds done in a previous life. Christianity, however, offers the most satisfying solution for suffering both intellectually and emotionally. According to Zacharias, “(Christianity) accepts the reality of evil and suffering, explains both the cause and the purpose, and offers God-given strength to survive it” (98).

One response Scripture provides is that human beings are responsible for the state of things. Zacharias affirms, “The problem of evil has ultimately one source: our rebellion against God’s holiness” (103). God created man in His image and in right relationship with Him, but man chose to go about things on his own and disobeyed God. As a result, sin entered into the world and disrupted God’s perfect creation.

God’s Word also teaches that pain is a part of a believer’s growth in godliness. It first reminds a person of his/her need for God. Zacharias says, “Pain often forces us to find God. Pleasure frequently causes us to ignore Him” (103). Second, pain produces endurance (Romans 5:3). Enduring difficulty gives a Christian strength to preserver. Finally, suffering gives us a longing for God’s world to be restored (Philippians 1:23). Fortunately, for God’s people, this life is as bad as it gets. When difficulties come, believers should simply be reminded of and long for the salvation that awaits every follower of Christ.

Lastly, the Bible teaches that although God is not the author of sin, He accomplishes His purposes in and through an evil world. Paul asserts, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). This is clearly shown at the cross. According to Zacharias, “The death of Jesus on the cross shows the reality of evil—and God’s solution for it” (101). Although Jesus’ death was seemingly tragic, He acted on our behalf dieing as our substitute and perfect sacrifice so that we might be made right with God through Him.

Zacharias, Ravi. Jesus Among Other God's. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 2000. 86-103.

"Quote" of the Week

"It seldom is pain that drives us into emptiness. Meaninglessness comes from drowning in the oceans of our pleasures. Pleasure gone wrong is a greater curse than physical blindness. Have you noticed that people who say 'My life has no meaning' are rarely ones who suffer real pain? Meaninglessness doesn't come from being weary of pain but from being weary of pleasure. Pain often forces us to find God. Pleasure frequently causes us to ignore Him." -Ravi Zacharias

From Jesus Among Other God's Lesson 4: "Won't Jesus Make Life Wonderful"

If you were to randomly ask people in your neighborhood why Christ suffered, you would probably hear many unique responses. But what about in your local church? Last night I spoke with the youth about the goal of the Gospel and how many often share Christ without mentioning His main objective for giving His life. John Piper addresses this in his book entitled, God is the Gospel.

The final and greatest good of the gospel (according to Piper) is not included in (an) array of gospel gifts…Preachers can preach on these great aspects of the gospel and yet never take people to the goal of the gospel. Preachers can say dozens of true and wonderful things about the gospel and not lead people to where the gospel is leading. People can hear the gospel preached, or read it in their Bibles, and not see the final aim of the gospel that makes the good news good.

What makes all the events of Good Friday and Easter and all the promises they secure good news is that they lead us to God. ‘Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God’ (1 Peter 3:18). And when we get there, it is God himself who will satisfy our souls forever. Everything else in the gospel is meant to display God’s glory and remove every obstacle in him (such as his wrath) and in us (such as our rebellion) so that we can enjoy him forever. God is the gospel. That is, he is what makes the good news good. Nothing less can make the gospel good news. God is the final and highest gift that makes the good news good. Until people use the gospel to get to God, they use it wrongly.

Piper, John. God is the Gospel. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books. 2005. 41-42.

"Quote" of the Week

"Our human tendency (is) to pursue the good things God can give us instead of pursuing God Himself." -Ravi Zacharias

Although it varies from case to case, one can assuredly conclude that not all doubts about the claims of who Christ is and what He has done are a result of honest unbelief. Many simply won’t believe because of the consequences that come with making a profession of faith. Ravi Zacharias affirms, “Some people refuse to believe in God because admitting He exists means having to answer to their Creator. The same people reject Jesus because receiving the good news of Christ means accepting a set of instructions to agree with God about sin and to allow Christ to be Master of their lives” (49).

To further prove this point, Thomas Nagel, a professor of philosophy at New York University, explains, “I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well informed people I know are religious believers…I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that” (130). Even though Nagel blatantly gives his reason for unbelief, one must also look beyond the surface of what seems to be a case of honest unbelief to see if there is more to ones skepticism. According to Zacharias, “While (ones) skepticism may be understood as the honest search of reason, we had better be sure that his is not actually the deliberate unbelief of Thomas Nagel lurking beneath an intellectual quest” (51).

This reason for unbelief is nothing new. Those opposed to Christ during His earthly ministry were not honestly seeking answers. Zacharias explains, “The most religious people of Jesus’ day demanded evidence for who He claimed to be. But like modern skeptics…they didn’t actually want the answer He gave them” (51).

When believers respond to skepticism, which they should, they must be confident that Scripture can endure the most detailed analysis. Zacharias asserts, “Faith in Jesus Christ is a thoughtful, passionate, and moral commitment to a truth that stands up under the scrutiny of the mind, the heart, and the conscience” (61). We must also understand, however, that most have a deeper rooted purpose for their skepticism. According to Zacharias, “The denial of Christ has little to do with facts and much to do with the bent of a person who has already decided to resist truth” (58).

Nagel, Thomas. The Last Word. New York: Oxford University Press. 1997. 130.
Zacharias, Ravi. Jesus Among Other Gods. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 2000. 49-58.

"Quote" of the Week

"Faith (has) both truth and substance. Jesus claimed to be God in human flesh. The true believer trusts Him to be speaking the truth. But everything He said and did offers substance. It explains and supports that claim. And nothing Jesus said or did undermines trust." -Ravi Zacharias

Some Christians distrust thinking. They don't like to entertain questions of faith. And they might distance themselves from schools that don't teach precisely what they want taught. It can all add up to a belief that brainwork is bad.

We do have to keep watch over our minds. The Bible does say this:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.' Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (1 Cor. 1:18-20)

We need to check the context of those verses and others like them. This particular one is about 'perishing' people--people who don't believe the message of the cross. The point of the passage? For those who deny Christ, intellectual ability can actually hinder the search for spiritual truth. It doesn't rule out those who believe in Christ using their intelligence to serve the God who is ultimate truth and ultimate wisdom.

There is a better way to think about our minds: The Bible calls us to renew our minds to think like He thinks, not to surgically remove them (Rom. 12:1-2).

Be encouraged that the Bible is full of people who thought hard. Some even debated with God, yet they weren't struck by lightening or otherwise divinely punished:

• Moses questioned whether God had made the right choice in appointing him to free the Israelite slaves in Egypt (Exod. 3:11).


• Habakkuk looked at rampant evil and suffering in the world and yelled at God, "How long?" (Hab. 1:2ff).


• Nathanael freely expressed his jaded opinion about Jesus' roots (John 1:46).


• Thomas was permitted to see and touch Christ's wounds in order to believe Christ had risen from the dead (John 20:24-29).


• The Bereans took time to test even the apostle Paul's teaching against Scripture (Acts 17:11).

Zacharias, Ravi. Aren't We Just Supposed to Believe? Jesus Among Other Gods. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 2000. 47-48.