SERMON: THE PUNISHMENT OF GOD?

17 January 2010

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 13

1. Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
2. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
3. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
4. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
5. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

-- as I'm sure most of you are aware, on Tuesday of this week at 4:53 pm, a powerful earthquake hit the island country of Haiti, causing extensive damage to the capital city of Port-au-Prince -- this earthquake, though not as large as the one that caused the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004, has proven to be more devastating because the nation simply was not prepared for it
-- by all estimates, Haiti is one of the world's poorest countries -- it's people lived in squalor and got by on about $1 per day -- their homes, if they had homes, were not constructed to withstand the effects of a tremor of this magnitude -- in fact, very little in this island country was built strong enough to withstand such a devastating quake
-- we have had a problem getting accurate information from Haiti this week because the quake destroyed most of our means of communication, but as international relief efforts began and our military hit the ground, we began to see images here of the aftermath of the quake
-- Port-au-Prince has basically been destroyed -- the Presidential Palace -- the sea ports that were the main point of commerce for the nation -- the motels and the businesses in the capital city -- all destroyed -- and, on top of the physical destruction, we hear estimates that the number of dead from the quake may range from 50,000 to almost 500,000 -- at this point, no one knows

II. The Question
-- in the aftermath of a natural disaster like this, questions always arise -- people always want to know "Why? -- Why do such things happen? -- How can there be such evil in the world? -- Where is God in the midst of this pain and suffering? -- Why has God allowed this to happen?"
-- these questions have haunted mankind from the beginning of time -- we asked them after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 -- we asked them after the tsunami in 2004 -- we asked them after the events of September 11th, 2001 -- and we continue to ask them when natural disasters such as this earthquake in Haiti occur or when personal tragedies affect our own lives
-- as the Bible shows, these questions are not unique -- ever since the dawn of time, men and women have looked to the heavens and asked these very same questions as they sought solace for the pain and suffering in their lives
-- the technical term for questions such as these is "theodicy" -- it comes from two Greek words that mean "God" and "justice" -- but it comes down to this -- how do we reconcile the presence of evil in this world and in our lives if God is good and right and just and loving?
-- or, to put it another way, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" -- How can an all-knowing -- all-powerful -- all-loving God stand idly by and allow the devastation that an earthquake brings?"

-- people are always quick to come up with answers for questions like this -- some point to disasters such as these and proclaim this is proof there is no God or, if there is a God, He is powerless to prevent such things from occurring -- others offer different insights, such as Pat Robertson
-- for those who haven't heard, the televangelist Pat Robertson, the founder of Christian Broadcasting Network and the American Center for Law and Justice and one-time presidential candidate, proclaimed that this earthquake was the result of the Haitian people's pact with the devil made by the country's founders in exchange for freedom from French control
-- without going into great detail on Haitian history, Robertson was referring to a voodoo ritual led by Dutty Boukman in the early days of the Haitian revolution when he gathered the rebelling slaves together in a pact “to throw away the image of the god of the whites who thirsts for our tears and listen to the voice of liberty that speaks in the hearts of all of us.” -- this pact was sealed by drinking the blood of a pig that Boukman killed on an altar in the Caiman Woods and is typically regarded as the moment when Haiti rejected the God of the Bible for the gods of voodoo
-- so, based on this, Pat Robertson has asserted that the earthquake of this week is God's judgment on the nation of Haiti for their sins and their continuing rejection of Him
-- is Pat Robertson right? -- is God, in 2010, punishing one million people because Boukman sacrificed a pig and made a voodoo pact with the devil in 1791?
-- if not, then how would answer those who are seeking answers? -- how would you explain the presence of evil and sin and the devastation of natural disasters in light of the God that we know through Jesus?
-- while we may never be able to fully answer these questions or to explain why bad things such as this earthquake in Haiti occur, the Bible does give us insights into how these situations arise and how God uses them in our lives

III. God Did It
-- we find the first of these insights in Luke 13 -- if you would, look back at verse 1

1. Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.


-- as Jesus was teaching the people, someone in the crowd told him the story about a tragedy that had recently occurred in the temple -- a group of Galilean Jews had gathered together to worship in the temple and Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor over Jerusalem, had gone into the holy temple of God and had shed their blood in that very place -- mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifice they were offering
-- I think this story was told to Jesus because the person who shared it thought it proved exactly what Jesus had been trying to teach earlier in the Book of Luke -- in other words, the person was trying to say, "Jesus, you're right -- the ungodly will suffer and will be punished by God when He comes -- just look at what happened to these Galileans -- they were sinners and they paid for their sins with their death"
-- this is the same argument that Pat Robertson was making this week about the people of Haiti -- in essence, Robertson was saying that the people of Haiti were sinners -- they had rejected the God of the Bible and had made a pact with the devil -- and because of their sins, God was punishing them -- because of their sins, God allowed this earthquake to fall on them and destroy their capital city
-- we heard the same argument made both during Katrina and the Indonesian tsunami -- I heard preachers say in the aftermath of Katrina that the hurricane hit New Orleans because God was punishing the city for its sin -- along those same lines, I heard others say that the tsunami hit Indonesia because the country has been allowing the persecution of Christians by Muslim extremists
-- people who make this assertion point to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from the Book of Genesis -- this is proof, they say, that God punishes cities and nations for their sin -- that He brings about the total destruction and annihilation of people because of their ungodly behavior
-- but, is that true? -- can we look at all of these disasters -- whether natural or man-caused -- and say that they are God's righteous judgment on sinners?

-- look at verse 2

2. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
3. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

-- when Pat Robertson made his statement earlier this week about the earthquake in Haiti being the punishment of God, he was basically saying that they were singled out for punishment because they were worse sinners than him
-- just like the people who told Jesus this story about the Galileans, Robertson missed Jesus' point in His earlier teachings -- yes, the ungodly -- the unrighteous -- the sinners will be punished -- but we are all ungodly and unrighteous by nature -- and we will stay that way until we turn from our sins and repent of all that we have done wrong -- Jesus clarified His teaching by saying that "these Galileans weren't worse sinners than any others -- everyone is a sinner and deserves to die"
-- as it says in Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" -- it is only through the grace of God that any of us are rescued from the bondage of sin and the penalty of death
-- in other words, the message of the Bible is that we are all sinners and we all have to face the penalty for our sins -- I am no better than you -- you are no better than me -- and certainly Pat Robertson is no better than the people of Haiti because a sin is a sin is a sin -- in God's kingdom, the sin of a white lie is just as deserving of death as the sin of rejecting Jesus

-- however, the overall message of the Bible is God is going to do everything He can to bring us to the point of salvation -- He doesn't want us to die in our sins -- He doesn't want us to end up in Hell -- in fact, He cares so much for us that He sent Jesus to die in our place so that we might not suffer eternal death and separation from Him
-- in 1 Timothy 2:3-4 we read that it is God's will that everyone would be saved and would come to know the truth through His Son Jesus Christ and in John 3:16 we read that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save the world
-- in other words, God is not the vengeful, spiteful, vindictive God that Robertson and others portray Him to be -- but He is a God who cares so much that He is willing to die in our place so that we might be saved
-- this is the point that Jesus was trying to make to the people who were around Him -- and just to make sure they understood, Jesus gave them another illustration

-- verse 4

4. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
5. I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

-- according to the historians, these Jews who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them were probably working for the Romans -- Siloam was a suburb of Jerusalem, and the Romans were digging aqueducts through the area to transport water -- historians believe that these Jews might have been killed as they worked on the aqueduct because they weakened the foundation of the tower, causing it to collapse and fall on them -- many Jews considered these men sinners because they aligned themselves with the Romans and worked for them
-- once again, Jesus is pointing out that regardless of how you view those around you -- their sins are no greater than yours or anyone else's -- all of us are sinners -- all of us are condemned to death -- and it is only through repentance and the acceptance of Christ's forgiveness that we are saved from a fate worse than physical death
-- these verses point to our calling as Christians in light of natural disasters such as these -- as Christians, we are not called to pronounce judgment on others -- we are not called to exclaim with glee that this came on them because of their sinful natures
-- instead, we are called to speak to the world the good news of Jesus Christ -- to remind them that we are all sinners in need of a Savior -- and to point the way to repentance and the forgiveness of sins by telling them about the Christ who came to die for them

-- did God send the earthquake to Haiti this week as divine punishment for their sins? -- I don't believe so -- I don't believe that aligns with what I know of God from the Bible
-- did God allow the earthquake to come to Haiti this week? -- certainly, but for what reason and what purpose we may never know -- one thing is certain, when God allows evil to come into our lives -- whether it is the evil of the world or the evil of man -- God works through the evil to touch our lives and to bring Himself glory

-- if you would, turn over to John 9 and let's look at verses 1-3
-- verse 1

1. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

-- one day, as Jesus was walking through Jerusalem near the temple, He and His disciples happened upon a man who was blind -- His disciples looked at the man and saw his condition and immediately assumed that his blindness was because of sin
-- so they asked Jesus, "Why did this happen? Was it because of this man's sin or his parent's sin?" -- and look at Jesus' response

-- verse 3

3. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

-- in other words, Jesus is saying, "The Father did not send this blindness to this man as a punishment for his sin -- The Father did not send this blindness to this man as a punishment for his parent's sin -- but the Father did allow this to happen because through the blindness, He would receive honor and glory"
-- bad things happen -- to individuals -- to families -- to cities -- to nations -- diseases and sicknesses come -- people have accidents and die -- terrorists fly planes into buildings -- the earth trembles and entire cities are devastated -- floods and hurricanes fill the streets with water
-- bad things happen, but they don't always come about because of individual sin -- they come about because we live in a fallen world where evil runs rampant -- where God's perfect, original creation has been corrupted and people get hurt as a result
-- sometimes God protects us from the evil around us -- but other times, He allows the earthquakes to come -- He allows the evil to fall in our lives and He allows us to suffer the consequences of our sins for two reasons
-- first, because of the reason Jesus spoke of here in verse 3 -- God allows the storms to come because it helps us to see His presence at work in the midst of the storm and because His name will be exalted and glorified as a result
-- but, there's another reason, too

-- if you would, turn over to Hebrews 12 and we'll end there
-- look down at verse 5

5. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6. because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
7. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
8. If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
9. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
10. Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
11. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

-- contrary to Pat Robertson’s assertions, sometimes God allows judgment and the consequences of our sins to fall on Christians -- on those who know Him and who have been saved according to His word
-- the Bible tells us that God brings His discipline in our lives to get our attention -- to let us know that we have strayed from His paths -- to remind us of His call to obedience and righteousness -- and to encourage us to make whatever changes we need to in our lives to get back on the straight and narrow
-- sometimes, when bad things happen, it is God's way of warning us about the danger we face through our sins and it is His way of trying to get us to willingly change and come back to Him
-- the writer of Hebrews makes that point clear here for us -- he tells us that just as an earthly father disciplines his children when they do wrong so that they will make better choices in the future, God disciplines us so that we will turn from our sins and make better choices so that we might live holy lives in Him
-- we like to say that the United States is a Christian nation -- that, unlike Haiti, the founders of this country dedicated themselves and this nation to God and pledged to follow Him and His ways -- could it be, then, that the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the events of 9-11 were not the punishment of God on sinners but the loving discipline of the Father to get our attention and to get us to turn back to Him?

III. Closing
-- so, what can we say in closing in response to the inevitable questions that have arisen this week? -- "Why? -- Why do such things happen? -- How can there be such evil in the world? -- Where is God in the midst of this pain and suffering? -- Why has God allowed this to happen?"
-- what should be our response?
-- well, I think our first response should be to weep with those who are weeping and to mourn with those who are mourning
-- all of us should feel pain at the destruction of human life -- all of us should feel empathy towards those who have been hurt or displaced or left homeless and hopeless in the aftermath of this tragedy -- for we recognize that all humans are made in the image of God and we recognize the sanctity of all of these lives -- whether we are talking about the unborn or the elderly or the people in Haiti

-- secondly, I think we should we should never gloat over the misfortunes of others or assume that their pain and suffering somehow makes us superior to them -- we should not follow the path of the publican in the Bible who looked at the tax collector next to him and prayed, "Thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like him"
-- we should always remember that we are no different from anyone else around us -- we are all sinners in need of a Savior -- and if we have been saved and have received the forgiveness of sins, it is through no effort on our part but only the grace of God through Christ Jesus

-- third, if, as Pat Robertson asserts, the nation of Haiti is a nation of sinners who do not know the saving grace of Jesus, then we should seek forgiveness for our failure to spread His message -- Haiti is in our back yard -- it is within boating distance from the United States, from a nation that proclaims itself a Christian nation -- and, if we have done nothing to bring these people to Christ, we have a greater sin to atone for than the people who are suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake
-- we should never forget that Sodom was destroyed because God could not find 10 righteous people there -- because Lot had failed to witness to the truth of God to his neighbors

-- finally, I think that we should always use situations such as these to magnify and glorify the name of God -- we should use situations such as these to share the good news of Jesus -- to point people to the saving grace of the cross and the forgiveness of sins that Jesus offers -- we should be the hands and the feet and the voice of Jesus so that, in the midst of the suffering, those affected might truly say, "We have seen God"