Answers
By BGEA Admin • December 21, 2023 • Topics: Sin
Q:
It seems to me that our world has not improved at all since the Dark Ages. Why are some drawn to loving deeds and lifting up high standards of behavior while others are drawn to wickedness and seek it out? Why doesn’t God just move in and stop all the carnage, all the evil, and bring judgment down on wicked people and allow the good people to enjoy His creation?
A:
From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham
The world has been corrupt since the fall of man. Society, as a whole, abides by the rules of men: paying taxes on time, obeying the rules of the road, etc. If we don’t obey these things, man imposes penalties, and consequences follow that can seriously alter our lives. Yet people mock when it is suggested that we obey the rules of the One who created everything. We have loosened our grip on the standards God has set before us. We’ve seen disaster in the pages of history. Violent strife and conflict have haunted the human race to one degree of another since the beginning of time. Conflict brings suffering and death.
There are times that God withholds His judgments, possibly even for several generations, because many have listened to His message of warning and turned to Him in repentance and faith. He can use the fear that grips the hearts of people today to point them to eternal truths—the truth of God’s eternal judgment, and the truth of His eternal love.
The Bible says not one person is good. None of us deserves God’s love. All of us deserve His righteous judgment (see Romans 3:9–12). It’s easy to think of an evil man like Adolf Hitler deserving divine judgment, but think of others who seem good and kind. They, too, will be lost if they refuse and neglect God’s offer of mercy and forgiveness. God’s judgment applies to all.
(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)
