Why does God let random shootings, fatal accidents, and other horrible
things occur?
by R.C. Sproul
http://www.ligonier.org/

Since we believe that God is the author of this planet and is sovereign
over it, it's inevitable that we ask where he is when these terrible
things take place.

Why does God let random shootings, fatal accidents, and other horrible
things occur?
by R.C. Sproulhttp://www.ligonier.org/

Since we believe that God is the author of this planet and is sovereign o=

it, it's inevitable that we ask where he is when these terrible things ta=

place.

I think the Bible answers that over and over again from different angles =

in different ways. We find our first answer, of course, in the book of
Genesis, in which we're told of the fall of humanity. God's immediate
response to the transgression of the human race against his rule and
authority was to curse the earth and human life. Death and suffering ente=

the world as a direct result of sin. We see the concrete manifestation of
this in the realm of nature, where thorns become part of the garden and
human life is now characterized by the sweat of the brow and the pain that
attends even the birth of a baby. This illustrates the fact that the world
in which we live is a place that is full of sorrows and tragedy.

But we must never conclude that there's a one-to-one correlation in this
life between suffering and the guilt of the people on whom tragedies fall.
If there were no sin in the world, there would be no suffering. There wou=

be no fatal accidents, no random shootings. Because sin is present in the
world, suffering is present in the world, but it doesn't always work out
that if you have five pounds of guilt, you're going to get five pounds of
suffering. That's the perception that the book of Job labors to dispel, as
does Jesus' answer to the question about the man born blind ( John 9:1-11=

On the other hand, the Bible makes it clear that God lets these things
happen and in a certain sense ordains that they come to pass as part of t=

present situation that is under judgment. He has not removed death from t=

world. Whether it's what we would consider an untimely death or a violent
death, death is part of the nature of things. The only promise is that th=

will come a day when suffering will cease altogether.

The disciples asked Jesus about similar instances-for example, the Galile=

blood that was mingled with the sacrifices by Pilate or the eighteen peop=

who were killed when a temple collapsed. The disciples asked how this cou=

be. Jesus' response was almost severe. He said, "Unless you repent, you w=

all likewise perish," again bringing the question back to the fact that
moral wickedness makes it feasible for God to allow these kinds of dreadf=

things to take place in a fallen world.

=A91996 by R.C. Sproul. Used by permission of Tyndale.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version=AE. =A91982 by Thomas Nel=

Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.