The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-10, titled "Bible Questions and Answers."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. Copyright 1990 by John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

I’ve witnessed to several people who question the existence of God by saying, “Why does He let the innocent people suffer, innocent people get killed, children die, etc., etc.?”

Answer

Well, in the first place, nobody’s innocent. And that’s the first problem. God doesn’t let any innocent person suffer; nobody’s innocent. It just so happens that the fabric of humanity is stained, that the root was sin, and the wages of sin is what? Death.

Everybody’s going to die, everybody. Who am I to assume that one or another death is less significant or tragic than another? People always say, “Isn’t it tragic when a little baby dies?” Not nearly as tragic as when someone who has lived a whole life dies, and never knew how to live or how to die--never knew God.

Question (continued)

What does God do for the babies? I mean, they never heard…

Answer (continued)

Sure, I know what you’re asking. Let me just follow that up very briefly. I believe the Bible indicates to us that when a little baby dies, when an infant dies or a child dies, before they can come to the point, to the age of understanding (often called “the age of accountability”) that God takes that little one to Himself. You remember when David’s little son died in the Old Testament? That infant born of Bathsheba died… That was a child born out of sin, born in sin, a sinful child, but it died--he died--and David said, “He can’t come to me, but I will go to him.” And I think David expressed a confidence: David knew where he was going. And he believed with all his heart that where he was going was where that little life was, that the God he knew to be a God of grace would have gathered that little life to Himself. Jesus said in Mark 10, “Permit the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.” And then Jesus took the little ones into His arms, and a most interesting statement: “He blessed them; He laid hands on them.” What does that mean? Well, I believe that Jesus had a very tender spot in His heart and a very special place in His eternal kingdom for little ones. And the truth of the matter is that in those countries that are the most pagan countries in the world, very often they have the highest infant mortality rate, because God, in His grace, redeems those little ones before they can grow up and be old enough to be raised in a godless culture.

So, don’t ever question God’s wisdom. And anybody who starts saying, “Why did God do this and why did God do that?” is throwing you a smokescreen. The issue is not that. Let’s forget that and set that aside. The issue you’ve got to answer is, “Who is Jesus Christ and what does it mean that He said, ‘If you love Him, you go to heaven, and if you don’t, you go to hell’?” If He is the Man who determines the destiny of every soul, then you better find out whether He was right or not. That’s the issue. So, get them off of that onto Christ.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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