The question of suffering and fairness is the single greatest obstacle to belief in God for millions of people. It is the question that keeps many away from faith and pushes many more into unbelief, agnosticism, or the “unaffiliated.” It is the very question that led New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman away from Christianity.
People look at the pain of the world—war, injustice, disease, inequality, tragedy—and ask:
How can God be good and all-powerful when the world is so unfair?
The Bible does not give a philosophical explanation.
Instead, it redirects us toward humility, trust, and responsibility.
Humility, in the Christian sense, means accepting our place in the grand scheme of God’s creation.
It is not weakness. It is not self-hate.
It is acknowledging God’s greatness and our smallness, God’s wisdom and our ignorance, God’s sovereignty and our finiteness.
Humility is what allows us to accept the Bible’s answer:
We are not at the center of the universe — God is.
And His purposes are bigger than our comfort, our expectations, or our demands for fairness.
And yet, this humility does not lead to passivity.
The same God who rules all things calls His people to enter the suffering of others, lift burdens, relieve pain, and show compassion with sacrificial love.
1. Jesus’ Examples from the Gospels
Jesus addresses suffering repeatedly — and every time, He responds not with explanations but with calls to humility, faith, readiness, and compassion.
1.1 The Syro-Phoenician Woman (Matthew 15:21–28)
“And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying,
‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.’
But he did not answer her a word.And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is crying out after us.’
He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’
But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’
And he answered, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’
She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’
Then Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’
And her daughter was healed instantly.”
This is one of the most powerful pictures of humility in Scripture.
She receives no explanation for her daughter’s suffering, for Israel’s priority, or for her placement in the “dog” category in the Jewish worldview. She does not resist, argue, or demand fairness. She accepts her place in God’s unfolding story as it was understood in her day — not because she demeans herself, but because she trusts Jesus despite what she cannot understand.
Her humility becomes the channel of her exaltation.
1.2 The Man Born Blind (John 9:1–7)
“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
And his disciples asked him,
‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’Jesus answered,
‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents,
but that the works of God might be displayed in him.’
The disciples assume a Deuteronomic worldview: obedience brings blessing; disobedience brings curse.
So to them, blindness must be punishment for sin.
Jesus rejects that entirely.
He does not explain why this man suffered for decades.
He assigns no cause and no blame.
He simply says God will use this suffering for His purpose.
Not all suffering corresponds to guilt.
Some suffering exists only to reveal God’s works.
1.3 Pilate’s Massacre and the Tower of Siloam (Luke 13:1–5)
“There were some present at that very time who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
And He answered them,
‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them:
do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.’”
Two tragedies:
- Pilate massacres Jewish worshipers
- A tower collapses and kills eighteen
The people want an explanation: Why these? Why now? Why them?
Jesus refuses the “why.”
He denies their suffering was punishment and gives no reason for why they died.
Instead, He teaches the purpose of tragedy: to awaken us, humble us, and make us ready.
Life is fragile.
Death is sudden.
Be ready.
2. Old Testament Examples and Direct Passages
The Old Testament speaks with raw clarity about God’s sovereignty over calamity, suffering, disaster, and tragedy. Its clearest witness is the Book of Job.
2.1 Job: God Reveals His Wisdom, Not His Reasons
Job is Scripture’s most comprehensive reflection on undeserved suffering.
Job Is Innocent
“Have you considered my servant Job,
that there is none like him on the earth,
a blameless and upright man…?” (Job 1:8)
Then the LORD says to Satan:
“You incited me against him
to destroy him without reason.” (Job 2:3)
Job’s suffering happens “…without reason.”
Not because he sinned.
Not because he failed.
Not because he deserved it.
His suffering comes through God’s sovereign decision for reasons He does not reveal to humans.
And at the end of the book, Scripture confirms again who brought Job’s suffering:
“…all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him.”
—Job 42:11
This final narrator’s summary leaves no doubt:
The LORD Himself brought the suffering on Job.
Not Satan alone.
Not human enemies.
Not random chance.
The LORD.
The Friends Are Wrong
Job’s friends insist that suffering must be punishment.
Eliphaz (Job 4:7–8)
“Who that was innocent ever perished?
Or where were the upright cut off?
As I have seen, those who plow iniquity
and sow trouble reap the same.”
Bildad (Job 8:4, 6, 20)
“If your children have sinned against Him,
He has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.”“If you are pure and upright,
surely then He will rouse Himself for you
and restore your rightful habitation.”“Behold, God will not reject a blameless man.”
Zophar (Job 11:13–15)
“If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away…
Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish…”
Their theology is neat, tidy — and wrong.
God’s Judgment on the Friends (Job 42:7)
“My anger burns against you and against your two friends,
for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”
Their theology of suffering is condemned by God Himself.
Job’s Mistake
Job is innocent, but in agony he misjudges God.
Job 9:17
“He crushes me with a tempest
and multiplies my wounds without cause.”
Job 10:2–3
“Tell me what charge You have against me.
Does it please You to oppress me…?”
Job 19:6–7
“God has put me in the wrong
and closed His net about me.
I call for help, but there is no justice.”
Job 27:2
“…who has taken away my right
and made my soul bitter…”
Job crosses into accusation — yet God understands that this comes from grief, not rebellion.
Elihu’s Correction
Elihu rebukes both Job and the friends.
Job 32:2–3
“He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God…
and at his friends because they had found no answer.”
Job 34:10–12
“Far be it from God that He should do wickedness,
and from the Almighty that He should do wrong…
the Almighty will not pervert justice.”
Job 36:5–7
“He is mighty in strength of understanding…
He gives the afflicted their right.”
Job 36:15
“He delivers the afflicted by their affliction
and opens their ear by adversity.”
Elihu teaches that suffering may:
- warn
- teach
- shape
- restrain
- refine
- protect
- humble
It is God’s tool for spiritual transformation.
God Speaks
When God speaks, He does not explain suffering.
He reveals His own wisdom.
Job 38:2–4
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?”
Job 38:12
“Have you commanded the morning since your days began?”
Job 38:16
“Have you entered the springs of the sea?”
Job 38:31–33
“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion?
Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?”
Job 40:2, 8
“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
Will you even put Me in the wrong?
Will you condemn Me that you may be in the right?”
Job 41:11
“Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.”
God confronts Job with the vastness of His rule over creation.
The point is clear:
To understand why one man suffers you would need to understand the entire universe — and you cannot.
Job’s Response
Job 42:3
“I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me…”
Job 40:4
“Behold, I am of small account;
I lay my hand on my mouth.”
Job receives God’s grandeur — not reasons.
2.2 The Old Testament’s Bluntest Sovereignty Passages
These passages speak with absolute clarity:
“I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal.” —Deuteronomy 32:39
“The Lord kills and brings to life;
He brings down and raises up.” —1 Samuel 2:6–7
“I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity.” —Isaiah 45:7
“Does disaster come to a city
unless the Lord has done it?” —Amos 3:6
“Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that good and bad come?” —Lamentations 3:38
“Shall we receive good from God,
and shall we not receive evil?” —Job 2:10
God does not merely “allow” calamities.
He governs them.
3. Romans 9–11: God Makes Some Reject Christ and Makes Others Believe
Romans 9–11 is Paul’s master-class in God’s absolute sovereignty.
He is explaining why:
- Many Jews rejected Christ,
- Many Gentiles accepted Christ,
- And how all of this was orchestrated by God.
Paul’s answer:
God hardens whom He wills
and has mercy on whom He wills —
and He does this for purposes we cannot see.
3.1 Chosen Before Birth: Jacob and Esau (Romans 9:10–13)
“When Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,
though they were not yet born
and had done nothing either good or bad—
in order that God’s purpose of election might continue,
not because of works but because of Him who calls—
she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’
As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’”
This removes all possibility that:
- God foresaw Jacob would choose Him
- God foresaw Jacob would be more righteous
- Or that Esau would sin more
God’s choice is:
- before birth
- before action
- before faith
- based solely on His purpose
3.2 Salvation Does Not Depend on Human Will or Effort (Romans 9:14–16)
“What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part?
By no means!For He says to Moses,
‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who shows mercy.”
This eliminates:
- human decision
- human effort
- human striving
- human deserving
Mercy belongs to God alone.
3.3 God Raised Up Pharaoh to Display His Power (Romans 9:17–18)
“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh,
‘For this very purpose I have raised you up,
that I might show My power in you,
and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’So then He has mercy on whomever He wills,
and He hardens whomever He wills.”
Paul uses Pharaoh as the pattern for how God exercises sovereignty over human decisions.
God Hardened Pharaoh Before Pharaoh Ever Acted
“I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.” (Exodus 4:21)
This is before Moses ever confronts him.
Pharaoh’s Hardening Caused Massive Suffering
Because God hardened Pharaoh:
- Egypt endured plague after plague
- livestock died
- crops were destroyed
- families wept
- darkness covered the land
- and every firstborn child died
Millions suffered because of a decision God Himself caused.
Then God judged Pharaoh for the hardening God produced.
Paul brings this story into Romans intentionally so the reader understands:
God’s sovereignty extends beyond salvation into the rise and fall of nations and the suffering of entire peoples.
3.4 The Potter and the Clay (Romans 9:19–21)
“You will say to me then,
‘Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?’But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?
Will what is molded say to its molder,
‘Why have You made me like this?’Has the potter no right over the clay,
to make out of the same lump
one vessel for honorable use
and another for dishonorable use?”
Paul does NOT defend God.
He defends God’s right.
Humility accepts this; pride rejects it.
3.5 Vessels of Wrath and Vessels of Mercy (Romans 9:22–24)
“What if God, desiring to show His wrath
and to make known His power,
has endured with much patience
vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
in order to make known the riches of His glory
for vessels of mercy,
which He has prepared beforehand for glory—
even us whom He has called…”
Paul is stating plainly:
- some people exist as vessels of wrath
- some as vessels of mercy
- both exist for God’s glory
- the distinction is caused by God, not humans
3.6 God Himself Hardened Israel (Romans 11:7–8)
“What then?
Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking.The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,
as it is written,
‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear…’”
Observe:
- “The elect obtained it” → God’s mercy
- “the rest were hardened” → God’s judgment
Paul quotes Deuteronomy and Isaiah — God hardened Israel, just like He hardened Pharaoh.
3.7 The Hardening Was Temporary and Purposeful (Romans 11:25)
“A partial hardening has come upon Israel,
until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”
This verse shows:
- the hardening is from God
- the hardening is partial
- the hardening is temporary
- the hardening is strategic
- the hardening is for the sake of Gentiles
Israel rejected Christ because God hardened them to crucify him, and this opened the door for Gentile salvation.
3.8 Jesus Himself Hid Truth Using Parables
Jesus affirms the same pattern.
Matthew 13:10–15
“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom…
but to them it has not been given.”“This is why I speak to them in parables,
because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear…”“Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”
Mark 4:11–12
“To you has been given the secret…
but for those outside everything is in parables,
so that seeing they may see and not perceive…”
Luke 8:10
“To you it has been given…
but for others in parables,
so that seeing they may not see…”
Jesus hid truth intentionally — a fulfillment of Isaiah 6 and a parallel to Romans 11:8.
Understanding is given; blindness is given.
3.9 The Purpose of Hardening: Mercy (Romans 11:32)
“For God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all.”
God shuts Jews and Gentiles alike under disobedience so that salvation can never be claimed as human achievement.
Only mercy.
3.10 Paul Ends in Worship, Not Explanation
“Oh, the depth of the riches
and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments
and how inscrutable His ways!”
—Romans 11:33
He does not give answers.
He bows.
4. Ancient Church Perspectives on Suffering
The earliest Christians lived in a world marked by persecution, poverty, disease, and public hostility. Their writings are startlingly honest about suffering — and equally confident in God’s purposes within it.
They believed suffering was not a sign of God’s absence, but a sign of Christian identity and God’s refining work.
Below are primary voices from the first three centuries of the Church.
4.1 Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 107)
Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, was arrested, chained, and taken to Rome to be executed by wild beasts. On the journey, he wrote seven letters.
“I am God’s wheat, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread for Christ.”
—Letter to the Romans 4–6
Ignatius believed that suffering would purify him, not destroy him.
4.2 Polycarp of Smyrna (c. AD 155)
Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John and the longtime bishop of Smyrna. When he was executed by fire, he prayed:
“I bless You because You have counted me worthy of this day and hour.”
—Martyrdom of Polycarp 14.1
He understood suffering as participation in the sufferings of Christ.
4.3 Tertullian (c. AD 197)
Tertullian, a North African theologian, wrote during severe Roman persecution.
“The blood of Christians is seed.”
—Apology 50
Persecution did not destroy the Church — it made it grow.
4.4 Cyprian of Carthage (c. AD 250)
Cyprian lived during a plague and persecution. He wrote:
“What we suffer is the training and testing of our faith.”
—Letter 80.2
Suffering is not failure — it is formation.
4.5 Lactantius (c. AD 310)
Lactantius lived through the Diocletian persecution — one of the most brutal in history.
“Adversity is the discipline of God.”
—Divine Institutes 5.23
Adversity teaches righteousness and strengthens virtue.
4.6 The Epistle to Diognetus (c. AD 150–190)
This anonymous masterwork describes Christians as the “soul of the world.”
“What the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world.
The soul is hated by the body… and Christians are hated by the world…
God has assigned Christians this place, and it is unlawful for them to forsake it.”
—Diognetus 6.1–10
Just as the body opposes the soul, the world opposes the Christian.
And this place of suffering, the text says, is assigned by God.
4.7 Origen of Alexandria (c. AD 184–253)
Origen was one of the most brilliant Christian thinkers of the first three centuries.
A scholar, preacher, and theologian from Alexandria and later Caesarea, he wrote extensive commentaries and the earliest attempt at a systematic Christian theology (On First Principles).
Origen wrestled intensely with the fairness of suffering and the inequality of human circumstances.
He asked:
- Why are some born into wealth and others into poverty?
- Why do some suffer from birth and others live in ease?
- Why does one person believe the gospel while another rejects it?
- How can God be just if human lives begin in such unequal conditions?
In an attempt to defend God’s justice, Origen proposed a remarkable — but ultimately incorrect — solution: the preexistence of souls.
He taught that all souls existed before birth, and their earthly circumstances reflected earlier choices made in that preexistent state.
“Each one has a place in this world according to what they deserve.”
—Origen, On First Principles 2.9.7 (AD 220–230)
And regarding why some believe and others do not:
“Different conditions of life arise from merits acquired before birth.”
—Origen, Commentary on Romans 1.5.5 (c. AD 240s)
In Origen’s view, inequality in this life was not God’s doing but the soul’s doing, before entering the body.
The later Church rejected this teaching:
- Scripture nowhere teaches preexistent souls
- It undermines God’s unconditional election
- It contradicts Paul’s argument that God chooses before birth, not before a previous life
- It makes suffering the result of hidden merit, not divine purpose
- It shifts the center of theology from God’s sovereignty to human performance
Yet Origen’s theory reveals something essential: the earliest Christians took the problem of suffering and divine justice very seriously. Origen was trying to defend God’s righteousness, even though his attempt missed the mark.
His work shows how difficult the question is — and how much more beautiful the biblical answer becomes by comparison.
Summary of Section 4
The voices of the first three centuries reveal a consistent pattern:
- Ignatius embraced suffering as purification.
- Polycarp saw martyrdom as a gift from God.
- Tertullian proclaimed that persecution grows the Church.
- Cyprian viewed adversity as God’s training for His people.
- Lactantius taught that hardship is God’s discipline.
- The Epistle to Diognetus described suffering as the very place God assigns His people in the world.
- And Origen, wrestling intensely with the fairness of suffering, attempted a philosophical solution to protect God’s justice — a solution the Church ultimately rejected, but which shows how seriously early Christians engaged the problem.
Taken together, these witnesses demonstrate:
- Suffering was not surprising to early Christians
- Suffering was not interpreted as abandonment
- Suffering was part of Christian identity
- Suffering was understood as formation, discipline, witness, and calling
- And even when brilliant thinkers like Origen struggled to explain it, the Church consistently returned to Scripture’s own message:
God is sovereign.
Suffering has purpose.
And the Christian endures suffering with humility, courage, and hope.
5. Calvin and Edwards on God’s Sovereignty Over Suffering, Evil, and Salvation
Two of the clearest, boldest theological voices on God’s sovereignty — including His sovereignty over suffering, evil rulers, calamity, unbelief, and salvation — are John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards.
Both lived during upheaval.
Both shaped global Christianity.
Both refused to soften Scripture’s hardest truths.
Both insisted that everything — even evil — unfolds under the decree, wisdom, and purpose of God.
5.1 John Calvin (1509–1564)
John Calvin was a French theologian and pastor who ministered in Geneva, Switzerland, transforming it into a center of Reformation theology.
His Institutes of the Christian Religion (final edition 1559) is one of the most influential theological works in history. He also authored major commentaries on Scripture, preached thousands of sermons, and trained generations of pastors.
Calvin taught that every event comes through the deliberate will and decree of God.
“Nothing happens except what is knowingly and willingly decreed by Him.”
—Calvin, Institutes (1559), 1.17.3
Calvin insists human decisions themselves unfold under God’s sovereign rule:
“Men do nothing save at the secret instigation of God…
and do not deliberate and act without His guidance.”
—Calvin, Institutes (1559), 1.17.8
Even wicked choices occur under God’s governance:
“God uses the wicked as instruments, but does not cease to govern their efforts.”
—Calvin, Institutes (1559), 1.18.1
And Satan is no independent rival:
“Satan himself and all the wicked are so under the hand of God that they are compelled to do His will.”
—Calvin, Institutes (1559), 1.14.17
Commenting on Job, Calvin wrote:
“We must not imagine that God simply allows Satan or wicked men to do what they do.
God uses them as His instruments to fulfill His righteous purposes.”
—Calvin, Commentary on Job (1554–1555), on Job 1:21
Calvin’s theology mirrors the biblical witness:
God directs all things for His purposes — including suffering, evil decisions, and even Satan’s actions.
5.2 Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758)
Jonathan Edwards ministered in colonial New England, pastoring in Northampton, later serving Native Americans in Stockbridge, and becoming president of what is now Princeton University.
He led the First Great Awakening and wrote some of the most important works in American Christian theology: Freedom of the Will (1754), Religious Affections (1746), and History of Redemption.
Edwards’ doctrine of sovereignty is as sweeping as Calvin’s:
“God decrees all things, even the existence of evil, for His wise and holy ends.”
—Edwards, Freedom of the Will (1754), Part IV
Edwards taught that even sin has a divinely ordained role in history:
“God’s permitting, or rather determining, that sin should come to pass is on the whole best.”
—Edwards, Miscellanies No. 527 (1740s)
Affliction itself is wisely designed:
“Afflictions are ordered in infinite wisdom;
they are in every case suited to our needs and calculated to promote our highest good.”
—Edwards, Sermon: The Sovereignty of God in Salvation (1741)
And nothing lies outside God’s governance:
“All things, even the most minute and contingent, are ordered by God.”
—Edwards, Sermon: God’s Sovereignty in the Salvation of Men (1735–1736)
Even human decisions unfold under God’s decree:
“God’s will is the supreme rule that governs all events.
He orders every circumstance of the universe, including the moral actions of men.”
—Edwards, Freedom of the Will (1754)
Edwards believed that sin, suffering, calamity, judgment, mercy, and even unbelief all work together to reveal the manifold glory of God.
Summary of Section 5
Calvin and Edwards speak with one voice:
- God decrees all events
- God governs human decisions
- God directs suffering
- God rules over evil rulers
- God uses sin without being its moral author
- God ordains affliction for righteous ends
- God is sovereign over Satan
- God hardens whom He wills
- God has mercy on whom He wills
- Everything exists for God’s ultimate glory
Their teaching is simply the theological echo of the Bible’s own message — from Job to Isaiah to Jesus to Romans 9–11.
God governs all things, and the only faithful response is humility, trust, and love.
6. Jesus Christ: God’s Final Answer to Suffering, Unfairness, and Redemption
After Scripture shows us the sovereignty of God over suffering through Job, Isaiah, the Gospels, Romans 9–11, the early church, and the great theologians, it becomes clear that God does not ultimately give us an explanation for suffering.
He gives us a Person.
Jesus Christ is God’s final answer to the problem of suffering.
He does not merely speak about suffering —
He enters it, bears it, redeems it, and overcomes it.
All the threads of the biblical story converge in His suffering, death, and resurrection.
6.1 Jesus as the Innocent Sufferer
Jesus endured the greatest injustice in history.
Isaiah prophesied:
“He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”
—Isaiah 53:9
“He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities.”
—Isaiah 53:5
He deserved no suffering, no betrayal, no death.
Yet He willingly took on suffering that was not His own.
6.2 The Cross: Human Evil and Divine Sovereign Purpose
The cross is the clearest place in Scripture where:
- human evil,
- divine sovereignty,
- undeserved suffering, and
- God’s saving purpose
all collide.
Peter declares:
“This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”
—Acts 2:23
One event, two agents:
- God delivered Him up
- Human beings crucified Him
The cross is the most vivid demonstration that:
- Suffering can be God’s will
- Evil can serve God’s design
- Injustice can accomplish salvation
- Pain can achieve glory
- The worst moment in history can produce the greatest good
This is the same pattern seen in Job’s suffering, Pharaoh’s hardening, and Israel’s unbelief.
6.3 Jesus’ Resurrection as God’s Vindication
God did not explain Jesus’ suffering with words.
He explained it with resurrection.
“He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.”
—Acts 17:31
The resurrection declares:
- Jesus’ suffering was not meaningless
- Jesus’ sacrifice was accepted
- Jesus’ death accomplished salvation
- Jesus is Lord over every enemy, including death
The resurrection is God’s promise that He will one day make all injustices right.
6.4 Our Suffering United to Christ’s Suffering
Christians do not suffer alone.
They suffer with Christ, like Christ, and for Christ.
“We suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him.”
—Romans 8:17
“I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body.”
—Colossians 1:24
“To this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example.”
—1 Peter 2:21–23
Our suffering:
- identifies us with Christ
- shapes us into Christlikeness
- fits us for glory
- increases our reliance on God
- deepens our love
- gives us fellowship with Jesus at the deepest level
6.5 Jesus Is God’s Final Answer
When we ask “Why suffering?”, God does not give us:
- an equation,
- a formula,
- a philosophical system,
- or a list of reasons.
He gives us the suffering, crucified, risen Jesus.
The cross shows suffering can be at the center of God’s will.
The resurrection shows suffering will one day be undone.
Jesus proves:
- God has not abandoned the world — He has entered it
- God does not ignore suffering — He bears it
- God does not waste suffering — He redeems it
- God will not allow suffering to win — He overcomes it
Jesus is the reason suffering has meaning.
Jesus is the reason suffering will end.
Jesus is the reason we can trust God’s character even when we cannot see His plan.
He is God’s final answer to suffering.
7. What Christians Are Called to Do With Suffering
If Scripture teaches that God causes, governs, directs, and purposes suffering, then the question becomes:
How should Christians respond?
The Bible gives three clear commands:
- Endure suffering with trust
- Grow through suffering in holiness
- Enter into the suffering of others to relieve it
These are not optional. They are defining marks of Christian maturity.
7.1 Christians Are Called to Endure Suffering With Trust
Suffering is not a sign that God has abandoned us.
It is often the place where God does His deepest work.
“We suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him.”
—Romans 8:17
“Do not be surprised at the fiery trial… but rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings.”
—1 Peter 4:12–13
“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.”
—1 Peter 1:6
Suffering is not a detour in the Christian life. It is part of the Christian path.
7.2 Christians Are Called to Grow Through Suffering
Suffering does not merely test us — it transforms us.
It produces:
- endurance
- character
- hope
- humility
- compassion
- spiritual depth
- holiness of motive
- dependence on God
Paul teaches this clearly:
“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”
—Romans 5:3–4
James echoes:
“Count it all joy… when you meet trials… for the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”
—James 1:2–3
Hebrews adds:
“All discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who have been trained by it.”
—Hebrews 12:11
Suffering is training that yields righteousness.
7.3 Christians Are Called to Enter the Suffering of Others
Christianity is not passive.
It does not watch suffering from a distance.
Believers are commanded to enter into the suffering of others and relieve what we can.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
—Galatians 6:2
“Comfort those in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
—2 Corinthians 1:4
Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan provides the clearest picture of this:
“He had compassion,
went to him,
bound up his wounds,
set him on his own animal,
brought him to an inn,
and took care of him.”
—Luke 10:33–35
Christians move toward suffering, not away from it.
7.4 Concrete Examples: The Call to Sacrificial Compassion
Christian faith is not merely correct beliefs — it is sacrificial love.
Being pro-life but refusing to support struggling mothers or children in need
Christians are called to:
- support adoption
- assist single mothers
- fund crisis pregnancy care
- provide rides, food, childcare, and counsel
- open homes when God calls
The unborn and their mothers deserve more than convictions — they deserve compassion.
Condemning addiction but refusing to support recovery
Addiction is suffering. Christians must:
- walk with addicts
- serve in recovery ministries
- provide accountability
- offer transportation
- pray, support, comfort, and stay the course
Criticizing homelessness but refusing to feed, shelter, or clothe those in need
Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan speaks directly to this.
- The religious leaders walked past the wounded man
- The Samaritan moved toward him
Homeless men and women are the people modern society “walks past.”
The Christian is the one who stops, binds wounds, offers shelter, gives food, and shows compassion.
Complaining about broken families but refusing to mentor, support, or care for children and parents who struggle
Christian love is practical:
- tutoring
- coaching
- meals
- transportation
- presence
- listening
- generosity
Saying “God is in control” but refusing to be God’s hands and feet
Divine sovereignty is not an excuse for inaction.
It is the reason we can act with courage, without fear, and with compassion.
Christians do not observe suffering. They shoulder it.
7.5 Love Is the Christian Response to a Sovereign God
Christians do not know why God appoints suffering.
But we do know what God appoints for us:
Love.
Service.
Compassion.
Sacrifice.
Burden-bearing.
Faithfulness.
God’s sovereignty does not make us passive.
It makes us bold.
- We trust God with our suffering
- We enter into the suffering of others
- We live out the love of Christ in a suffering world
This is what it means to live under the sovereignty of God.
Conclusion: The Center of the Christian Answer
After walking through Job, the prophets, Jesus’ teaching, Romans 9–11, the witness of the early church, and the testimony of Calvin and Edwards, one truth rises above all the others:
We are not the most important beings in creation.
God is.
The definition of “good” is not what benefits us or preserves our comfort.
The definition of “good” is whatever reveals God’s glory, wisdom, justice, mercy, and power.
Suffering is not random.
Suffering is not meaningless.
Suffering is not outside God’s plan.
Suffering is not evidence that God is absent.
Suffering exists within a story far larger than our individual lives — a story God is writing for the display of His character.
Human beings cannot understand the full tapestry of history any more than Job could understand the counsel of the Almighty in the whirlwind. Our perspective is too small. Our understanding is too limited. Our vision is too narrow.
But God has given us something infinitely better than explanations:
He has given us Himself in the suffering and resurrected Christ.
Jesus is the ultimate proof that:
- God enters suffering
- God bears suffering
- God transforms suffering
- God redeems suffering
- God triumphs over suffering
The cross shows that suffering can be at the very center of God’s will. The resurrection shows that suffering will not have the final word.
And until God makes all things new, Christians live with two clear commitments:
1. Humble trust in God’s sovereignty
2. Sacrificial love toward those who suffer
We trust God with our own suffering, and we enter the suffering of others to bear their burdens.
We endure with courage.
We grow through affliction.
We show compassion to the broken.
We refuse to walk past the wounded person on the road.
We bind wounds, open our homes, share our resources,
and love in ways that cost us something.
This is what it means to be God’s people in a world of pain:
Humble before God’s sovereignty.
Bold in Christ’s example.
Compassionate in the Spirit’s power.
Faithful until resurrection.
This is the Christian answer to suffering, fairness, and the mystery of God’s ways.
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