The Mystery of Suffering: It's Cause

After Satan through the serpent tempted Adam and Eve and they sinned God said in Genesis 3:14, "Because thou hast done this thou art cursed . . ." In that phrase "because thou hast done this" we see the basic cause of all suffering in this world. Because Satan did what he did and Eve did what she did and because Adam did what he did suffering has come into this world.

Now, some may question why does the sin of Adam have anything to do with me? The answer the Bible gives to that question is that you and I were in Adam when he fell into sin and because he fell we fell. He sinned and therefore we sinned. Romans 5:12 says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

Suffering in our world is all a result of sin. Sin is the cause of all of it. When you peel back all the layers the most basic cause of the suffering, natural disasters, terrorism, death, destruction, and disease is sin. The bad news is that sin has come into our world because of the lie of Satan and the sinful choice of man in the Garden of Eden. And furthermore you and I were in Adam and therefore we have a sinful nature which separates us from God.

But the Bible tells us the good news as well. Just as we are in the first Adam and therefore guilty, we can be found to be in the second Adam, which is Christ and therefore declared righteous. Romans 5:19 puts it like this, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

There are only two kinds of people in our world. There are those who are in Adam and therefore separated from God and there are those who are in Christ and are therefore brought near to God through His Son. Are you in Adam or are you in Christ? The good news of the gospel is that when you repent of your sin and through faith receive Christ then by His grace He forgives you and places you in Christ. My prayer is that if you have never trusted Christ as your personal Savior that you will do so today. God loves you and so does First Baptist Church.