Bottom line up front: Imperishable Seed in a World of Counterfeits

Context: This is part four in a series from Peter’s two New Testament letters. The big picture of Peter’s first letter is straightforward: perseverance amidst persecution. Peter was writing to Christians who were literal spiritual exiles. Their ruling army was pagan Rome, anything but monotheistic. It was shot through with paganism and debauchery. Ever studied the life of Nero? It’ll turn your head.

Peter wrote to encourage the saints, to encourage them to persevere amidst spiritually dark times when fakes and counterfeits were pervasive. I love how Peter filled his letter with quotes from the Old Testament to show that God has always been revealing one coherent story. Listen to how Peter alludes to Isaiah 40 via this quote:

“All flesh is like grass

 and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

 and the flower falls,

But the word of the Lord remains forever.”

That’s a direct quotation of Isaih 40, verses 6 and 8. Why does Peter allude to that? To again reiterate his theme: perseverance amidst persecution.

Connection to Our Day: I have a young man that God has brought into my life recently who’s wrestling with theodicy. In plain terms, he sees so much evil in the world that he is quite possibly abandoning belief in God. He says to me essentially this: “God claims to be so good in the Bible, but the world is awful. People are evil. There’s so much suffering. So much. Suffering that seems inexplicable. How can there be a good God amidst such overwhelming wickedness and evil?”

This is one of the oldest questions, of course. There’s nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9). Theodicy, or the problem of evil, is an ancient subject. But here’s how I’m trying to encourage my young friend and what this all has to do with Peter’s lessons for us in the New Testament: There’s natural evil, we might say, things like tsunamis, hurricanes, etc. where no moral agency is involved. We don’t say tornadoes are evil, e.g. But there is also moral evil. That is where persons are involved. Moral agency is involved wherein a person acts morally or immorally. Or one might even fail to act, which could also be moral or immoral, depending upon the situation. This is what my young friend is wrestling with—moral evil. How can a good God allow such moral evil, in other words?

There are several options: First, we could say that God is not omnipotent, but that clearly contradicts Scripture. Second, we could say that God is not omniscient, but that also is clearly contradicted by Scripture. Third, we could say that God is not in fact altogether good and holy. But that is certainly contradicted via all of Scripture. God is holy, holy, holy (Isaiah 6, e.g.). The view that Scripture teaches is that evil does indeed exist, that it’s a result of human sin, that all of us are sinful (Romans 3:10, 23), but God uses evil for purposes of good (Genesis 50:20). The crucifixion of the Christ was evil, for example. Jesus was the spotless Lamb of God. Yet God allowed the cross. In fact, the Bible says that God ordained it (Acts 2:23, e.g.) in order to save people. “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things” (Isaiah 45:7).

If God didn’t exist, we have no right to complain. If we are just random accidents and molecules in motion, then we’ve no ‘right’ to whine. But man is not a random accident; he is the creation of the infinite-personal God, and is known by God intimately, and God has come in fact to save all who repent and believe upon the gospel. God rules over all-even over evil. All things are under the rule of God. Therefore, evil exists to glorify God. The very existence of evil contrasts with the consummate beauty and goodness and glory of God.

Encouragement: To believers Peter writes, “you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Pt 1:23). There it is, guys. Imperishable seed. Life from death. Raised to life. Imperishable triumphing over the perishing. Lazarus was raised. Jesus was raised. So will all be who are in Christ. Light triumphs over darkness and good over evil, but only in Christ. So, to my young friend struggling with issues of theodicy, bring your questions and longings to the person of Christ, and let him redeem not only your questions but your very soul.