The Great Drama of Christ’s Redemptive Work

We begin Section 5 of Randy Alcorn’s book If God Is Good. This section is only three chapters long and looks at evil and suffering in the great drama of Christ’s redemptive work.

Chapter 19 looks at evil and suffering as seen in the Scriptures’ redemption story. Chapter 20 asks the question “If you were the author how would you have written the story”? Then chapter 21 shows us that Jesus is the only answer bigger than the questions.

In this post, I will be sharing excerpts from chapters 19 and 20.

You can find posts of previous chapters under the heading Bible Studies in the menu above. Unless otherwise noted, the Scriptures used are from the NKJV.

The Story of Redemption Began Before God Created the World.

Before creation itself, God had written a myriad of names in the book of life.

“All who dwell on the earth will worship him [the Beast from the Sea], whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” – Rev. 13:8

We are informed that the Book of Life belongs to “the lamb that was slain.” Before God took his first step in forming this universe, he had already determined to sacrifice his son, Christ Jesus, for our sins, like a lamb on the sacrificial altar.

God’s redemptive plan was not an ad-lib response to unanticipated events. From before the very beginning, God knew the very worst, and the very best it would one day bring.

Paul writes:

“Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,”  – 2 Tim. 1:9

How could God give us grace before our lives began, even before the universe itself existed? Only because God knew and determined in advance the work of Christ for us on the cross.

God wrote the script of the unfolding drama of redemption long before Satan, demons, Adam and Eve, and you and I took the stage. And from the beginning, he knew that the utterly spectacular ending would make the dark middle worth it.

Evils Pervasiveness

The earliest Scriptures document evil’s pervasiveness in the human heart. The first four biblical references to evil are in Genesis.

• “… The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” – Gen 2:9
• “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” – Gen 2:17
• “The serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Gen.3:4-5
• “The Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” – Gen 3:22.

The next reference provides a frightening commentary on the extent of human evil:

“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” – Gen 6:5

After tolerating generations of increasing evil, God sent the flood as a catastrophic judgment to sweep away evil and start civilization over.

God’s present postponement of worldwide judgment today gives humans time to repent and turn to God, thereby avoiding eternal condemnation. Keep in mind that God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He’s restraining himself on account of us, holding back the end because he doesn’t want anybody to be lost.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 Pet.3:9

Be Fruitful and Multiply

When we call upon God to end all evil, perhaps we should consider what we’re really asking. Yahweh did once judge evil almost completely. However, doing so required that he sweep away nearly every human being on the planet. Is that what we want him to do today? Therefore, we should be careful what we wish for.

Originally our Creator commanded humankind to spread across the earth and occupy it. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” – Gen. 1:28

Fallen rebellious humanity had another idea and said: “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” – Gen. 11:4

Despite their blatant disobedience, God kept his promise not to judge the earth as in the flood. However, he did confuse their language so they couldn’t understand one another. “The Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.” – Gen. 11:8

All the Nations Shall Be Blessed

God used both the flood and Babel to restrain sin, allowing the earth to continue its course before final judgment. Then later God promised Abraham “In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed My voice.” – Gen. 22:18

The Messiah Jesus would redeem not only Israel but representatives of every nation. Nations that would not exist apart from God’s judgment on Babel.

At any time, God could eliminate evil, suffering, death, and curse. He does not because he wants more people to participate in his redemptive plan. He wants people to worship him:

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands” – Rev. 7:9

Heaven praises the Redeemer, Jesus, the Lamb of God:

“And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” – Rev. 5:9-10

God never gave up on his plan for sinless humans to rule the earth. God wants more people to have time to come into the world, then come to repentance and into a right relationship with him.

God Restrains Evil

Yahweh wants more of us to reign and live with him on the glorious New Earth. God lets the story unfold by restraining evil until its final verdict.

Paul speaks of the “man of lawlessness” who sets himself up as God:

“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” 2 Thess. 2:3 (NIV)

Then Paul says:

“And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” – 2 Thess. 2:6-7

Clearly, it is God who restrains both the man of lawlessness and lawlessness itself. God holds back the tide of human and demonic evil. Yahweh infuses this fallen world with his goodness, restraining evil until the moment he brings final judgment.

A Cosmic Drama

Like Job, we live in a cosmic drama, in full view of Heaven’s audience. In the first chapter of Job, the drama’s Director tells us what the characters don’t know – what’s really going on. Job knew nothing about God commending Job to Satan and calling him blameless. God let Job face terrible trials with no explanation.

We share this in common with Job. God doesn’t specifically explain why he permits evil and suffering to fall upon us. He wants us to trust him. In one sense, Job is everyman.

Right now, you and I may be subjects of discussion between God and Satan, or between God and his righteous angels, or angels and redeemed people in Heaven. You may lie in a rest home or a hospital or sit at home alone. But you’re not alone. An unseen universe is watching.

Perhaps a wager has been placed involving the testing of your faith. A cosmos of invisible beings, good and evil may be observing you with intense interest. Powerful warriors battle one another, some for us, some against us (see Daniel 9:20-10:21).

You may feel your choices have been reduced to whether you want Jell-O, or a window opened, or an extra blanket.

On the contrary, your choice of whether you will trust God and worship him today reverberates throughout the universe, either honoring or dishonoring your God. It also has enormous implications for the eternal rewards that God promises us in the next life.

The Heart of God

It’s critical that we know the heart of God. He genuinely loves and cares about us. If we believe he has no emotions then we will never feel his love for us, nor will we experience deep love for him. Human suffering genuinely moves the heart of God the Storyteller. The Lord God said to Moses:

“I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So, I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” – Exodus 3: 7-10

Jesus wept over his beloved city:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate;” –  Matt. 23:37-38

David says to God:

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” – Ps. 56:8

God‘s Emotions

God’s rich variety of feelings, including compassion, are vital to the story.

There is an abundance of biblical passages which show that God experiences a broad range of emotions. Since God made us in his image, we should assume our emotions are collective of his, even though ours are subject to sin while his are not. Here are just a few for your consideration:

• “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God”- Eph. 4:30
• “The Lord was also angry with me …” – Deut. 1:37
• “The Lord was moved to pity by their groaning” – Judges 2:18
• “The speech pleased the Lord: – 1 Kings 3:10
• “He will rejoice over you with gladness…and with singing” – Zeph. 3:17
• “The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” – Gen. 6:6
• “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” – Isa. 62:5
• “In all their distress he too was distressed.” – Isa. 63:9
• “Therefore, I will wail for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; I will mourn for the men of Kir Heres.” – Jer. 48:31
• “With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness, I will have mercy on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.” – Isa. 54:8

The fact that Jesus suffered unimaginable torture on the cross should explode any notion that God lacks feelings. In the suffering of Jesus, God himself suffered. No one who grasps the truth of the suffering of Jesus Christ, God himself can say “God doesn’t understand my suffering.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a Nazi prison camp, “Only the suffering God can help.” [1]

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A Breathtaking New World

While in the larger story, this is not the best possible world, it may be the best possible means of achieving the best possible world. A world that had never been touched by evil would be a good place, but would it be the best possible place? If we acknowledge that evil and suffering facilitate the development of significant human virtues, then we must answer no.

If you tell God he should not have allowed evil and suffering, then you’re saying he shouldn’t have allowed us to experience compassion, mercy, and sacrificial love. In order for those characteristics to develop and become part of us, God had to permit evil and suffering. Can we fault God for ordaining the kind of world in which we could experience such great good?

And suppose that once developed, the attributes of patience, mercy, love, and strength of character could last forever, even long after evil had disappeared. Could this justify God’s allowance of evil? Randy Alcorn believes the answer is yes. The story culminates in a new world made breathtaking because God has overcome evil and suffering.

Christ is the main character of God’s story. His redemptive work brings goodness to this world beyond all cost and value.

John Piper writes,

“The suffering of the utterly innocent and infinitely holy son of God in the place of the utterly undeserving sinners to bring us to everlasting joy is the greatest display of the glory of God’s grace that ever was, or ever could be. Everything leading to it and everything flowing from it is explained by it, including all the suffering in the world.” [2]

If You Were The Author, How Would You Have Written The Story?

We value in stories the conflict we avoid in life. The author Randy Alcorn writes:  

“Though I write mostly nonfiction, I’ve written nine works of fiction, seven of them full-length novels. Like many fiction writers, I’ve spent considerable time developing the craft of storytelling.

What makes a good story? Interesting characters, significant conflict, the thwarting of desires, and a satisfying (if not triumphant) resolution. It must avoid predictability and its characters must continually develop – and the higher the stakes, the better the story.”

The Great Storyteller

Now consider God as the great Storyteller. With grand artistry, he writes into the story the characters, both angels and people, with different names, personas, and circumstances. Michael and Lucifer, are brother archangels. Lucifer rebels and become Satan. Moreover, he takes a third of the angels down with him. When Satan first appears in the garden, we know none of this; God doesn’t tell us this backstory until much later.

Evil enters the world. And right then and there God promises a Redeemer, the woman’s offspring. His people, century after century, expect the Redeemer to come soon and overthrow his enemies instead of his Kingdom – end of story.

But That’s Not How It Happens

The first three chapters of God’s story, as told in the Bible, set up the unfolding drama of redemption. The last three chapters show how God will judge evil, reward good and come down to the New Earth to live with his children forever. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will be no more suffering and evil.

This is the greatest story ever told. Secular reviewers often say of a book, “This is a powerful redemptive story.” The very concept of a redemptive story flows from the Bible’s story of redemption. It’s the prototype of all great stories.

Suppose you could remove from the story Lucifer’s fall and Adam and Eve’s sin. Take away Cain and Abel’s conflict, the flood, Babel, and the battles Joseph, Jacob, Moses, David, and Elijah had with evil and suffering. Remove all wars and heartbreaks and yearnings for something better. Take them all away and you would also take away Jesus, who would not become one of us in order to reveal God’s character and save us from our sins.

The second person of the triune God would still exist, of course, but no God-man, no incarnation, no need for incarnation. No first coming, no second coming. No New Heaven and New Earth, only the same one continuing forever.

The result? Less. Less Appreciation.

• Less appreciation for peace because war had never broken out.
• Less appreciation for food because famine had never occurred.
• Less appreciation for righteousness because sin never appeared.
• Less love for life because death never happened.
• Less glory to God and heartfelt worship because we never have seen his attributes of grace and mercy and patience.

As a member of the real-life story’s cast, you might wish for a world untouched by evil and suffering. That’s understandable because life is hard as the story unfolds; And it will be hard until it culminates or you leave the stage, having played your part.

However, if you sat in the audience, which story would you prefer to watch? And if you wrote the story, which version would you prefer to write? And even as a cast member having endured such difficulty, 10,000 years from now at the ongoing cast party in honor of the Writer and Director, when grand tales make the rounds at dinner tables on the New Earth – which story do you think you would cast your vote for?

Character Virtues

The greatest character virtues we know would never appear in a story without evil and suffering. Don’t most, if not all, of the greatest virtues surface in response to evil and suffering?

Think of your favorite books and movies. Such as Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings. The virtues and common camaraderie, the courage and sacrifice central to those stories simply would not exist without a context of evil and suffering.

Would you agree that some great good such as courage and sacrifice and compassion materialize only in the presence of evil and suffering? If you do, then you recognize that if God allowed less evil in the world there would also be less good.

We are God’s Children

Wise authors don’t let their characters dictate their circumstances. Nor do wise parents let their children dictate theirs. Of course, we’re not merely God’s characters, we are also his children. But like any good parent, God doesn’t give us happiness at any cost.

Parents who try to make their children happy in the short term unwisely allow their children to set the agenda. Children question even the best parent’s goodness and love.

The keyword in questioning parental authority, wisdom, and goodness is: why?

Why also dominates our thinking and the problem of evil and suffering. If God is good, why does he let us suffer? Why doesn’t he stop the things that make us unhappy?

• What if forever attaining the highest good in the universe means not getting what we think we want now?
• What if the highest good means learning to trust God and becoming more Christ-like?
• What if the author chose the right setting and plot twist after all, and in the end, we’ll be internally grateful for our God-given part in the story?
• What if you could have both complete freedom and complete happiness?

Scripture promises exactly that, in the New Heaven and New Earth.

All will serve Jesus because they want to with all their hearts. We’ll rejoice as we fall down before him who sits on the throne, laying our crowns before him, crying “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power” – Rev. 4:11

What could be greater than not only worshipping him but watching in wonder as he places his nail-scarred hands upon our shoulders and says “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” as we participate in our Master’s joy?

It literally doesn’t get any better than that!

A World Where Dreams and Adventures Forever Expand

One paragraph into chapter 1 on the New Earth will make up for eighty hard chapters on the old earth. But even if it took another eighty to compensate, the joys would have only just begun.

For the Christian, death is not the end of adventure but a doorway to a world where dreams and adventures forever expand. No matter how bad the present, an eternity with Christ in Heaven will be incomparably better.

So, if God thinks the whole thing is worth it – and we know it will be worth it to us once we reach Heaven – then why not affirm by faith, even in the midst of suffering that it’s worth it now?

One day we will view our present pain with different eyes. When the drama culminates in a happy ending, our suffering will have raised the stakes and increased our internal happiness.

God promises that the eternal ending will break forth in such glorious happiness that all present suffering will pale in comparison.

All who know Jesus will have a happy ending.

We just haven’t seen it yet.

The keyword, YET…

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[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, ed. Bethge (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997 ), 361.

[2] John Piper, “The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God,” in Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God, ed. John Piper and Justin Taylor (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2006), 82.