Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? (Part 7)
The ‘Good’ Guys and the Good News
This is the seventh in a multi-part series on what the Bible says about why bad things happen to ‘good’ people. You can read Part 1 here.
In last week’s post, we talked about the Gospel. How it is good news for bad people. And we looked at how Jesus came and often met with people considered the worst of sinners in their time. This was sometimes very offensive to people who considered themselves good people. They felt ‘how can He meet with someone so sinful!’ Perhaps the felt like the Pharisee in one of Jesus's parables:
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people — greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’
“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner! ’ I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14 (CSB)
The forgiveness and grace offered in The Gospel is so extreme- it can actually be offensive to people who view themselves as righteous because of their own works. If our self worth is tied to feeling like we are good people compared to those around us, it gives us hearts that are judgemental. Hearts that like the Pharisee in Luke 18 say ‘thank goodness, I’m not like that bad person!’ But there are challenges with this. One is that it tries to steal glory that belongs only to Jesus and attribute it to ourselves. It also minimizes the sin in our own lives and hearts by saying that our sin is not as bad as other people’s. This goes against God’s word, because He says through James:
For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all.
James 2:10 (CSB)
Whoever breaks one law, is guilty of breaking them all. Ouch.
This is why we can’t stand before God clothed in our own good works and think that will get us to heaven. The Bible is clear that it won’t. The only way to be seen by God as righteous, is to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
That truth feels really hard to grasp sometimes. Because it is so natural for us to view some people as good (usually us), while condemning others as bad.
The Gospel, then, can seem so outrageous that it even feels offensive to those who want to view themselves as righteous. Perhaps it feels unfair in some ways. Jesus told parables about this too. One example is the parable of workers in a vineyard.
In this parable Jesus talks about a landowner who goes out early looking for workers to work in his vineyard. He agrees to a price with them and then tells them to go work. All seems fair. But then, the vineyard owner does something surprising. He goes out again later in the morning and hires more people. He does the same thing at noon. At 3pm. Even near the end of the day, he goes out and invites those who haven’t found work yet to come and work in his vineyard starting at 5pm. Then at the very end of the day, he tells the person managing his field to give everyone their pay, but- he tells him to start by paying the last people to show up first! The ones who’d been there all day, had to wait till the end to receive their pay. And in the parable, what the vineowner did, surprised- even upset the workers. It didn’t seem fair.
“When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’
“He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius? Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous because I’m generous? ’
“So the last will be first, and the first last.”
Matthew 20:9-16 (CSB)
Jesus shows here that God is not unfair for showing mercy to all. Not even when he forgives the bad guys who have repented of their sin at seemingly the last hour. In His wisdom, and sovereignty we will see times with the last will be first, and the first will be last. This is His prerogative as the only One who deserves anything good. It reflects the Father’s heart of mercy and love.
Throughout history, the truth of The Gospel has sometimes seemed most offensive to the people who want to view themselves as good. Sometimes it seems so unfair that they ask, ‘so what’s the point of trying to be good? Why not just live lives of sinful indulgence - if all can be forgiven!’ Perhaps this is even the natural response when someone truly understands The Gospel. The question is so old that Paul addresses it back in the time of Romans. As he explains The Gospel- that justification comes from faith in Christ, not from our own righteousness, he goes on to address the question why not go on sinning:
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!...
But thanks be toGod, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6: 15;17-18 (ESV)
Do you see how Paul gives credit to God for the change in the believer’s heart? Apart from Christ’s work and Holy Spirit living inside of us, we are slaves to sin. But because of Christ’s work- we become obedient from the heart! This transformation compels us to righteousness! Paul goes on to explain more. For those who are trusting in Christ, we are in the Spirit.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Romans 8:9-10 (ESV)
This is why, when we properly understand what Jesus did for us, our response is not to feel that we are the good ones, owed something special from God. Instead our hearts praise God that He is good! And that He has generously covered our sin and allowed us to participate in the blessing that only Jesus earned. We stop looking down on others or trying to point out how their sin is so much worse than ours, and instead we proclaim the good news to others. Look what Jesus did for me! This is a free gift! Come, repent, and enjoy!
And perhaps that’s part of what’s missing when we think about being ‘good’ people. When we seek to take that title for ourselves, based on our own works- we miss that the goodness we have, the righteousness, is itself actually a gift from God.
Thank you for reading. This is part of a multi part series on what the Bible says about why bad things happen to ‘good’ people. You can read Part 1 here.
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This copy in this article was written by a real person, me 🙂, not AI.
For true hope and joy,
~m
