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GOD ON TRIAL!

ECCLESIASTES 3:14-15

There was an article, recently, in the Sheboygan Press, dated Friday, June 19, 1998, that caught my eye. The title of the article was "God on Trial: Teen-agers Debate Divine Responsibility." Let me read a portion of this article, for it speaks of our subject matter this morning, which will be found in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. This story, by Christine Wicker, goes like this:

Dallas - the case was titled the People vs. the Almighty. The charge: crimes against humanity.

Noah, among the very few whom God spared in the great flood, testified for the prosecution.

Speaking for the Almighty were Eve, who got thrown out of Eden, and Hitler, who stands for evil itself in the modern world.

Retired federal judge Barefoot Sanders lent his courtroom, heard the case and issued a six-page opinion. Lawyers and witnesses were the teenagers in Temple Shalom's 10th-grade confirmation class.

The robed judged swept in, sat and asked, "May we assume the defendant, the Almighty, is present?"

"Yes, your honor," came the defense attorney's meek reply.

Opening arguments began.

"Throughout history, God has committed crimes against humanity," said Boris Briksin. "He has exterminated men for the duration of history. The best example of his wrongdoing is the Holocaust. Other examples are the flood, World War I, World War II and all natural disasters."

God's defense attorney, Brittney O'Daniel, stood.

"Your honor, our purpose today is to differentiate between the evils of humanity and the innocence of faith," she said. "The human race needs to learn to take responsibility for their own actions and quit displacing their anger, hurt, embarrassment and shame unto God. Your honor, by the end of this court case, you will make a decision. Choose the side of purity and innocence. Choose God."

The 16-year-old attorney was speaking fast. The judge asked for a summation. O'Daniel replied: "God is innocent of all wrongdoing, and man is evil."

Prosecution witnesses presented a callous, careless God who causes great suffering.

Aaron Weinstein was Noah in a fierce black beard and a bedsheet robe. "A loud voice sounded in my head telling me to do absurd things" - to build an ark on dry land and gather the animals together, he said. His neighbors laughed, not believing God planned to kill them all.

"Was everyone in the world, in your opinion, truly evil?," asked the prosecution.

"None of them was evil," Noah answered.

A rabbi played by David Arndt told the court that during the Flood, the Spanish Inquisition and the Holocaust, God "was probably up there watching and laughing at us."

"Why are we (the Jews) his chosen people?" he asked. "Because he needed someone to practice his torture on."

El Nino, played by Matt McCombs in a black trash bag with lightning across it, told the court, "I ruined countless lives because...it was time for humans to suffer."

"Why didn't God intervene?" asked the prosecution.

El Nino replied, "He didn't care."

With both sides giving strong arguments for what they believed in, it was now all in the hands of the judge. Would God be found guilty of crimes against humanity or would the charges against Him be dismissed? Surely His defense team was not the dream team that O.J. Simpson had. And it truly seemed that the tide of sentiment was against God. Many people in and out of the court room believe that God is guilty of these crimes. "The judge deliberated for weeks and finally issued his opinion."

But before we get to his decision, before we find out if God is guilty or not, lets turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 3, and lets begin reading in verse 14, to see what God's Word has to say regarding this difficult issue of God allowing these tragedies to continue on.

ECCLESIASTES 3:14-15

"I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it,

And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.

That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been;

And God requires an account of what is past."

For many Christians this is a difficult subject to speak about, and thus, they try to avoid it as much as possible, focusing on the good things that God has done, and not the evil they see every day on television and in newspapers, and even in their own lives. And it is hard to understand how innocent people can have these things happen to them. Men, women, and children have been brutally murdered, abused, taken advantage of, developed deadly diseases. Thus, the conclusion of many is that God does not care what is happening to us, or He can't do anything about it, or even worse, He gets some perverse pleasure from seeing all these things happen to us!

Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, in his book "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" expresses the unfairness of life, and being a Rabbi, how difficult it is for him to console people when bad things happen to them or one of their family members. He said, "And I find it very hard to tell them that life is fair, that God gives people what they deserve and need. Time after time, I have seen families and even whole communities unite in prayer for the recovery of a sick person, only to have their hopes and prayers mocked. I have seen the wrong people get sick, the wrong people be hurt, the wrong people die young."

Rabbi Kushner is trying to understand life "under the sun" or from a human perspective, and in doing so it seems so unfair. This morning we are going to try and tackle this difficult subject so that we may have a better understanding of who God is and His great love for us. In this section of Ecclesiastes I see three main points emerge. That God's work is PERPETUAL, it is PERFECT, and it has a PURPOSE. And understand this, all three of these points are born out of the idea that God is sovereign!

Now as much as some may not like it, or they may reject it totally, it does not change the fact that God is sovereign, that He is in control. You see, God is not under any external restraint. He is in total control, allowing certain events to transpire and allowing man to have a free will. That is man has a choice to make between good and evil. We are not robots without a free will to make. And we are not being forced to go in one direction, but being guided to what is best in our life. We have a choice to listen what is best or to reject it and suffer the consequences of our actions.

But ultimately, God rules over us in justice, wisdom and grace! It is as the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar said, as he turned his life around and placed his life into the hands of the true and living God. He said in Daniel 4:35, "All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, 'What have You done?'"

In saying all that, lets look at these three points and see what we can glean from them.

1. GOD'S WORK IS PERPETUAL (EVERLASTING) ECCLESIASTES 3:14a

"I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever."

When we look at the work of man's hands we see the frailty of it all. Our building projects, clothes, cars, our counsel is either falling apart or being changed. Our work is unstable and transitory, and yet we tend to hold onto the work of man, and dismiss the words of God which are eternal. As Isaiah 40:8 says "The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." Also, in Psalm 93:1-2 we read "The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting."

God is in control, His kingdom is an everlasting one. And to take the eternal God off His throne and place man upon it is the height of foolishness, and yet man does that all the time by ignoring the truths of God and holding onto his own, limited, unstable and transitory wisdom. Again, in the book of Psalms we read "LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." Psalm 90:1-2.

Now one of those precious eternal truths we have from God is found in John chapter 10, beginning in verse 27. We read, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." John 10:27-30.

Jesus is saying that if we hear His voice, obey what He has said, that is receive the gift of forgiveness of our sins through Christ, we are one of His sheep. And thus, we can have eternal life! And that eternal life can not be taken away once we have received it. Once we place our life in the hands of Jesus and the hands of the Father, there is no one or nothing that will be able to snatch us out, or remove us by force. God is the initiator and the sustainer of that eternal life we have with Him. And who, after receiving that, could completely walk away from it? No one! I don't think you can. After many so-called followers of Jesus left Him, Jesus asked his men if they were going to follow along and leave also. And Peter said "...'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'" John 6:68-69.

Now some may argue that Jesus is a New Testament thought and not an eternal plan or work of God. I disagree. In Revelation 13:8 we are told that Jesus was the lamb that was slain before the foundations of the world. That means before man was ever created God knew what it would take to restore man back from his rebellious ways that had separated him from God.

It is out of this, that God's work is perpetual, it is eternal, that we can rest, knowing that God's unchanging plan of redemption is open for all to follow. His Word is sure, it is truth, and it will lead us down the path towards a deeper relationship with Him.

2. GOD'S WORK IS PERFECT ECCLESIASTES 3:14b

"Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it."

Without the belief that God is good, and knowing that He is sovereign, would be terrifying, we would cower in fear of what He was going to do next. Can you imagine God being like some dictator such as Saddam Hussein? How horrible that would be, and yet, some people see God in that perspective. But the Scriptures paint us a different picture of God, He is not some dictator, in fact He is completely the opposite. Deuteronomy 10:17 says "For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe."

God can't be bought, he can't be bribed, His judgments are perfect, His actions are right, He is holy in all He does. In James 1:17 we are told "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." You see, having the right perspective is everything. If we look at life's situations through eyes that are self-centered, or man-centered, we are going to come to the wrong conclusion. We must look at things from a heavenly view point, one that is based on God's Word, or we will be in trouble.

God does have a perfect plan and the Septuagint translation of this verse in Ecclesiastes drives home that point even more. It reads "It is impossible to add to it, and it is impossible to take away from it." Man thinks he can change the plan of God by what he does, by his actions. Man thinks he can act independently of God, but understand this, even Satan is fulfilling the will of God, the plan of God at this time, and when it is completed, he will be cast into the lake of fire for eternity. You see, no one or nothing can hasten or retard God's designs or curtail His plans. You may think you are changing God's plans by rebelling against Him, but the reality is, He knew what you were going to do before you did it, and you are just fulfilling His perfect will, His plan.

Notice what Isaiah 44:6-8 has to say regarding God's plan. We read "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.'" God has told us ahead of time the things that would take place. He has given us some of the details of His plan to us so that we may be comforted by what He has said and what we see happening around us.

Think about it. When you look at the things that are taking place it seems like the world is out of control. And without God's promises, His plan, there would be no hope. But He has told us that prior to His return the days would grow more and more evil. The religious world leaders would join together for a one world religion. The governments of the world would unite under a one world government. The money system would be replaced by a chip placed under the skin. To me, knowing that God has already warned us of these things, that they were going to take place, gives me tremendous comfort, for it tells me that God is in control and nothing will happen without His knowledge or okay.

Notice how the smallest detail God is aware of. Things we might think are of no importance, and yet He knows them, is aware of them. In Matthew 10:29-31 Jesus said "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." That should comfort our heart, showing the loving care and concern the Father has for us, down to the smallest detail!

God's work is perfect, and as we are going to see, it also has a purpose to it.

3. GOD'S WORK HAS A PURPOSE ECCLESIASTES 3:14c

"God does it, that men should fear before Him."

As one writer put it, "The Lord of all never aimed at making life one series of gratification; He designed life to be a moral discipline, in which suffering, weakness, and distress fulfill their own service of ministering to man's highest welfare. For the purpose intended, God's work needs no apology and admits no improvement."

You see, God's work is done for our benefit, the benefit of His family, His children, drawing them closer to Him. For those outside of Christ the Holy Spirit is drawing them, pointing them to Christ, in the right direction. Thus, the intention for those outside of Christ is to draw them to Him, and those in the family of God is that they both should come to fear the Lord. Not in the sense of cowering in fear, but a reverential fear. As Malachi 3:6 said, "For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob."

Again, perspective is everything. In Isaiah 45:9 we read "Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'?" God is saying that He is the potter and we are the clay. Thus, as the potter is molding us and shaping us, He is giving us a purpose in what we are doing here on earth. And just because He finds an imperfection in us doesn't mean He tosses us aside to get another lump of clay. He removes that imperfection, and continues to mold and shape us, forming us into the image of God.

The problem comes when the clay, who is suppose to allow the potter to form it, speaks up and starts to ask God what in the world He is doing or saying that God is not doing anything, He is without hands or the ability to do anything. That should not happen. We need to allow God, the master potter to work on our lives, and as hard as clay can be, the fresh water of the Holy Spirit upon our lives softens us up and makes us more pliable for God to mold and shape us. And Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

We have seen that God's work is PERPETUAL, it is PERFECT, and it has a PURPOSE, but that still does not explain all the evil we see. What happened?

When God created the heavens and the earth it was all VERY GOOD! There was no sin, no death, just a beautiful relationship between God and His creation. But God gave man a free will to chose between good and evil. And when man chose to rebel against God, to sin, then death because of sin entered the perfect world that God created. All the evil we see is a result of man's rebellion against God, and yet God will use it for His plan, His purpose, and one day the curse will be take away and the new Jerusalem will find righteousness flowing through it.

For those that reject Christ, they will have to give an account of their actions, and will be eternally separated from Him. For those in Christ, the penalty for our sins was already paid for by Christ and we will enter into eternity with Him

As we started out this morning, God was on trial for crimes against humanity. The judge is done deliberating, and his final opinion is as follows:

"In order for God to be guilty of crimes against humanity, it must be proven that either the Lord 'hardened the hearts' of the Nazis, so they could commit their heinous acts, or the Lord had the power to stop the Nazis, and chose not to take action (this presupposes there is a legal obligation to intervene)," he wrote.

"We cannot accept the premise that all evil acts are due to the hardening of the heart [by] God because that could create a defense for all misconduct."

And so God was pronounced not guilty, and therefore acquitted.

God is holy, He is just, and there is no darkness found in Him at all. Man has only one person to blame for all the injustice that is taking place in the world, and that is HIMSELF! Sin started the death process and with it all the diseases and tragedies we see in the world today. God never intended it to be that way when He created the heavens and the earth, man chose it himself. The only way to change that wrong is to allow the king of glory to come into your life. He wants to come in, but He won't kick down the door of your heart. Open it up so the king of glory can come in and mold and shape your life into the man or woman He wants you to be. If you are a Christian, allow Him to continue to mold and shape your life, and always keep things in proper perspective - a heavenly view instead of an earthly one.

It is as David said in Psalm 24. We read "Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory."