Answering Bill Maher

Last Sunday evening professed Agnostic Bill Maher appeared on Mike Huckabee’s show. Maher really dislikes Christians and in fact says that those who believe in God suffer from a neurological disorder. In the context of the conservation, Maher challenged Huckabee with the notion that there could not be a God due to all of the suffering in the world. Huckabee explained that suffering is a reality because the world is broken....Maher asked, "Why did God make it broken?" Huckabee continued to try to reason with him.

What if Maher had asked you the same question, "Why if there is a God...is there suffering in the world?" How would you respond? My response would go something like this: God created the world and everything in it and declared that it was good, not broken! He created man in his own image and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. God then gave man dominion over the world, along with a free will. Man chose in his free will to disobey God, and as a result sin became a reality along with suffering and death due to sin. All pain, suffering and death are linked to that defining moment. Since that time to quote Paul from Rom 8:22....the whole of creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth up to the present time. God did not make the world broken, the world is broken because of sin. You and I still contribute to the chaos in the cosmos because every single one of us are sinners. We have each violated God’s holy law. As a result, we are subject to divine punishment and all of us will eventually stand before the Creator and Judge of the Universe for a day of reckoning. Some would argue here that God being a Good Judge will simply overlook sin. Contrary, God, being a Good and Just Judge must make sure that sin is punished. After all, a Good and Just Judge cannot allow criminals to go free. If He did, He would not be good but corrupt. Can you imagine in criminal law, a judge letting a known sex-offender go free? If he did, we would not call him good, but corrupt.

When we stand before that Good and Just Judge, His law will be condemning. There will be no lying your way out of it because the eye of the Omniscient Judge has seen it all. He has heard every idle word, lie, and blasphemy. He has seen the lust in your heart which he considers to be adultery. He has seen the anger and hatred of your heart which He considers murder. His Omniscient Eye has been as a surveillance camera that has recorded every moment of your life since you came into being. While our acts of sin may seem trivial to us and while we may not see ourselves as bad people, our sin is exceedingly sinful in the eyes of our Perfect and Holy God. After all, the seriousness of the offense rises with the dignity of the one offended. For instance, if you punch your neighbor, you may get in some trouble, but punch the President and you will be in more trouble than a slick lawyer can get you out of. The President’s dignity made the offense much worse. Now understand that your sin is against the All Sovereign All Holy God of the universe!! Our sin is indeed exceedingly sinful. That means we are in tons of trouble and are subject to the Judgment of the Judge.

God is also a God of grace and mercy. In His grace and mercy, He chose to make a way for man to be saved. Our Lord Jesus Christ stepped down out of Heaven and into humanity, lived a sinless life and died on the cross to pay our fine. His free gift of salvation is offered to anyone who will by faith and repentance surrender to Christ as Lord and Savior. Through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Good and Just Judge can commute our sentence. Christ paid our fine!!! We may chose to not accept the work of Christ on our behalf, but choosing to reject the offer of Christ is to remain subject to the punishment of the Judge and suffer the consequences for our sin! Our sin will either be pardoned by Christ or punished in Hell. Truly our only hope for forgiveness is Jesus!!!