Powerful Video on God & 9/11

9/11 as Tragedy and Moral Evil

This just in you were looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center. And we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.

CNN Center right now is just beginning to work on this story. Obviously calling our sources and trying to figure out exactly what happened, but clearly something relatively devastating happening this morning.

The south end of the island of Manhattan. That is once again a picture of one of the towers of the World Trade Center.

So I remember exactly where I was the morning of 9 -11 I was in bed. And this is during the time where there were still answering machines and my phone was ringing and ringing and ringing it was my sister who lived in California at the time and finally she Let it ring through to the answering machine, and she yelled at me through the answering machine.

She said Jeff get out of bed right now. You have to turn your television on. We're being attacked and so obviously. Then I got out of bed, so I went and turned the television on and I saw the first tower burning.

Obviously I was still waking up, so I couldn't quite understand. What was happening and so I was watching When the second plane hit the second tower, and I remember this feeling of just sinking. It went right into my belly.

I remember that I was Worried for the people that were in the tower. I remember that I was wondering what in the world was going on obviously this wasn't an accident and all these emotions Began to just fill my mind and my heart and I remember as those buildings came down There was just such a feeling of awe All over this kind of evil this kind of destruction, and I remember over the coming week Walking around in public and seeing people's faces looking at the news on the screens and watching people all around me as they Responded to what they were seeing on the news.

I remember going to Candlelight vigils in the city watching people holding candles and just pouring out the tears Terrified as to what was to come. Concerned for the families the victims of this awful awful murderous act.

And I remember that I was watching all these people in unity atheists Christians Mormons Roman Catholics Buddhists Secularists agnostics everybody was huddled around together in a circle hurting over this disaster this awful awful thing and There's something to be said about that from a Christian perspective, and that is that that hurt that pain makes sense.

The Christian Worldview and the Meaning of Evil

Within a Christian world view as a matter of fact the Christian world view is the only coherent world view that can make sense of that awful awful murderous act. Because if you think about it Those atheists who are watching those screens and watching the same thing that all of us were watching that horrible day They have a perspective about the world.

That has no meaningful answer in terms of is that evil from an atheistic perspective if you follow the neo-darwinian Micromutation macro evolutionary model all that was falling out of those buildings that day in terms of the people were just random results of evolutionary processes.

This universe never had them in mind. This is a purposeless unguided universe and what happened that day wasn't evil. It just happens. It's just what is all of us according to atheism or nothing more than African apes were just bipedal Protoplasm bobbing around in a cosmos that doesn't care about us so in an atheist framework all we have is bipedal Protoplasm in a universe that does not care all we have is ground below us and above us is only sky.

What happened that day on September 11 from the atheistic perspective is just sound and fury. Signifying nothing it's time and chance acting on matter. Some random results of evolutionary processes with chemicals going off in their three-pound brains.

Commandeered a vessel and they crashed it into a building and that building fell down all it was was dust. Dust from the building and just stardust in terms of human beings. That's it. So how do we talk about?

Imago Dei, God's Character, and Objective Evil

Tragic awful evil situations like what happened on 9-eleven. Well, I want to suggest that the only way we can talk in a meaningful way about what happened that day is from a Christian Perspective you see because from a biblical perspective all of us are made in the Imago Dei and the image of God.

We're not just random results of evolutionary processes in a universe that didn't have us in mind as a matter of fact. We have a personal triune God Who is perfect who is limitless infinite and all of his attributes he is love he is mercy.

He is justice and holiness. He is righteousness. We have a God whose character provides the principium the reference point for everything in terms of what is good and what is evil. God is love and with God as our reference point and with us as image bearers of God we can make sense of Evil things like what took place in 9-eleven you see from a Christian perspective.

We can call it truly evil objectively evil Immoral wrong and we can say that there is Justice ahead of us in the future. God is a just God. God says he will have his vengeance. God will answer all of these wicked acts on the last day and we have something even more compelling I think from a Christian perspective.

We not only have a coherent way to call what happened that day evil. But we also have a way to say that what takes place in this world is Not purposeless. In other words in this awful broken Sinful rebellious world that we live in all of us are sinners.

None of us are righteous all of us have turned aside all of us run away from God not toward him all of us suppress The truth of God in unrighteousness outside of Jesus Christ in this awful painful evil world.

We have a God who is still sovereign over he wields his sovereign purposes. There is no purposeless evil in this world we're able to say that that is good and that is evil and God has a purpose in every Thing that takes place in the world.

One of my favorite theologians said there is not a maverick molecule in this entire universe. Not one God is sovereign. He rules over everything even in the midst of a hostile and rebellious world. God works together his perfect decree all according to his sovereignty and His grace mercy love and justice.

Joseph, Human Evil, and God's Sovereign Providence

An example, I think would be good here when we look at the Bible we see these Tremendous moments where you see evil in the world evil coming from the hearts of men and women. God is an evil. God isn't putting a gun to people's heads and telling them to do something evil.

They are evil. They're doing what they want, but in doing what they want. They can't thwart the purposes of an almighty sovereign God and a good example is in the beginning of the Bible. There's a person named Joseph and Joseph's brothers hated him.

Joseph's brothers couldn't even say a kind thing about him and Joseph's brothers actually lied to their father and said an animal had destroyed him and killed him and Joseph's brothers actually sold him into slavery.

It's the height of wickedness and so Joseph goes into Egypt as a slave and Many many years later after trauma after false Accusations after evil after being in a dungeon through God's grace mercy and power Joseph is elevated to this high place in Egypt and all this famine fills the land around and Joseph's brothers have to come into Egypt for rescue.

And what's amazing is they think their brother is probably dead. They know they sold him into slavery. They did this evil thing to him. How could God? Perfect that how could God redeem that. And what's amazing is his brothers end up before Joseph who's in the highest place of Egypt and there's a powerful moment where the brothers realized that this is their brother Joseph and Joseph says something to them while they're completely in awe over what has taken place.

Joseph says you didn't send me here. God did and later on at the end of Genesis. It's a powerful moment. Joseph actually says to his brothers. He says as for you you meant evil against me. But God meant it for good and God meant it for good amazingly for them to preserve for them a remnant.

Sending Joseph into Egypt though their wicked hearts desired that and they did it. God wasn't thwarted in his purposes his decree worked out. Perfectly to work all things together for good to those who love God and those who are called according to his purpose.

The Cross, Predestination, and the Murder of Jesus

It's amazing people ask the question and it's a powerful one. Can God be sovereign over evil? Can we thwart God's purposes through our free will. And there's this powerful moment in the New Testament where the Christians early on in the book of Acts are praying and They're praying about what happened to Jesus.

Now if you think about Jesus Jesus is God in the flesh. Fully God and fully man. He enters into this awful world of sin and rebellion and he takes on flesh and he represents his people with a perfect life.

Holy and blameless and just righteous and good full of love and truth. Jesus is our perfection. He is the perfect image of God and he goes to die a death on the cross. He told people that nobody took his life from him.

He laid it down on his own accord and then he rose again from the dead. Jesus Is God and we hate God so much that if God can become a man and put flesh on himself. We would kill him and we did. And when the Christians are praying in the book of Acts about what took place with Jesus.

They said gathered in this city against your holy servant Jesus. And they start naming all these people with all these different motivations. Pontius Pilate Herod the peoples of Israel the Gentiles all of those people all of them had differing Motivations in terms of why they wanted to murder Jesus or to kill him all of them different all of them wicked deep down.

And.

Yet it says this To do whatever your hand God had predestined to occur even the murder of Jesus the Son of God on that tree was something that God had decreed and foreordained. It was wicked. It was evil. It was full of malice.

It was destructive. It was an evil awful human act and yet it says that God had predestined it To fulfill his perfect purposes in the murder of Jesus this awful wicked event We have the redemption of all of God's people.

People from every tribe tongue people and nation redeemed forgiven at peace with God.

Through.

The most evil act committed in all of human history the murder of God on the tree. You see it's a powerful thing when you think about the biblical worldview. You not only have a basis to call something truly evil and not just well against my preferences.

But truly objectively evil and not only do you have the ability to call it truly objectively evil. You have the ability to actually say that God will answer this a final answer and Full justice. Nobody will be able to sweep it under the rug.

God will have the last word and there will be Limitless justice for all eternity for every evil act. You not only have all of that But you also have a basis to rejoice in this fallen evil sinful world.

You have a basis to rejoice and to be able to say with the Apostle Paul that all things work together for good. For those who love God those who are the called according to his purpose. You're able to say as a believer that there is no such thing as purposeless evil in this world.

People are truly guilty for what they do. They are doing what they want to do, but they will not thwart God. God's decree will stand you see the Bible says that God is so sovereign that he decrees the end from the beginning declares the end from the beginning that he does according to his will and the host of heaven and Among the inhabitants of the earth and no one can stay his hand and say what have you done?

We serve the only true God the sovereign God the God who actually wields all things according to his purpose the God who will have the last word and The God who actually works out his perfect plan to redeem this entire world every tribe tongue people and nation coming to God a Kingdom and the Messiah that will never be destroyed that will never pass away that will never be passed on to somebody else.

The Gospel Call to Repent, Believe, and Come to Christ

Jesus according to the Bible Accomplished everything promised about him. He is God in the flesh. He is the Redeemer. He died and rose again from the dead and he saves to the uttermost. To all who draw near to God through him and the call of the gospel.

The good news is that Christ has died and risen again. He is the Messiah. He is seated on his throne Ruling and reigning and the call is to repent and to believe the good news turn away from sin to God.

Have a change of mind have a change of heart and throw yourself on Christ. But your faith only in him and his work your good works cannot save you. All of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags and will not save you in the past present or future.

You need a perfect righteousness only provided in this one Messiah Jesus the only Messiah and he is reigning on his throne bringing all the kingdoms of the world underneath his feet. Every single person every enemy under his feet and victory.

That's where history is going. And so the call of the gospel is to repent and to believe the gospel come to Christ for life. Come to the God the only God the sovereign God who causes all things to work together for good.

Come to the only God who can provide for us a basis to call things evil. Come to God and live in Christ.