Lesson 26: Be an Overcomer (1)
Read 1 Corinthians 10:11-22 - https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1co.10

Read Ephesians 2:7 and Jude 24 – The question "Why?" is one we as humans ask almost from our birth. As an infant we learn by asking this question. As an adult we usually rebel with this question. It is not only a question for unbelievers; it is also commonly heard among believers.

Let's learn why God does certain things –according to His word. His answer in many Scriptures is to teach us to overcome. It is a basic human trait for us to want to win, and God also wants us to win in our battle against sin in our lives.

The first "why" question we must ask is not "Why does God let bad things happen?" but "Why does evil exist?" Perhaps the best first question should be "Why did God create time and space?"

Among Christians today we find perhaps two major answers to this question: 1) the salvation of mankind (2 Peter 3:9), and 2) the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:23, 31). Let's look at these two possibilities.

The first, the salvation of mankind, is certainly a purpose of God. After all, He purposed in eternity past that Jesus would be sacrificed for the sin of mankind. But if we say the salvation of mankind is the overriding purpose for all God did we find ourselves holding a bag of questions with no answers. Why would God have had to allow evil to come into existence in the first place? If this is the purpose then God is little more than a bully and we are nothing but lab rats in a maze. It would be almost the ultimate cruelty foisted on humanity to allow sin just so He could save us.


If we, however, look at option 2 for our answer we find there are replies to most of our questions. The glory of God would answer why He allowed evil to come into existence. The glory of God places a purpose upon all God has done. We even find this as we look at God's answers in His word. We find in 1 Corinthians 10:31 and in Romans 11:36 the concept that we are created to bring glory to God. It is our purpose; it is our sole purpose.

Looking just at this glory, however, does not fully answer the question because we could see God as an arrogant megalomaniac if this is all we look at. Since this is certainly not an accurate description of God's personality we must look deeper. Could there possibly have been some underlying purpose to allowing evil to exist which would bring glory to God? The answer is YES and we will explore this further in our next lesson.

*How does your every-day life bring glory to God?