Apologetics Sermon Illustration #19: Rescued Hikers arrested and Sin and Problem of Evil

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Point: One form of the problem of evil is the complaint of why God wouldn’t do a certain good such as answer a certain prayer if He is a good God.  Some then reason that God therefore must not exists.  But missing in the premise is the Biblical truth that we are sinners and we don’t deserve any “good” from Him, and even if He answers our “Prayer” there is still the problem of our enmity with God…

Picture: Several weeks ago there was a news article that got my attention titled “Stranded hikers rescued at Eaton Canyon, get arrested for warrants“

ALTADENA – Two hikers who got stranded on a cliff at Eaton Canyon were rescued Tuesday then later arrested after they turned out to have outstanding warrants, authorities said.

The sheriff’s Crescenta Valley station got a call at 4:20 p.m. about hikers stuck on a cliff west of the first waterfall, according to Sgt. David Shoemaker.

The Altadena Mountain Rescue Team responded.

Shoemaker said the Los Angeles County Fire Department used a helicopter to airlift one of the hikers whose ankle was sprained. The 27-year-old man was taken to Farnsworth Park at 568 Mt. Curve Ave. in Altadena.

He said the rescue team walked out the other hiker. The 39-year-old man had a possible sprained ankle, Shoemaker added.

Both men turned out to have warrants and were arrested, Shoemaker said. He said one of the warrants was for theft with a prior conviction. He didn’t have details about the other warrant.

According to sheriff’s booking records, Gabriel Villalobos, 27, was being held at the Crescenta Valley station jail on a $40,000 bail.

The name of the second hiker wasn’t available because he wasn’t booked at the station.

I think this illustrate the reality that even if God has answered us in our immediate situation but if we are guilty and are in enmity against God with our sins, then our status as sinners demand that He has the obligation to deal with our sins with the punishment we deserve.  Just because God has done a good thing for us with His common grace, that does not remove the reality of our objective guilt before the Lord.  Of course, God has provided Jesus Christ as the redemption from the guilt and punishment for our sins, if we trust in Him that He saved us and is the Lord of our life.  But the point of this illustration is to note the irony of looking for God to help with us something we think it’s important that’s short of realizing our problem with God with our sins.

POSSIBLE SCENARIO FOR EMPLOYING THIS ILLUSTRATION DURING APOLOGETIC EVANGELISM

OPPONENT: I struggle with believing in God, because if He exist why, He should bless me….<INSERT HERE: (e.g., in my life, by going to heaven, etc)>

CHRISTIAN: Okay, but remember that it’s not rational for God to be obligated to bless His enemies.  Do you think you are an enemy of God?

<If there was a previous apologetics dialogue where the opponent attack Christianity, cite this as an example of the opponent being at war against God>

<Or show the person’s sin and enmity against God by the Law, Way of the Master, Roman’s Road, etc>

CHRISTIAN: If you are an enemy of God, you do not have any rational basis to demand God having to bless you.  But even if God answers your immediate prayer requests in showing Himself to you, don’t forget the dilemma of your sins.  In fact, that reminds me of a newstory I read <SHARE THE ILLUSTRATION>.  Would you not say that the hikers can say everything is all okay just because the government was nice enough to save them?

OPPONENT: Of course not, they are fugitive!

CHRISTIAN: That’s like the situation we have here as analogy of our relationship, or broken relationship with God in light of our sins!  If God has indeed been merciful to us, it’s should not be an excuse to make us comfortable with God, but if your sins are not dealt with through the person of Jesus, we have every reason to be afraid after He has helped us…

 

GO TO PART 20