Freedom from the Evil of Afflictions, 2

As we continued our study on Christian Liberty (Part six), we focused on, "The liberty which Christ has purchased for believers ... consists in their being delivered from ... the evil of afflictions." (WCF, XX, i)

Afflictions will continue to come to believers until the Lord Jesus has finished his work as our Mediator King. While God is absolutely sovereign over everything (Ephesians 1:11), when it comes to the Mediatorial Reign of the Lord Jesus as our King, "We do not yet see all things subjected to him" (Hebrews 2:8).

In the here and now, afflictions come to us all, but for the believer THE EVIL has been removed, so that ALL things work together for our good (Romans 8:28-29).

This awareness and growing conviction in Joseph enabled him to maintain a cheerful spirit in spite of all the terrible things people did to him and forgive them: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive." (Genesis 50:20)

As with the most despicable act in human history, the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, when Man killed God in his human nature, wicked sinners freely chose to sin by their own "free will," yet what they did was "Whatever (God's) hand and (God's) purpose predestined to occur" (Acts 4:28).