The Believer's Role in an Evil World

Introduction

David wrote in Psalm 14:1, “1 The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.” They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good.”

An article by BBC was published in 2009 that highlighted the various reasons individuals have elected to be atheists and agnostic. A more recent article published by Brian Chilton in 2017 addressing the same concern provided virtually the same answers. Here are some of the top reasons individuals elect to be atheists and agnostic:

Moral independence- subjective reasoning which essentially allows the individual to be subject to no one other than themselves. In this case, they define morality and by default hold others accountable to their standards. God is not the author of morality, but rather the individual.

Global inclusivity- no one is “wrong,” and tolerance and inclusivity is the road to global unity.

Intellectual neutrality- dissatisfying answers to hard and difficult questions leaves a person in doubt. This makes making a clear and concise decision in direction or the other nearly impossible.

Emotive reasoning (the problem of evil)- emotional thinking over logic and rational thinking. From this comes the deepest concern of all—the problem of evil. Many cannot fathom the possibility of a good God and an evil creation. Therefore, God cannot be real.

Tonight, I want to deal with the last reason, the problem of evil. I want to demonstrate that the problem of evil is the Bible’s greatest concern—greater than the problem of sin. Then, I want to argue that God’s glorious vision of [new] creation, is a creation where evil is overthrown and defeated. First, we should understand just what the word evil means.

Understanding the Biblical Concept of Evil

The glaring and most relevant scripture regarding the problem of evil is found in the very first chapters of the Bible. Here, we will spend some of our time understanding the existence of evil and the role it played in a sinless world. There are a few things we should consider, however:

There is a definitive distinction between the existence of evil and the existence of sin. Evil can exist, but this evil is not necessarily sin[ful].

Isaiah 45:7 “7 I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster [evil]; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

Before sin entered the world, evil existed in the world.

Sin is a result of misplaced evil.

In order to understand these three points, we must now go to the very first mention of the word evil in Scripture. Genesis 2:9 reads,

The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life [state of life, i.e. the condition of living or the state of being alive; especially healthiness, happiness, exuberance, energy, vitality] in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge [understanding; skillful; the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning; sometimes simply endowed by God (often with focus on application of the knowledge] good [pleasant, usable, efficient, morally good] and evil [poor quality, ugliness, sadness; pertaining to that which is not morally pure or good according to a proper standard; this evil hinders relationship to a person or principle which is proper].”

The contrast of two trees: Notice, the contrast between the two trees. The tree that God intends for man to eat from is one of life. However, it describes a quality of life. Yet, what God does not want man to eat from is a state of understanding and psychological conditioning. Here, we should understand that the enemy is always working to influence and controlling our understanding and thinking. Essentially, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil provides mankind with a perspective of things that should have been kept secret. Man, through the fall, gained a perception of creation that was not false, but was to be unknown.

According to Genesis 2:17, death is the result of seeing the world the wrong way. Death occurs when our perspective and understanding of creation is altered by some inherited knowledge or understanding. Furthermore, death is taking a way of life. Yet, we should ask, what life? The life mentioned in Genesis 2:9. Therefore, death is not simply the departure of one from physical life to the grave. Rather, it is the loss of a particular type of life, life which yields a particular condition of living.

Here, the biblical concept of faith important. Faith is what combats the inherited perspective and understanding of the world, evil. We fight against evil, the constant temptation to see the world in terms that appear drastically different from the way God sees the world, by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.

Yet, now we are forced to understand this faith in relationship with the hope that one is given through faith. And for far too many, their hope is the deliverance from personal sin. I emphasize this, because deliverance from personal sin is something to gain through a personal, intentional, and progressive relationships with Jesus Christ. Yet, hope is the expectation that God will make all things right through His Son Jesus Christ. This making things right is the overthrow of evil is God’s cosmos.

Since we have been compromised by this evil presence in the world, we must find ways to combat its rule in our lives. Below are a few things we should consider.

Living in an Evil World

The first century believers felt they were living in a world of evil. (Galatians 1:4, Ephesians 5:16, 6:13). It is important to understand that evilness is always expressed differently in each generation. However, the presenter of evil rarely changes. Consequently, evil is always presented in the following systems: religion and government.

God has a vision of a world ridden of its evil. Yet, we should focus on what our responsibility is in this world as it is currently evil. First, we have learned that we should change our perspective. However, the following are a few practical things we can do to combat evil in our own lives and the world at large.

Overcome evil by doing good. Romans 12:21 “21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” Romans 14:16 “16 Therefore, do not let your good be slandered,”

Don’t be enticed by evil possessions. 1 Corinthians 10:6 “6 Now these things took place as examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did.” 1 Timothy 6:10 “10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” James 1:13-15 “13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.”

Avoid retaliation and vindication. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 “15 See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.” 1 Peter 3:8-12 “8 Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble, 9 not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, 11 and let him turn away from evil and do what is good. Let him seek peace and pursue it, 12 because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.”

Seek deliverance from the Lord. 2 Timothy 4:14, 16-18 “14 Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works. 16 At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.”

Avoid the appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 “22 Stay away from every kind of evil.”

Watch what you say. Titus 3:2 “2 to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.” 1 Peter 2:1 “1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.”