Why does God allow Sin and Evil?

Introduction: Growing up my dad was a really into westerns (he still is). So I grew up watching John Wayne and the Lone Ranger and even some spaghetti westerns.

Those were simpler times. Because for the most part you could always tell who the good guy was with one simple clue....you look at their hat. Bad guys wore black hats. Good guys wore white hats. If you look at the lone ranger this seems especially odd because his mask is black but his hat is white.

Good and bad are not so easy to tell in the world today. Even movies blur the lines between good and bad.

And who decides what who is good and who is bad?

I’ve often wondered if Adolf Hitler knew he was an evil man? Or did he honestly believe he was doing good in making the world a better place? What about terrorists?

What about you? Are you a good person and if you weren’t how could you tell?

For the last 10 weeks we’ve been asking different questions about the Christian faith. As we approach our question for today, I don’t think that any of us would dispute that there is evil in the world. Just look at the last 100 years if you want evidence. And things just seem to be getting worse.

And this where is we pose our question today.

Introduce the Question: Why does God allow evil in the world?

As always we answer this question by going to the Bible.

Transition to the text: Turn with me in your Bibles to Romans 5:12-21.

Perhaps no letter in the Bible takes on the difficult questions of the Christian faith like Paul’s letters to the Romans. It is truly a systematic approach to what it means to be a Christian. It’s why this letter is so dear to me.

And in chapter 5, Paul answers the question, Why does God allow evil in the world? But He doesn’t stop there, he also answers the question, What has God done about the evil in the world?

As we read, let’s keep this big idea in mind....

Introduce:

Big Idea: The evil we see is the result of sin and isn’t God’s fault, but God has a plan.

Let’s Read:

Romans 5:12–21 ESV

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Big Idea: The evil we see is the result of sin and isn’t God’s fault, but God has a plan.

Transition the Points: In this portion of Paul’s letter to the Romans, we see that he doesn’t use a linear argument. He doesn’t address the problem and then the solution. Paul interweaves different aspects of the problem and solution into this extended text by comparing and contrasting the problem with the solution.

But it’s clear that Paul at least starts with the problem.

Romans 5:12 ESV

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Therefore....

Main Point #1 - The existence of evil is the result of one man...Adam.

Explanation: Throughout this passage we see something called, headship. This is how we can be condemned because of Adam’s sin. As the only human being on earth, Adam was the representative of mankind. While he was created innocent (not perfect), in sin he corrupted his own nature. Therefore, he couldn’t pass on an uncorrupted nature to his children. Just look at the story of Cain and Abel and you see how quickly that corrupted nature took effect. Adam passed on a sinful nature to his children. As the head of humanity, this is also why Adam is always blamed for original sin and not Eve, even though she sinned first. Adam was the one responsible. Yet under Adam’s failure, she is condemned as a sinner.

So we inherit Adam’s sin nature. In essence, we aren’t sinful because we sin, we sin because we are sinful.

Paul goes on to talk a lot about the source of sin and evil:

That many died because of one man’s sin. (vs. 15)

The judgement following one trespass brought condemnation. (vs. 16)

Because of one man’s trespass, death reigned from that one man. (vs. 17)

One trespass led to condemnation for all people. (18)

By one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners. (vs. 19)

Additionally, Paul talks about the purpose of the Law. Contrary to what the Jewish people believe, the law’s purpose isn’t to keep people from sinning. It’s actually to show people that they are sinners in the first place. And in seeing their sin, they would call out to God for help. But that seldom happened without judgment.

And just in case you were worried about only being condemned because of Adam’s sin, Paul tells us....all sinned and all were made sinners. Again, we sin because we are sinners.

By Genesis 6, we already see the results of sin:

Genesis 6:5 ESV

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

But what do we make of the fact that the Jewish people directly tied sinning to the law. How can there be an offense if there is no law calling it an offence? And this is exactly what Paul is addressing. People are sinful and die, not only because they transgress God’s law, but because in Adam they were made sinners by what we call original sin..

And this brings us to another fundamental things we must accept: death is the result of sin. Which means that mankind did not evolve from a lesser species. God created Adam and eve as they were. They were created to live for eternity in relationship to God. To argue that Adam and Even evolved, eliminates Paul’s entire argument here.

Whether the same is true of animals is another story and one we won’t address here.

All this to say, if you want to know why Cain murdered his brother Abel, look at the sin nature passed to him by his father. If you want to know why Adolf Hilter organized the systematic execution of 6,000,000 jews in Europe, look at the sin nature passed to him by his father.

Want to know why Racism exists in the world, look a the sin nature passed to a racist by his father.

Evil exists in the world not because God is unloving or unable to prevent it, but because Adam sinned in the garden of eden, and thus corrupting the good and innocent nature that he was created with.

Essentially Paul is saying, it’s not God’s fault, but He does have a plan!

Illustration:

Application: Tonight we are starting our online VBS. As an aside, if you have kids that want to be a part of this, they can tune into our YouTube channel at tonight through Thursday at 6:30 p.m. If you are local, you can also contact our church office if you want to get the materials that go along with the videos. Anyway, I remember as a kid in VBS many years ago midway through the week, there would be a gospel presentation. And for years, Lifeway at least has used the “ABC’s” as a way to simply explain the gospel to children. And the first letter, “A” stands for “Admit you are a sinner.”

This is the first step in addressing the problem of Evil in the world. Every son and daughter of Adam (which is every person who ever lived, regardless of culture or ethnicity) must come to grips with their sinful nature inherited from your parents.

In order to accept a savior, we must come to grips with our need for a savior. And we need to be saved from our sinful nature, inherited from our father Adam.

Transition: Perhaps another question on your mind, is why did God allow this?

Some say, we have free will.

Others say, it’s a test.

To be honest, I think that the answer may be too big for us.

However, one thing is clear, God was never out of control. God always had a plan and a solution to the problem of sin and evil in the world.

Main Point #2 - The solution to evil is one man...Jesus.

Explanation: As the first known presentation by the Greek philosopher Epicurus, as attributed and made popular by David Hume, puts it: "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then from whence comes evil?"

This is the age old problem of evil. But is right to make this accusation? I don’t think so.

In my mind, God is only unloving and lacking in omnipotence if he is unable or unwilling to deal with the reality of sin.

So is God unable?

Is God unwilling?

The answer is the cross. And the cross is something that people who make this argument largely ignore.

But another question that comes up, does the cross effectively deal with the problem of sin and Evil?

Paul says yes.

Again we trace his argument through the text of Romans 5:12-21:

In contrast to Adam’s in:

How much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

The free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

One act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men

By one’s man’s obedience the many will be made righteous

grace might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So again, how can Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross save anyone? It comes back to headship. Jesus being a new head for humanity can effectively satisfy the requirements of God’s standards which includes the law.

In order to be saved, we need a new head. And that head is Jesus.

Colossians 1:18 ESV

18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Vs. 14 confirms this. Adam being the original head was a “type” or an example of the one to come. In what way was he a type? In that he represented all of humanity before God.

This is also why Jesus had to be man. Only a man could represent other humans before God. But at the same time, He had to be God, because in man’s fallen state, only God could be perfect.

The God-man, Jesus, was perfectly able to both meet God’s righteous standards and represent sinful man before God.

Illustration: A whipping boy was a boy educated alongside a prince (or boy monarch) in early modern Europe, who received corporal punishment for the prince's transgressions in his presence. The prince was not punished himself because his royal status exceeded that of his tutor; seeing a friend punished would provide an equivalent motivation not to repeat the offence. An archaic proverb which captures a similar idea is "to beat a dog before a lion."[2] Whipping was a common punishment of tutors at that time. There is little contemporary evidence for the existence of whipping boys, and evidence that some princes were indeed whipped by their tutors, although Nicholas Orme suggests that nobles might have been beaten less often than other pupils. Some historians regard whipping boys as entirely mythical; others suggest they applied only in the case of a boy king, protected by divine right, and not to mere princes. (Wikipedia)

In our case, it’s the prince becoming the whipping boy for the peasant.

Jesus takes our sins upon Himself.

Isaiah 53:2–6 ESV

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Application: The only solution to the problem of sin and evil in the world is Jesus. And the only way to effect great change in the world is by sharing the gospel and leading wayward sinners to the one man who is able to save them from their sins and usher them into a deep and loving relationship with God.

So for us, we must embrace the solution and stop looking for meaning and solutions outside the loving arms of our savior.

More money can’t save your.

The right job or career save you.

The right spouse or great kids can’t save you.

Good friends can’t save you.

A house in the burbs with a sports car in the garage can’t save you.

Eduction can’t save you.

The right political leaders can’t save you.

The right church can’t save you.

Drugs and alcohol clearly can’t save you.

A saved bum on the street is better off than the rich person in a penthouse on the fast-track to a lonely existence and eternity in hell. And yes, God will let a believer be homeless because...

2 Corinthians 4:17 ESV

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

So stop complaining to God about the evil in this world and start doing something about it.

Make sure you’re saved by the blood of Jesus.

Tell others about the love Jesus as demonstrated at the cross.

Response - Have you embraced the only solution to evil or are you still looking? Are you ready to look only to Jesus?

Conclusion:

So having defeated sin and evil at the cross, why does evil still exist? Why not, having saved us from our sins doesn’t God just end this world now?

Well if the OT sacrificial system teaches us anything it is that the sacrifice is only effective to those who put their faith in that sacrifice. And if Jesus came back today, there would be a whole lot of people outside of God’s grace. God is patient and loving. And he has given Christians the task of carrying out the love of God by taking the gospel to the nations so that as many as possible will come to faith.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

But make no mistake, a day of reckoning for sin is coming and all accounts will be laid bear and those who commit sin and evil will be punished. You see every sin and all evil will inevitably be accounted for punished by God. Either through eternal torment or at the cross.

You see, apart from the cross, we all deserve God’s wrath. But in His mercy, He made a way for us to overcome the evil in our own lives not by working harder or sinning less. Not by standing for what is right or even passing laws that limit evil. The only answer to the question of evil is the cross. The only way to overcome evil is the cross.

The only way that we get to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus is by the cross.

But after all of that, just look at the results:

Revelation 21:1–4 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

May we long for that day when God makes all things new and there will be no more sin, no more evil and no more death.

Come Lord Jesus!

Let’s pray!