Why Does God Allow Evil in the World?

Some Answers You Need to be Ready For- Part 2

Text: 1 Peter 3:15–16 (KJV 1900)

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Introduction:

* There are some questions from unbelievers that we should be ready to answer.

* The sermon this morning is a different kind of sermon than I have ever delivered at this church.

* It is what is called an apologetic.

* The English word “apology” comes from a Greek word which basically means “to give a defense.”

* Christian apologetics, then, is the science of giving a defense of the Christian faith.

* There are many skeptics who doubt the existence of God and/or attack belief in the God of the Bible.

* There are many critics who attack the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible.

* There are many false teachers who promote false doctrines and deny the key truths of the Christian faith.

* The mission of Christian apologetics is to combat these movements and instead promote the Christian God and Christian truth.

I. Did God create Evil?

* The short answer is no, God did not create evil.

* At first, it might seem, that if God created all things, then evil must have been created by God.

* But this is not true; evil is not a “thing” like a rock or electricity.

* Picture evil with me in this way.

* Evil exists, and evil is real, but evil cannot exist on its own.

* In the same way that holes are real, but they only exist in something else.

* We call the absence of dirt a hole, but the hole cannot be separated from the dirt.

* Let me illustrate this idea a little further. “Does cold exist?”

* Most people would say yes, but is that really incorrect?

* Cold does not exist on its own. Cold is the absence of heat.

* In the same way, darkness does not really exist on its own, darkness is really the absence of light.

* In the same way, evil is really the corruption of what God has already created good.

* You cannot have a jar of evil. Evil has no existence of its own.

* Evil is not an entity that exists alongside of good.

* Evil and good are not two forces that exist in the universe together.

* These ideas are the product of the ignorance of mankind, operating outside the mind and thinking of the Creator.

* The answer to our question “Did God create evil?” is no. God did not create evil- but then how did evil get here then?

* The Bible says in the book of Geneses that God created the Heavens and the earth, and the Bible goes out of its way to make us understand that God said everything God created was good – all of it. There was at that time no evil in the universe.

* Everything that God created was good, there was nothing that was not good, and there was no such thing as anything that was not good.

* So what happened” How did evil get here then?

* According to the Bible the first instance of evil began in the heart of Satan.

* Listen to the words of the prophet Ezekiel from Ezekiel chapter 28-

(We have looked at this passage several times in the last couple of weeks.)

Ezekiel 28:11–17 (KJV 1900)

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

(This passage is speaking of Satan, before Satan had rebelled against God.)

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

* We learn from this passage of Scripture a principle about evil.

* Here in the first account of sin in the Bible- the first evil originated “in the heart” of Satan.

* What happened to cause the first evil to exist? Satan, according to Ezekiel 28:17, corrupted the good heart that God had already made in him, and changed it to be an evil heart, or a corruption of that which was originally perfect.

* Herein is the great principle by which we learn then- that evil is not a power that competes in the universe with good, but by definition, evil is the corrupting of that which God has made good.

* Think about it this morning, what makes sexual sins such as fornication, adultery, pedophilia, rape, and homosexuality so evil?

* These things are evil because they are a corruption of something that God had originally made to be good- and that which is corrupted by sexual sins, the institution and marriage.

* All sexual sins are the corruption of marriage. That is what makes sexual sins evil- they are a corruption of good.

* That is what evil is- the corruption of good. Evil cannot exist in the universe on its own.

* Now notice where evil originated- Did it originate with God? No, God did not create evil, the first evil originated “in the heart” of Satan.

* Evil is a creation of the heart.

* But is the creation of evil limited to only the heart of Satan?

* Just as evil was brought into the spiritual world by the heart of Satan, so also evil was brought into the physical universe, created in the heart of man, not created by God.

* Listen to the words of Genesis 6:5-7:

Genesis 6:5–7 (KJV 1900)

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

(Evil had corrupted the heart and thoughts of mankind)

6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

* And here is our answer to our question this morning- Did God create evil, no evil is a creation of a corrupted heart, not something created by God.

According to the Scriptures, everything God creates is good.

II. Why does God allow evil to continue?

* There is another aspect of the problem of evil. The second question that we need to be able to deal with from unbelievers this morning is “Why does God continue to allow evil in the world?

* Even if God did not create Evil, it cannot be denied that God does permit evil.

* Along the way in the Christian life, we will encounter those who will ask of us. “How can a God who is supposed to be good, allow evil to continue?”

* Here is the reasoning behind the question: the questioning unbeliever reasons that:

1. If God is all good, a good God would destroy evil.

2. and, if God is all powerful, an all-powerful, then God would have the power to destroy evil.

3. But evil is not destroyed.

4. There reasoning is then this; because evil is allowed to continue, the either God is not good, or worse, does not exist.

* So Why did God allow Cain to kill Abel?

* Why does God allow people to commit terrible crimes against others?

* Can’t God prevent men from doing evil?

* The fact that finite, limited beings, such as us we humans are, don’t see the reason God allows evil to continue, does not mean that God has no purpose in allowing evil to continue.

* Man’s inability to see the purpose for evil, does not disprove God’s goodness, or His existence; it just reveals our ignorance.

* God has chosen to create a “real” world in which real choices have real consequences.

* God has ordained that the consequences of man’s sin bring great sorrow and pain into our world.

* C. S. Lewis wrote, suffering and pain is God’s megaphone to warn a morally deaf world.”

* To warn us that unless we repent, our sin will destroy us.

* Humankind has chosen the ways of sin and evil, and we are suffering the terrible consequences in our world.

* So now the human heart takes it upon itself to blame God for not doing anything about the consequences of our sin.

* The consequence of mankind’s choice to rebel against the Word of God in the Garden of Eden, is a world that is filled with evil

* - a world where men murder, and rape, and steal, and people die in wars-

* - a world where terrorists slaughter in the name of false religion

* - a world where innocent people die at the hands of a drunk driver

* - a world where a father who is addicted to drugs or alcohol does harm to his wife and his children.

* In this real world of ours, our sins impose the rewards of evil on others.

* Because of Adam’s choice to sin, the world now lives under the curse, and we are all born with a sin nature, (Romans 5:12).

* And all of our sins affect other innocent people.

* If God prevented every evil act of mankind before it happened, then none of us would have freedom, or free will.

* We want God to prevent all these horribly evil actions that people do, but we want God to let “lesser-evil” actions slide.

* In everyone’s eyes, our sins, are not quite so bad, but in God’s eyes, all sin deserves to be punished by Death.

* And if God’s full justice was given to everyone who does evil, then we would all be wiped off the face of the earth by God’s Judgment.

* There would be no one left on the face of the earth.

* In order to eradicate sin and evil entirely from the earth, God would have to destroy man by death.

* This is exactly the meaning of Genesis chapter 2 and verse 15 where God told Adam if he disobeys God, and eats of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the

he must be responsible for the evil that he created in his heart, he must pay the consequences of brining evil into the world.

* Listen to how it wend down in the garden:

Genesis 2:15–17 (KJV 1900)

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

* The punishment for evil in the heart of a man is that, man would have to be put to death.

*n Ezekiel 18:4 God says:

4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

* In Romans 5:12 the apostle Paul repeats this fact. He says

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

* and then in Romans 5:14, the Apostle Paul says:

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

In Romans 6:23, Paul goes on to say:

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

* The apostle Paul says again in 1 Corinthians 15:22:

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

* God told Adam if he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,

he must be responsible for the evil that he created in his heart, he must pay the consequences of brining evil into the earth. And the sentence was death!

* Now in this truth is the answer to our question “Why does God allow evil to continue?

* Why does God allow evil people to commit terrible crimes against others?”

* The answer is, if God’s full justice was given to everyone who does evil, then we would all be wiped off the face of the earth by God’s Judgment.

* Because of this, God allows sin to run its course in the world, in order that He can work out His plan of redemption to in mercy save mankind from his sins.

* This narrative is that the Bible is all about. The Bible, and history itself, is the story of the redemption of mankind from the effects of evil in the word.

* If God judged all evil now, there would be no forgiveness or salvation for anybody on the face of the earth.

Acts 17:30–31 (KJV 1900)

30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at;

but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained;

* If this judgment were to take place before God’s redemptive plan is finished, there would be no one left on the face of the earth.

* In order to eradicate sin and evil entirely from the earth, God would have to destroy all mankind by death. That’s why everybody dies.

Hebrews 9:27–28 (KJV 1900)

27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

* It is actually because of the mercy of God, that evil men, for the time being, are allowed to commit terrible atrocities like those of Hitler and other evil tyrants in the history of mankind.

* Eventually God will kill every human being on the entire earth in order to purge the earth of all evil according the apostle Peter

* But first, God has chosen to have mercy on some and save a people for Himself out of the earth.

* For the time being, God is purposely “delaying” judgment in order to allow more time for people to repent so that He will not need to condemn them (2 Peter 3:9).

2 Peter 3:9–10 (KJV 1900)

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

* Until then, God IS concerned about evil.

* When God created the Old Testament laws, the goal was to discourage and punish evil.

* While God waits for men to be saved, He judges the nations and the rulers who disregard justice and pursue evil.

* In the New Testament, God states that it is the government’s responsibility to provide justice in order to protect the innocent from evil according to Romans chapter 13.

* So the answer to the question “Why does God allow evil to continue in the world is,

because of God’s mercy on a sinful word, final judgment has been delayed while God works out his plan to redeem mankind from evil.

III. The next question we must be able to answer is Why does God allow innocent people to die in natural disasters?

* So we have answered the following questions:

I. Did God create Evil?

II. Why does God allow evil to continue in the world?

* Now let’s look at “Why does God allow innocent people to die in natural disasters such as the recent earthquake in California, or in terrible acts of war like 911?

* I remember watching the television in terror and disbelief when the earthquake happened in the 80’s in California.

* The television footage showed people trapped in cars between two layers of pavement- just trapped there to die, with no national effort to rescue those poor dying people.

* Why does God allow earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, cyclones, mudslides, wildfires, and other natural disasters?

* Tragedies like these cause many people to question God’s goodness, and even God’s very existance.

* In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows the earth to reflect the consequences sin has had on creation as well.

Romans 8:21–22 (KJV 1900)

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

* According to this passage of Scripture, the creation waits in eager expectation for God to complete His redemptive plan for mankind.

* The fall of humanity into sin had effects on everything, including the world we inhabit.

* Because of the curse that God pronounce upon the earth in the Garden of Eden, everything in creation is subject to “frustration” and “decay.”

* Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters, just as it is the cause of death, and disease, and suffering in the world.

* The earth was created perfect, but it has been corrupted by the sins of its chief inhabitants, mankind.

* Jesus himself once dealt with the subject of innocent people perishing in natural and national disasters when He was preaching to a crowd in the book of Luke:

* Turn with me and let’s take a look at His sermon. Turn to Luke chapter 13 and verse and verse 4.

Luke 13:1–5 (KJV 1900)

There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

* Evidently, from the context of Matthew 13 1-5, the people thought that these bad things happened to these people because they were worse sinners, and that they must have deserved these terrible deaths by acts of war, or by a freak accident.

* but Jesus tells those who brought up these awful deaths in the first place, that their fates will be just as awful, just as bloody, and just as tragic, if they don’t repent of their own sins.

* Jesus tells these people that the plight of a sinner who does not repent of his sin will be just a grisly as the deaths of those who Pilate’s soldiers killed and mixed their blood with the blood of the sacrifices that they were offering.

* Jesus told those who were questioning why God allowed the tower of Siloam to fall on seemingly innocent people and smash them to death, they every sinner will suffer a fate worse than that of a huge rock tower smashing them to death!

* In essence, these folks were asking Jesus the age old question; “Why do bad things happen to good people?” or asked another way:

“Why do bad things like earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, cyclones, mudslides, wildfires, and other natural disasters happen to innocent people?

* Tragedies like natural disasters, and humanitarian crises cause many people to question God’s goodness.

* Jesus’ answer to their questions was to that there are no “good” people.

* Bad things can happen to anyone. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that the entire creation has been tainted by and infected with sin.

* Natural disasters, humanitarian crises are the results of a creation that has been corrupted- a creation that has been damaged, and cursed, and is fallen because of mankind’s collective sin.

* God didn’t do this to us, we did this to ourselves.

* The terrible atrocities that happen in this world, that sometimes cause us to question the goodness of God- We did those things to ourselves, because of our sin.

* As a result of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, our collective sins affect everyone.

* We are at all times subject to any manner of catastrophe, or natural disaster, or sickness, or disease, because of the curse of sin upon this earth.

* So Jesus answered their inquiries about these two awful events of suffering by telling them they were no different than those who were slain- their fate would be just as awful if they didn’t repent of sin.

* Jesus’ answer to these folks, when they asked about these terrible humanitarian disasters, is that these things happen to men because we live in a fallen, corrupted world, in which all men will suffer the consequences of sin.

* And if they don’t all repent of their sins, they will all suffer terrible consequences for their sins as well.

* If there were no consequences for evil, mankind would be doomed to an eternity of unrestrained evil and sorrow.

* Mankind would become so evil, that God would have to destroy the entire would in judgment- just like He did in the Days of Noah.

* The Bible says of that time:

Genesis 6:5–7 (KJV 1900)

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth

* Jesus also said in Luke 17:26:

Luke 17:26–30 (KJV 1900)

26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

* And again in Matthew 24 Jesus said that these natural and man-made disasters will continue to happen:

Matthew 24:6–14 (KJV 1900)

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

(Notice that Jesus gives the reason that all these humanitarian crises and natural disasters occur in this world…)

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

*And so we have the answer to the question before us:

* Why does God allow earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, cyclones, mudslides, wildfires, and other natural disasters?

* The answer is because humanitarian disasters, and natural disasters are the consequences of mankind’s sin.

* If there were no worldwide consequences for sin, man would have no reason to turn to God and repent of sin.

* Without the consequences of sin in the world, we would never repent and be saved from our sins, mankind would forever continue in our sins with no hope.

IV. How can a Holy and Righteous God order Joshua to kill innocent women and children in the Bible?

V. How can a loving God send people to Hell?

* So we have answered the following questions:

I. Did God create Evil?

II. Why does God allow evil to continue in the world?

III. “Why does God allow innocent people to die in natural disasters such as the recent earthquake in California, or in terrible acts of war like 911?

* Now let’s look at one additional question we often hear from unbelievers:

* How can a loving God send people to Hell?

* People very often criticize the God of the Bible by saying that He’s unfair, He’s overbearing, He’s judgmental, and He’s condemning.

* How can a God of love send people to hell?

* Yes God is a loving God, for sure, but make no mistake this morning, a loving God can, and will send you to Hell!

* Sure the Bible says that God is a loving God.

* The Old Testament says that God said, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.”

* Second Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is long suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

* All you have to do is look at Jesus Christ dying on the cross in agony for the sins of the world, and you know that God loved the world and didn’t want men to go to hell.

* Jesus said “I came not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved.”

* Some people speaking from their own sense of fairness say, “Doesn't eternal hell seem like overkill?

* Couldn't God reform bad people- or maybe just annihilate them?

* After all, why punish people forever for one limited lifetime of behavior?

* Wouldn't annihilation be better than condemning men to eternal suffering?

* These objections may seem reasonable at first, but they ignore and deny key aspects of God's nature.

* They are looking at the issue from their human perspective. But a human perspective is not necessarily the right one.

* If God exists, and He does, then God is the One who says what is right and fair, not us.

* God has already made efforts to reform people.

* Each of us, in God’s mercy, is given a lifetime to reform and embrace God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

* God has done everything He can do to persuade you to repent of your sin and be saved.

* Unfortunately, some people will still reject God and His truth, the Bible, and they will be judged, sentenced, and cast into the lake of fire by a loving God.

Revelation 20:11–15 (KJV 1900)

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

* God has done everything a loving God can do to prevent mankind from going to Hell, but if men refuse His salvation, God will dam them to Hell for Eternity.

Hebrews 10:26–31 (KJV 1900)

26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

* For those who are willing to believe that the Bible teaches that God is a God of love, then you are obligated to also believe what the Bible teachers about the other attributes of God.

* The Bible teaches that God is also a God of Justice, and He will in no wise acquit the wicked and the sinner.

* With the same power that God has revealed His love to us, God will also execute the sentence of eternal Hell as a righteous and just judge should.

* God’s justice is just as much a part of the personality of God as His love is.

* If you believe what the Bible says about God being a God of love, then you are obligated to also believe that God is an angry God, and a consuming fire when it comes to judging sinners and condemning them to Hell.

Psalm 7:11–13 (KJV 1900)

11 God judgeth the righteous, And God is angry with the wicked every day.

12 If he turn not, he will whet his sword; He hath bent his bow, and made it ready.

13 He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death;

Deuteronomy 4:24 (KJV 1900)

24 For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

* It is also an attribute of God that God is sinless, Holy and pure, and will not allow any sinful creature to stand before His face.

* So what is the answer to the question “Why would a loving God send people to Hell? The answer is this:

* Because God loves us, He must defeat the evil in the world once and for all, and the only way to deliver mankind from the terrible consequences that we face in this fallen world, is to totally eradicate sin from the world once and for all.

* This is why God entered His own creation, so that he might defeat death after the sinner has been judged, and enable men to life again.

1 Corinthians 15:25–26 (KJV 1900)

26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

John 6:40 (KJV 1900)

40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life:

and I will raise him up at the last day.

* The only way to do destroy is by judging evil, and carrying out the sentence of death upon every human that has ever lived.

* Those who die having accepted God’s plan of redemption, are allowed to live again, being resurrected to live forever in an eternal existence having been freed from sin by death.

Romans 8:2 (KJV 1900)

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

* For those who refuse God’s plan of redemption, there is only one alternative- eternal separation from God in Hell.

* This is why a loving God sends people to Hell. Unless they have been born again, regenerated, raised from the dead free from sin, men will remain eternal in their sinful condition, continuously reaping the consequences of sin-

Because they refused the way out! The did not respond to the Gospel.

Conclusion: