If God Is Good and Sovereign, Why Is There Evil In The World?

Acts 4:23–31 NKJV

23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’ 27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

2 LBCF 3:1 “1. From all eternity God decreed everything that occurs, without reference to anything outside himself.  He did this by the perfectly wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably. Yet God did this in such a way that he is neither the author of sin nor has fellowship with any in their sin. This decree does not violate the will of the creature or take away the free working or contingency of second causes. On the contrary, these are established by God’s decree. In this decree God’s wisdom is displayed in directing all things, and his power and faithfulness are demonstrated in accomplishing his decree.”

Is The God Of The Bible Good and Sovereign?

Does The Bible Teach That God Is Good?

Luke 18:19 NKJV

19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

1 John 1:5 NKJV

5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

Psalm 119:68 NKJV

68 You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 107:1 NKJV

1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Not only is He good, but what He does is good.

In Genesis 1-2 God creates and He says that His original creation is good.

His outcomes are good. Genesis 50:20

Genesis 50:20 NKJV

20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

To say that God is good means that He always does what is right and true. Everything that God does and desires is the standard definition of what is good.

Yes, the Bible teaches that God is good. But does it teach that He is actually sovereign?

Does the Bible teach that God is Sovereign?

To say that God is sovereign means that absolutely nothing happens that is not in His absolute control, nothing surprises God.

Genesis 1 declares His authority as He literally creates existence with His speech.

Isaiah 46:10 NKJV

10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’

Ephesians 1:11 NKJV

11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Exodus 6:7–8 NKJV

7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ”

Acts 4:24 ESV

24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,

God Has Revealed Himself as Good and Sovereign, Yet Evil Exists, Who Is Responsible For It?

So, goodness is that which is inline with the will of the sovereign God of the Bible, but evil is that which opposes the will of God.

Thomas Aquinas said, “Good can exist without evil; whereas evil cannot exist without good.” So evil is a leach that merely exists as the absence or denial of God’s goodness.”

So who’s responsible for evil?

Well, the Bible teaches that yes, God ordains everything that happens

We see that in passages like Isaiah 46:10

Isaiah 46:10 NKJV

10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’

Ephesians 1:11 NKJV

11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Acts 4:27–28 NKJV

27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

So this means that God ordained that evil would exist, though He hates it, for His own purposes.

But does this mean that God is evil? Or that God likes evil? Or that He is responsible for evil?

NO!

Genesis 50:20 NKJV

20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Acts 2:22–23 NKJV

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

Isaiah 10:5–19 NKJV

5 “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6 I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. 8 For he says, ‘Are not my princes altogether kings? 9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?’ ” 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.” 13 For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.” 15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! 16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them.

What we find here in this passage that Israel is in sin against God, so God takes this wicked nation called Assyria, a godless, pagan nation, and uses them to punish Israel for their sin. But what we find here in Isaiah 10 is that once Assyria is finished attacking Israel, God is then going to punish Assyria for their wickedness. A few things we need to understand here is that first of all, Assyria doesn’t know that they’re being used by God to do this. They think that they are moving in their own free will. They hate the God of the Bible and aren’t being His willing servants, they just think they’re attacking just another nation like the several others they’d already attacked. In v12-14 God makes it clear that the wicked acts of Assyria are because of their evil hearts.

This is a hard thing to understand. And God decided we didn’t need to fully understand it. But what the Bible teaches us is that God has actively ordained evil and will hold evil men responsible for their evil acts. So, we affirm both God’s absolute sovereignty over all things and the responsibility of men for their actions.

Matthew 25:31-45 makes it clear that we will be judged for our actions at the last day. So, it is men who are responsible for their sin.

Because Men Are Responsible For Their Sin, and Since God Is Good and Sovereign, He Must Have Purposes For Allowing Evil To Exist.

What do you think may have been a purpose?

Ephesians 1:11 NKJV

11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

James Anderson gives good insight here as he mentions what is called “O Felix Culpa” Theodicy. He writes, “Reflecting on this question has prompted a number of Christian thinkers to develop what’s called the “O Felix Culpa” theodicy. (Literally “O blessed fault,” and “theodicy” (theodicy means the justic of God) This is an explanation of how God can justly allow evil.) The basic idea is this: While the fall was a great evil, it made it possible for God to bring about even greater goods in its wake: the God-glorifying goods of the incarnation, atonement, resurrection, and all the salvific blessings that flow from them.

He continues to say, “A world with no fall and no salvation is altogether less God glorifying than a world with a tragic fall but also a wondrous salvation.”

You may have heard me say before that, “We have more in Christ than we ever lost in Adam.” See, we not only know God as our Creator, but we now know Him as our blessed Redeemer. Through Christ’s victorious life, death and resurrection we know more deeply the beauty of God than we ever could have imagined before the Fall. This is something even angels can’t begin to understand. And just like Acts 2 and 4 make clear, God did this glorious act by ordaining that wicked men should kill the Son of God.

We also can consider Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 NKJV

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Since God Has Purposes In Allowing Evil To Exist, Does He Have Plans To Eliminate It?

God is presently restraining sin by:

Our Consciences

Romans 2:14 NLT

14 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it.

The Family

Deuteronomy 6:4–8 NKJV

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

Ephesians 6:1 NKJV

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

The Civil Authority

Romans 13:1–7 NKJV

1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

1 Peter 2:13 NKJV

13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,

The Church

1 Corinthians 15:55–58 NKJV

55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Isaiah 2:2–4 NKJV

2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

Conclusion

What we learned today is that God has ordained absolutely everything that will happen, even evil, and He has done it for the purpose of His ultimate glory.

So, what does this mean for us practically?

First, it gives us boldness. Boldness in kingdom building, boldness in the face of evil and boldness in evangelism.

Second, it gives us comfort. Because all things will work to the good of the Church and the glory of our God we can find comfort knowing that even when we mess up, we are not so powerful as to mess up the plans of God. We also may find comfort in knowing that we serve the brilliant God who’s plans are bigger than we can understand and all of His plans will come to pass.

Recap:

God has decreed everything that will happen.

Yet He has done it without being the author of sin.

God has permitted man’s fall to the demonstration of His glory.