Why is there Evil?

If there was no real evil, and if evil is only theoretical than mankind would have no freedom of choice whatsoever. He would be simply a robot. The real possibility of evil must exist for man to be able to make a real choice and have a free will. However, God has chosen not to force us into a love relationship to Him. We can choose to forsake Him in this life, but the result of forsaking His gift in Jesus is to spend life on earth with an inner emptiness and an eternity in hell.

God is not threatening you with hell unless you respond to His invitation to life. All mankind has sinned and as a result are in a state of spiritual death and God in Jesus invites us to life. If you have ever sinned you are spiritual dead. (James 2:10) We are already destined to hell if we do not reach out to Jesus in repentance of sin and faith in Jesus to save us from the destiny that is coming to all who are without Christ. Death is the result of sin. Hell is separation from God and thus from anything or anyone good. If I tell you that if you jump out an airplane at 10,000 feet without a parachute that you will die, I am not threatening you, I am just telling the truth and or the result of this choice.

There is natural evil like earthquakes and disease and moral evil like murder and abuse. These are both a result of the fall from grace starting in Adam and Eve. Evil has come upon the world and mankind as the result of sin and mankind is now, not able manage the earth the way God first intended. Disease and man going to war against man and doing evil to one another in everyday life, is the result of man choosing evil over God and His goodness. It is also a result of the earth being in somewhat a state of death. It is in a state of corruption because of sin as is all of mankind. The Bible tells us that one day God will renew or restore the earth as well as those who are in Christ to absolute fullness. There will be a hew heaven and new earth. (Revelation 21:1-2) For God to do away with evil in our world now and still be true to HIs divine attributes, which He always is and for Him to allow man to still have free will, He would need to bring the world to the end.

We try to live in a world without consequences. We think we can get away with things. If we don’t exercise, we will be out of shape and likely gain weight. Evil has consequences as does goodness. As God says in His word, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8) If we sow spiritually, we will reap spiritual results, if we sow to the flesh we will reap the corruption of the flesh.

Before there was Adam and Eve there was Satan, who also made a choice to be in competition to God and try to be His own God. This is the basic temptation of Satan now to mankind, to be His own God. Satan made a choice and so did Adam and Eve. Because of sin, evil has come into the world.

Did God foreknown that Satan and Adam and Eve and you and me would sin? Of course He did He is God, yet He did not cause it and because God knew that man would sin, Jesus Christ was chosen before the foundation of the world to be the Savior. (Ephesians 1:4) Christ is the chosen one and those in Christ are chosen because they are in Christ. Satan, Adam, Eve and you and me have sinned of our own free will that God has given us. Who is to blame for our sin? We are. We all have sinned and the wages or consequence of sin is death— (Romans 6:23) physical and spiritual death here and to eternity unless we turn and receive God’s provision in Jesus Christ who lovingly bore the penalty of our sin on the cross to satisfy divine justice and rose from the dead to give life to all who receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. (John 1:12) If we don’t receive the remedy for our sin in Jesus Christ, we only have ourselves to blame.

God said to Adam and Eve, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die” (Genesis 3:3). God is true to His word. When they ate of the tree of good and evil they died and everyone born since also has been born spiritually dead and they also perpetuate evil by sinning. (Romans 5:12) Adam and Eve experience evil when they sinned, they just didn't trust God to tell them about evil. Jesus took on our death penalty. He exchanged His life on the cross so we might have life. It is like the judge stepping down from the bench and taking the death penalty for us. Only God could do this. In the cross God let His own creation nail Him to a cross in Jesus Christ. As the Bible says, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4) Of course it is possible to spurn the grace of God in Jesus Christ and continue on in ingratitude and wickedness.

Mankind only has to turn to Jesus Christ to be healed. Speaking of Jesus the scripture says, “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” (Isaiah 53:5). He is speaking primarily of spiritual healing and as we grow spiritually it effects every dimension of life. God also sometimes physically heals people miraculously or by the help of science, which is the study of His handiwork, but in heaven all those in Christ will also be healed physically and fully healed in every way and free of any indwelling sin. (Romans 7:17)

Why evil. The Theological answer the Bible gives to this is that it is worth it in the end. God desires to share His joy with us. Mankind has to be free for man to truly receive and to enter into the fulness of the joy of the Lord. Beautiful beyond comprehension is God, as clearly revealed in the cross of Jeus. How great of love He has for you.

A lot of people talk about God loving people unconditionally. Does God really love God unconditionally? Where is that in the Bible? He loves us and extends His love to everyone but everyone doesn’t deserve it. None of us deserves it, it is an undeserved love and gift to be received. He loves us even though we don’t deserve it. The Bible says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Respond to God’s invitation and enter into fullness of life here and the life to come in heaven. Pray and receive Christ in repentance of sin and faith in Him as Savior and Lord and let Him guide you.

For further study see:

--The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis

--When there are no Easy Answers: Thinking Differently about God, Suffering and Evil, John S. Feinberg

--No One Like Him, John S. Feinberg

--What About Free Will? Reconciling our Choices with God’s Sovereignty, Scott Christensen

--God’s Strategy in Human History, Paul Marston

And Roger Forester.

--Love, Freedom and Evil, Thaddeus J. Williams

--The New Chosen People, William W. Klein