God and the Problem of Evil Part 2

We continue to explore why there is evil and sin in the world if God is supposed to be good. We have already seen how God sometimes uses what we could consider evil as something which is actually good. He often ministers pain to try to save us from some greater pain.

This week we will discuss why evil exists in the world. How can God be good if there is evil at all? Did He create evil, or is He the original agent of evil.

First, remember that when God created everything, He created it “good.” It was built and made without sin. Genesis 1:9-10 says, “And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together He called Seas. And God said that it was good.”

The world, man, and the earth were created perfect and without sin. There were no hurricanes, birth defects, viruses, economic collapses, coconut (sorry, I loathe coconut) or any other form of sin. Man, animals, the planet, and the universe were perfect, and lived in perfect harmony.

So where did evil come from? Evil was brought by sin into the world through Adam and Eve. They were given the free will to choose between following God and following their own sinful desires. They ate of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6-7), and from there, sin entered the world. Once it affected them, it infected everything, and nothing was left untouched by it. Romans 8:20-22 says, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope, that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been growing together in the pains of childbirth until now.”

The question that often comes up with “the creation of evil” in the discussion of “the problem of evil” concerns Satan. Was Satan created perfect, or evil? The answer is that Satan was also created perfect. I Timothy 4:4a says, “For everything created by God is good.”

Satan, just like Adam and Eve, was given a free will to choose who to follow. Satan, created as a perfect angel, chose evil. He chose his own way, in selfish pride desiring to be like God. He, along with a multitude of the angels, chose to do their own thing, rejecting their Creator. Jude 1:6a says, “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling.” God is not to blame. He created it perfectly. Satan and man are the ones who tainted a good and perfect Creation. 

There is good news Christianity teaches about Creation and the evil coming into our world. In the Christian worldview, everything was created perfectly; sin t’infected it, but Jesus has brought, and will bring the final cure. Christianity teaches that we are headed back to the Garden. God is going to separate everything in the end. He is going to perfect everything, and create New Heavens and a New Earth which will never be affected (Revelation 21:1-5).

Atheism doesn’t leave us with such hope. In fact, atheism teaches the opposite. It teaches that the world is created out of an explosion, in chaos, without purpose. If that is the case, there is no hope for our planet or man. Everything will just wear down one day and cease to exist.

What is your future hope? Do you look forward to a day when, if you are a follower of Christ, you will be in the New Heavens and New Earth, where sin will no longer exist? There will be a time and place we won’t be able to corrupt anything.

Thanks for taking time to read this Maddening Theology post. If you enjoyed this content you can find Pastor Tim’s sermons at www.cornerstoneforestcity.org. You can also join us at 520 Marion St. Browndale, PA 18421 on Sundays at 10 AM. To make following the blog easier you can also register. You can also join us on Facebook at Cornerstone Forest City. Also, don’t forget to download our APP on iTunes  or Googleplay.