Why Does God Allow Evil?
Introduction
The problem of evil is complex, and one of the biggest barriers towards belief in God today. In fact, as we study the subject, we find that a whole family of questions emerges.[1] In prior posts we discussed some of these questions, like:
- Why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?
- What about natural disasters and diseases?
- Why doesn’t God just stop the bullet, the accident, or the cancer?
- Why would God let a child die?
- Why do bad things happen to good people?
- How is eternity in hell fair?
- What about those who have never heard of Jesus?
But let’s step back and ask the larger question one more time. What’s the bottom line? Why does God allow evil? To be sure, God is accomplishing many valuable things towards his greater good. But in all the pain and suffering we endure, we all share a common lesson. God is teaching us the horrors of rebellion against him.
As we look at all the evil in the world around us, if we learn anything at all, we should learn to hate sin.
We Are Responsible
Out of a love for us, God gave us the gift of free will, or moral freedom. But we misuse this gift all the time, acting in rebellion against God and his moral law.
It started in the garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve chose rebellion against God, they sinned for the first time. Known as the original sin, this brought a state of moral corruption, or a sin nature, into themselves and all of humanity (Romans 3:9-10). In fact, all of creation was corrupted as a result of this original sin, when God cursed the ground (Genesis 3:17, Romans 8:20). This corruption of creation is was causes Natural Evil.
To this day, every one of us operates outside, and in rebellion, of God’s moral law all the time. The sinful things that we do cause terrible harm to other people, and even ourselves. This is called Moral Evil, and is responsible for most of the pain and suffering in the world today.[2]
The truth is that we are responsible for our own actions, our own sin. We as humanity are responsible for so much of the evil we see in the world today.
God’s character, then, survives the problem of evil. God is not the author of evil; he did not create evil. But he created the potential for evil when he gave us moral freedom.
An Education In Evil
God only asked one thing of Adam and Eve, that they not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17). But they did. And we’ve been getting quite a terrifying education in evil ever since.
The evil, pain, and suffering we see and experience in the world teach us powerful lessons concerning rebellion against God. God is letting us experience the consequences of our own sinful actions. As a result, we should hate sin.
We see this principle in Scripture. In this passage, God reprimands the Israelites over their idolatry. He warns them that when he eventually brings them home from exile, they will remember their evil ways and hate themselves for it. God says,
“…Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name… Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel… There you will remember your conduct and all the actions by which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done.” (Ezekiel 20:39-43 NIV).
I suppose many of us can look back on our pasts and see things that we’ve said or done that we regret. The good news is that we don’t have to live in shame. We can be forgiven by God forever. That’s part of the good news of Christianity.
As we learn first-hand the consequences of sin, God is preparing us for an eternity in his Kingdom. In heaven, we will still have our moral freedom. But we will never have a desire to test God’s authority again. On the contrary, we will be filled with a breathtaking joy, and desire to please him, because he has delivered us from our sin and such terrible evil on earth.
So What Should We Do Now?
Considering all of the evil all around us, how then should we live? We fight. C.S. Lewis explains:
“For Christianity is a fighting religion. It thinks that God made the world… But it also thinks that a great many things have gone wrong with the world that God made and that God insists, and insists very loudly, on our putting them right again.”[3]
“Christianity agrees… that this universe is at war. But it does not think this is a war between independent powers. It thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion, and that we are living in a part of the universe occupied by the rebel. Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.”[4]
God calls us to fight evil wherever and whenever we can. How? By doing good. We see this in many places in the Bible:
“Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” (Romans 12:21).
“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” (Romans 12:9).
“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” (Ephesians 6:13).
“Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:17)
“No… the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8).
This is the Christian calling: we help the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the sick. Through our compassion for others, hopefully God will touch hearts and bring opportunities share the Gospel. That is the great commission, to tell others the good news that any one of us can be freed from our sin and made right with God, forever.
Conclusion
Why does God allow evil? Among many different answers to that question is this: God is allowing us to learn the consequences of rebellion against him. As we look out upon all of the pain and suffering in the world, our response should be to hate sin. Yet, we are all in a sinful state that none of us can escape from on our own.
Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us here. He’s already intervened in human history to provide a rescue. It’s a free gift, the grace of God. All any one of us needs to do is believe that Jesus died for our sin and rose again, repent of our sin, and trust him. Then, we’re transformed. And we know the end of the story. We can live with real hope and joy, knowing that an eternity in heaven will dwarf into insignificance all of the suffering we will ever endure here on earth.
[1]Most of the material in these posts comes from the course “Why God Allows Evil,” taught by Dr. Clay Jones in the M.A. Christian Apologetics program at Biola University. The excellent book by Dr. Jones, Why Does God Allow Evil? Compelling Answers For Life’s Toughest Questions (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2017) contains much of the content presented in that class.
[2]An exception is when Satan directly intervenes in human affairs. An example is when he killed all of Job’s children with gale force winds (Job 1:18-19).
[3]C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: McMillan, 1952), 45.
[4]Ibid., 50-51.