God and Evil
By Timothy Glover
John says of the Word, God in the flesh (John 1:14) or Jesus, that “all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). If evil is a thing, did he also create evil? Could evil possibly come from God?
When Paul speaks of his struggle in being justified by the law, he writes of the evil that he does without desiring to commit it. Since this evil is present, he exclaims, “Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom 7:19ff) We have all wanted to do right and find ourselves doing the thing that we hate. Someone might think that God is unjust to make us but then condemn us for being that way.
It is crucial to remember that God made us with certain desires and abilities that within themselves are good. The evil is created when man takes these God-given desires over strict boundaries that God has set. For example, sexual desire is not sinful and sexual sins are not wrong because of a natural desire. They are wrong because of the wrong use of a natural desire.
Similarly, worship is a right concept and practice but the worship of idols is an abuse of the concept. In idolatry, the emphasis has shifted away from Jehovah. Having money or wealth is not wrong but the love of money is said to be wrong. Multiple examples could be sited.
So, to confess that God has made us with the ability to do evil does not admit that God forces us to choose evil as if we had no other alternative. He also made us with the ability to fulfill our natural desires in a good and proper way. We can choose to do good. Still, he has not forced us to choose good. We have the power of choice. This is how we were made, i.e., in the image of God. We may choose our own course and practice that which is “good” or that which is “evil”. it is perfectly in accord with our nature.
Further, good or evil cannot exist without the other. Adam and Eve were made to be responsible beings and lived in Eden in a stage of innocence. The tree of the “ knowledge of good and evil” had not been eaten. When they did eat, the knowledge of one became also the knowledge of the other. The existence of one proves the existence of the other. Practically, they exist as a result of human choice. Man is given the ability to think, make decisions and choose the path designed by the maker or the path of our own devising. It is our choice.
It is not only crucial to realize that because we experience a desire does not necessitate fulfilling it in an unlawful way, it is equally important to recognize that being tempted to sin does not mean that we have sinned. Having desires and contemplating the fulfillment of that which we are able to do is not sinful. In Hebrews 4 we are told that Jesus was tempted in all point as we are, yet without sin. The temptation due to our human nature and potential is not sinful. It is not wrong to have the ability to sin. Nor is it wrong to have a desire to satisfy an appetite.
Therefore, what God made is not evil. When he made humans after his image, he made them with the capacity to choose and thereby possess some power over their destiny. Evil is created when we take what God has made, these naturally endowed gifts, and choose to misuse them. This being true, we would conclude that evil is the distortion of good.
The last point to remember is that God has shown us how to use our natural desires in such a way that we not only satisfy them but avoid evil. Knowing his Word revealed in the Bible is critical to choosing that which is good. Choose wisely and make a study of it that you may know the prescribed way and lead not only a full life but a rewarding one.
Return Home
| The Sinner | Evil | Cain | Lifestyles
| Lying
| Hypocrite
| Sin-1
| Sin-2
| Aids
| Morals
| Sexual
| Leopard
| |