If God Is Perfect, Why Is There Evil?Näide

Day 7: God’s Solution for Evil—The Work of Christ

From beginning to end, the Bible consistently says that while evil is real, God is nevertheless all-powerful and all-good. In fact, evil is God’s enemy, and he grieves because of the sin and wickedness that exist in the hearts of Adam’s sons and daughters.

God is aware of our troubles and needs, and in his love, he has done something about them: he sent his own Son to die and pay for sin.

Jesus Christ came to face and overcome evil as the sinless God-Man (1 John 3:8). Though humans brought death through their rebellion, God came to earth to give life, not willing to let sin, disease, and death have the last word. In this way, he proved he loves us (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9–10).

God chose a plan that included the suffering and death of his Son. God wasn’t simply amusing himself when he created the heavens and earth.

In his Introduction to Apologetics, Edward Carnell described the crucifixion as “the worst example of evil” in all of history. Yet, this worst example of evil was included in God’s plan from before the foundation of the earth. Just as in the case of all other evils, God wasn’t responsible for carrying this evil out. And yet, he used it as the means for offering salvation to all mankind.

Hell in Light of the Greatest Good

The Bible makes it clear that, in the future, there will be no grayness or neutrality. The contrast is clear: heaven and hell are and will be the only options for our destination.

The doctrine of hell seems so fantastic that many object to it. It’s hard to understand how a loving and good God would send people to an eternal punishment. Those who wish to avoid the doctrine of eternal punishment usually make one of two suggestions:

·That all men will be saved (universalism)

·That the rebellious will be annihilated

Neither of these is a true option, based on the testimony of Jesus and the rest of the New Testament.

Some of the phrases the New Testament uses to describe hell are “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46), where “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48), “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30), “eternal fire” (Matthew 25:41), and “for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude v. 13 NIV).

Hell is forever, and this means that evil will continue in some form.

Because of God’s omniscience, omnipotence, and goodness, we can be sure that from all eternity he has worked out that plan that will bring the greatest good. True, it’s a plan that cost him dearly. Not only did the sin of his creatures cause him to suffer, but Christ also paid an infinite purchase price to redeem sinful men.

Some Mystery Remains

Moses says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God” (Deuteronomy 29:29). We don’t know all God’s purposes for including evil in his plan, but the Bible does indicate some of them. The main purpose of creation is so God might display the riches of his glory to creatures who can willingly respond.

Since God is worthy of all blessing, honor, glory, and dominion (Revelation 5:13), the plan that would bring the greatest good for all is the plan that most freely allows God to display and receive glory. And God knew that the best way to reveal the glory of his grace, love, and holiness would be to redeem wicked, hateful, and rebellious creatures from their course of destruction.

Because of Christ’s blood, God can transform sinful rebels into the image of his Son perfectly. The crucifixion was the most complete revelation of God’s attributes. If evil didn’t appear, the crucifixion and resurrection would have been unnecessary, and there would have been no such thing as redemption. Was it worth all this? Even before God created time, space, and matter, divine omniscience knew what would come to pass.

No one can see the whole picture as God sees it. From our perspective, it would appear that many things are out of God’s control. But we must place our trust in him. God has revealed that he is guiding everything toward a glorious and purposeful consummation. When we finally see what he’s been doing, we will be satisfied. We’ll learn how divine sovereignty and human responsibility can both be true. And there will be no “problem” of evil.