1 HOW CAN A GOOD GOD ALLOW EVIL? Presented by Permission granted to active Joshua Club Members to use and reproduce.

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1 1 HOW CAN A GOOD GOD ALLOW EVIL? Presented by Permission granted to active Joshua Club Members to use and reproduce. Evil people appear to be in control. Does God care as sinful people hurt innocent victims? We say "God cares," but what does it look like to the world around us? Reading or watching the world news can tear our hearts as we see the terrors of war and famine. Innocent people, many of whom are helpless children, have their lives ripped apart. With their own eyes they witness their loved ones dying and perhaps face torture, extreme hardship, or death themselves at the hands of evil people. Closer to home violent crime shatters many lives. Alcoholism and child abuse devastate many families. There seems to be no end to the evil people will do to each other. Murder, rape, war, theft, immorality, sinfulness of every kind and every description seems to be the order of the day. Evil people abound. If God is good, how can He allow evil people to succeed? Why does He allow it? Does He have the power to stop evil people? Before we can even begin to answer these questions we have to understand what evil is and how it arrived on planet earth. To discover the answers we must journey back to the beginning...the very beginning. In Gen. 1:31 God looked at everything He had made and declared "It was very good". In the beginning evil and evil people did not exist. God did not create evil or evil people; however, He chose to allow for the possibility of evil. Why would a good God do that? Why even permit the potential for evil people in a perfect creation? It doesn't make sense, or does it?

2 2 It was the desire of God's heart to make as the king of creation a creature who He could freely love and who would freely love Him in return. God made Adam and Eve with just that purpose in mind. He wanted mankind to enjoy a beautiful love relationship with Him. In order for mankind to freely love God, they had to be given a choice. There was no other way. If there was no choice, then mankind was nothing better than a programmed machine. But God plainly said "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [Gen. 1:26, NAS]. Part of being in the image of God was having the ability to choose. There was no way around it. How did evil enter the world? How could beautiful, perfect people be corrupted into becoming evil people? One of the highest angels rebelled against God. "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God...I will make myself like the Most High" [Is. 14:13-14, NAS]. Although this passage of scripture is referring literally to the king of Babylon, many scholars believe it alludes to Satan's fight against God. In any case, we know Satan with the help of many angels [possibly 1/3] did rebel against God. No one can overthrow God, so Satan was defeated in heaven and his only option then was to attack the creature God loved. We need to understand even after Satan fell, evil had not yet entered the world. It was still a perfect world of love and beauty. Satan's goal was to destroy the world by introducing evil into it. But that was something he could not do. There was no way Satan could bring evil into the world by himself. Why? When God created Adam He gave him a very special command. That command was to rule or have dominion over the world and everything in it. The exact command is found in Gen. 1: All the rest of creation was designed with mankind in mind. Adam and Eve and their descendants were created to rule and develop the world under the

3 3 authority and inspiration of God. It was to be a partnership in which God and man worked together and so increased their relationship with each other. God voluntarily gave man authority over this new world. That authority was not given to the angels, which is why Satan's fall did not directly affect the physical world. In order for evil to enter the world, Satan would have to get man to voluntarily rebel against God just as he had done. There was only one thing God had told man not to do. He was not allowed to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. One simple rule, choose to love God freely or reject Him. Eve was the first one to disobey God, but she was tricked by Satan. Adam, as the representative of the human race, and knowing exactly what he was doing, also disobeyed God. At that moment evil entered the world and evil people was a result of it. So we see it was not God, but man who allowed evil to enter the world. Perhaps we should pause for a moment and see exactly what evil is. We saw it first in Satan and then in Adam. What did they do which defined evil? They rebelled against God. In its very root, all evil or sin is rebellion against the perfect God who made us and loved us. What about murder, rape, war, etc.? Aren't they evil? Aren't they committed by evil people? They are expressions of evil. When we reject God our rebellion may take many forms. We may be very law-abiding or even religious or we may be vile, disgusting, murderous, evil people, but it all comes from the same thing. We should note here that at the same time evil entered the world, death also entered the world. Before that point in time nothing could die. But when evil entered the world everything began to die and evil people began to develop. Death and evil - in whatever form - go handin-hand.

4 4 In order for God to destroy evil He would have to destroy the entire human race, the race He so greatly loved. Because Adam was our legal representative before God, when he rebelled we all rebelled. We are born into this world in rebellion against God. We are all expressors of evil. How we express it in our lives may seem very tame and mild compared with the evil of others, but the root cause is exactly the same. God did; however, have a solution. But more on that later. Remember God created Adam and Eve to rule over the earth under His leadership? In a legal transaction God gave responsibility for the world to Adam. Adam turned traitor and legally gave his responsibility to Satan. God could have stepped in and ended things right there. But that would have wiped everything out including His still-loved human creatures. Instead, since man had legally allowed evil to enter the world, God chose that through man evil itself would be destroyed. God never changed or withdrew His command for man to rule and develop planet earth, but now the mission was grossly complicated by evil people. The problem was that man in rebellion to God could not destroy evil. Once he had chosen the path of rebellion he could not change. Now we come to God's solution. Since man had rebelled and could not save himself, God chose to become a man in the Person of Jesus Christ. Man had legally given authority over the world to Satan and God became a Man to legally take it back. Jesus lived on this earth for 33 1/2 years. He did what Adam did not do, He walked in perfect obedience to God. Because Jesus was not born in rebellion, like the rest of mankind, and because He lived a life of perfect obedience, He could not die. Evil and death are linked, without evil [sin] there can be no death.

5 5 But Jesus voluntarily died. He died on our behalf. In the courts of heaven His innocent death meant the guilty could escape death. In other words, if we believe on what Jesus did for us, we are declared innocent. Because Jesus was made guilty for us, we can be made innocent for Him. Evil people can be changed into good people. And since God raised Jesus from the dead we can live in His life! All we have to do is believe on Him, ask Him to come into our lives, and submit to His Lordship. Now we see the beauty of God's master plan, which He had before the world was even created. Because man legally allowed evil - and therefore evil people - into the world, He would become a Man and legally destroy evil. Wait a minute! Jesus died and rose almost 2,000 years ago. If that act destroyed evil, then why is it still in the world today? What hasn't it been wiped out? Let's start with another question. What happens when a person comes to Jesus as Saviour and yields his life to the Lordship of Jesus? He accepts what Jesus did on the cross for him. In a very real way, when Jesus died, he died. When Jesus rose from the dead, he rose from the dead. [Rom. 5-6] He is not the same person he was before. He will look the same, in many ways he may even act the same, but he is a new creation. God, in a master stroke of genius, has taken an evil person and re-created him without evil and yet without destroying the person he was. If that is true, why do these re-created people, these Christians, still do evil things? If they have been re-created without evil, then they should not express evil in any form, right? Right. However, it is the spiritual man that is re-created immediately. The root cause of all evil, rebellion against God, has been removed. But the life patterns

6 6 established in the mind are not changed immediately. There is still the natural desire to do what is wrong. God does not take away the Christian's freedom to choose. They are faced many times a day with the same choice Adam had; to obey or to rebel. As Christians choose to obey God more and more then the effects and expressions of evil are gradually erased from their lives. There are now two different human creations on earth. The original creation, which is in rebellion to God [whether they recognize it or not] full of evil people, and the re-creation, which is spiritually in submission to God and is learning to practice submission in everyday day life. The struggle between good and evil is not an equal one as some eastern religions teach. No, God, through Jesus has won back the earth on mankind's behalf. In spiritual reality it has already been done. Now it has to be put into practice in the physical realm. In the beginning God gave man dominion over the earth. Now through His re-created man He fights to destroy evil in the physical realm. Planet Earth is now the site of the greatest war ever fought. Ironically, most people don't even realize they are in a fight for their lives. But realize it or not everyone is involved in the fight. Anyone who is not a re-created human being is not under the protection of God and is a pawn in the hands of Satan. [This has nothing to do with demonic possession, but with the original, root evil - rebellion.] Recreated Christians, who themselves do not always make the right choices, warn their friends of the danger they are in. The Christian message is vital to the well-being of every human being - come to a loving God and be re-created or He will have to judge and destroy you along with evil and evil people at the end of time. God does not want to destroy anyone along with evil, but if they persist in their rebellion He must do it.

7 7 We need to be careful to realize this war is NOT Christians vs. non- Christians. It is God working through Christians against the evil of Satan. Non-Christians, whether they are actively [evil people] or passively [nice people] in rebellion to God, are influenced by Satan for his purposes. Non-Christians [and we were all non-christians at one time] need to come to the loving protection of Almighty God. They are so greatly valued and loved by God Himself that we, as Christians, need to express that same loving compassion to them. And so the war to wipe out evil rages on. We are deceiving ourselves if we think leading people to Jesus is the end of the war. That is only the beginning. It is the introduction to the grand relationship we were originally designed to enjoy with God. We still have to develop that relationship in ourselves, teach others about it, and obey the original command to develop the earth to its potential. This war is fought and won by faith and obedience to the Word of God in love. That is all it takes. As the Word of God is applied in our lives, evil is banished in us. As the Word of God is applied by others in their own lives, the influence of evil and evil people in the world is lessened. As we all apply the Word of God to laws and institutions of our respective countries, evil is driven from the earth. Until that day comes, the war goes on. On which side are we fighting? Do we support evil people, by rebellion against God, or are we working to eliminate it? How can a good God allow so much evil and so many evil people? He doesn't, we do. We gave authority over the earth to Satan and now God has given us the responsibility of taking it back. It is only possible through a life yielded to Jesus Christ. Every decision we make wins or loses the war one inch at a time. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus the war will be won. The question is how soon and how many lives will we allow to be lost before then? The battle is deadly serious, the lives of valuable human beings, greatly loved by God, are at stake.

8 STUDY GUIDE FOR HOW CAN A GOOD GOD ALLOW EVIL? Presented by Permission granted to active Joshua Club Members to use and reproduce.! This Study Guide is to be used with the above article found on freebible-study-lessons.com.! Read through the above article and answer the following questions.! 1. In Gen. 1:31 God looked at everything He had made and!! declared It was very."! 2. In the evil and evil people did not exist.! It is impossible for us to imagine what the world was like originally. We have only seen a world devastated by evil and sin. A world where these is no pain, sickness, violence - even in the animal kingdom -, and death seems like something out of a fantasy, yet that is how it was at the beginning...and will be again when Jesus returns.! 3. God chose to allow for the of evil.! It is very important that we understand that God allowed evil, He did not create evil. God cannot do evil or condone it. Some extreme religious groups have taught God created evil. False! For example, there is a big difference in allowing your son to fail a school test because he is too lazy to study and causing him to fail by withholding essential tools.! 4. It was the desire of God's heart to make as the king of creation a!! creature who He could love and who would!! love Him in return.! 5. One of the highest angels against God. 8

9 ! 6. No one can overthrow God, so Satan was defeated in heaven!! and his only option then was to the creature God!!! loved.! The Bible actually does not give us a lot of information about Satan and his angels. God gives us enough information to let us know what is going on and what we should do. We should not spend a lot of time studying the dark side. Some Christians become obsessed with the occult. We are to understand the basics, as revealed in the Scripture - not other sources, but we are to focus on learning about Jesus and doing good [Rom. 12:21, 16:19; 1 Thess. 5:15; 1 Peter 3:11].! 7. Satan's goal was to the world by introducing!! evil into it.! 8. Godʼs command to Adam was to rule or have!! over the world and everything in it.! 9. Adam and Eve and their descendants were created to!! and develop the world under the authority and inspiration of!! God.! 10. God voluntarily gave man over this new world.! 11. Did Satanʼs fall directly affect the physical world?! 12. Man was not allowed to eat of the of the Knowledge!! of Good and Evil.! 13. Adam, as the of the human race, and!! knowing exactly what he was doing, also disobeyed God.! 14. Who brought evil into this world? 9

10 10! 15. In its very root, all evil is against the perfect God!! who made us and loved us.! We are all born in rebellion to God. In case anyone wants to blame Adam, every time we sin we are saying, Adam, you made the right choice. Sin is sin. We may be tempted to think that we are not as bad as someone else. Doesnʼt matter. Even one sin is enough to separate us from God. Letʼs not compare ourselves with others. We need to compare ourselves to Godʼs standard...and all of us fall short!! 16. At the same time evil entered the world, also!!! entered the world.! 17. In order for God to destroy evil He would have to destroy the!! entire race, the race He so greatly loved.! 18. Because Adam was our representative!!! before God, when he rebelled we all rebelled.! 19. Adam turned and legally gave his responsibility!!! to Satan.! Because God is perfect justice, He cannot ignore our rebellion. As a perfect Judge, He cannot simply dismiss our case. Someone must pay the price. For every action there is a consequence. None of Godʼs actions can violate the just system He has set up. All of His actions must be according to His legal system. That is why Adam could legally give his responsibility to Satan...and why Jesus could legally take it back.! 20. Once Adam had chosen the path of rebellion he could not!!!.! 21. God chose to become a man in the Person of.! 22. Because Jesus was not born in rebellion, like the rest of

11 !! mankind, and because He lived a life of perfect,!! He could not die.! Jesus was literally a Man Who could not die. Without sin there is no death. Jesus had eternal life within Himself. Nothing could harm or kill Him. He had nothing within Himself that deserved death. The only way He could die was to take our sin on Himself.! 23. Jesus died.! No one forced Jesus to die. He voluntarily gave up His life out of obedience to the Father and love for us. There was no other way we could be saved and restored to fellowship with God. It was His choice. He could have escaped at any moment during that torturous night and day, but to do that would have doomed us for eternity.! 24. If we believe on what Jesus did for us, we are declared!!.! 25. Because Jesus was made for us, we can be!! made innocent for Him.! 26. When a person comes to, he is not the same!! person he was before.! 27. God, in a master stroke of genius, has taken an evil person and!! him without evil and yet without!! destroying the person he was. 11! 28. It is the man that is re-created immediately.! 29. The cause of all evil, rebellion against God, has!! been removed.

12 12! 30. The life patterns established in the are not changed!! immediately.! 31. As Christians choose to obey God more and more then the!!!!! effects and expressions of evil are gradually!! from their lives.! 32. There are now two different creations on earth.! The human race is not divided by ethnic origin, skin colour, beliefs or sexual orientation. It is divided into two camps by obedience or disobedience to King Jesus [Matt. 10:35, Luke 12:53]. Everyone who is in disobedience to Christ is on the same side of the line - the judgment side. This puts unconverted religious people, family people, and good citizens on the same side as atheists, murderers, homosexuals, etc. The only dividing line is unconditional surrender to Jesus Christ. Anything less is rebellion no matter how mildly or violently it may be expressed.! 33, God, through Jesus has won back the on!! mankind's behalf.! 34. Now, through His re-created man, God fights to destroy evil in!! the realm.! 35. Planet is now the site of the greatest war ever!! fought.! 36. Anyone who is not a re-created human being is not under the!! protection of God and is a in the hands of Satan.! 37. We need to be careful to realize this war is Christians!! vs. non-christians.

13 13! We fight against Satan. Satan uses people - and they do have consequences for their actions - but we look past the people and see the motivating force behind them. If we only look at people we may miss what God is doing. Who would have thought that the murderous persecutor Saul would become the great apostle Paul?! Read Ephesians 6. Notice how we war against Satanic evil. Sometimes we have worldly ideas of this warfare. The primary way we fight this war is daily living a life of submission to Jesus Christ. This fight is not for superheroes but for each of us. It is a daily choosing to live a life pleasing to God. The best way to get rid of darkness is to turn on a light.! 38. We are deceiving ourselves if we think people to!! Jesus is the end of the war.! 39. This war is fought and won by and obedience to the!! Word of God in love.! 40. As we all apply the of God to laws and institutions!! of our respective countries, evil is driven from the earth.! We do not change nations by forcing the Word of God from the top down. Social action is important, but to be effective in the long term it must be from the bottom up. In other words, it is as the Word of God works in the lives of the average people in a country that changes move up until the nation is changed. Some countries try to force change in other countries by supplying rebels with money and guns. They would be more effective by sending in Bibles!! 41. We gave authority over the earth to Satan and now God has!! given us the of taking it back through!!! Jesus Christ.! 42. Every we make wins or loses the war one!!! inch at a time.

14 14! 43. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus the war will be!!. ***** Other Courses or Articles Of Interest:

15 1. good 2. beginning 3. possibility 4. freely, freely 5. rebelled 6. attack 7. destroy 8. dominion 9. rule 10. authority 11. No 12. Tree 13. representative 14. Adam 15. rebellion 16. death 17. human 18. legal 19. traitor 20. change 21. Jesus Christ 22. obedience 23. voluntarily 24. innocent 25. guilty 26. Christ 27. re-created 28. spiritual 29. root 30. mind 31. erased 32. human 33. earth 15 ANSWER KEY FOR HOW CAN A GOOD GOD ALLOW EVIL?

16 34. physical 35. Earth 36. pawn 37. not 38. leading!!! 39. faith!!!! 40. Word! 41. responsibility 42. decision 43. won 16