We talked about the Word of God (the Bible), we’ve talked about the existence of God and we have talked about knowing God. But what about God and questions about evil?

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God their actions resulted in a horrendous distortion of our relationship with Him. From that point on all humanity was tainted with inherited sin. Because of this we cannot be “good” for only God is good (Mark 10:18). We all know we continually sin—we disobey God’s commands and we are the ones who do evil in the world in different degrees. God does not do evil; He cannot be blamed for evil. We are to be blamed. However, God uses evil for his purposes, for “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Rom. 8:29).

 The question arises as to “Why hasn’t God done something about evil?” The answer is self-evident: because God has allowed us to make choices and because of the nature of sin, we choose evil. But, we can make willing choices that have real effects:We can also choose to love, for if we did not have the ability to choose willingly, then our choices would not be our choices. We know God will defeat evil. He is sovereign. Evil is not beyond his control.

Since Adman and Eve we live in a fallen world. In His sovereignty, God has purpose in allowing us to be evil, allowing sickness, death, and all the untold troubles of this earth—but in this quagmire of decay, God will not let evil win. God is not finished yet. When we hear the great shout, (1 Thess.5:16) then, all bets will be off. In the meanwhile, we must understand that we cannot understand God’s way (Job 40-41). For in allowing evil, he allowed his Son, Jesus the Christ to die a horrible, tortuous death on the cross as a just penalty for our sins. In His death, He redeemed us. His atonement earned our salvation.