Questions For God: Why Does Evil Exist?
Introduction:
It has almost been two week since a gunman killed 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech, many people were appalled at what took place, and if you are anything like me you were left wondering, why is there so much evil in the world? We think back to other people who did such awful and unspeakable evils. We think of the tens of millions of people that were killed under the tyrannical leadership of evil dictators like Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein. If you are anything like me when you hear of such things you are left wondering, how can some people do such evil things? You hear of people in other parts of the world who participate in terrorist activities, having no care of concern for life, it is not uncommon to hear of myriads of innocent people killed because of the evil actions of some crazed terrorist. If you are anything like me you are left wondering, how could someone be that evil and how can someone senselessly devalue human life? Just watch the news, there really is some evil people that do evil things in this world.
For many unbelievers they have a hard time understanding why evil exists. A few weeks ago we talked about the reasons bad things happen and this is closely related, but is not referring to bad things like diseases and accidents, but simply a reference to the intentional evil that some people do. Many people have a hard time in their mind understanding how a good and a loving God could allow such evil things to take place in the world? They want to know why God created evil? Well, first of all it important for us to note that God never created evil, he only created the potential for evil. It also important for us to understand that evil is never in the will of God. He never wants evil to take place.
Before we get any further it is important for us to note that our definition and God’s definition of “evil” probably differ to some extent. When we think of someone who is evil we think of someone who does something really bad. We think of murders and rapists as evil people. In the Scriptures anyone who sins is considered to be evil and do evil.
Text: Romans 1:18-32
I. Evil Exists Because of People
a. People corrupt what is good
A lot of times sin and evil come as the result of people corrupting something that was intended to be a good thing. A lot of sin is a perversion or corruption of what God intended to be good.
b. People who are full of pride
Sometimes people do evil things because of their pride. Pride is a big problem in the society in which we live in and many times it is that pride that leads to people doing evil things.
Proverbs 16:18
Furthermore, I John 2 teaches us that sin often times results from people’s pride. Pride says that we are in charge, it thinks more highly of ourselves than we ought. People who deal with pride do not like to be told what they can and cannot do; therefore being subject to commands and rules is not easy. People who deal with pride often think they have the right to act out. Many of the most wicked people in the world have done the things they have because of their pride.
c. People without proper upbringing
I would assume that some people do the evil things that they do because they did not have a proper upbringing. I have to think that a lot of the problems that exist in the world today stems from the break down of the home. Children growing up today often times do not have a proper upbringing and are not taught what is right and what is wrong. Many times kids are not shown by example how they should live and how they should act. We cannot be surprised when children without the positive example and discipline of their parents rebel and do evil things.
Proverbs 22:15
Part of a parent’s responsibility is to show their kids what is right and what is wrong, and many people grow up to do evil things because they did not have a proper upbringing.
d. People without fear of God
I can guarantee that if more people feared God then there would be less times we would have to talk about evil things that take place. There would be less shootings, there would be less violence and there would be more good done. A lot of sin and evil comes because people really do not fear God in their lives.
Romans 3:11-18
People today cannot fear a God they do not believe in. Years ago many people did what was right because they had a fear of God, and that motivated them to keep out of trouble. Now since many people do not believe in God, they have no one to fear, and since there are no consequences in their minds beyond this life for their actions, then in their minds it does not matter what they do. They have nothing concrete to deter them from doing evil.
e. People without love of others
Some people do evil things because they do not have a true love for other people. You cannot act violently to people that you really love. Many people act out in evil because they do not love. You remember the greatest command is to love the Lord your God and the second greatest is to love your neighbor as yourself. I would assume that if people would obey those two commands there would be a whole lot less evil done to other people. A lot of evil stems from a lack of love. When you think about a lot of the terrorist activity and how some so willingly take lives, you can see plainly that hatred fills their hearts and not love. A lot of evil comes from a heart that is full of hate and empty of love. We as Christians need to ensure that we are being an example to others as to what it means to love one another. If you love others you will not only cease from doing wrong to others, but you will also do good to others.
f. People without respect of authority
One of the things that I see plainly in our culture is that people today do not respect authority. In fact, children are brought up today taught to question or challenge authority in any way that they can. We cannot forget that we are called to be submissive to different type of authority that God has established. The reason children disobey their parents, people break the law so readily, and sin against God is because they have no respect for any authority. Perhaps this stems back to pride, but people often times do not like to think about any person in a position of authority over them and they certainly do not like the idea of someone setting rules for them as to how they are to live. A lot of evil comes from a lack of respect for authority, whether that authority be in the home, in the government, or whether that authority is God himself. We need to be willing to submit ourselves to authority.
g. People without accountability
A lot of evil takes place because people are not accountable to anyone for their actions. We are taught today that it really does not matter what you do, and that if we talk about your evil actions than we become judgmental. We are taught that what we do is our own business and that it is no one else’s. It used to be that kids were always accountable to their parents and that accountability deterred them from doing a lot of things, but now with the breaking apart of the home often times there is no one for kids to be accountable to. We need to realize that there are consequences to our actions and there are people we are accountable to for what we do. If we break the law there are consequences and we will have to give an account for what we have done. If people who consider the consequences and remember that they are accountable to someone else for the things that they do than there would be less evil done. However, many people see themselves as their own person, and they think they do not have to answer to anyone at anytime. More than being accountable to people on earth for our actions, we are also accountable to God in the end for our actions. Many people act the way they do because they do not think that there is a God to whom they must give an account. One of the greatest tragedies that exists in the world today is teaching children that God is not their creator and certainly is not their judge. If kids growing up today believe they evolved from animal, why not act like animals Moreover, if they believe they were not created they certainly do not think they will be judged. When I know that I am accountable not only to man for my actions, but also to God it keeps me in line.
I Peter 4:3-5
Whether people like it or not or whether people realize it or not each person will give an account to God for their lives.
Romans 14:12
Knowing this fact causes us to live in obedience to his commands, but having no sense of accountability for our actions leads us to act out in evil. It sure would help if people were accountable at work for their actions, at church to the leadership for what they do and how they live, at home by their parents, and ultimately in Heaven by God himself. Knowing that we are accountable to people will hinder sin from running rampant.
h. People without standards
One of the most obvious reasons for evil in the world is because there are many varying views on what is evil and what is right and wrong. It is one thing to do something wrong, but it is different when you do something wrong and feel no guilt or remorse from it. The reason people can do that is because they don’t think what they did was wrong. In other words, they have no standards or wrong standards. Some people see nothing wrong with homosexuality; therefore they have no guilt for their actions. How can they have guilt for something they do not see as wrong? Muslims sincerely believe they will be eternally rewarded for killing people who do not believe what they believe. We look at things like what happened on September 11th and consider them evil, most people consider it evil, but to the people involved they thought sincerely what they were doing what right because they have a different standard. That is a big problem. If there are millions of different standards in the world which people live according to and only one standard by which we will be judged by then we have a problem. Our problem is we sometimes try to set our standards based on what we think and what we feel rather than on something objective like the Word of God, which is our standard of judgment.
Hebrews 5:14
A constant use of the Word of God helps us to distinguish good from evil. It teaches us right from wrong in the eyes of God. A lot of people in the world have no moral standards by which they live at all, and they show it through how they act. What makes people unashamedly do the things that they do? Their standards or lack of standards! We need to make sure that we teach ourselves the correct standards through God’s Word and if we would do that and if everyone had the same standards of what is right and wrong, less evil would take place.
i. People with evil hearts
Luke 6:43-45
Sometimes the evil that takes place in the world can be best explained as the natural fruit of an evil person’s heart. What you are filled up with will eventually come out. Some people do evil things because they have been sowing evil in their hearts for so long and their hearts are really full of evil. I hate to say it, but what else should we expect from some people? Whenever I would watch the news early on in my Christian life I would be so shocked at the evil things people would do. As I have learned and grown the shock has worn off because I know that the evil that is done many times is just what we should expect. It is just a symptom of a heart that is not right with God. A person does not just wake up one day and decide to commit murder. Usually it begins small, it begins in the heart, it begins with anger and hatred being stored up in the heart, and the actual action that they commit is just the natural overflow of the heart. That is why in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught that if you lust after a woman you have already done the act of adultery in your heart. If you are angry or hate your brother you have already committed murder in your heart. Sin begins in the heart and the action is just the symptoms being made clear. This is true with our speech and our actions. What we let out openly is us revealing a little bit of what is insider our hearts. The evil that we see is going to continue as long as people fill their hearts with evil things and evil thoughts, and who can be shocked when they act out that evil that they have harbored in their hearts.
j. People without submission to Christ as Lord
The bottom line is many people do the things they do because they do not have Jesus as Lord of their lives. Many people live life with themselves as Lord. I want it to be exceedingly clear, that no one can be good apart from Christ. I know there are many people in the world that do not do a whole lot of bad things, in fact some may even do some good deeds, and many of them are not Christians, but as long as Jesus does not reign as Lord in individual’s lives then evil will keep going on and on.
II. Evil Exists Because of Sin
Many people, even non-Christians realize the problem of evil in the world today. Many of those people look for answers. After the attack at Virginia Tech, it was not uncommon to hear people in the media asking the question, “What causes people to act in this way?” They came up with many varying different problems all of which may have had some relevance or truth. They talked about upbringing, they talked about depression or other mental disorders, and they talked about how other people may have caused him to act out. Do you know what one word I never heard mentioned? Sin! No one ever said that this guy acted the way that he did because he loved sin, because he harbored sin in his heart and allowed it to fester and grow without dealing with it. They wanted a quick and easy answer to why these things in the world take place, and the main reason they take place is because of sin, or a violation of what God has commanded.
James 1:13-15
Incidentally, when someone wonders how a good and loving God can allow evil in the world, they forget that God has commands, laws, and helps in place to combat that evil. They also forget that there are consequences for that evil and more than that a future punishment for the evil that is done. One day all sin will be dealt with. Paul understood the battle with sin well, when he wrote Romans 7. He understood that sometimes sin causes us to do evil things. We live in a world full of people who have chosen to sin and do opposite of what God has said to do, what more can you expect from society? Can you expect a society who is slaves to sin to live by our standards? No! When you are outside of Christ, you are a slave to sin, and sin dominates your life. It controls what you do and how you think. It drives you and it influences every aspect of your being. That is why there is evil in the world.
III. Evil Exists Because of Satan
We can talk about a lot of different reasons for the evil that takes place in the world today, but one you will not hear many people talk about is Satan. Satan does not cause evil, but he can influence people to do evil things. In the Bible Satan is even called “the evil one”, and His temptations can strongly influence a person to do that, which is evil.
Ephesians 6:10-17
Though Satan has some power and effect in the world and influencing some of the evil that takes place we need to take some of the responsibility ourselves. We live in a society where we do not like to take responsibility for our actions. If a person commits a crime it is not uncommon for the person to blame everyone but themselves for their actions. They will talk about how their bad upbringing caused them to do it, or how someone else made them do it. People will use the insanity defense if they can to escape any responsibility for their actions. There is a real Devil in the world, which seeks to lead us into temptation, and He has real powers, but in the ends it is our choice to give into those temptations. We must take some of the responsibility ourselves for the evil that we do. As long as there is sin in the world there will be evil. Oh by the way, according to God all sin is evil and all have sinned.
IV. God Has An Answer
God does have an answer to the problem of evil in this world.
a. A future place with no evil
We as Christians cannot escape from this world now. The evil that we see around is simply a reality that we cannot avoid. I imagine it will continue and it probably will not get any better any time soon in this world. There is good news though. The good news is that there is a future place for those in Christ where there is an absolute absence of evil.
Revelation 21:27
Many people who doubt God want to know why there is evil and why evil exists. They want to know why God does not defeat that evil, well the answer is that He has and He will, and there is coming a day when we will be together in a place where there is no sin, no temptations, and no fear of somebody doing something evil to you. That future place we call Heaven and it will be wonderful. Nothing impure will enter there, but only they whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Is your name written there? If you are like most people a place where there is no evil and no sin sounds like a great plan, and that is where God wants you to be, and that is His permanent solution to the problem of evil in the world.
b. A promise of hope and peace in spite of evil
Well…what is in it for us now? How do we make it a world where there is constant evil all around us? I will first of all tell you that it has been and can be done. Noah did it in world where everyone’s thoughts were only on evil all the time, he was found blameless and found favor with God. Lot did it in the midst of a pagan city with unspeakable immorality. Joseph remained faithful in pagan, idol-worshipping Egypt. Elijah remained faithful in the midst of a world that was also given to idolatry. Daniel and his three friends remained faithful in Babylon despite laws directly attempted to cause them to be unfaithful. Many of the Apostles encountered great wickedness in the areas they entered as they attempted to spread the gospel and they remained faithful. They didn’t give in, they didn’t compromise their moral and convictions and they remained faithful to God until the end. In this world God does not promise life will be easy. He does not promise we will never encounter pain or heartache. He doesn’t promise we won’t see evil or even be the victims of evil, however he does promise us hope and peace in spite of the evil.
