Evil

Introduction We have finished a series on spiritual beings who serve God We are about to look at spiritual beings who do not serve God  We generally refer to such beings as 'Evil” So before looking at the beings, we should first answer some questions:  What is evil and where did evil come from?  Why does God allow evil?

Origins Gen 1:31  At the time of creation, everything was “very good” Gen 2:9,17  Our first mention of evil  Man did not yet have a “knowledge of good and evil” Why? Because evrything was “very good” Gen 3:5-7  The serpent (to be discussed in a later lesson) said if they ate the fruit they would know good and evil  The first thing they “knew” was nakedness and shame

Origins Gen 3:22  Man now knew good and evil Like “one of us”  Who is “us”? God? God and His spiritual creation?  Gen 1:26-27 “Us” is God in whose image man was made  So what is the knowledge of good and evil?

Good and Evil Here are some ideas that have been suggested:  Omniscience  Sexual knowledge  Moral discernment  Wisdom  The consequence of disobedience The first two are not remotely plausible  They were not offered nor did they receive omniscience  Sexuality is not considered except in the realization of nakedness The other three all seem to point in one direction

Good and Evil Deut 1:39  Young children have no knowledge of good and evil  In the context, the nation had done evil by choosing to disobey God's command to enter and take the land of Canaan God says that the punishment did not apply to the little children because they did not know good and evil “Knowing good and evil” is both a knowledge or right and wrong and a conscious action taken with that knowledge (and implies the consequences)  Israel had known what God wanted and made a conscious decision to disobey, God said they would then receive the consequences The consequences had been revealed at Sinai when they made a covenant with God

Good and Evil What about Adam and Eve?  Gen 2:16-17 God made the consequences clear to Adam Gen 3:1-3  The woman was fully aware of the consequences  Gen 3:6 They both made a conscious decision to disobey and received the consequences  They now knew good and evil “Good” was what they had when they were obedient “Evil” is the choice of disobedience and its consequences

Words which define absence “Cold” is not something that exists  Rather “cold” describes the absence of heat  You can add or remove heat, but you aren't adding or removing “cold”  Absolute zero describes the complete lack of heat “Dark” describes an absence of light  We can add or remove light, not “dark”  Absolute darkness is complete lack of light “Evil” is not something that exists of itself  Rather it describes the absence of good (James 4:17)  God created all “very good”, when man chose to disobey, that was “evil”

An example Have you ever purchased a new car?  It was “very good” when you drove it off the lot After a few years, you notice the dings, scratches, and rust  That is certainly an “evil”  Do you blame the car maker? The maker didn't put the dings, scratches and rust there By your choices (parking too close, driving off road, not washing and waxing, leaving in driveway, etc), you have brought about the “evil” and its consequences  Said another way, evil is the corruption of what is good

Free will What we are describing is that man had a choice as to whether to obey or disobey God  That is implied in God's command not to eat of a certain tree God could have not put such a tree in the garden or not forbidden a certain tree  Without a choice, man could not have chosen to disobey  This is part of what sets man apart from beasts, the ability to make a moral choice (rather than instinctual or trained choices) But, 'Couldn't we have free will without evil?'

Free will Here is what Dr. Peter Kreeft, a Boston College professor of philosophy, said about wanting to have free will without evil  “…it is not logically possible to have free will and have no possibility of moral evil. In other words, once God chose to create human beings with free will, it was up to them, rather than God, as to whether there was sin or not. That’s what free will means. Built into the situation of God deciding to create human beings is the chance of evil, and, consequently, the suffering that results.” So why did God create man, knowing there would be evil?

Why was Man Created? Acts 17:22-27  Man created that we should seek Him, grope for Him, and find Him Eph 1:4-14  He chose “us in Him” to be... “holy, without blame, before him in love” v4 Adopted as sons according to His will v5 Accepted in Christ “to the praise of the glory of His grace” v6, 12, 14 When we seek Him, grope for Him, and find Him and become His children (according to His will), then we are giving Him the love, praise, and glory His grace and love deserve from us

Why was Man Created? Isa 43:1-7, 10-13,  God says His people are precious, redeemed, ransomed, loved, honored, called by His name, created for His glory God receives glory when man chooses to trust, follow, and obey God even when passing through difficulties  God hasn't forced anyone to worship Him Worship should be our desire: to give praise, honor, and obedience to God who has blessed us “Worship” without desire and obedience (while in sin) is not really worship  For the sin, God has always had a plan for removing them, for His own sake  Will we accept His plan? Will we change our desire?

Why was Man Created? One illustration:  Why do couples choose to have children (biological or adopted) in this world with all its problems? For some, there are poor to bad reasons For others, it is a desire to love and share love with others  It is very good when the children grow up and choose to share that love with their parents  Sometimes, the children reject the love, then later coe back and it is still very good when they find parents waiting to forgive  Sadly some children never choose to return Isn't that similar to what God has done by creating man?

Conclusion Did God create evil? No What is “evil”? The choice to reject good Why did God allow a choice? To allow us to share love with Him  To leave man with no choice would be like expecting a robot to show love So evil is there because that is the choice one makes when rejecting God  It is not an entity or being or power – it is a choice As we continue our study, we will look at spiritual beings who have made that choice